Nigel Twiston-Davies outlines plans for Grand National hope Blaklion and Bristol De Mai as they both look to bounce back to form

BRISTOL DE MAI will look to get his season back on track at Kelso.

Nigel Twiston-Davies' chaser has disappointed in both the King George and the Cotswold Chase and will step down in class for the Premier Chase on Saturday week.

Twiston-Davies said: "He'll go to Kelso next weekend and then the Betway Bowl.

"The idea is to give him a nice run round and get a bit of confidence back into him again, having had two not so good runs, and then go on to Aintree.

"Hopefully the Gold Cup will be in the thinking next year. I'd imagine we'll start off in the Charlie Hall again and then go for the Betfair Chase and the King George.

"He just needs to be a bit more consistent to be a Gold Cup horse."

Like Bristol De Mai, Blaklion will also miss the Cheltenham Festival this year and head to Aintree for a tilt at the Randox Health Grand National.

"He's in good form and it was just a case of carrying a heavy weight on that ground catching him out at Haydock," the Naunton-based trainer added.

"He had a hard race before the Grand National last year and this year we've just been thinking about the National.

"In a way I would like to have a go at the Gold Cup, but he seems to have an outstanding chance in the National.

"He's come out of Haydock OK - he's 100 per cent.

"We've got seven weeks until Aintree and I think we've done the right thing (missing Cheltenham)."