Sam Twiston-Davies: why one of racing's favourite sons is riding high again

As he waits for the morning's second lot to make their way up Grange Hill Farm's stiff uphill gallop, Nigel Twiston-Davies breaks the silence and poses a question to the man about to pose questions to his son Sam.

"What are you going to ask to make him look interesting?" he inquires, as the aforementioned son stands just inches away. Another son, Willy, is much higher up the hill, waving at us from the pre-training yard he runs with Ryan Hatch. Also being waved at are assistant trainer Carl Llewellyn and friend-of-the-farm Jim Old, who is passing the time with two dogs, two balls and one particularly effective ball-throwing device.

Before commencing the scheduled interview, it would seem rude not to ask Old about the hounds, one of which is a collie called Stan. The other is a much smaller something else called Digby. "We say he's a Dachshund-cross but we don't really ask the question," says Old, as Digby's fellow four-legged friend sprints after one of the balls.