DIARY – AINTREE
FRIDAY 13 APRIL 2012
FESTIVAL DAY 2 – LADIES’ DAY – PART II
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Photocall for winning trainer, jockey and the
‘Barbury Apes’ following Lovcen’s victory in the Grade 1 Sefton
Novices’ Hurdle It
was soon time for the fourth race of the day; the Topham
Chase which is run over the Grand National fences. The start of the race was at the far end of
the home straight, with 2 fences to jump before The Chair.
The
jockeys began to line up behind the tape, walking their horses in slowly ...
however, Wilson Renwick turned his mount, Montoya’s Son, away and then they
were all asked to turn and line up again.
Montoya’s Son appeared a little reluctant but he then trotted forward
and they were off. Little Josh was
amongst the leaders as they cleared the first fence. Matuhi was close
up when he stumbled and unseated his rider here. Massini Sunset,
initially amongst the leaders, wasn’t fluent at the obstacle and soon dropped
towards the rear. Heading
down towards the Chair, the order at the head of affairs was Little Josh, Herecomesthetruth, Aimigayle,
Always Waining, Sunday City, Triangular, Fistral Beach, Apt Approach, Gonebeyondrecall
and Fabalu. Massini Sunset, not enjoying this new experience, dropped
his hind legs in the water. Around
the grandstand turn and crossing the Melling Road,
Sam Twiston-Davies’ mount still led; in rear, Massini Sunset jumped severely to his right and was
pulled up. Douglas Julian made an
error at the ditch. Tartak blundered at the 8th. Rio Gael fell at the 9th when in touch; Gonebeyondrecall made an error here too. Second favourite Triangular was pulled up
before the 10th, Becher’s Brook. Little
Josh led over Becher’s, Sam Twiston-Davies
hailing a cab as he landed. Herecomesthetruth now in second, Always Waining in third.
Little Josh remained two lengths clear to Valentine’s Brook; Gonebeyondrecall fell here. The Richard Johnson ridden Chance Du Roy
had made headway through the field since the Canal Turn and took the lead at
the open-ditch, the 15th; Little Josh now in second, from Aimigayle,
Always Waining, Fistral
Beach, Herecomesthetruth, Frankie Figg and Tartak. Chance
Du Roy continued to lead the vanguard as the runners crossed back over the Melling Road and headed towards the penultimate fence, from
Aimigayle, Little Josh, Fistral
Beach and Always Waining. Chance
Du Roy, Fistral Beach, Always Waining
and Aimigayle appeared to have the race between
them as they cleared the final two fences; Little Josh having weakened. Tom O’Brien drove his horse to lead before
the elbow and went on to win by 4½ lengths from Chance Du Roy and Fistral Beach. Aimigayle, one paced after the last, completed in 4th. It
was the third year running that Always Waining’s had
won the race. It was a last minute
decision to run in this event rather than in the following day’s Grand
National, despite the horse having qualified for the latter by being within
the top 40 entries. Tom
O’Brien had ridden the horse to win last year, Brian Hughes having triumphed aboard
the horse in 2010. Always Waining was the first horse to win 3 Tophams;
a flat-bred pedigree being by Unfuwain, the horse
comes alive when running over the Grand National course, his form in other
races being very disappointing these days.
And
those which did not finish:
I
returned, via the Derby entrance, to the Winners’ Enclosure to offer applause
as Always Waining arrived back. It was raining no longer; in fact the sun
had reappeared. It
was finally time for Choc’s first ride of the day,
aboard the Alan King trained Lovcen (pronounced Lovchen). On this
occasion I went to find a space beside the main area of the Parade Ring, so
that I could see Choc before he mounted and exited onto the racecourse. The
horses having departed from the Paddock, I took up a position within the
Derby Enclosure, beside the course-side rails. The
start of this race was half way down the home straight, with just over 2
circuits to travel.
Then
they were off; first time. The field
was led away by Catcherinscratcher, Golden Call and
Gullinbursti.
