MARCH 2011
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Thursday 31
March 2011 |
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No riding
engagements for Choc today; however, Martin Keighley had one runner at Ludlow: Havingotascoobydo (Warren Marston) won the Handicap Hurdle (12 ran); congratulations to
Martin and his team, their 19th winner of the season. Tomorrow,
Choc will be at Stratford, where he has 2
riding engagements: 16:40 Rustarix (Alan King) – Handicap Chase 17:10 Cold
Knight (Alan King) – Standard Open NH Flat Race I’ll be working on my diaries again tonight, my
current plan being to complete that for ‘1000
Day’ at Towcester first. |
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Wednesday 30
March 2011 |
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Today Choc
had 3 riding engagements at Hereford, and this is how he
fared: Raya Star
(Alan King) finished 4th in the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Suburban
Bay (Alan King) finished 5th in the Maiden Hurdle (10 ran). Franklin
Roosevelt (Warren Greatrex) finished 4th in the
Standard Open NH Flat Race (7 ran). No riding
engagements for Choc tomorrow; however, Martin Keighley has one runner at Ludlow: 15:35 Havingotascoobydo (Warren Marston) – Handicap Hurdle I’ve not
had time to add to any of my racing diaries this evening; however I have
uploaded the photographs I took at Towcester on
Monday. Interview with ATR’s Matt Chapman |
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Tuesday 29 March
2011 |
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Firstly, I
found these lovely photographs (for sale ... although very expensive) on the
Racing Post website, taken by Edward Whitaker at Towcester
yesterday. Isn’t Choc beautiful? But I’m going to miss that hair! Anyway,
back to today’s racing: Alan King
had a couple of runners at Taunton today: Quetzal
(Charlie Huxley) slipped up on the bend in the Handicap Chase (4 ran). Calcot Rose (Gerard Tumelty) finished 10th in the Mares’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race (11 ran). Tomorrow
Choc will be at Hereford, where he has 3
riding engagements: 14:10 Raya
Star (Alan King) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:40
Suburban Bay (Alan King) – Maiden Hurdle 17:10
Franklin Roosevelt (Warren Greatrex) – Standard
Open NH Flat Race I have
completed my overview of Choc’s most recent Racing
Post column. But I
think I’m going to keep everyone in suspense as regards photos taken at Towcester yesterday; there are lots to sift through to
make my selection but, as I’ve got so much going on at work, I’m afraid I
might forget the ‘thread’ of my
diary if I don’t put pen to paper this evening (or should that be fingers to
keyboard?). On this occasion, and due
to the very last minute nature of my trip to the races yesterday, I have
barely any notes to refer to – so it’s all held in my very crowded brain. |
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Monday 28 March
2011 |
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Many Congratulations to Choc upon riding his 1000th Career Winner
Meally, William and
Choc celebrate 1000 Career
Winners As it was
a Monday, my first port of call on my way to work was to the local supermarket
to purchase a copy of today’s Racing Post.
I quickly glanced inside to find out what Choc’s
column topics were today ... one being 999 winners and counting. And I knew he had three rides at Towcester, including the talented Araldur;
so today could easily be the day when he reached this very important
milestone. Despite
knowing that Choc had ridden 6 winners on the flat (a fact already recorded
on my career winners totals page) I hadn’t included them in my calculations,
hence I thought he was 7 away, not 1.
Whoops. So there I was, with a
full day’s work ahead of me and the possibility that I’d miss seeing the
celebrations if today was going to be his special day. I just had
to ask my immediate Manager if I could take the afternoon off ... she wasn’t
sure, as one member of my team was already on holiday. So the decision was in the balance; and I
was becoming tearful (they weren’t crocodile tears I hasten to add). She relented; I could leave at 12:30. Although I had to walk home (very quickly)
to change and collect my car, before setting off at 13:15 for Towcester, which is around 50 miles from my home. I chose to travel up the M1, and I didn’t
realise the current contra-flow system and 50 mph speed limit was in
operation from south of Luton until Milton Keynes. As I
pulled into the car park at Towcester, the horses
taking part in the first event, at 14:30, were just galloping up the final
straight to the winning post, and included a couple of loose horses. However, I knew that Choc’s
first ride of the day aboard Araldur was at 15:30,
so I was in time for my main event! So the
very good news is that Choc accomplished his target ... and in the years to
come I’ll be able to say I was there! J J J J J J J J J J J J Here is
the official news bulletin from the Racing Post website.
And here is the At The Races article. A round-up
of today’s results: Towcester Araldur (Choc) won the Novices’
Hurdle; giving Choc his 50th winner of the season and, of
course, his 1000th career success too. (8 ran) Lidar (Choc) was pulled up
in the Handicap Hurdle (8 ran). No
Substitute (Choc) finished 4th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (13 ran). Plumpton Shrewd
Investment (Charlie Huxley) finished 2nd in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle (5 ran). Astralogical (Gerard Tumelty) finished last in the Maiden Open NH Flat Race (8
ran). As you may
or may not recall, Choc is serving a one day suspension tomorrow. However, and as confirmed by the man
himself, he’s having his promised haircut tomorrow! Alan King
does have a couple of runners at Taunton tomorrow: 16:50
Quetzal (Charlie Huxley) – Handicap Chase 17:20 Calcot Rose (Gerard Tumelty) –
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race It is
reported that Voy Por Ustedes will attempt to win Aintree’s Melling Chase for the third time. It is now
late evening and I’ve not written my overview of Choc’s
Racing Post column yet, so I’ll omit the link today. And ... I now have another set of photos to
upload and a total of 6 racing diaries to complete! |
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Sunday 27 March
2011 |
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No riding
engagements for Choc today; but Martin Keighley had one runner at Wincanton: Saffron
Lord (Tom Siddall) was withdrawn from the Novices’
Hurdle The Fox’s
Decree (Ian Popham) finished 3rd in the Conditional
Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran). Alan King
has runners at Towcester and Plumpton tomorrow: Towcester 15:30 Araldur (Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:30 Lidar (Choc) – Handicap Hurdle 17:30 No
Substitute (Choc) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Plumpton 16:10
Shrewd Investment (Charlie Huxley) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 17:10 Astralogical (Gerard Tumelty) –
Maiden Open NH Flat Race Being a
little the worse for wear following yesterday’s fall at Newbury, Barry Geraghty is going to take the next week off; he has no
fears of missing the Aintree Festival, although he hasn’t yet got a ride in
the big race. More I’ve been feeling absolutely drained today but,
despite this, I’ve uploaded yesterday’s photographs and I’ve ‘topped’
and ‘tailed’ my Newbury diary
too. As Newbury has currently taken my
attention, I’ve not had time to work on my Cheltenham diaries this weekend,
but I do have a number of pages of detailed hand-written notes to type up for
the latter, so I’m reasonably pleased with my overall progress! |
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Saturday 26
March 2011 |
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As hoped,
I went to Newbury today. It was their
last National Hunt fixture until the autumn and, having reached the final
race of the day, I was beginning to think that I’d have to wait until next
season to see Choc ride a winner whilst I was in attendance at the
course. But, as you can see above, he
finally did it! I also
took part in the Behind the Scenes tour, which Newbury has been running
throughout this season. The tour was
led by Colin Brown, ex-jockey and well-known for piloting Desert Orchid;
those in attendance visited the Weighing Room, where the procedures were
explained to us; then the Judge’s Box at the top of the grandstand, where
judge Guy Lewis explained his role.
