PART I
DIARY – AINTREE FESTIVAL
GRAND OPENING DAY
THURSDAY 09 APRIL 2015
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Silviniaco Conti is led out to the racecourse ahead of the Grade 1 Bowl Chase With no fixtures to attend
between the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals this year, and the extended
Easter break ... plus an additional week because of the latter, I was able to
complete all the outstanding work on my website, apart from my Day 4
Cheltenham diary; I saved that task for my ‘summer’ break. I was pretty laidback regarding
my packing this year, although it took me ages to decide which outfits to
wear; two or three weeks of scribbling ideas in my notebook produced a
shortlist, with the usual last minute swapping of coats and jackets and
scarves. The outerwear situation is
very much dependent on the latest weather forecast and the forecasters change
their mind all the time; they have too much technology now. I’d hoped the weather would be
warmish so, as a result I took two suit-style jackets – one blue, one black,
my mauve BHS winter-weight jacket and my bargain black BHS coat; the latter
hadn’t had an outing since my last visit to Aintree. The mauve jacket and black coat are huge – size
22 in fact; because I need to be able to wear many layers underneath during
the winter months ... and still button them up around my boobs! Having said that, I can never fit into
anything smaller than a stretchy size 18 top anyway! As always there were the last
minute shopping trips – the first happened on Bank Holiday Monday to M &
S; I was going to walk the 6-mile round trip but didn’t have the time
available! I purchased a number of
pairs of tights; why don’t M & S stock more larger sized pairs so that
they have an around the year supply of 40 denier triple set purple/black/grey
ones? In the autumn I shall have to
splash out on a number of packs to ensure I have enough purple tights to last
me into next Spring. Although I wish
they manufactured triple sets of purple/purple/purple! But they are canny, because they know that
people love their purple tights and will buy more packs than they need just
to obtain these. I used to hate the
grey ones, saving them for work; but I quite like them now. I also bought a pair of almost
flat peep-toe shoes in neon blue, just in case I wanted to wear them with my
outfit on Thursday; higher heels would have been nice, but you can’t have
everything. Also a black shapewear ‘wear your own bra’ undergarment ...
well you have to sometimes don’t you?
High leg, not thigh clinchers – I don’t need the latter, as my thighs
and arse are pretty tight due to the walking I do! I carry my weight on my stomach and boobs,
although I understand that is not as healthy as carrying it on your bottom
and thighs. I also popped into Boots to buy
a toothbrush, deodorant, Simple facial wash cloths, eye make-up remover and
shower gel. My packing began on Monday and I
worked on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday
morning, which was the first day of my leave, I paid another visit to M &
S, this time to stock up on footsies; they stock some excellent low-cut
non-slip ones. I bought one navy blue
pair and two natural coloured pairs.
The previous week I’d also paid a visit to Iceland, the shop not the
country, to buy some sweets and breakfast biscuits amongst other things; my
emergency Aintree food stash. I set up my Sky planner
recordings on Wednesday afternoon and put a number of packed items in my
car. I need to allow at least two
hours to get ready, so I set my alarm clock for early Thursday morning; it
sounded at approximately 03:05, slightly earlier than expected. I’d turned in at 20:30 on Wednesday and
believe I was asleep by 21:00. I showered and washed and dried
my hair; ate a breakfast of two Weetabix, plus raisins, blueberries and
banana, also two slices of buttered toast, but I didn’t eat all of the
latter. I applied my make-up and then
ran through my written checklist for the final time to ensure I’d not
forgotten anything; this included packing my hairdryer and alarm clock. Today’s outfit was a neon-blue M
& S Autograph top, flowered pink/blue/white skirt, my much-worn
cerise-pink M & S frill-edged cardigan, blue Per Una suit-style jacket
and pink Per Una ‘geese’
scarf. I chose to wear my pale pink Hotter
‘Clarissa’ style shoes. My kitchen-sink handbag was the
burgundy/brown/pink Next one; I wore my oblong Fired Creations
cerise/turquoise/bronze pendant, plus earrings; I’d wear the same jewellery
every day. But no thermal vests! Today’s temperatures were forecast to be
high teens. |
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Fired Creations jewellery (they are not a set but look great together) |
M & S skirt |
Cerise M & S frill-edged cardigan |
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M & S Per Una jacket |
M & S Autograph top |
Today’s scarf was the pink Per Una ‘geese’
scarf on the left |
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I wore my
pale pink Hotter ‘Clarissa’ style shoes
today (right) |
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Having packed the remainder of my belongings into
the car, I set off at precisely the time I’d planned, namely 05:30. My route took me to Harpenden, where I turned
left through the very exclusive West Common area to arrive at the Redbourn bypass. A
right-turn enabled me to reach Junction 9 of the M1 motorway, where I joined
the northbound carriageway. The journey on the M1 north-westwards went
smoothly, apart from extended road-works between the Northampton turning and
the M6 junction. The outside lanes in
both directions were being used by construction traffic, although it was too
early in the morning for them to be on duty.
