DIARY – CHELTENHAM
– SATURDAY 12 DECEMBER 2009
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Today was my first visit of the season to Cheltenham. Having bid for and won Choc’s
‘prize’ at the Family Fun and Football day at Worcester racecourse in early
September, I was given a choice of 7 different days on which I could visit
Cheltenham. Having missed out on the Saturday of the Boylesports
meeting last year due to abandonment, I requested 2 tickets to attend
today. Lunch was also included in the
prize, and I was pleased to discover that Choc would be riding in Races 1, 5,
6 and 7, which meant I could watch the first race before going to lunch, and
return to watch him in the final 3 races of the day! I have to mention that the definite ‘highlight’ of the prize is
an opportunity to walk the Cheltenham course with Choc. However, having walked the course with him
last December 13th, I knew I wanted the opportunity to walk a different
course with Choc this season. So,
after many weeks of deliberation, I finally plucked up the courage to ask his
valet (Phil Taylor) if this would be okay, and I am now hopeful that we can
arrange the walk to take place in late January or February 2010. My day began at
05:00 when my bedside alarm went off!
I showered, washed and dried my hair, applied my warpaint, ate
breakfast, dressed in multiple layers – 2 thermal vests, sweater, fleece,
cardigan, woolley tights, and skirt – I threw my gillet, scarf and coat in
the car. I was ready to leave just
after 07:00. To get in the
festive mood, I put a Christmas CD in the car sound system and set off to
pick up my friend Lesley from her village situated just outside
Dunstable. I noticed the ‘ice’ light
on the dashboard was flicking on and off as the temperature fluctuated
between 4 and 5 degrees. Lesley was
already waiting for me to arrive and we set off for Cheltenham. Our route took us
via Wing, Aylesbury, Waddesdon, Bicester, Oxford, and Burford to
Cheltenham. I just love the route
between Oxford and Cheltenham, across the Cotswolds. There were patches of blue sky to be seen
as we descended into Cheltenham.
Having been issued with a
Members Car Park ticket, I parked my car near the stables area. It was now 09:40, 20 minutes until the
gates opened. Whilst we waited in the
car, Kate Miller of William Hill (who often appears on TV) arrived and parked
nearby. A few minutes before
10:00 we set off for the Centaur building, passing a row of parked horse
boxes – Alan King, Paul Nicholls, Brian Ellison to name but three. Having gone through the ticket barriers, we
set off down the concourse, popping to the loo (more information than you
needed!) and then we had a look around the Cheltenham Collection marquee (I
collected a couple more brochures – I already had one copy which I requested
via the internet – this season’s brochure features Choc and Meally modelling
items from the collection). The
binocular/race-card kiosk hadn’t opened yet, so we went to buy coffees before
returning to purchase a race-card each.
We then set off for the Shopping village down the hill, before
returning to look around the remaining marquees located above the Parade
Ring. At one point, there was a
surprise rain shower, although the sky never really darkened. At around 11:30,
three pre-race interviews took place in the Winners’ Enclosure. Firstly trainer Tim Vaughan was
interviewed, to give his thoughts about the chances of his runners
today. Then Irish trainer, Oliver
Brady – is he loud or what? But he was
very amusing, and he recited a poem he’d composed too. Finally it was the turn of the Boylesports
representative to be interviewed. The first race was
due off at 12:10, and Choc was engaged to ride the Alan King trained
Ebiayn. Also taking part in this race
were Bocamix, the horse which had fallen and brought down the Alan King
trained Mille Chief at Market Rasen; and Sergeant Pink, which was the horse
which had benefitted from their race departure! Once the jockeys had
mounted, we set off to watch the race from the course-side rails. It was surprising how few spectators
ventured out onto the grassed area in front of the stands, so we were able to
take our choice of vantage point. The start of this
race was at the far end of the home straight, the horses cantering down the
all-weather gallop to reach it.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by Ruby Walsh aboard Ultimate. Close
behind were Sergeant Pink and George Nympton, with Ebiayn taking an inside line near the rear of the
field. Choc administered encouragement
to his mount after the third flight, and the fourth flight was flattened by
one of the mid-field runners. The
first to drop back and lose touch was Order Order,
being pulled up before 2 out. At
the 2nd last, Bocomix and Ultimate were disputing
the lead, the later taking the advantage again turning into the final
straight. There were 4 horses in a
line jumping the last flight, with the Tom George trained Alofi
galloping up the stand-side rail to win.