Our group also went to see a horse being saddled in one of the boxes. Ex-jockey
Graham Thorner, who won the 1972 Grand National
aboard Well To Do, was nearby and spoke briefly with us. I’d forgotten that he was part-owner of the
ill-fated Marching Song who had been electrocuted in the Parade Ring incident
last month; but he did refer to it briefly and a number of people said how
sorry they were that his horse had died.
He also mentioned that he will be taking part in a Charity Race on
Grand National Day. More Here is a
round-up of today’s results: Newbury Balerina (Alan King) was a
non-runner; so Choc transferred to Franklino (Alan
King) and finished 2nd in the Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (7 ran). Definitely the horse’s best run to date, as
he’s been very disappointing. Asturienne (Alan King/Choc)
finished 5th in the EBF Mares’ Novices’ Chase Finale (Listed Handicap) (9
ran). Way Back
When (Alan King/Choc) finished 11th in the EBF Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle
Finale (Limited Handicap) (Listed) (18 ran). Norman The
Great (Alan King/Choc) was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (6 ran). Turbo Du Ranch (Warren Greatrex/Choc) won the ‘Junior’ Bumper (Standard Open NH
Flat Race); Choc’s 49th winner of the
season (15 ran). Bangor On Dee Pouvoir (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Handicap Chase (7 ran). Wolf Moon
(Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) finished 10th; Kauto
The Roc (Alan King/Mr R Jarrett) finished 12th in the Handicap Hurdle (14
ran). No riding
engagements for Choc tomorrow; but Martin Keighley has a couple of runners at
Wincanton: 15:55
Saffron Lord (Tom Siddall) – Novices’ Hurdle 17:20 The
Fox’s Decree (Ian Popham) – Conditional Jockeys’
Handicap Hurdle As I now have 5 diaries to write and a set of
photographs to upload, I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow. And, of course, I’ll lose one hour’s sleep
tonight as the clocks go forward to British Summer Time. |
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Friday 25 March
2011 |
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Today Choc
was at Newbury, where he had 4
riding engagements: Bardolf (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 4th; Bless The Wings (Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in
the Maiden Hurdle (10 ran). Ravethebrave (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the Handicap Chase (8 ran). Hong Kong
Harry (Alan King/Choc) pulled up near the end of the race having gone lame in
the Handicap Hurdle (14 ran). Patsy
Finnegan (Alan King/Choc) finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (8
ran). Raduis Bleu (Alan King/Ciaran McKee) finished 5th in the ‘Hands and Heels’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (Conditionals/Amateurs).
(14 ran) Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Newbury and Bangor On Dee: Newbury 13:45 Balerina (Alan King/Choc); Franklino
(Alan King/Charlie Huxley) – Juvenile Handicap Hurdle 14:15 Asturienne (Alan King/Choc) – EBF Mares’ Novices’ Chase Finale
(Listed Handicap) 14:50 Way
Back When (Alan King/Choc) – EBF Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle Finale (Limited
Handicap) (Listed) 16:30
Norman The Great (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase 17:05
Turbo Du Ranch (Warren Greatrex/Choc) – ‘Junior’
Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) Bangor On Dee 15:50 Pouvoir (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) - Handicap Chase 16:20 Wolf
Moon (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston); Kauto The
Roc (Alan King/Mr R Jarrett) – Handicap Hurdle I’ve had a
rotten week at work ... most days have begun with a headache, and I’ve been
in tears three times; but, looking on the bright side (if that’s possible), a
good cry is supposed to be good for relieving stress! And I’ve had plenty of that this week. L So to
cheer me up, and with Choc having 5 riding engagements at Newbury tomorrow,
I’m hoping for a day out at the races to see my favourite guy. Unfortunately the nice weather of the past
few days is supposed to have disappeared by tomorrow, so I’ll need to wrap up
warm. It’s certainly too soon to dispense
with my thermal vests! |
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Thursday 24
March 2011 |
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Today
there were 3 runners of interest at Chepstow, and a
touch of ‘seconditis’: Americam Ladie
(Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). Won More Night (Martin Keighley/Ian
Popham) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle (5
ran). Gospel
Preacher (Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Intermediate Open NH Flat Race
(13 ran). And one at
Southwell: Pretty
Penny (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) finished 10th in the NH Maiden Hurdle
(13 ran). Tomorrow,
Choc is at Newbury, where he has 4 riding
engagements: 14:10 Bardolf (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson); Bless The Wings
(Alan King/Choc) – Maiden Hurdle 14:40 Ravethebrave (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase 15:15 Hong
Kong Harry (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle 15:50
Patsy Finnegan (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 16:25 Raduis Bleu (Alan King/Ciaran
McKee) – ‘Hands and Heels’ Novices’
Handicap Hurdle (Conditionals/Amateurs). Another evening
of diary writing ahead ... I’m currently concentrating on ‘topping’ and ‘tailing’ my Cheltenham diaries, not on the races
themselves. Once this task has been
completed, I’ll watch the race recordings and, hopefully, will be able to
upload one or two before I set off for Aintree in a couple of weeks’ time! There was
a familiar face in Midsomer Murders last night –
Sykes the dog – who previously starred in the TV advert ‘Every Home Needs a Harvey’. More
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Wednesday 23
March 2011 |
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Three
National Hunt meetings today, at Warwick, Haydock
Park and Hereford. Alan King trained 4
winners across all three cards, and Choc rode a treble! (Two for Alan and one for Richard Lee.) Warwick Mickytaker (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) finished 7th; Sweet Irony (Alan
King/Choc) won the Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Highway Code (Richard Lee/Choc)
won the Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran). Pantxoa (Alan King/Choc) finished
2nd in the Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (3 ran). Tsarinova (Alan King/Choc)
finished 4th in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Valdez (Alan King/Choc) won
the Standard Open NH Flat Race (6 ran). Having
ridden a treble, that’s Choc’s 46th, 47th and 48th winner of the season. JJJ Haydock Park Nikos
Extra (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap Chase (7 ran). Aldiva (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (10 ran). Hereford Mister Chancer (Alan King/Jimmy McCarthy) won; Persian Forest
(Charlie Huxley) was pulled up in the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Tomorrow
there are 3 runners of interest at Chepstow: 14:10 Americam Ladie (Alan King/Choc)
– Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle 14:40 Won
More Night (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) – Handicap
Hurdle 17:30
Gospel Preacher (Alan King/Choc) - Intermediate Open NH Flat Race And one at
Southwell: 15:35
Pretty Penny (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) – NH Maiden Hurdle I believe
Choc will shortly become a member of the exclusive 1,000 career winners club
as, by my calculations, he is a mere 8 successes away! I imagine the ‘official’ countdown will soon begin, as I expect a presentation
to be made to mark this very special milestone. I see My
Way De Solzen led all the way to win the Hunter
Chase at Hereford today. More And Halcon Genelardais has been
officially retired. More Also a
further bulletin regarding jockey Rodi Greene. A brand new episode of Midsomer
Murders tonight; the first outing for the new leading actor, Neil Dudgeon,
who takes over from John Nettles who played Tom Barnaby. Neil plays the character of John Barnaby,
who is Tom Barnaby’s cousin. |
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Tuesday 22 March
2011 |
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Today
there were runners of interest at both Kempton Park and Exeter: Kempton Park Raya Star (Alan
King/Choc) had his second mishap in 3 runs, falling at the 4th flight in the
NH Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran).