It appeared that the central barrier was being replaced by a concrete
one; as a result the hard-shoulder had become the inside lane, with a 50 mph
limit being imposed for safety reasons.
Lorries overtaking each other can be very
tiresome at times; as many drivers decide to change lane with no concern to
those vehicles overtaking them, and then they take miles ... and miles ...
and miles to overtake other heavy vehicles which are travelling just a
fraction slower than they are! But
today the lorry situation wasn’t as bad as has been noted in the past. As with all my previous trips to Aintree, my
route north took me to Junction 23a, 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. My usual journey plan is to
be at Stoke by 08:00 latest and I was; this year the traffic was moving smoothly
on the underpass stretch of the road – presumably lighter traffic conditions
due to it being within school holiday time. Upon reaching the traffic light controlled
junction close to the city centre, I turned 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 and within the hour
I’d crossed the Mersey bridge. There
was a slight glitch just before the M62 turning, when a car just a few
vehicles in front of mine was shunted in the rear and had to pull over onto
the hard shoulder. I didn’t actually
see it happen, as the large lorry travelling immediately ahead of me
obstructed the view; luckily I managed to avoid pieces of resultant debris on
the road. Having reached the M62 turning I took the
westbound carriageway towards Liverpool.
Having been let down by my memory at this stage of the journey last year,
I’d checked my road atlas the previous day to remind myself which junction to
use for the Burtonwood Services. I needed to use the second junction I
encountered, namely number 8; it’s not particularly well-signposted. 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. There is a large industrial development being
built on either side of the motorway at this junction at the present
time. My first task was a visit to the
loo; I’m always desperate following a long early-morning journey! I forget that not only have I drunk half a
cup of tea, but also had Alpro with my cereal! The loo doors don’t actually fasten, but I
now think this is deliberate – perhaps punters have been misusing the
facility. I
then drove to the far side of the Service Station, beyond the lorry park, to
fill up the car’s petrol tank; I had to reverse into the space beside the
pump as there was a car already parked at the rear one. The petrol cost £22.40. I spilt a little bit of fuel down the side
of the car too so, having returned to the car park area, I cleaned that off
with water from one of the bottles I had in the car, disposed of the dirty
tissue in a nearby bin and then went to wash my hands again before eating two
cheese rolls. I waited until 09:40
before returning to the motorway and continuing my journey westwards to join
the M57. As
always, I had booked to park within the Steeplechase Car Park and arrived
there just after 10:00. I waved my
ticket and parking docket at the stewards manning the Anchor Bridge entrance;
one steward said something as I drove past, which I didn’t quite catch at the
time. My later interpretation was I
needed to display my parking docket on the rear-view mirror prior to
entry. Having
arranged for the catch on my car’s bonnet to be fixed last year, following
problems at Aintree during the previous two visits, I was confident that
there would not be a problem when security checked inside it. So I couldn’t believe it when the bonnet
refused to close yet again. The stewards
couldn’t fully close it, nor could I.
