PART I
DIARY – AINTREE FESTIVAL
LADIES’ DAY
FRIDAY 05 APRIL 2013
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Sprinter Sacre returns having won the Grade 1 Melling
Chase After a not so good Cheltenham
Festival this year, with Choc absent due to injury,
three weeks later it was time for me to set off to Aintree’s Grand National
fixture. I was not looking forward to
my trip; as Choc was still out of action having re-broken his upper right arm
on 04 March. I’d
been to the Grand National every year since 2009; attending both the Friday
and the Saturday of the fixture on each occasion. 2013 was intended to be the first time I’d
purchased a ticket for each of the three days, hoping to see more of
Choc. In 2010 and 2012 I’d solely seen
him on Ladies Day, as he hadn’t ridden at Aintree on the Saturday, instead
travelling to Chepstow to ride. This
year I was determined to see him for at least two days, before fate had
intervened. So
I decided to partly cut my losses, before Easter I cancelled my hotel
accommodation for the Thursday evening, but retained Friday night’s booking;
my trip would be two days in duration, as usual. I’d booked Wednesday to Friday as leave
from work but I didn’t change my plans for these. The
2013 Cheltenham Festival had been the coldest that I’d experienced to date,
and I was hoping the weather would improve by Aintree ... but no such
luck. In fact the weekend before
Easter (8 days after the Cheltenham Festival) it had snowed, with the white
stuff settling on the ground too. Race
fixtures were lost, including Newbury’s final National Hunt race day of the
season, and the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster; although the latter was
re-scheduled and subsequently run on Easter Saturday instead. The
writing of my Cheltenham diaries had progressed well this year; I’d taken
time out to visit my friend Denise in Caversham on
Good Friday; we had planned to attend Lambourn’s
Open Day but that was cancelled due to the water-logging of the car
parks. Although, in the event, she’d
succumbed to tonsillitis and a bad foot (possibly a stress fracture according
to her doctor) so I would have had to attend alone had it gone ahead. Denise
has discovered a new hobby – making jewellery using polymer clay. She had attended a course in Henley the
previous Saturday and showed me the items she’d made that day, including
three ‘seaside’ themed
pendants. I admired her handiwork and
she let me chose a pendant to bring home; I strung it on a necklace of glass
beads and have added it to my extensive home-made jewellery collection. It was admired by my manager at work when I
wore it too. I knew exactly what to
buy Denise for her birthday in June. The
remaining three days of the Easter holidays I’d spent working on my diaries
and, by the time I returned to work on the Tuesday ahead of my Aintree trip,
I’d completed Day One and Day Four thereof.
But I was not satisfied to leave it there, so I also spent Tuesday
evening and most of Wednesday writing and successfully completed Day
Two. That left me with solely Day
Three to complete, and I’d already topped and tailed that. I
drove down to the local retail park on Wednesday morning; to buy some last
minute items from Boots, and to see if they had in stock any new bras which I
might like, and which would fit me too!
I found three. I know I’ve put on weight, but I’m sure the size
labelling is getting smaller, because I ended up buying one 38G and two 38GG. I know I carry my excess weight on my
stomach and boobs, but that is ridiculous! Although
I now have a smart-phone (finally!), I’ve retained my old Nokia Pay-As-You-Go
phone too. In recent weeks and months,
I’ve experienced problems charging it; although I think this was just as much
a charger issue as a battery issue because it all seemed to depend upon the
plug socket and the angle at which I rested the phone whilst charging
it! So I ordered a new charger and
battery just days before Aintree, via Amazon; being almost obsolete items,
they cost in total only around £7.00, including postage. Fortunately both of these items arrived
in time for me to take the phone to Aintree, along with my smart-phone. You
will know my mindset when I tell you that I didn’t start packing until
Wednesday, which isn’t like me at all.
And most of my packing was actually done on Thursday. My handbag usually contains everything
including the kitchen sink, as does my trolley suitcase; with items
overflowing into a couple of shopping bags too. I never travel light, even when it’s just for
two days and one night! However this
year there was no change to the contents of my handbag, but there was room in
my suitcase for all but emergency food rations. I
spent Thursday afternoon watching the racing from Aintree on TV and writing
up an extended blog which included a summary of Choc’s
Horse and Hound column, before turning in at 20:15; it took me until after
21:00 to get to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about the long drive
to Liverpool the following morning.