Fortunately both horse and jockey were fine. Romulus D’Artaix (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Novices’
Hurdle (8 ran). Maucaillou was a non-runner
(Martin Keighley) in the Handicap Hurdle Exeter Mauricetheathlete (Martin Keighley/Mr N
Slatter) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle (15 ran). Tomorrow
there are meetings at Warwick, Haydock Park and
Hereford, and there are runners of interest at all three: Warwick 14:20 Mickytaker (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty)
& Sweet Irony (Alan King/Choc) – Maiden Hurdle 14:55
Highway Code (Richard Lee/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:05 Pantxoa (Alan King/Choc) – Juvenile Handicap Hurdle 16:40 Tsarinova (Alan King/Choc) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 17:40
Valdez (Alan King/Choc) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Haydock Park 16:25
Nikos Extra (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 17:30 Aldiva (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Standard Open NH
Flat Race Hereford 15:05
Mister Chancer (Alan King/Jimmy McCarthy) &
Persian Forest (Charlie Huxley) – Novices’ Hurdle There’s a
further bulletin regarding poor Rodi Greene, who
was injured when being unseated at Lingfield Park
yesterday. More Another
busy evening, as I’m currently working on my Cheltenham diaries ... and will
probably be doing so for days and weeks to
come! |
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Monday 21 March
2011 |
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Martin
Keighley had three runners at Lingfield Park today,
and this is how they fared: Jacko’s Boy finished 6th in
the Maiden Hurdle (20 ran). Junior
Jack finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (14 ran). Won More Night finished
9th in the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (13 ran). Evidently
it was an incident packed day at Lingfield. More Further
news regarding Tricky Trickster, who took an awful tumble at Uttoxeter on Saturday. More Tomorrow,
there are runners of interest at both Kempton Park and Exeter: Kempton Park 14:10 Raya
Star (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 15:15
Romulus D’Artaix (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:50 Maucaillou (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) – Handicap
Hurdle Exeter 17:20 Mauricetheathlete (Martin Keighley/Mr N Slatter) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle |
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December 2008 |
November 2010 |
October 2010 |
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Having
seen himself on TV, being interviewed following his win aboard Bensalem, Choc
has decided that his long hair has to go ... his reason being that he’s no
longer a young lad in his twenties! I
love his hair, but I confess that I prefer it mid-length rather than long. Strangely, the longer his hair, the more it
ages him. Please click
here to read
my overview of Choc’s Racing Post column this
week. |
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Sunday 20 March
2011 |
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Choc had 2
riding engagements at Newton Abbot, both for Alan King: Midnight Appeal won the Handicap
Chase (7 ran); Choc’s 45th winner of the season. J Yvonne Evelyn pulled hard in the initial stages
of the race and finished 5th in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Tomorrow,
two runners of interest at Lingfield Park, both
trained by Martin Keighley and to be ridden by Warren Marston: 14:30 Jacko’s Boy – Maiden Hurdle 15:00
Junior Jack – Novices’ Hurdle Choc has no riding engagements tomorrow. I’ve been looking at the Stewards’ Enquiries
relating to the Cheltenham Festival and found this one for Choc: The Stewards called before them Robert Thornton,
the rider of MEDERMIT (FR), placed fourth, and enquired into his use of the
whip from the top of the hill. Having heard his evidence and viewed the video
recording of the race, the Stewards found the rider in breach of Schedule (B)6 Part 2, in that he had used his whip with excessive
frequency. They suspended Thornton for 1 day as follows: Tuesday 29 March
2011. (Note from
Jane – he misses a Taunton fixture) The Stewards
held an enquiry into possible interference after the last fence. They found
that CAROLE’S LEGACY, placed second, ridden by Barry Geraghty,
had interfered with the winner, BENSALEM (IRE), ridden
by Robert Thornton. They found Geraghty in breach
of Rule (B)54.1 and guilty of careless riding in
that he allowed his horse to drift right handed. They suspended Geraghty for 1 day as follows: Tuesday 29 March 2011. I’m back
to work tomorrow L and have no weekday
racing plans until the second day of the Aintree Festival; it’s difficult to
take additional days off at the moment, as I’ve had 6 days’ compassionate
leave and 5 days’ holiday during the past five weeks. But I am hopeful that I may go racing to
Newbury next Saturday; especially as, after 4 consecutive ‘Choc-filled’ days, I’m feeling a
little melancholy now! I’ve had a
busy day, I washed my filthy car, I finished
uploading my Cheltenham photos, and have set up the templates for my four
Cheltenham diaries. My diaries usually
take four or five days each to complete, but that’s when I stay up until
around midnight, having worked at my day job from 09:00 to 17:30. I’m not sure if I’m going to do that on
this occasion, as I’ve had bags under my eyes since Thursday! |
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Saturday 19
March 2011 |
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Today
there were a number of runners of interest; at Uttoxeter
and Ffos Las.
This is how they fared: Uttoxeter Halcon Genelardais
(Alan King/Choc) was pulled up with a circuit to go in the Midlands Grand
National (17 ran). Richard Pitman,
reporting for At The Races at Uttoxeter, said the
horse is now expected to be retired.
The race was won by the ex-Alan King trained Minella
Four Star, for trainer David Pipe and jockey Conor
O’Farrell. I thought Tricky Trickster
was a goner having taken a heavy fall at the second. He lay on the ground for ages, the green
screens were erected and the runners by-passed the fence on both of the following
circuits. However, eventually he did
get up and was led away to the stables. His jockey, Ruby Walsh, was okay too.
More Stoney’s Treasure (Alan King/Choc) put up an excellent display of
jumping to win the Novices’ Handicap Chase easily (10 ran). Choc’s 43rd winner of the season. J Sedano (Alan King/Choc)
finished 9th in the Standard Open NH Flat Race Div I (12 ran). Denali Highway (Alan King/Choc) won
the Standard Open NH Flat Race Div II; Choc’s 44th winner of the season (11 ran). J Ffos Las Trade On
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the NH Maiden Hurdle (10 ran) Total Submission
(Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran). Lake
Legend (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Handicap Chase (11
ran). Hard To Swallow (Martin
Keighley/Warren Marston) won the Standard Open NH Flat Race; congratulations
to Martin and his team, their 18th
winner of the
season. Having had
a busy week, I’ve not had time to put in links to interesting news
stories. So here
are a couple of updates from Alan King’s website. Bensalem and other news (interesting to read in
hindsight). It’s sad to read that Whistlejacquet has died following a bout of colic. And here is
the Racing Post’s report on Bensalem’s victory on Tuesday. More Here’s the
link to the Gloucestershire Press report on the race. The Paul
Nicholls’ Gold Cup quartet are reported to be fine
following yesterday’s race. More Tomorrow
Choc has 2 riding engagements at Newton Abbot, both for Alan King: 14:45
Midnight Appeal – Handicap Chase 15:15 Yvonne Evelyn – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle I’ve begun to upload the photographs taken during
the Cheltenham Festival; so here is the link to the photo gallery
index. |
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Friday 18 March
2011 |
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Race 1: 13:30
JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) (4 year olds) – 2 miles and 1 furlong Smad Place (Alan
King/Choc) finished 10th (23 ran). The
race was won by the Paul Nicholls trained Zarkandar,
ridden by Daryl Jacob. Race 2: 14:05 -
Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 1
furlong Salden Licht
(Alan King/Choc), who carried top weight, finished 5th (26 ran). The race was won by Final Approach, trained
by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh.