Everything comes in threes they say.
I pulled over to the left-hand side of the driveway whilst I decided
what action to take. I
had arranged to meet up with fellow Choc fan Sandra Stewart for the duration
of the Festival and she was waiting within the same car park for me to
arrive; she’d rung when I was waiting in the queue to be checked by security
so, when I didn’t materialise, she came to find me. There was no option but to call the RAC. The
RAC operations centre told me 20 minutes but it was longer than that,
presumably due to weight of traffic around the racecourse and the fact that
security wouldn’t let him in initially, until they’d got the go-ahead from a
steward working inside the Steeplechase car park. The RAC man had initially told me there
wouldn’t be a problem because he often had to enter restricted areas when
called out to fix car problems during events.
Upon
examination the catch was found to be working fine, and there was no damage
to the bonnet which sometimes causes such problems after an accident. The eventual solution was to remove two
rubber stoppers from the frame surrounding the engine and it finally
closed. They are not vital, but allow
the bonnet to sit at exactly the right level in relation to the wings. The RAC man could not explain it ... but my
theory is that, having travelled 200 miles, the frame had expanded slightly
due to the engine heat and the rubber stoppers were now higher than when
cold. So
it’s impossible for the problem to be recreated when the mechanics have been
asked to fix it; the dealership is around half a mile away from my home, so
the engine would never ever be hot enough!
And, going forward, what is the solution to my ongoing Aintree
problem? Perhaps I have to travel up
the day prior to my first attendance day, in order to give the engine time to
cool down and the frame to contract as necessary. By this time my hands were covered in oil,
as was the front of the car bonnet.
Thank goodness I still had that bottle of water available inside the
car. The
only advantage to running late was the fact that the only parking spaces now
available were close to the entry point, although I had to drive to the far
end of the driveway before turning right and right again to drive along the
grass to reach it. Sandra had
accompanied me in the car, rather than wait at the Melling
Road entry gate. With tickets scanned,
our handbags searched and our bodies scanned too, we were permitted to cross
the Melling Road to catch a bus to take us to the
grandstands-side of the racecourse. So,
all in all, it took until 11:30 (90 minutes) for us to be fully cleared by
the Aintree security and arrive within the grandstand enclosures! Ridiculous ... and too late to contemplate
walking the course today. This being
the case, I’d worn my pale-pink Hotter shoes with heels, as opposed to
wearing my driving moccasins or flattish neon-blue peep-toe shoes with a
change of shoes for later. Upon
entering the main concourse we were greeted by the sight of two miniature
versions of the Falkirk Kelpies;
close by was a large board for punters to write their farewell messages for
AP McCoy upon. Having eventually found
a kiosk selling race-cards, we then went to the loo before heading to the steppings to await today’s pre-race entertainment. By this stage of the day my hands were
feeling dry and itchy; the harsh properties of the washing products I’d used
today were taking their toll.
Fortunately I had my L’Oreal eye cream in my bag, so I applied that to
the back of my hands and it did the trick.
AP
McCoy and the late Toby Balding were inducted into the Hall of Fame today;
the latter was represented by brother Ian.
To commemorate this, plaques were affixed to the outside wall of the
old Weighing Room. The
Parade of Retrained Racehorses began at 12:55; ten of the 11 advertised
horses turned-up, Grands Crus
being the exception. Number 1 in the
parade was Comply Or Die, Grand National winner in 2008 when ridden by Timmy
Murphy; he still hunts regularly and rider Verity Green (no longer Verity
Murphy we noted) introduced him to dressage last year and qualified for the RoR dressage finals.
His training continues and she hopes to move up a level. Grand
Crus would have been number 2 so, taking this into
account, wearing the Number 3 saddlecloth was a horse aptly named Liverpool
who had run under rules and also in point-to-points. In winter he hunts and
in summer he takes part in showing competitions. Number
4 in the line-up was the crazy Mad Moose!