And I almost decided to call off my trip at this point. I
still didn’t settle well, as I woke at 23:45 thinking that it must soon be
time to rise! After little more than
two more hours sleep I woke again; I glanced at the analogue clock convinced
the hands showed it to be 03:00, only to later realise it was only
02:00. Having lain awake for a while I
finally dozed off to sleep again to be woken by my alarm clock at 03:30. Time
for action; I showed, washed and dried my hair before eating a breakfast of Weetabix and two slices of white toast and butter. I then applied my make-up before I got
dressed. My outfit today was a black thermal vest, purple
long-sleeved thermal vest, black long-sleeved thermal vest, cerise
frill-edged cardigan, black plain cardigan, not so new now purple fleece,
purple frill-edged cardigan, black gillet, grey 40
denier tights, brown leggings, long black handkerchief hem skirt, black
engineer boots, socks, black faux sheepskin coat, black/white horse snood and
burgundy M & S scarf. And my Magic
Branches necklace. I then experienced another ‘I don’t want to go’ moment prior to taking my suitcase to the
car! But, regardless of my doubts, I
set off at 05:40. Despite it being April,
the temperature was one degree although, of course, it was early in the
morning. I knew Herts County
Council had decided to switch off the street lighting after midnight in order
to save money but I didn’t realise that this plan included the busy
ring-road; where only road junctions remained lit. It was very eerie driving along the road to
join my route to Harpenden. Having
reached Harpenden, I turned left through the very exclusive West Common area
to arrive at the Redbourn bypass. A right-turn took me to Junction 9 of the
M1 motorway, where I joined the northbound carriageway. Nothing untoward happened during my journey,
apart from a near-miss with an object just north of Luton; I think it was an
early bird which ‘grazed’ the roof
of my car! I tried to keep my speed
down as much as possible, rarely venturing into the outside lane; although
slow lorries overtaking even slower lorries were a little tiresome at
times! As with all my previous trips to Aintree, my
route north took me to Junction 24a, after which I headed westwards along the A50, which bypasses Derby and Uttoxeter to reach Stoke On Trent. Although a dual carriageway, it does provide
a welcome break from the monotony of the motorway. There were still traces of snow banked
against the hedgerows on the stretch of road past Uttoxeter. My journey plan is to be in Stoke at 08:00
and I was only a matter of minutes behind schedule. Having reached the outskirts of the City, the A50
consists of underpasses and numerous slip-roads joining from the left. Eventually a traffic light controlled
junction is met; a right turn would have taken me to the city centre, I chose
to turn left along the A500 which runs down to join the M6 motorway at
junction 15, where I joined the northbound carriageway. There were no traffic problems on this stretch of
the motorway, unlike the delays in 2010, and within the hour I’d crossed the
Mersey bridge. Shortly afterwards I
reached the M62 turning and headed west towards Liverpool. Having left home almost three and a half
hours ago, I was now desperate for a wee!
My last chance before Aintree is the Burtonwood
Services at Junction 8. I also needed
to fill up the car’s petrol tank at some point during my trip and this is the
ideal opportunity. It was 09:00. The Service station is actually located next to
the eastbound carriageway so, to reach it, I had to take the slip-road,
negotiate the roundabout and then head part way down the opposite slip-road
before entering the Welcome Break parking area. My first priority was a trip to the loo, so
I parked up briefly. Having returned to my car, I drove around to the petrol
station to fill my car’s tank, and then returned to the car park once
more. I decided to eat three of the
cheese rolls which I’d brought with me.