It was Ruby’s 5th winner this Festival. Race 3: 14:40 -
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 3 miles Champion
Court (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) finished a very creditable 4th. Jetnova (Alan King/Choc) fell
2 out. (18 ran) The race
was won by Bobs Worth, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty; their first win of this year’s Festival. I think Jetnova will have more bruises than Choc ... the horse
got to its feet after the fall and cantered away but, having cornered wide,
he then bumped into the stand-side plastic rails before he headed up the home
straight. People further up the course
then waved their arms as he approached, hoping to deter him from continuing
up the course, but he spooked and slipped over on the plastic pontoons (used
the protect the turf from pedestrian footfall). He then panicked, taking several attempts
to regain his feet, before cantering back down the course, where he was
caught by the jockey aboard one of the pulled up horses. Alan King came out onto the course to check
the horse over; as did the vet. He was
fine and was led back up the course to the stables. Race 4: 15:20 - totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) (Class 1) –
3 miles 2 furlongs 110 yards Neptune Collonges (Paul Nicholls/Choc) finished 8th (13
ran). The race was won by Long Run. The very
brave Denman, who won in 2008, was runner-up for the third year running. Evidently the Gold Cup was won in the
fastest time in the race’s history. Race 5: 16:00 – Christie’s
Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup (Class 2) The race
was won by Zemsky, trained in Northern Ireland by
Ian Ferguson, and ridden by Mr Derek O’Connor; the jockey also having won the
4-mile Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chase on Wednesday aboard Chicago Grey. Having led
from the off, Baby Run unseated Willie Twiston-Davies
two out, having put in an extra stride; Willie was distraught. (24 ran) Race 6: 16:40 -
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Class 2) – 2 miles 4
furlongs 110 yards Between
the last two flights, and still in contention, Shalone
(Alan King/Charlie Huxley) clipped the heels of another runner and took a
very nasty looking fall. But I’m very
pleased to report that the horse was fine, and I watched as he was led back
up the course to the stables. Prince Du Seuil (Alan King/Peter Hatton) finished 13th. The race
was won by Sir Des Champs ridden by Emmet Mullins and trained by Willie
Mullins (23 ran). Race 7: 17:15 -
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup (Grade 3 Handicap) (Class
1) – 2 miles 110 yards Oh Crick
(Alan King/Choc) finished 13th. Mister
Stickler (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 11th. The race
was won by Oiseau De Nuit,
trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Steven
Clements claiming 7lbs. It was
Steven’s first ride at Cheltenham. (23 ran)
The Thomas
Pink Leading Jockey award went to Ruby Walsh (5 winners); Leading Trainer was
Willie Mullins (4 winners). As I’m not
as tired as expected, I’ll give an overview of yesterday’s races: Race 1: 13:30 –
Jewson Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (Class 1) – 2 miles 4 furlongs The race
was won by Irish raider Noble Prince, ridden by AP McCoy and trained by Paul
Nolan. AP’s 200th winner of the season. Race 2: 14:05 – Pertemps Final (Listed Handicap Hurdle) (Class 1) – 3
miles The race
was won by the brave front running Buena Vista, who had won this race last
year too. Sadly, Lush Life had to be
put down having suffered an injury to his hind leg. He was the sole fatality during the
Festival. Race 3: 14:40 – Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs The race was
won by Albertas Run, who won the race last year;
this was the horse’s third Festival victory. Race 4: 15:20
Ladbrokes World Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 3 miles The race
was won by Big Buck’s for the third consecutive year. Grands Crus finished 2nd, 1¾ behind the winner. Inglis Drever won the race 3 times, but not in consecutive
years, the sequence having been broken by My Way De Solzen. Race 5: 16:00 –
Byrne Group Plate Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs Call Me A
Legend (Alan King/Choc) finished 5th (20 ran). The race
was won by Holmwood Legend, trained by Pat Rodford and ridden by Kieran Burke. Pat trains
the talented mare, Sparky May, who ran so creditably to finish 2nd to Quevega on Tuesday.
He’s due to retire in a couple of months, handing over the reins to
Kieran. Holmwood
Legend was only his third Festival runner. Race 6: 16:40 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Amateur
Riders) (Class 2) The race
was won by the David Pipe trained Junior.
I wonder if Alan King rues the day when Junior was sold out of his
yard; Junior won a race at Royal Ascot last June for his new stable, was
runner-up at Goodwood, and has now won this
Festival event too! Race 7: 17:15 St Patrick’s Day Derby (Charity Race)
(Class 2) – 1 mile 5 furlongs Devil To
Pay (Alan King/Alice Plunkett) finished 4th; Kings Troop (Alan King/Liz Ampairee) finished 8th (12 ran). The race
was won by Plato, ridden by Lorna Fowler (nee Bradburne)
and trained by Henry Cecil, who was Cheltenham’s special guest on Thursday. Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest; at Uttoxeter
and Ffos Las: Uttoxeter 15:00 Halcon Genelardais (Alan
King/Choc) – Midlands Grand National 15:35 Stoney’s Treasure (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Handicap
Chase 16:45 Sedano (Alan King/Choc) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Div
I 17:50
Denali Highway (Alan King/Choc) -
Standard Open NH Flat Race Div II Ffos Las 14:35
Trade On (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Maiden Hurdle 15:10
Total Submission (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:55 Lake
Legend (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 18:00 Hard
To Swallow (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Having cleaned the worst of the dust off my car during
the hours of darkness early on Thursday morning, it was just my luck to be
directed to park immediately next to the dusty entrance track today ... so my
car is disgustingly filthy again! |
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Thursday 17
March 2011 |
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I had a
nightmare journey home this evening. I
knew I’d left Cheltenham earlier than on Tuesday, although later than
yesterday, so envisaged my ETA to be 20:40.
However, disaster must have struck for someone, as the traffic came to
a complete standstill on the stretch of the A40 between the roundabout on the
Stow to Cirencester Road and Burford. After waiting in line for around 10 minutes
and there being no traffic coming from the direction of Burford
either, I turned around and headed back towards Cheltenham. As I know
my way home from Stow on the Wold, having reached the Cirencester to Stow
road, I headed north towards the latter.