Although he hated racing, he enjoys hunting during the winter. This summer his rider, Sophie Burkin, hopes to begin retraining him so that he can take
part in RoR showing classes and dressage. With the agreement of the horse I presume! Number
5 was 5-time Cheltenham winner Midnight Chase, who retired from racing in
2013. He is now looked after by
owner’s daughter Sally Hayward. He’s
been hunting, and taking part in dressage and showing and last September he
completed his first British Eventing competition.
It is planned that he will continue eventing and
also hunt regularly because his rider has been appointed field master. Number
6 was the ever-popular grey Monet’s Garden, who won Aintree’s Old Roan Chase
on three occasions and also the Melling Chase. Under the care of trainer’s daughter Jo
Richards, he has returned to health following a life-threatening illness and
now takes part in showing competitions.
Number
7 was Monkerhostin, formerly trained by Philip
Hobbs; he won Cheltenham Festival’s Coral Cup and also Sandown’s Bet365 Gold Cup
during his distinguished career. He is
now looked after by George and Debbie Beilby, and
hunts regularly, has been trail hunting and takes part in fun rides. He also acts as a lead horse for their
children’s ponies. ‘Monkey’ has helped Afghanistan veteran
George with his rehabilitation too. Number
8 was Peopleton Brook, who is now ridden
Western-style and helps rehabilitate wounded veterans. He was the first former racehorse to join HorseBack UK, a charity that provides equine therapy to
help veterans and serving soldiers overcome mental and physical injuries and
trauma received in the line of duty. Number
9 was Scots Grey, who has been enjoying Team Chasing with Emma Burton. Formally trained by Nicky Henderson, the
horse has also been seen in the show ring. Number
10 was Sonevafushi.
He ran over the Grand National course four times, three times in the
Fox Hunters and once in the Grand National.
Samantha Coward takes him hunting regularly during the winter, and in
the summer he enjoys breaks in the field and a bit of hacking. And
finally, Number 11 was Whatcanyasay. He was originally under the care of Robyn
Gray and was the inaugural winner of the RoR Horse
of the Year award. He’s taken part in
showing classes and pony club events. Whatcanyasay has recently moved to former jockey Brian
Storey and his wife Jackie and will continue with his showing and there are
plans to begin dressage to music also.
There
were a number of changes this year with regards to the races. The Manifesto Novices’ Chase was last
year’s sixth race on day one, now it was the first. The same occurred on Friday; this time the
Handicap Hurdle was moved from race 6 to the top of the card. Also, the bumper races were swapped, with
the Open race now run on Friday and the Mares’ race run on Saturday. The only other change I can remember in
recent years was the Liverpool Hurdle and Aintree Hurdle being swapped. There was also a punters panel
competition ahead of racing, with three well-known racing pundits giving
their selections for the day – these included Dave Yates and the
expectant-mother Zoey Bird. With the start of racing now
imminent, we went to find our preferred vantage point within the Earl of
Derby enclosure before any of the horses began to leave the Paddock. The favourite for the first race
of the Festival was the Nicky Henderson-trained Josses Hill, ridden by Nico
de Boinville; price 13-8. The winner
of last year’s renewal was the Alan King-trained Uxizandre. Having exited onto the racecourse, the runners headed
to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back straight.
Then they were off. Josses Hill led the runners towards the
first fence, however he stuttered into it and Cash And Go jumped into the
lead as a result, despite jumping out to his right in the process. Clarcam also
overtook the Nicky Henderson runner in mid-air. Vibrato Valtat
disputed fifth with Val De Law; bringing up the rear, Three Kingdoms was very
slow and soon trailed the field by three lengths. Josses Hill retook the lead heading to the next
and he jumped out to his right over this one, pushing Clarcam
out wide too. The next was the first
open-ditch and again the leader jumped out to his right; this had a knock-on
effect with the Gigginstown runner once more, also
Cash And Go and Val De Law. Meanwhile,
to the inside, the Vibrato Valtat and Three
Kingdoms ploughed a far straighter course.
