Based at Grange Hill Farm in Naunton, Gloucestershire, Nigel Twiston-Davies first took out a full public training licence in 1989, having previously trained under permit since 1981. In his own name, he saddled over 1,500 winners under National Hunt Rules, including Earth Summit and Bindaree in the Grand National in 1998 and 2002 respectively and Imperial Commander in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2010.
At the start of the 2025/26, Twiston-Davies was joined on his licence by his younger son Willy, a former jockey who retired from the saddle in December 2017, with over 200 winners to his name, to become assistant trainer to his father. Announcing their joint venture, Twiston-Davies Snr. said at the time, “It’s a proud moment for the family, but nothing changes – not one thing. ” Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies saddled their first winner together, Stream Of Stars, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies (older brother of Willy) in a handicap hurdle at Bangor-on-Dee on May 17, 2025.
The 2025/26 National Hunt season, as a whole, yielded 62 winners from 397 runners, at a strike rate of 16%, and just over £1 million in prize money. The seven-year-old gelding Potters Charm was the major contributor to their bottom line, winning both the Weatherbys Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide Hurdle at Windsor and the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell, collectively worth just shy of £100,000 to winning connections.
At the time of writing, Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies lie sixth in the 2026/27 trainers’ championship table, having saddled 22 winners from 123 runners and amassed just over £250,000 in prize money. The figure-of-eight circuit at Fontwell has once again proved a happy hunting ground for the pair; three of their four runners at the West Sussex venue – including Broadway Honey, who is owned, as well as trained, by Willy Twiston-Davies – have won, for a small level stakes profit.