I then took the road towards Chipping Norton, which runs past Adlestrop where Richard Phillips trains. Having reached the A44, I then went ‘across country’ to Bicester and then along the A41 to Aylesbury; where I
suffered a further delay, this time due to the fact that the road was being
re-surfaced. Having topped up my car’s
petrol tank, I finally arrived home at 21:30! I had
planned to write about the stories associated with each of today’s races ...
but I’ll have to leave those until (probably) Saturday, as I’m very tired
this evening and have another long day ahead of me tomorrow. It was a very
quiet day for Choc today, with just one riding engagement: Race 5: 16:00 –
Byrne Group Plate Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs Call Me A
Legend (Alan King/Choc) finished 5th (20 ran). In the
Charity Race, Devil To Pay finished 4th under Channel 4’s Alice Plunkett;
Alan King’s other runner, Kings Troop, finished 8th (12 ran). Tomorrow,
Choc has riding engagements in all the races he’s permitted to ride in (5 of
7) ... the remaining two on the card being the Foxhunter Chase for amateur
riders, and the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle! Race 1: 13:30
JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) (4 year olds) – 2 miles and 1 furlong Smad Place (Alan
King/Choc) Race 2: 14:05 -
Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 1
furlong Salden Licht
(Alan King/Choc) Race 3: 14:40 -
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 3 miles Champion
Court (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) Jetnova (Alan King/Choc) Race 4: 15:20 - totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) (Class 1) –
3 miles 2 furlongs 110 yards Neptune Collonges (Paul Nicholls/Choc) Race 6: 16:40 -
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (Class 2) – 2 miles 4
furlongs 110 yards Shalone (Alan King/Charlie
Huxley) Prince Du Seuil (Alan King/Peter Hatton) Race 7: 17:15 -
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup (Grade 3 Handicap) (Class
1) – 2 miles 110 yards Oh Crick
(Alan King/Choc) Mister Stickler (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) |
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Wednesday 16 March
2011 |
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Today
there were a number of runners of interest; and Choc had 5 riding
engagements: Race 1: 13:30 -
141st Year of the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup (Amateur Riders’ Novices’
Chase) (Class 2) – 4 miles Double
Pride (Alan King/Mr D Murphy) finished 9th; the race was won by the Gordon
Elliott trained Chicago Grey (16 ran). Race 2: 14:05 -
Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5
furlongs Habbie Simpson (Alan King/Choc)
finished 9th; the race was won by the Mouse Morris trained First Lieutenant
(12 ran). Race 3: 14:40 – RSA Chase (Grade 1) ( Class
1) was won
by the Jessica Harrington trained Bostons Angel (12
ran). Time For Rupert ran very
disappointingly and finished 5th; I gather he was drug tested and it was
noted that he coughed during the procedure, so may well have been under the
weather. Race 4: 15:20 -
Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles Somersby
(Henrietta Knight/Choc) finished 5th; the race was won by the Henry De Bromhead trained Sizing Europe (11 ran). The first four places being filled by Irish
raiders; with last year’s winner Big Zeb filling
the runner-up spot. Master Minded
completed in 8th, having blundered badly two out. Race 5: 16:00 -
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs Walkon (Alan King/Choc)
finished 7th. Trenchant
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 13th. The race
was won by the Gordon Elliott trained Carlito Brigante (22 ran). Race 6: 16:40 -
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 110 yards Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Charlie
Huxley) performed with much credit to finish a neck 2nd. Jubail (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 5th. Dhaafer (Alan King/Choc) finished
3rd. The race
was won by the Arthur Moore trained What A Charm (23 ran). Race 7: 17:15 – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles
110 yards Bygones In
Brid (Alan King/Choc) finished 18th; the race was
won by the Philip Hobbs trained, Richard Johnson ridden, Cheltenian
(24 ran). As you can
see, the home nation took a pasting today – the first six winners all
originating from Ireland. Thank
goodness Cheltenian won for the home team!!! A very
quiet day for Choc tomorrow, with just one riding engagement; Somersby having
run today. Race 5: 16:00 –
Byrne Group Plate Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs Call Me A
Legend (Alan King/Choc) There’s a Charity
Race at 17:15, in which the Alan King trained Devil To Pay is to be ridden by
Channel 4’s Alice Plunkett. As
predicted, my car is already filthy – not from the journey – but from
standing in the car park.
Unfortunately the gravel drive, used by all cars entering and exiting
the car park, is very dry and dusty and the wind was blowing in the wrong
direction today. So I arrived back
after racing to find it covered in a thick layer of dust. Damn, I knew it was a waste of time washing
the car on Monday. And I’m
going to wrap up even warmer tomorrow ... I was absolutely freezing today,
despite wearing two thermal vests, a sweater, a cardigan, a fleece, a knee
length winter coat, a scarf and a pair of gloves! My special moment of the day was when I
congratulated Choc for his win aboard Bensalem! |
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Tuesday 15 March
2011 |
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Choc and
Bensalem in the Winners’ Enclosure Many congratulations to Choc, who rode his 16th Cheltenham Festival winner
today ... and it’s the first time
I’ve seen him ride a Cheltenham Festival winner ‘in the flesh’! And there’s a story associated with the win – Bensalem, who capsized at the second last in the
same race at last year’s Festival, returns to claim the prize, despite having nearly
lost his life last summer following illness; and, of course, Choc’s recovery from serious injury during that period
too. Choc
actually had 4 rides at Cheltenham today; having taken over a ride in the
first race from the injured Dougie Costello. Race 1: 13:30 – Stan James
Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) Recession
Proof (J J Quinn/Choc) – finished 5th (15 ran). The Paul Nicholls trained, Ruby Walsh
ridden, Al Ferof won the race. Notably, the horse ran in the one and only
race at Newbury on 12 February, when his fellow competitors, Marching Song
and Fenix Two, were electrocuted in the Parade
Ring. Cue Card finished 4th in today’s
race. Race 2: 14:05 –
Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase
(Grade 1) (Class 1) - 2 miles Medermit (Alan King/Choc) –
finished a disappointing 4th (10 ran).
The race was won by the Philip Hobbs trained, Richard Johnson ridden,
Captain Chris. Race 3: 14:40 -
Stewart Family Spinal Research Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 3 miles
110 yards Blazing Bailey
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 9th. Bensalem (Alan King/Choc) won;
giving Choc his 42nd winner of the season and
16th Cheltenham Festival winner. Wolf Moon
(Martin Keighley/Tom Scudamore) finished 11th. (19 ran). Race 4: 15:20 –
Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles 110
yards Mille
Chief (Alan King/Choc) finished last (11 ran). The race was won by the Willie Mullins
trained, Ruby Walsh ridden, Hurricane Fly. The Cross
Country race was won by the Henry De Bromhead
trained, Andrew Lynch ridden, Sizing Australia; The Willie Mullins trained,
Ruby Walsh ridden, Quevega won the David Nicholson
Mares’ Hurdle (for the third year running); and Divers won the Novices’
Listed Handicap Chase for trainer Ferdy Murphy and
jockey Graham Lee. Tomorrow,
there are again a number of runners of interest; with Choc having 5 riding
engagements: Race 1: 13:30 -
141st Year of the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup (Amateur Riders’ Novices’
Chase) (Class 2) – 4 miles Double
Pride (Alan King/Mr D Murphy) Race 2: 14:05 -
Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5
furlongs Habbie Simpson (Alan
King/Choc) Race 4: 15:20 -
Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles Somersby
(Henrietta Knight/Choc) Race 5: 16:00 -
Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 5 furlongs Walkon (Alan King/Choc) Trenchant
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) Race 6: 16:40 -
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 2 miles 110 yards Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Charlie
Huxley) Jubail (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) Dhaafer (Alan King/Choc) Race 7: 17:15 – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles
110 yards Bygones In
Brid (Alan King/Choc) I must go to bed now ... it is 23:20 and my alarm
will go off at 04:30 in the morning in preparation for another day at the
Cheltenham Festival. |
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Monday 14 March
2011 |
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Today
there were a number of runners of interest, at each of the three scheduled
fixtures; and mixed fortunes for the Alan King yard: Taunton Balerina (Alan King/Choc) won
the Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle; giving Choc his 41st winner of the
season (10 ran).J Gilded Age
(Alan King/Choc) dead-heated for 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle (6 ran). Stratford Enfant De
Lune (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) unseated his jockey in the Novices’
Handicap Chase (6 ran). Hypnotic
Gaze (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) finished 2nd in
the Selling Hurdle (8 ran). Plumpton Ransson (Alan King/Peter
Hatton) fell in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Quetzel (Alan King/Charlie
Huxley) finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (5 ran). T H E C H E L T E N H A M F E S T I V A L Starts Tomorrow ... Good Luck Choc; I hope you ride your 16th Festival winner this week.