Exactly the same thing happened at the fourth,
after which Ruby Walsh decided he’d had enough of the interference and he
encouraged his mount to take the lead.
Thus heading into the top bend, Clarcam led,
from Josses Hill, disputing third place were Vibrato Valtat,
Val De Law and Cash And Go, with Three Kingdoms still three lengths adrift at
the rear of the field. The next obstacle was the cross-fence and Three
Kingdoms made a terrible blunder at this one; AP McCoy was shot up onto the
horse’s neck but, fortunately, soon regained his balance and continued to
dispute last place with Cash And Go. Clarcam continued at the head of affairs as they headed
into the home straight for the first time; again AP’s mount was less than
fluent as he cleared the next. The following fence was the second open-ditch and
all six cleared this without any issues.
The runners then headed across the Grand National course to reach
fence number eight which, once again, they all cleared well; Cash And Go had
been relegated to last place by this stage. The Gigginstown
runner continued to bowl along at the head of affairs, ears pricked, as they
passed the winning post with one circuit now to travel. Thus
heading around the grandstand turn and into the back straight having
completed one circuit, the field was led by Clarcam. He was closely pursued by Josses Hill,
Vibrato Valtat and Val De Law; there was then a
four length gap to Three Kingdoms and a further two lengths away at the rear
of the field travelled Cash And Go.
There was a casualty at the next fence, when the latter blundered and
unseated Liam Treadwell. Clarcam continued to
lead, narrowly, as they cleared fence number ten without incident. The following obstacle was the penultimate
open-ditch, where all bar Three Kingdoms jumped out to their right; most
noticeably Josses Hill and Val De Law plus the loose horse to the outside of
the field. The runners then traversed
the pathway to approach the final fence in the back straight. Again they all displayed a slight tendency
to jump to their right, apart from Three Kingdoms. The herd follow- the-leader instinct no
doubt. Vibrato Valtat
made a small error here. The
five runners then headed into the far turn still led by Clarcam
and they were closely grouped. They
cleared the cross-fence where, at the rear of the field, Three Kingdoms was
not as fluent as his rivals and he was soon being ridden along. The Gordon Elliott-trained runner remained
ahead of his rivals as they cleared the third last, with Josses Hill still in
second position despite Nico de Boinville
now becoming animated aboard his mount.
Having
reached the final open-ditch, Josses Hill jumped away to his right once more
and gave away further ground; he then veered off to the right, despite a
right-hand drive from his jockey. In
the meantime both Vibrato Valtat and Val De Law
travelled past him in their pursuit of the leader. Ruby began to ride his
mount for the first time as they approached the final fence, with the grey
now getting the better of the Jamie Snowden runner. Clarcam was steadied to
jump the last but Vibrato Valtat was unable to
close the gap as they headed to the line; Clarcam
won by 4 lengths. Val De Law blundered
at the last but held off a renewed challenge from Josses Hill as the winning
post approached. The distance between
the second and third was 7 lengths, and between third and fourth three
quarters of a length. Val De Law picked up a tendon injury during the
race and, as a result, spent the next season on the side-lines. The horse is in the same ownership as
Cheltenham Festival winner Present View – sadly the latter was put to sleep
as a result of a serious tendon injury incurred at Kempton Park in the Spring
of 2016.