At 09:30 I set off once more; rejoining the M62
and heading towards Liverpool. At
Junction 6 I took the slip-road to join the M57 and headed north-westwards to
Aintree. At the end of the motorway I
turned sharp left and drove down the Ormskirk Road,
past the Asda supermarket and under the railway
bridge. At the traffic lights I turned
left, and drove along Aintree Lane to the Steeplechase car park entrance
which, in fact, is the Melling Road which passes
almost immediately over the Anchor Bridge spanning the canal. I waved my parking docket at the stewards
patrolling the entrance and they indicated for me to enter. The Melling Road
bears slightly to the right after the bridge where it crosses the racecourse;
and off to the left is the Steeplechase car park entrance. Cones marked out 3 lanes of queuing
traffic, I chose the right-hand one; however, having waited a few minutes in
the queue, the security staff gestured for me to re-route to the centre lane
to have the contents of my car checked. This year the checks involved examining the
inside of the car, the boot, and under the bonnet. However, the first glitch of the day was
when none of the stewards could fully close the bonnet; the catch just would
not fasten, nor would it open again either.
Having caused a hold-up in the queue, I was then asked to park it over
to the side; someone would come to take a look at it. I was not amused. I waited a few minutes but no-one came to see me,
so I decided I’d move my car to the parking area. I was now fuming. Having examined the bonnet, it appeared
that the plastic catch was stuck behind the grill with no way of opening the
bonnet to release it. Pulling the
lever inside the passenger foot-well had no effect either. I stomped back to the area where the
stewards had been working and asked if someone could help me get the bonnet
closed. Eventually they found a
steward and he accompanied me back to my car. It took the guy around fifteen minutes to fix the
problem; he had to unclip the grill to release the catch, and also manipulate
the metal jaws which hold the bonnet in place once closed. He asked me to try the foot-well lever
again and eventually the bonnet clicked back into place. It would have really hacked me off if I’d
had to call out the RAC to sort it out for me; and my membership premium
would have increased as a result. My
fingers were now a bit oily, so I used some water from an Evian bottle to
clean my hands as best I could.
Fortunately, I’d already put on the extra layers and my coat before
I’d dirtied my fingers. If the stewards wished to also open the car
bonnet the following day I’d have to explain that it was not in my or their
interest to do so because they might not be able to fasten it down
again! Having finally solved the issue, at 10:45 I set
off to the entrance. On the way, I
purchased a race-card - £4.00 today – from one of the girls sitting in the Portakabin beside the roadway in. They didn’t seem to be doing a roaring
trade; probably because they appeared reluctant to open the window due to the
thoroughly raw wind! My ticket (number 001 in the Earl of Derby
Terrace again this year) was scanned, my ‘kitchen
sink’ handbag searched, before I was body scanned too. Having been cleared to enter the racecourse
precincts, I walked across the Melling Road, the
back straight of the park course, then the all-weather gallop to reach one of
the buses which was waiting to take both staff and race-goers to the ‘bus stop’ across from the main
grandstands. It was standing room
only, and one gentleman offered me his seat; I politely declined. Although it was lovely to be asked, when
manners are in such short supply these days! The bus having reached my destination, I alighted
and walked across the green carpet to enter the confines of the grandstands
enclosure. I headed along the
concourse where bookmakers were beginning to set up their pitches, before
showing my badge to gain entry to the adjacent enclosure. I then turned right to pass between the
Queen Mother and Earl of Derby stands, to head towards the rear
concourse. I briefly popped into the
Ladies loo, the one located to the side of the latter stand, to wash the
remaining oil from my hands. Task
completed, I went to sit on one of the empty benches situated along the side
of the rear concourse; my back facing the Parade Ring. It was cold but, fortunately, the sun was
shining. Being Ladies Day, many of the
female attendees were dressed up today; many of them appeared not to have
taken the prevailing weather conditions into consideration when choosing
their outfits. A numberr
weren’t even wearing coats ... I’m not sure that hypothermia is a good
look! Oh well, no sense, no feeling! The most amusing thing was the height of
the girls’ heels, they could barely walk; often their shoes appeared far too
big for them, like a child dressing up in her mother’s foot attire! Perhaps they will grow more sensible with
age ... if they don’t succumb to cirrhosis of the liver in the meantime!!! To the rear of the Winners’ Enclosure, there is a