7 races on
the first day of the Cheltenham Festival; Choc has rides in the 2nd, 3rd and
4th races: Race 2: 14:05 –
Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase
(Grade 1) (Class 1) - 2 miles Medermit (Alan King/Choc) Race 3: 14:40 -
Stewart Family Spinal Research Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (Class 1) – 3 miles
110 yards Blazing
Bailey (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) Bensalem
(Alan King/Choc) Wolf Moon
(Martin Keighley/Tom Scudamore) Race 4: 15:20 –
Stan James Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (Class 1) – 2 miles 110
yards Mille
Chief (Alan King/Choc) There’s an
overview of Alan King’s chances of training a winner on the first day of the
Festival. More Here is
the link to my overview of Choc’s Racing
Post column this week. Despite
being on holiday today, I woke early and walked down to my local supermarket
at 08:00 to buy a copy of the Racing Post.
I then washed my car ... although, by the end of Festival week, it
will probably be dirtier than it was before I cleaned it! I got soaked ... my coat was wringing, my
trousers were wringing, and my shoes were squelching; I need a new Hozelock spray gun!
Having dried off, I then took a walk to town; dropping off a number of
items belonging to my late father at the Cancer Research UK charity
shop. I popped
into M & S; purchasing a few snack ‘goodies’
for the week ahead – including 4 bags of ‘Percy
Piglets’ and, of course, a tub of
‘Extremely Chocolatey Mini Milk Chocolate Rounds’! This
afternoon, I watched the racing on TV – Taunton, Stratford and Plumpton all being broadcast on At The Races. The drying ground resulted in many
casualties today – and fatalities too I fear; Two Cloudy broke a hind-leg on
the flat at Plumpton; I believe the Sue Nock
trained Chocolat may have died when taking a nasty
tumble later in the afternoon. And
Monsieur didn’t ‘look’ right when
he got up following a fall at Taunton. And probably bad news for a Cheltenham-bound
jockey too. Dougie
Costello was stretchered off with an ankle or leg injury following a fall at
Stratford; he will be gutted if he misses the Festival – with booked rides to
include Wayward Prince in the RSA Chase and Midnight Chase in the Gold Cup –
he’s never ridden a winner at the Festival.
More |
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Sunday 13 March
2011 |
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Today
there were a number of runners of interest at Market Rasen
and Warwick: Market Rasen Won More Night (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham)
won the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (8 ran); Martin Keighley’s 17th winner of the season. Dineur (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the Novices’ Hurdle (12 ran). Brimham Boy (Martin
Keighley/Warren Marston) pulled up in the Handicap Chase (7 ran). Batonnier (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). Warwick The Laodicean (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 4th in
the Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Trigger
The Light (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) was a non-runner in the Handicap Chase
(The Crudwell Cup) Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest, at each of the three scheduled
fixtures: Taunton 14:20 Balerina (Alan King/Choc) – Fillies’ Juvenile Hurdle 15:20
Gilded Age (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle Stratford 14:40
Enfant De Lune (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 15:10
Hypnotic Gaze (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) –
Selling Hurdle Plumpton 14:00 Ransson (Alan King/Peter Hatton) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 14:30 Quetzel (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) – Novices’ Handicap
Chase The big story of today is that Binocular is not permitted
to run in Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle; the horse was treated for an allergy a
couple of weeks ago and, unfortunately, traces of the drug used to treat the
horse still remain in his system. More |
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Saturday 12
March 2011 |
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It was a
very pleasant day, weather wise, in the southeast; but I didn’t change my mind
about not going to Sandown Park. This
morning I spent time ‘putting together’
my outfits for each of the 4 days of the Cheltenham Festival, and this
afternoon I watched the racing on TV. There were
five runners of specific interest today and this is how they fared: Sandown Park Invictus (Alan King/Choc)
finished 10th in the NH Novices’ Handicap Hurdle Final (17 ran). The Betchworth Kid (Alan King/Choc) finished 11th; Dona (Alan
King/Peter Hatton) finished 15th in the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle (Listed). Choc’s mount made
an error at the third flight and was struggling thereafter. Tante Sissi
(Alan King/Choc) ran well and finished 2nd in the Mares’ Standard Open NH
Flat Race Final (Listed) (20 ran). Chepstow Ukrainian
Star (MartinKeighley/Peter Toole)
ran well again, and was just touched off by a neck into 2nd at the line in
the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (11 ran). The most
interesting piece of news today, especially from my point of view, is that Choc
has now picked up the ride aboard the Paul Nicholls trained grey, Neptune Collonges, in the Cheltenham
Gold Cup. Although a 25-1 outsider,
it’s great news that Choc has a ride in the big race. More The other
main stories today are that Alarazi won the Imperial Cup; Aegean Dawn is now a likely runner in
the Coral Cup having impressed again at home; and Ruby Walsh
rode his first winner since returning from injury ... although he does look a
little worse for wear following his ‘near
miss’ fall earlier in the week! More Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest at Market Rasen
and Warwick: Market Rasen 14:20 Won
More Night (Martin Keighley/Ian Popham) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle 14:50 Dineur (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 15:20 Brimham Boy (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) – Handicap
Chase 16:55 Batonnier (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle Warwick 14:05 The Laodicean (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle 16:05 Trigger The Light (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase (The Crudwell Cup) |
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Friday 11 March
2011 |
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A number
of results today; from Wincanton, Sandown and Leicester. Wincanton Chilli
Rose (Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (7 ran); Choc’s cause wasn’t helped by the fact that his mount
spent much of the first circuit in front and racing keenly upsides a loose
horse. Sandown Park Havingotascoobydo (Martin
Keighley/Warren Marston) finished a close 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle (12
ran). Taoiri (Alan King/Choc)
finished 3rd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). I confess
I didn’t even notice that there was a meeting at Leicester today;
probably because I hurriedly printed out the most ‘obvious’ race-cards whilst at work and it’s rare for there to be
4 National Hunt meetings on a weekday!
However,
there were a couple of interesting runners at the fixture too: Swansbrook (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Beginners’ Chase (3 ran). Ponchatrain (Martin Keighley/Mr
Tom Bellamy) finished 2nd in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase (8 ran). Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Sandown Park and Chepstow: Sandown Park 13:55 Invictus (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Handicap Hurdle
Final 15:00 The Betchworth Kid (Alan King/Choc); Dona (Alan King/Peter
Hatton) – Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle (Listed) 15:35 Tante Sissi (Alan King/Choc) –
Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Final (Listed) Chepstow 14:35
Ukrainian Star (MartinKeighley/Peter Toole) – Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Chase The most
important news of the day is that Choc is to be reunited with the Henrietta
Knight trained Somersby, who has been
confirmed as a runner in next Wednesday’s Champion Chase! More And here is the
alternative report on the At The Races website. More Voy Por
Ustedes, who is now trained by Nicky Henderson, is
a supplementary entry for Thursday’s Ryanair
Chase! More Here is
the link to Wayne Hutchinson’s latest column on the Sporting Life
website. More And to
Martin Keighley’s column in the Gloucestershire Press. Although I love visiting Sandown Park, I’m
actually going to give the fixture a miss tomorrow. With the spectre of 4 consecutive days at
the Cheltenham Festival looming on the very near horizon, which also means
driving 200 miles a day, I don’t feel I can cope with a visit to the Esher
track too! |
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Thursday 10
March 2011 |
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Choc was
at Wincanton today, where he had 4 riding engagements, all for Alan King ...