We
decided not to return to the stepping above the Winners’ Enclosure following
the race. Race 1 - 1:40pm THE ONE MAGNIFICENT CITY MANIFESTO NOVICES' STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1)
(Grade 1) The Stewards considered the apparent improvement in form of the
winner, CLARCAM (FR), ridden by R. Walsh and trained by Gordon Elliott,
compared with its previous run at Cheltenham on 10 March 2015, where the
gelding finished eighth of eleven, beaten by 31½ lengths. They noted that the
trainer could offer no explanation for CLARCAM (FR)’s poor run at Cheltenham
but he appeared to have travelled better throughout this race. They ordered
the gelding to be routine tested. The favourite for the next race was Hargam, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by AP
McCoy; price 4-6. Alan King had a
runner in this race, namely Winner Massagot who
sported the green and red Masterson Holdings silks and was ridden by Wayne
Hutchinson. And talk about head-gear; Starchitect was wearing blinkers, and All Yours, Bouvreuil, Hostile Fire and Stars Over The Sea all wore
hoods! The starting gate for this 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. Having
been circling to the inside of the track once their girths had been checked,
the runners were called out onto the course and instructed to head away from
the starting gate before turning and approaching the tape which had now been
strung across the course.
Then they were off. The runners were led away from Ruby Walsh
aboard the Donald McCain-trained Starchitect. Close up to his outside was Hostile Fire,
to his inner Bouvreuil. In fourth position initially, Stars Over
the Sea was very keen; but jockey Tom Scudamore had
managed to rein his mount back by the time they turned into the home straight
for the first time. Travelling in
mid-field were Devilment, the grey Hargam and the
filly Intense Tango; at the rear All Yours, the second grey Bristol De Mai
and Winner Massagot. Starchitect
and Hostile Fire had pulled a number of lengths clear of the remainder as
they headed over the first flight; Bouvreuil
blundered at this obstacle. Ruby’s
mount put in the better leap as they cleared the next and thus held the
slight advantage at this point.
Devilment now led the remainder of the field, and they were five or
six lengths behind the leading duo.
There were no problems encountered at the third flight and Hostile
Fire now took a one length lead as they headed down past the winning post
with one circuit to travel. The main body of runners began to close the gap
as they headed around the grandstand turn; Hostile Fire continued to lead the
way, with Winner Massagot bringing up the
rear. Starchitect
re-joined the leader as they travelled towards flight number four; Ruby’s
mount to the outer, as Davy Condon had taken the inside berth when the
opportunity arose. Bouvreuil
and Devilment disputed second, just a couple of lengths behind the
leaders. There were no noticeable
errors at the flight. The runners continued their journey along the
back straight, with Starchitect going on once more
as they approached the next obstacle.
Stars Over The Sea landed a little awkwardly over this one, and now
disputed last place with Winner Massagot. The field traversed the pathway to reach
the final flight in the back straight where the leader made an error. They then headed into the far turn, with
all ten runners closely grouped. Starchitect continued to lead from Devilment, Hargam, Hostile Fire, Intense Tango, Bouvreuil,
All Yours, Bristol De Mail, Stars Over The Sea and Winner Massagot. Ruby Walsh had changed his whip-hand (from right
to left) just before they headed into the home straight and upon exiting the
bend he began to push his mount along.
The runners cleared the third last, where Starchitect
blundered as Devilment drew alongside him.
The John Ferguson runner took a narrow advantage as they headed to the
penultimate flight; the leading duo were closely pursued by, line across the
track from the outside, Bristol De Mai, Hargam,
Intense Tango, All Yours, Bouvreuil and Hostile
Fire; Stars Over The Sea was only length behind and Winner Massagot just two.
The brace of greys gained ground the quickest as
they continued their journey and were just a length behind Devilment as they
jumped it; Starchitect still narrowly ahead of them
in second. It was still everything to
play for as they headed to the last flight.
Devilment hit it but retained the lead, but Ruby’s mount stepped on
the hurdle and fell; back in the field Winner Massagot
crashed out too. It was a horrible
looking fall for the Alan King runner; he landed on his neck with his
hindquarters in the air before his body fell to the ground with a thud. Meanwhile, Bristol De Mai drew alongside
Devilment, with All Yours looming up to the far-side and just a length behind
them. Having appeared to be the main
danger, the grey soon found himself in third position as Devilment fought
back. However, it was All Yours who
kept on the best under a strong drive from Sam Twiston-Davies
and he claimed the prize by three quarters of a length at the line. Devilment finished half a length ahead of
Bristol De Mai, with Stars Over The Sea a further 3¾ lengths back in 4th;
Intense Tango was just three quarters of a length behind him in 5th, and Hargam a short-head 6th. The good news was that Starchitect
was okay, as was Ruby Walsh who led him back.