Lovcen was at the rear as the runners
cleared the first; where Poole Master wasn’t fluent. Golden Call then took the advantage as they
headed around the grandstand turn and into the back straight on the first
occasion. Catcherinscratcher
in second, from Netminder, Gullinbursti,
Ballyrock, Forgotten Gold, Cotton Mill, Poole
Master, Fingal Bay, Ipsos
Du Berlais, Knock A Hand, Nagpur, Tap Night, Harry
Topper, Makethemostofnow, Hawkes
Point, Ely Brown, Lovcen and Aikideau. Harry
Topper made errors at the second and third flights; Forgotten Gold not fluent
at the latter. The leader, Golden
Call, fell at the fourth, bringing down Makethemostofnow. Hampered were Fingal
Bay, Gullinbursti and Ballyrock.
Knock A Hand was pulled up. This left Catcherinscratcher in the lead once more. Gullinbursti led
at the next. Lovcen
had improved his position on the inside of the field. Ballyrock dived
at the 6th flight. The
order now was Gullinbursti, Catcherinscratcher,
Netminder, Ballyrock, Fingal Bay, Poole Master, Cotton Mill, Forgotten Gold, Lovcen, Ipsos Du Berlais, Tap Night, Harry Topper, Nagpur, Aikideau, Hawkes Point and Ely
Brown in rear. Fingal
Bay made an error at the 8th, the first in the back straight, as did Ely Brown
in rear. Richard
Johnson’s mount took the lead at the 10th, where Netminder
made an error when weakening, as did Catcherinscratcher. Fingal Bay led
around the far turn from Cotton Mill, Lovcen, Gullinbursti, Tap Night, Ipsos
Du Berlais and Forgotten Gold; these were clear of
the remainder. Poole Master fell three
out. Choc
drove Lovcen to take second position approaching 2
out and was upsides Fingal Bay as they headed for
and jumped the last. It was then a
battle on the run-in; both jockeys going for everything, whilst remaining
within the whip rules! Lovcen eventually got the better of the argument and won
by 1¾ lengths at the line. Cotton Mill completed in 3rd, Ipsos Du Berlais was 4th; the
latter’s jockey, Davy Russell, congratulating Choc with a shake of the hand
as they pulled up after the line. Wicked;
another Grade One winner for Choc!
I
waited for Lovcen to be led back down the course
towards the winning post, before he entered the walkway to be greeted by the
applause of the crowd. On this
occasion I crossed over into the Lord Sefton enclosure
in order to wait beneath the stairways which lead into the stands as Choc
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure along the walkway below. Having taken a photograph, I headed after
him to find a position on the steppings beneath the
Weighing Room. Choc
unsaddled and debriefed connections, the Barbury
Apes, one of whom is Max McNeill, although he was not in attendance
today. He then posed for a photograph
before heading to the scales placed beside the podium to weigh in. Choc handed his saddle to an official for
it to be returned to the Weighing Room; he then waited for his turn to mount
the podium to collect his memento.
Following another photo-call, Choc was interviewed by Tom O’Ryan from Racing UK; the jockey admitting that he’d
been further back in the field than he would have preferred at the off. Having
waited patiently to offer my congratulations to the winning jockey, I soon
had my opportunity. And it didn’t
matter that both his face and silks were a little mud splattered, and I told
him so too! I gave him a peck on the
cheek and a hug too; for today’s Grade 1, yesterday’s Grade 1 and for the
fact that I was almost certain he’d not got a ride in the Grand
National. Bless him. As he headed away from me, I did ask him
about the latter just to check. No, he
hadn’t a ride. “Chepstow?” I asked. “Yes” came his reply. I was disappointed for him and disappointed
for me too. I enjoy horseracing but
it’s not quite the same without him, especially when he’s riding at one
racecourse whilst I’m at another. It
was now time for the sixth race of the day.
Again I returned directly to the area in front of the Earl of Derby
stand to view the race. The
starting gate for this event was part way down the back straight, with one
and three quarter circuits to travel.
Then
they were off; first time. The field
was led away by Cape Dutch from Art Professor, Los Nadis,
Act Of Kalanisi and Attaglance. The
white blazed Los Nadis had taken the lead by the time
the runners cleared the second flight.