and it was a successful day! JJ Midnight Appeal (who is the younger
full-brother of Lake Legend) won the Novices’ Handicap Chase (7 ran); Choc’s 39th winner of the season. Rivermouth finished 2nd in the
Handicap Hurdle (15 ran). Management won the Maiden Hurdle
Div I (10 ran); Choc’s 40th winner of the season. Stan’s
Cool Cat finished 6th in the Maiden Hurdle Div II (10 ran). Two rides
for Choc tomorrow; one in the first race at Wincanton and one in the last
race at Sandown Park! However,
the timing should be okay, as it takes just over 2 hours to drive between the
two courses. Wincanton 14:00
Chilli Rose (Alan King) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Sandown Park 17:15 Taoiri (Alan King) – NH Novices’ Hurdle And Martin
Keighley’s Havingotascoobydo (Warren Marston) is due
to run in the 16:05 at Sandown Park. Tomorrow is my last working day before Cheltenham
... Hurray!!! |
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Wednesday 09
March 2011 |
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Tomorrow,
Choc will be at Wincanton, where he has 4 riding engagements, all for Alan
King: 15:35 Midnight
Appeal – Novices’ Handicap Chase 16:05 Rivermouth – Handicap Hurdle 16:40
Management – Maiden Hurdle Div I 17:10
Stan’s Cool Cat – Maiden Hurdle Div II Ruby Walsh
has been in the wars again but, luckily, he’s merely ‘walking wounded’. More Aegean
Dawn is out of Saturday’s Imperial Cup and may miss Cheltenham too. More Planet of
Sound is likely to miss the Cheltenham Gold Cup. More And yesterday’s £1.4 million ToteJackpot
winner has been much in demand today. More Had Danny Hiskett won aboard The Fox’s Decree at Exeter yesterday,
he would definitely have spoilt the party! |
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Tuesday 08 March
2011 |
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|
There are
actually 3 horses to report on today, as I ‘missed’ Danny Hiskett’s ride aboard
the Martin Keighley trained The Fox’s Decree at Exeter when I checked through
the race-cards yesterday. Whoops! Exeter Lucky Mix
(Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd & Pretty Penny (Martin Keighley/Warren
Marston) finished 9th in the Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (13 ran). The Fox’s
Decree (Mr Danny Hiskett) finished a very close 3rd
in the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle (13 ran). There’s
National Hunt racing at Catterick and Fontwell Park tomorrow, but Choc has no riding
engagements. And check out trainer Richard Phillips’ blog for
today, where he’s given a brief overview of last night’s Cheltenham Preview
evening, in which Choc took part. More |
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Monday 07 March
2011 |
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Just one
result today, as Martin Keighley had a runner at Newton Abbot: Ikorodo Road finished 3rd in
the Novices’ Chase (4 ran). Tomorrow
there are 2 runners of interest at Exeter, and they
run in the same race: 14:30
Lucky Mix (Alan King/Choc) & Pretty Penny (Martin Keighley/Warren
Marston) – Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle Confirmation
today that jockeys awarded a one day ban can choose the day on which they
serve the suspension. More And, as it is a Monday, Choc’s
column appeared in the Racing Post ... which has increased in price by £0.10
from today (Monday to Friday it costs £1.80; Saturday & Sunday
£2.00). Here is a link to my overview
of this week’s column. |
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Sunday 06 March
2011 |
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Martin
Keighley had one runner at Sedgefield today: Mauricetheathlete, ridden by Jason
Maguire, won the Handicap Hurdle (12 ran) ... the brilliant form of the yard
continues! Martin’s 16th winner of the season; and the horse loses his maiden
tag. Two
National Hunt fixtures tomorrow, Ffos Las and
Newton Abbot, but no riding engagements for Choc. However, I believe he will be taking part
in trainer Richard Phillips’ Cheltenham Preview event to be held at the Adlestrop Village Hall tomorrow evening. Martin
Keighley has a runner at Newton Abbot: Ikorodu Road (following yesterday’s
mishap at Newbury) is due to run in the Novices’ Chase at 15:40, ridden by
Jason Maguire There is
an overview of yesterday’s racing at Doncaster on the At The Races website. More I notice
there’s a new feature on the ‘Statistics’
page on the Racing Post’s website; although the search function is obviously
for ‘Thornton’ as opposed to ‘Robert Thornton’, as pictures of
Andrew also appear under Choc’s name. The photos include an incredible shot of
Choc, hanging on for dear life, when Bakbenscher
made an error at the final fence during the Murphy Group Chase on Cheltenham
Trials Day 29 January 2011. The
partnership did survive on that occasion and they finished 3rd! Photos Riverside Theatre
is out of the Cheltenham Festival, having sustained a hairline fracture to
his pelvis. More Jockey Brian Harding will be out of action for a
few weeks, having sustained a minor fracture to his arm when his mount fell
during the final race at Kelso yesterday.
More |
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Saturday 05
March 2011 |
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Eric’s Charm returns Winners’ Enclosure having triumphed at Sandown Park on 05 February 2011 Today’s
racing was marred by the death of the popular veteran, Eric’s Charm, at
Newbury; he lost his life having suffered a broken leg during the Veteran’s
Handicap Chase. RIP. A very sad loss for the Oliver Sherwood
yard and connections. More Not a good
day at Newbury, as Karky Shultz also died when
taking a heavy fall in the Greatwood Handicap
Hurdle. Alan King
and Martin Keighley had a number of runners today, and this is how they
fared: Doncaster Awesome
Freddie (Alan King/Choc) finished 4th in the Handicap Hurdle (12 ran) Lidar (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Next Man In
(Alan King/Charlie Huxley) finished 15th; Montbazon (Alan King/Choc) won the DBS Spring Sales Bumper
(Standard Open), giving Choc his 38th
winner of the
season (18 ran). Lake
Legend (Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Chase (3 ran). He went off as the 4-11 favourite; however,
Choc didn’t seem totally confident when Mick Fitzgerald interviewed him prior
to the race. And Fitzy’s
famous last words before the off were that he doesn’t believe in the old
adage ‘Back the outsider of 3’ –
and, of course, the 16-1 outsider duly won! Awesome
George (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (11
ran). Kempton Park Araldur (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) won the Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran).