And Winner Massagot was fine too ...
although he did return with a clump of grass attached to his forelock! And Wayne was also uninjured. There was an amusing incident after the line when
the winner, who was trotting at the time, stumbled and threw Sam Twiston-Davies over his right shoulder onto the
turf. The jockey kept hold of the
horse’s reins and led him back to be collected by the stable-lass. Channel 4’s Alice Plunkett was soon on hand
to interview the winning jockey, remarking that it wasn’t often that she had
to interview him when he was on the ground; Sam said it was a good job that
he fell off after the line. Sam also
welcomed the opportunity to put his arm around Alice’s shoulder ... but said
he hoped that his girlfriend wasn’t watching! Always Yours became a little bit frisky when
buckets of water were thrown over his hindquarters to cool him down. Sam was legged back into the saddle before
the partnership was led back to the Winners’ Enclosure along the
horse-walkway. The winner is a half-brother to Lac Fontana. Both Starchitect
and Stars Over The Sea were sired by Sea The Stars.
We
didn’t return to the Winners’ Enclosure following the race, choosing instead
to remain in position close to the horse-walk exit point. When
interviewed, Paul Nicholls said he was worried that he’d messed up the game
plan by running the horse in the Fred Winter at the Cheltenham Festival; a
race in which the horse had finished 5th.
He knew his charge would be suited by good ground and a flat track so
they could have come straight here instead following his earlier run at Kempton
Park. However, Sam had been of the
opinion that, had he not encountered trouble in running at Cheltenham he
would have got a whole lot closer to the winner; which was also a Paul
Nicholls-trained horse! There
was a quality field for the next race, despite there being just seven
runners. The race favourite was last
year’s winner, the Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco
Conti ridden by Noel Fehily; price 7-4. Alan King also had a runner in this event,
namely Smad Place ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. Ballynagour was
sporting a first-time hood today. The
starting gate for the next race was at the far end of the home straight, with
that and two full circuits to travel.
The horses circled out on the track whilst girths were checked then,
as the start time approached, the horses were ridden away from the starting
gate before turning and walking in.
Then
they were off. Ears pricked, Silviniaco Conti led the runners away, from Holywell to his outside almost upsides; Ballynagour
brought up the rear. All seven
competitors cleared the first fence without incident. The next fence was the first of the
open-ditches; short of room, Smad Place momentarily
stumbled on landing and bumped Vukovar to his
inside. The horses then traversed the
Grand National course to reach fence number three. Holywell put in
an extra stride on takeoff and lost a little bit of momentum; this enabled Ma
Filleule to overtake him briefly as the field
headed down past the winning post with two circuits now to travel. Silviniaco Conti led the
runners around the grandstand bend, from Holywell, Smad Place, Ma Filleule,
Menorah, Vukovar and Ballynagour. Again Holywell
got a little bit close to the next fence having put in a short stride before
it. The field continued their journey
along the back straight and cleared the fifth fence without incident. The next fence was the second open-ditch,
where AP’s mount was again a little less fluent than this rivals; he’s
slightly disadvantaged by not being the biggest of equines. The
runners then headed over the pathway to reach fence number seven, which they
all cleared in their stride. Silviniaco Conti continued to lead and held a one length
advantage as they headed into the far turn and approached the
cross-fence. There were no problems at
the fence, with Holywell travelling in runner-up
position, from Smad Place with Ma Filleule and Menorah; Vukovar
and Ballynagour disputed last place. There
was no change in the order as the runners turned into the home straight and
headed over the first fence therein.