He was followed by Dare Me, Act Of Kalanisi,
Cape Dutch, Art Professor, Attaglance, Tour D’Argent, Orsippus, Like
Minded, Bourne, Ski Sunday, Robinson Collonges,
It’s A Gimme, Arthurian Legend, Kilmacowan,
All The Aces, I’m So Lucky, Street Entertainer, Saphir
River, Hazy Tom and Lava Lamp. Around
the far bend and into the home straight on the first occasion, Los Nadis continued to lead from Act Of Kalinisi
and Dare Me. Orsippus
made an error at the 4th. One of the
greys, the Ruby Walsh ridden Robinson Collonges,
was pulled up on the grandstand turn and dismounted. Bourne and Lava Lamp were at the rear of
the field. Heading
out into the country, there was still no change at the head of affairs; Los Nadis leading from Act Of Kalinisi,
Dare Me, Cape Dutch, Tour D’Argent, Art Professor,
Like Minded, It’s A Gimme, Attaglance
and Ski Sunday. Los Nadis retained the lead around the home turn, with many
challengers queuing up behind him. The
runners fanned out across the course approaching three out; to the far side
was It’s A Gimme, Tour D’Argent to his right, Los Nadis
centre course, Cape Dutch to his right and Attaglance
towards the stand-side rails. AP
McCoy’s mount possibly had the advantage as they jumped 2 out but he hit it,
losing momentum. This allowed the
Barry Geraghty ridden Tour D’Argent
to go on. He was soon joined by Attaglance as Cape Dutch and Los Nadis
retreated. The grey Saphir River sneaking into the picture on the
inside. Barry
Geraghty’s mount was a whisker ahead clearing the
last but Attaglance kept on gamely on the run-in to
win by 1¾ lengths. Tour D’Argent finished second, Los Nadis
was 10 lengths back in 3rd, having held on by a neck from Saphir
River. Hazy Tom stayed on to finish
5th. Orsippus
fell 2 out, but was fine. With
Cape Tribulation winning yesterday and Attaglance
today; Malcolm Jefferson had trained his first ever winners at the Aintree
Festival. The horses had completed a
remarkable ‘double double’, having both
won at Cheltenham too. And they had both
carried top weight to victory here at Aintree in very competitive handicaps.
Having
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure via the Sefton
entrance on the previous occasion, I did so again. Once the prizes had been presented I walked
around to the main Parade Ring area to see Choc as he arrived ahead of the
final race of the day. Once he had
been legged up aboard his mount and exited from the Paddock I headed towards
the entrance to the Derby enclosure. It
was then that I heard a commotion on the horse walkway to my right. It was Call Me A Star attempting to burst
out through one of the gates leading onto the concourse. Choc was unseated in the process. Her stable lass had lost control of the
animal, so Choc took over and leant his weight against the mare as she
eagerly forced her way towards the racecourse. Her jockey was then legged up and Call Me A
Star almost bolted out onto the racecourse but Choc remained in control, feet
out of stirrups. Having reached the
all-weather strip running beside the home straight, he put his feet in the
irons and his mount cantered briskly to the start. The
starting gate for this race was in the far corner of the track. The one-eyed As I Am was kept away from the
other runners at the start; as race time approached, they came out onto the
course to join her. [Spookily, as I
was about to write this section of my diary, her trainer/breeder, Don Cantillon was interviewed at Punchestown
by ATR ... his unraced charge, Grand Gesture, then won one of their bumpers
minutes later! And he claimed he took Grand
Gesture to Ireland solely as a companion for As I Am who was due to run in
another bumper the next day!]
Then
they were off; first time. The field
was led away by June French, from Diligent, As I Am, Umadachar,
Missunited, Buxom, Doyly
Carte, Hidden Lite, Rock Me Gently, Sun Lady,
Ginger Fizz, Call Me A Star, Amber Cloud, Dr Machini,
Blase Chevalier, Duchess Theatre, She Will Rock
You, Eleven Fifty Nine, Flementime and Bonny
Burnett. Halfway
down the home straight, Doyle Carte bobbled around as Jason Maguire
restrained her, bumping into She Will Rock You and Blase
Chevalier. Heading away from the
stands, June French still led from Hidden Lite, Umadachar, As I Am, Diligent, Missunited,
Buxom, Rock Me Gently, Ginger Fizz, Doyly Carte,
Sun Lady, Call Me A Star, Dr Machini, Blase Chevalier, Amber Cloud, Duchess Theatre, Eleven
Fifty Nine, Flementime, She Will Rock You and
Bonnie Burnett still in rear. Call
Me A Star was just 5 or 6 lengths off the pace by the end of the back
straight. As I Am went on around the
top bend, from Umadachar, Buxom, Missunited and Call Me A Star. Rachael Green aboard Eleven Fifty Nine had
been tracking Choc. Then, as the
runners splayed out upon entering the home straight, she nipped up the inside
as Choc steered Call Me A Star down the centre of the track. Approaching
the final furlong As I Am wandered towards the stand side under pressure,
Choc switching his mount to the inside.