Two winners today for David Sewell, who also owns Montbazon. Araldur was
stepping up in trip and is a giant horse and a ‘galloper’. Both Wayne and
Liam Treadwell, who was aboard the runner-up, lost their whips on the
run-in. Squadron
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Chase (3 ran); and
the outsider of 3 won again! Way Back
When (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 8th in the Handicap Hurdle (9
ran). No Tears
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Handicap Chase (12 ran). Cold
Knight (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Maiden Open NH Flat
Race (12 ran). Newbury Benbane Head (Martin
Keighley/Warren Marston) finished 5th; Credit Crunched (Alan King/Sam Thomas)
finished 6th in the Handicap Hurdle (13 ran). Ikorodo Road (Martin
Keighley/Johnny Farrelly) started as favourite but
fell at the 1st fence in the Greatwood Gold Cup
Handicap Chase (15 ran). I can’t
believe the horse can be so unlucky; but at least he was fine after the
mishap. Ravatree (Alan King/Sam
Thomas) finished 6th in the Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Medinas (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) won the Standard Open NH Flat Race (8 ran). Medinas is a ‘tiddler’ but beat his bigger rivals. No riding
engagements for Choc tomorrow; although racing will be taking place at
Huntingdon. I think I
shall watch the premier of the film ‘Taken’,
which is being shown on Channel 4 starting at 21:00 tonight; when interviewed
by ‘Weekender’, Choc mentioned it
as the last good film he’d watched. No sign yet of the spider ... but the Dyson
vacuum cleaner is still primed and ready for action! |
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Friday 04 March
2011 |
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Today
there were a number of runners of interest, and this is how they fared: Doncaster American Ladie (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) finished 3rd in the
Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Hurdle (12 ran). Hypnotic Gaze (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) won the Claiming Hurdle (7 ran); the yard’s 15th winner of the season. High
Benefit (Alan King/Choc) finished 4th & Persian Forest (Alan King/Jimmy
McCarthy) finished 8th in the Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran). Balerina (Alan King/Choc)
finished 3rd in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Enfant De
Lune (Alan King/Choc) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase (8 ran). Busby
Berkeley (Martin Keighley/Choc) finished 10th in the Standard Open NH Flat
Race (13 ran). Newbury Soir D’Estruval
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) fell at the last; Lariat Sam (Alan King/Sam
Thomas) finished 6th; Shrewd Investment (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty)
unseated two out in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (13 ran). Tomorrow,
Alan King and Martin Keighley have a number of runners: Doncaster 14:10
Awesome Freddie (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle 15:50 Lidar (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:25 Next
Man In (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) & Montbazon
(Alan King/Choc) – DBS Spring Sales Bumper (Std Open) 17:00 Lake
Legend (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Chase 17:35
Awesome George (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) – Handicap Chase Kempton Park 14:15 Araldur (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:50
Squadron (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Chase 15:25 Way
Back When (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle 16:35 No
Tears (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase 17:10 Cold
Knight (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Maiden Open NH Flat Race Newbury 13:55 Benbane Head (Martin Keighley/Warren Marston) &
Credit Crunched (Alan King/Sam Thomas) – Handicap Hurdle 15:00 Ikorodo Road (Martin Keighley/Johnny Farrelly)
– Handicap Chase 16:10 Ravatree (Alan King/Sam Thomas) – Novices’ Hurdle 17:20 Medinas (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty)
– Standard Open NH Flat Race Ruby Walsh
returned to action at Newbury today, following his recovery from a broken
leg. More News today
that Diamond Harry has been withdrawn from the Cheltenham Gold Cup due to
lameness. More With Choc
staying ‘up north’ to ride at
Doncaster again tomorrow (he’s obviously got his eyes on the £34,585 prize
for winning the DBS Spring Sales bumper), I won’t be going racing this
weekend after all. But, looking on the
bright side, it will give me the opportunity to ‘re-charge’ my batteries before launching into, possibly, Sandown
Park next Saturday and then all four days of the Cheltenham Festival the
following week. I’ve
completed my Kempton Park diary for last Saturday. Click here to read. I’ve just had a nasty fright ... something caught
my eye ... it was a spider running straight towards me across the
carpet! And I’m sitting on the floor,
as my laptop is on the coffee table.
I’ve jumped out of the way ... but now I don’t know where the horrible
creature has gone to! And yes, I did
scream!!! However, I’ve now got the
Dyson at the ready, just in case it makes another appearance tonight! |
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Thursday 03
March 2011 |
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Today, Choc
had two riding engagements at Taunton, both for Alan King: Romulus D’Artaix finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (14 ran). Patsy
Finnegan finished 2nd in the Beginners’ Chase (8 ran). Meanwhile,
Martin Keighley had one runner at Ludlow, and the yard is
certainly back with a bang following its recent period on the ‘easy list’: Havingotoscoobydo (Warren Marston) won the NH Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (9 ran); Martin’s
14th winner of the season. Tomorrow there
are a number of runners of interest, both at Doncaster and Newbury: Doncaster 14:10
American Ladie (Alan King/Charlie Huxley) –
Conditional Jockeys’ Novices’ Hurdle 14:45
Hypnotic Gaze (Martin Keighley/Tom Siddall) –
Claiming Hurdle 15:55 High
Benefit (Alan King/Choc) & Persian Forest (Alan King/Jimmy McCarthy) –
Mares’ NH Novices’ Hurdle 16:30 Balerina (Alan King/Choc) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 17:05
Enfant De Lune (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase 17:35
Busby Berkeley (Martin Keighley/Choc) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Newbury 14:55 Soir D’Estruval (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Lariat Sam (Alan King/Sam Thomas) & Shrewd
Investment (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) – NH Novices’
Hurdle The ‘infamous’ Hell’s Bay has been ruled
out of the Jewson Novices’ Chase (and the remainder of the season), due to a
leg injury. More And Jason Maguire’s suspension has been reduced by
one day, enabling him to ride Peddlers Cross in the Champion Hurdle ... More Personally, I think
that the original decision should have stood; not because Jason was awarded
too many or too few days suspension, but because the BHA has now set a
precedent which gives the impression that any jockey might have their ban
reduced, should they appeal, in order to ride in a major race. Sorry Jason, it’s nothing personal. |
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Wednesday 02
March 2011 |
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Alan King
had two runners today: Folkestone Old Benny
(Choc) was pulled up in the Kent National (Handicap Chase) (7 ran). Bangor Kauto The Roc (Ciaran McKee) finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle (6
ran). Tomorrow,
Choc has two riding engagements at Taunton, both for Alan King: 14:20
Romulus D’Artaix – Novices’ Hurdle 14:50
Patsy Finnegan – Beginners’ Chase Meanwhile,
Martin Keighley has one runner at Ludlow: 15:30 Havingotoscoobydo (Warren Marston) – NH Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle Unfortunate
news from the Jonjo O’Neill yard; Festival hope, Backspin, has died from a suspected heart attack. And retired racehorse Hurricane Lamp has been put down at the age of 20. |
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Tuesday 01 March
2011 |
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Alan King
has two runners tomorrow: Folkestone 16:10 Old
Benny (Choc) – Kent National (Handicap Chase) Bangor 16:20 Kauto The Roc (Ciaran McKee) –
Handicap Hurdle I’ve been
looking ahead to next weekend ... and I believe there is a very good chance
that Choc will be at Kempton Park on Saturday. Which can only mean one thing - I’ll be
undertaking another trip to the races!
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