large screen upon which is broadcast the pre-race entertainment, such as the
Matalan fashion show, and the races during the course of the afternoon. With the Topham
Chase being run today, a recording of the 2010 renewal was played late
morning; it was Always Waining’s first of three
consecutive victories and it was rather sad to hear the names of a number of
his rivals that day – Scotsirish, Dooneys Gate and the grey (roan) Pasco. None of whom are with us today; each having
lost their lives on the racecourse: Scotsirish in
last year’s Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham; Dooneys
Gate at Becher’s Brook in the 2011 Grand National
and Pasco at Newbury in November 2012. I must have been tired, as one of the more senior
guys tasked with picking rubbish up from the concourse spoke to me, asking if
I was dozing off to sleep. I told him
I’d risen early this morning as I had to drive up from near London. “A Cockney?” he asked. “No, not quite, from Hertfordshire”, I
replied. People often think my local
accent is London ... but I was born and bred in St Albans; although it is
only a mere 21 miles from the centre of the Capital city (distances being
measured from Charing Cross). I remained sitting on the bench until I decided
to head to the Earl of Derby Terrace; it was prior to any of the competitors
arriving in the Parade Ring before the first race. The terrace was almost deserted so, as is
my preference, I climbed to the top of the steppings
to reach a vantage point around one third of the way along the top step. I would remain here until the fourth race
of the day, the Topham Chase, had been completed. Whilst I was waiting for the first race of the
day to begin, I noticed Harry Derham return from
walking the course with Tom Garner; the latter currently on the sidelines due
to a broken left collarbone, a blue sling telling the tale of his recent Haydock Park accident when, short of room, his mount had
fallen on the far turn. They were
accompanied by a third young jockey but I couldn’t put a name to him! The starting gate for the first
race was at the far corner of the track, the horses initially heading along a
short stretch of the course before turning into the home straight with that
and one full circuit to travel. The
favourite for this race was the Cheltenham Supreme Novices’ Hurdle runner-up,
My Tent Or Yours.
Then
they were off. The small field was led
away by the outsider Brick Red, from Forgotten Voice, My Tent Or Yours and
Zuider Zee. Having negotiated the turn
into the home straight on the first occasion, the horses headed over the
first flight, where My Tent Or Yours slightly skewed in the air. The first two were the most fluent over the
next hurdle, AP McCoy’s mount less fluent once again; and he rapped the top
of the third flight too. The
horses were taking closer order as they approached the grandstand turn and
galloped out into the country for the one and only time; Brick Red still led
from Forgotten Voice, My Tent Or Yours and Zuider Zee. The first three cleared the next flight
safely, but Denis O’Regan’s mount blundered, the
horse’s nose almost hitting the turf and unbalancing the rider for a few
strides after too. The four horses
continued towards the next. Zuider
Zee dived at this flight too, the orange protector strip dislodged from the
hurdle panel as a result. The leader
rapped the top of the next but it did not affect his momentum; the other
three cleared it without a hitch. The
runners then headed into the far turn, in Indian file. My Tent Or Yours cruised up on the outside,
overtaking Forgotten Voice as they exited the bend; Zuider Zee in danger of
losing touch in rear. AP’s
mount was upsides the long-time leader as they jumped three out; Brick Red
making at error at this flight. My
Tent Or Yours cruised into a two or three lengths lead as the field headed
towards the penultimate flight, although he stuttered slightly before
take-off. Forgotten Voice was now in
second position, and jumped the hurdle more fluently. In third position, a tired Brick Red made a
blunder and Zuider Zee jumped out to his left. My
Tent Or Yours extended his lead heading towards the last, cleared it safely
and galloped on to win by 16 lengths at the line. Forgotten Voice blundered at the final
flight but retained his partnership with Barry Geraghty
to claim 2nd, Zuider Zee kept on to claim 3rd, with Brick Red in 4th. A first and second place for trainer Nicky
Henderson.
As
mentioned earlier, I remained upon the Earl of Derby terrace after the race,
rather than return to the Winners’ Enclosure area to the see the placed horses
arrive back. The
starting gate for the next race was at the far end of the home straight, with
that and two full circuits to travel.
Another small field, but not as small as that contesting the first
race! The favourite for this event was
the David Pipe-trained grey Dynaste. Donald McCain trainer of Super Duty was in
attendance today, but was on crutches having suffered a mishap at home.