Umadachar had headed down the far side; with
a clear run, Eleven Fifty Nine to her right hand side had soon got the better
of the former. Call Me A Star stayed
on late under pressure but was held towards the line, Eleven Fifty Nine
winning by 1½ lengths. Umadachar
finished 3rd, As I Am in 4th; the Martin Keighley trained but inexperienced Flementime completed in 6th. Considering
the excitability of his mount today, it was a good result to finish second,
despite starting as the race as favourite.
Once again I returned to the Winners’
Enclosure via the Sefton entrance. Having unsaddled his mount and briefed
connections, I was rewarded with a helmet-less Choc as he weighed in upon the
scales placed beside the podium. Having then left the Winners’
Enclosure, Choc paused on the steps below the Weighing Room to speak with his
parents and their companions before returning to its confines. It was my last view of Choc during this
year’s Festival, and possibly for a few weeks too. L To enable the crowds to disperse
following racing, I waited for a while on the steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure. I then
headed to the ladies loo; there was a queue and, as always at the end of the
day, the state of the toilets was disgusting!
I then set off to walk across the
home straight to catch a bus back to the car park. Fortunately there was no queue and I
arrived back at my vehicle in time to leave at 18:40. There was only a short queue to cross
Anchor Bridge, and I turned left once outside the racecourse, joining a queue
of very slow moving traffic to reach the Ormskirk
Road. Once through the traffic lights
I turned right, headed past Asda in the outside
lane in order to turn right again at the next set of traffic lights; then a
further right turn to commence my drive back down the M57. Further down the motorway I moved
into the inside lane which veered off down the slip-road and onto the
A580. The road is very straight indeed
and, after numerous sets of traffic lights, I arrived at the M6 junction,
passing beneath the motorway and continuing in an easterly direction. I’m sure the speed limit has been increased
on the A580, it now being 60 mph rather than 50 mph. About this time the heavens opened, and it
was pouring with rain as I drove past the Premier Inn at Golborne
and onwards to my chosen Travelodge at Lowton. To reach the hotel I turned right at
the traffic lights onto the B5207, then left at the next set of traffic
lights and took the first left to enter the car park. It was still raining heavily as I parked up
just across the way from the Travelodge.
Next door was a Toby Carvery pub; a number
of vehicles in the car park belonging to their clientele. It was 19:20. I waited for the rain to ease up, and I
waited and waited ... the sky to the west suggested it would stop soon ...
but it didn’t. In fact I waited until
just before 20:00, at which time I decided that I’d have to make a move, the
rain not being quite so heavy now. I put on my jacket and my coat, and
took my suitcase and two of my bags out of the boot too; leaving my shoe bag
in the car. The path to the reception
was just in front of me; when I got there it was unmanned, but a guy soon
appeared to check me in. My room was
on the first floor, at the car park end of the corridor. Doors ... one door to leave reception, a
second to enter the stairwell and a third one to leave it. Then another one or two fire-doors located
along the corridor prior to reaching my room.
That will serve me right for not travelling light!!! It was a struggle. Why is there never a Sherpa when you need
one? My room was at the front of the
Travelodge, overlooking the roof of the Toby Carvery. I couldn’t quite see my car from the
window. It wasn’t as well maintained
as a Premier Inn room but, at the end of a long day, it was a welcome bolt-hole. It was quite chilly, so I turned the
heating on, hung up my coat and jacket, and rummaged in my ‘food bag’ to find something to
eat. A bag of crisps and two hot cross
buns; I wasn’t bothered enough to pay a visit to the Carvery. I turned in at 21:00; watching Have I
Got News For You and Not Going Out on the TV provided. I had dozed off before The Graham Norton
Show, but woke later to switch the TV off.
My alarm had been set for 06:00 in the morning. Hopefully I would enjoy Grand
National Day but, as in 2010, it wouldn’t be quite the same without
Choc. Although, having said that, I do
worry for his safety during the big race ... and during most races for that
matter. *
* * *
* * * As
my diary for this day is rather large, I’ve written two instalments ... Click here to read my Aintree
Diary 13 April 2012 Part I Click here for photos – Races 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 |
