No date for Twiston-Davies return

Nigel Twiston-Davies insists it is "much too early" to predict when his son Sam will return to the saddle as he continues to recover in hospital after damaging his spleen.

Nigel Twiston-Davies insists it is "much too early" to predict when his son Sam will return to the saddle as he continues to recover in hospital after damaging his spleen.

The talented rider has enjoyed a fruitful start to the campaign, with the 11 winners he has ridden since September 30 taking his tally for the season to 70.

He rode two winners for his boss Paul Nicholls at Chepstow over the weekend, but fell from the Dr Richard Newland-trained One More Go on Sunday and subsequently missed out on a further two winners.

Twiston-Davies initially went home after being stood down by the racecourse doctor, but later had to be admitted to hospital in Gloucester.

"He's damaged his spleen, but it's not too bad. They don't think it will have to come out, anyway," said Twiston-Davies senior.

"He's in hospital, but he's stable, and the last update we had is that he was likely to be there for seven days. It's much too early to say when he'll be back (riding). Let's get him right first and we'll go from there."

reopens Nicholls suggested his retained rider could be out of action until Cheltenham's three-day Open meeting, which starts on November 11. "He could be out until Cheltenham's big meeting in November," the champion trainer told www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk. "Whether it's that long or two weeks, we wish him a speedy recovery. When a jockey damages their spleen you have to give it a bit of time. "It's disappointing as things have been going well. It's a big blow for Sam. "These things happen and the sooner he's back, the better."