Then
they were off. The runners were led
away by Super Duty, almost upsides to his outside clearing the first fence
was Rocky Creek, then the nose-banded Third Intention, Irish raider Sea Of
Thunder, Dynaste and visor-wearing Vino Griego. The second fence was an open-ditch, Rocky
Creek taking off slightly early and having to reach for it, but encountering
no problem as a result. The
runners continued to head down the home straight and cleared the third fence
without problem. It was two by two
having passed the winning post on the first occasion; Rocky Creek to the
outside of Super Duty, Sea Of Thunder to the outside of Third Intention, and Dynaste to the outside of Vino Griego. The horses
then headed away from the grandstand area and out into the country. Super
Duty held a one length advantage over Rocky Creek as they cleared the first
in the back straight, Third Intention was close behind, with Dynaste having improved his position, in fourth. Vino Griego was in fifth position, with Sea Of Thunder now
losing ground on the leaders; his jockey Barry Geraghty
already animated and riding him along. The
runners cleared the next fence; again Sea Of Thunder jumped it slowly in
rear. The following obstacle was an
open-ditch, the five leaders travelling comfortably as a group led by Super
Duty and Rocky Creek; Barry Geraghty gave his mount
a slap down its neck upon landing but then decided to pull up before the
next. The
horses travelled around the top turn, clearing the cross-fence en route;
Super Duty led the way, with Third Intention jumping up into second position,
Rocky Creek now in third, with Dynaste and Vino Griego close on their
heels. One circuit had now been
completed. The
runners headed down the home straight for the penultimate time. The Tizzard
representative, Third Intention, jumped into the lead over the middle fence
in the line, the open-ditch; Joe restraining him once more as they headed to
the next, thus permitting Super Duty to go on again. Having cleared the next, the field headed
around the grandstand turn once more, the Donald McCain-trained runner at the
head of affairs, from Third Intention, Rocky Creek, Vino
Griego and Dynaste. As
they galloped away from the stands, Super Duty received a backhander from his
jockey, Jason Maguire, but he retained his lead as the runners headed up the
back straight for the final time. On
the hurdles course, Barry Geraghty could be seen
trotting Sea Of Thunder, then walking as the runners passed by, then trotting
again as he returned to the stables in the opposite direction. By
the time the remaining runners had reached mid-way in the back straight, both
Jason Maguire and Jamie Moore aboard Vino Griego were becoming animated as they began to push their
mounts along. The former urged his
mount to jump the open-ditch and Super Duty reached for and dived over
it. Third Intention was cruising to
the long-time leader’s outside, with Dynaste also going well just behind these. Heading
into the far turn, Ruby Walsh pushed his mount to take closer order and was
soon upsides Third Intention. Another
reminder for Super Duty as they galloped towards the cross-fence; Rocky Creek
lost ground in the air at this one, with Ruby pushing him back up into
contention as they entered the home straight with just three more fences to
jump. Third
Intention jumped into the lead over the third last; he was still on the bit
at this stage. Clearing the
open-ditch, Dynaste loomed up on his outside to
take second position as Super Duty began to fade; Rocky Creek was in fourth
with Vino Griego now in
rear. Joe
gave his mount a couple of slaps down the neck as they headed for the final
obstacle, but Dynaste had him covered and cruised
alongside before they reached it. The
grey was half a length up as they took off and cleared it with more fluency
than his rival; he then pulled away on the run-in to win by 6 lengths at the
line. Dynaste’s jockey, Tom Scudamore, had glanced behind as he approached the
winning post, to check there were no dangers; he then stood up in his irons
to salute with his whip as he crossed the line. I think he was happy! Third
Intention completed in 2nd, with Rocky Creek 18 lengths back in 3rd, Super
Duty 4th and Vino Griego
last of the five finishers.