They then headed to the next open-ditch where, again, there were no
noticeable jumping errors. The horses
traversed the Grand National Course, galloping at least a furlong before
encountering the fence which would be the final one next time around; Silviniaco Conti flew this one. The
runners were still closely grouped as they headed around the grandstand turn
and into the back straight for the final time. Smad Place was a
little less than fluent at the next fence, having got in a little bit too
close to it. Holywell
was now travelling almost upsides the leader, with Menorah at their quarters;
however the latter was the least fluent at the following obstacle and,
subsequently, Richard Johnson began to push him along. The next fence was an open-ditch, which Silviniaco Conti jumped with aplomb; in contrast Smad Place reached for it and landed slightly on his
haunches. The
runners then headed over the pathway to reach the final fence in the back
straight, five from home. Silviniaco Conti continued to lead narrowly, from Holywell and Menorah; the latter having rallied. Ballynagour had
moved into fourth position, from Smad Place, Ma Filleule and Vukovar. The Philip Hobbs runner clouted this fence
and quickly came under pressure before dropping back to sixth position as the
runners headed into the far turn.
Meanwhile
Silviniaco Conti continued to travel strongly at
the head of affairs, from the pushed along Holywell. The grey mare was travelling smoothly in
third position, from Ballynagour and Smad Place. Ballynagour hit the cross-fence and nodded on landing but
survived; in last position and losing touch, Vukovar
also made an error here. Having
entered the home straight, the long-time leader started to put even more
pressure upon his rivals and extended his lead; after jumping three out, Ma Filleule was being ridden along and received a couple of
strong reminders as they headed towards the final open ditch. Silviniaco Conti had a
three length advantage at this point, from Ma Filleule,
Ballynagour and Holywell
line across the track from the inside; Smad Place,
to the nearside, was a couple of lengths behind these. The leader flew the fence, thus retaining
the advantage and Alan King’s runner took off miles away from it but still
had the momentum to reach the landing side safely and continue without
breaking his stride. The mare began to
fade as they headed across the Grand National course to reach the final fence
and soon dropped back to sixth. Despite
having been under pressure for a long time, Holywell
continued to challenge the leader and Ballynagour
was also in close attendance; the latter jumped into second position as they
cleared the final fence and was staying on well as they galloped towards the
winning post. It was touch and go as
to whether Silviniaco Conti would hold on, as the
advantage continued to diminish all the way to the line ... but he did it, by
a head; he’d made all to win. Holywell completed in 3rd, 2¼ lengths behind, with Smad Place 7 lengths back in 4th. Menorah completed in a distant 5th, with Ma
Filleule 6th; Vukovar was
pulled up before the last.
Smad Place having finished in
the frame, we decided to head back to the Winners’ Enclosure to see him
arrive back. You have to make your
mind up quickly, otherwise the gates will be opened to enable the horses to
pass by and thus the route back blocked.
Besides, Silviniaco Conti is one of Sandra’s
favourite horses.
The Paul Nicholls charge had become the first horse to win
back-to-back victories in this race since Docklands Express although, in
those days, it was a Grade 2 race. When interviewed on course by Alice Plunkett, jockey Noel Fehily said his jumping had been electric today, as it
had also been at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
Paul Nicholls was pleased to have got the horse back on track
following a disappointing run at Cheltenham; he said he’s a character who
shows nothing at home. David Pipe was also very pleased with Ballynagour’s
runner-up position, as the horse is very difficult to get right and had been
off since the Hennessy meeting back in November. As usual, when washed down, Smad Place
turned pink; he has very thin fur! Race 3 - 2:50pm THE BETFRED BOWL
STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No Stewards Enquiry. Richard Johnson, the rider of MENORAH (IRE), placed fifth, reported
that the gelding ran flat. The Veterinary Officer reported that a post-race
examination of MENORAH (IRE) during routine testing failed to reveal any
abnormalities. That’s
it for Part One of my Grand Opening Day diary ... Click here to read my Grand Opening Day Diary Part II |
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