NEWS FROM
THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING THE RACE:
Again
I remained standing on the Earl Of Derby terrace after the race, rather than
return to the Winners’ Enclosure area to the see the placed horses arrive
back. It was now time for today’s star attraction,
Sprinter Sacre, to make his appearance; that’s most
race-goers’ star attraction, not my particular star attraction today, Walkon, who would be running in race four, the Topham Chase! I
prefer my horses to be ‘tryers’ who do
their best and hopefully win sometimes, rather than almost perfect
superstars! Also taking part in the next race was Cue Card,
winner of this year’s Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) at
the Cheltenham Festival. Finian’s Rainbow, winner of last year’s Queen Mother
Champion Chase (Grade 1) and this same race in 2012. And one of Ireland’s star chasers, Flemenstar. Making
up the numbers were For Non Stop, winner of the Old Roan Chase over course
and distance and Mad Moose ... with emphasis on the ‘mad’ unfortunately! With Barry Geraghty
taking the mount aboard Sprinter Sacre, AP McCoy
was riding the other Nicky Henderson representative Finian’s
Rainbow. Sprinter Sacre was
attempting two and a half miles over fences for the first time, but his
pedigree suggested that he’d stay today’s distance, if not further. He started as the red-hot favourite, at odds
of 1-3. Being a Grade 1 race, this was the feature event
of the day. Therefore having exited
onto the racecourse, the runners were paraded in front of the stands before
they headed to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back
straight.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by the front-running Cue Card, from Flemenstar,
Sprinter Sacre, Finian’s Rainbow
and For Non Stop. Now wise to the
game, Mad Moose planted himself at the start and refused to race; he’d done
it a couple of times this season already.
Sam Twiston-Davies cantered him back to the ‘stable’ exit to leave the track. The five remaining runners continued on
their journey along the back straight.
The
horses cleared the fences with speed and accuracy; Cue Card reaching to clear
the first open-ditch. Having jumped
this fence, Noel Fehily in fifth place aboard For
Non Stop glanced under his right arm to see whether there was a runner behind
him. Er ...
no, Mad Moose was taking an early bath!
Cue
Card led the runners into the far bend, Flemenstar
just a length behind, with Finian’s Rainbow
matching strides to the inside of Sprinter Sacre a
length further back; For Non Stop was three lengths behind the others. There
were no problems in the jumping department as the runners headed over the
cross-fence; they then turned into the home straight on the first
occasion. Ears pricked, Cue Card got a
little close to the sixth fence which checked his momentum slightly, after
which Flemenstar took a narrow advantage over the
next, an open-ditch. The Irish raider
remained half a length up as they jumped the fence in front of the stands and
headed towards the lollipop with one circuit still to travel. Having
retained the inside berth, Cue Card went on again as the runners travelled
around the grandstand bend and set off into the country once more. On the outside of the field, Sprinter Sacre cruised up to the quarters of Flemenstar
as they jumped the first in the back straight; Finian’s
Rainbow blundered here. Flemenstar led over the next. For Non Stop was now detached and
struggling in rear. Cue
Card and Flemenstar disputed the lead over the open-ditch;
Finian’s Rainbow then cruised up between them as
they jumped the fourth and final obstacle in the back straight; Sprinter Sacre was a length down in fourth. AP McCoy sent his mount into the lead
heading into the far turn and he jumped the cross-fence with a slight
advantage. But
Joe Tizzard drove Cue Card to the front once more
as they entered the home straight and set off for home. Sprinter Sacre
followed him through and was upsides Finian’s
Rainbow as they cleared three out; the latter sent pieces of birch
flying. Barry Geraghty
had yet to move a muscle as they approached the open-ditch and he cruised
alongside Cue Card as they cleared it; Finian’s
Rainbow was now struggling in third. Sprinter
Sacre then sailed into a clear lead as he galloped
to the final fence and flew the jump 4 lengths ahead of his nearest
rival. Barry Geraghty
glanced beneath his right arm a couple of times to check for dangers on the
run-in and, there being none, was able to ease his mount, winning by 4½
lengths at the line. Cue Card
completed in 2nd, with Flemenstar keeping on to
take 3rd, Finian’s Rainbow 4th and For Non Stop
5th.
NEWS FROM
THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING THE RACE: The Stewards held an
enquiry following a report from the Starter that MAD MOOSE (IRE), ridden by
Sam Twiston-Davies and trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies had refused to race. They interviewed the
rider, the trainer and the Starter. Having heard their evidence and viewed
recordings of the start the Stewards informed the trainer that future similar
behaviour may result in the gelding being reported to the British Horseracing
Authority. WHY THEY RAN
BADLY I
remained upon the terrace of the Earl Of Derby stand ahead of the next race,
the Topham Chase over the Grand National fences. That’s
it for Part One of my Ladies Day diary ... |