A win for Paddy Brennan, deputising for Sam Thomas who was serving a
one day suspension following his ride aboard What A Friend in the Hennessy
Gold Cup. Choc’s
mount finished in 6th place.
Choc
having finished unplaced, we decided to head for the restaurant. We walked up the concourse to the Centaur
Building, through the doors and up the stairs and along the Hall of Fame
corridor. Amusingly, the carpet
pattern consisted of horse-shoe prints – one side pointing towards the
restaurant and, on the other side, pointing away from the restaurant. Upon
arrival, we discovered that The Gold Cup restaurant and Festival restaurant
bookings had been swapped, so we were directed to the Festival restaurant –
table 11 in the middle of the room.
From the restaurant there was a good view of Cleeve
Hill, the earlier mist having cleared from the top of it. Just
for the record, these were the courses we ordered: Lesley
– Smoked Scottish Salmon starter, Gloucestershire old spot pork main course,
followed by a selection of cheeses Jane
– Parsnip and butternut squash soup, turkey main course, followed hazelnut
and chocolate meringue roulade The
meal was very nice and, because service was swift, we only missed 2 races,
and we were able to view these on screens located in the restaurant. The
start of the second race was a short distance down the home straight.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by Inchidaly Rock and Kanpai,
followed by Hey Big Spender, Mobaasher, Zemsky and Ringsend Rose, the
latter soon well in rear. Inchidaly Rock blundered at the first open-ditch, and Mobaasher made a mistake at the second open-ditch. Zemsky then
pecked on landing at the 9th. Hey
Big Spender disputed the lead with Kanpai as they
started their second circuit, with Inchidaly Rock
now in third. The tailed off Ringsend Rose was pulled up after the 11th obstacle. Mobaasher was
receiving reminders as they approached the far corner of the track. As they came down the hill, Hey Big Spender
was joined by Inchidaly Rock, the 3 remaining
runners having dropped back. These
two runners were 10 lengths clear of their nearest pursuers as they rounded
the final bend. Inchidaly
Rock took a narrow lead at the 2nd last, and had extended this by the last,
galloping on to win by 9 lengths. Having
cleared the penultimate fence in last place, Kanpai
stumbled having broken a fetlock, Noel Fehily
quickly pulling up his stricken mount.
Sadly, due to his injury, the horse had to be put down.
The
start of this race, like the first, was at the far end of the home straight.
The
field was led away by Freds Benefit and Saphir Des Bois.
Enlightenment hit the 3rd fence and unseated Timmy Murphy. Ruby’s mount, Free World, blundered badly
at the 5th fence when in rear. Having
led after the 4th obstacle, Saphir Des Bois
blundered at the 9th, allowing Freds Benefit to
retake the lead. Having been handy,
French Opera took over as they came down the hill, chased by Mill House Girl,
Safari Journey and Free World. The
runners were instructed to bypass the 2nd last, as Timmy Murphy was still
being attended to on the landing side of the fence. French Opera led over the last and galloped
on to win, chased home by Free World.
Having
finished our meal, we headed for the Parade Ring to view the horses competing
in the 4th race of the day. We caught
a glimpse of Choc’s wife, Meally,
as we headed towards the course-side rails to watch this race. She was pushing a pram, presumably belonging
to the friend who accompanied her. It
was announced that Timmy Murphy had been stood down for the remainder of the
day following his fall from Enlightenment.
Noel Fehily deputised for him aboard Bygones
of Brid in the fourth race. The
start of this race was opposite the stands, so the runners cantered across
the course and up around the all-weather track to reach it.
Then
they were off. Lord Generous led them away,
from the Tom George trained Tell Massini. John’s Gift hit the first flight, bumping
Kennel Hill in the process, but they both survived. Unsurprisingly, Grand National winner Mon Mome was clearing the smaller obstacles with ease. Lord
Generous still led as they raced away from the stands, with one circuit to
go. John’s Gift began to lose
touch. Ruby’s mount, The Minack, made a bad mistake at the third last. Tell Massini
challenged and took the lead before 2 out, rounding the bend to gallop up beside
the nearside rail to win by 2½ lengths.
A double for Tom George and Paddy Brennan. Kennel Hill, better known for competing in
steeplechases, finished 2nd, with Mon Mome in
3rd.
We
returned to the Parade Ring in preparation for Choc’s
next ride, the Keith Goldsworthy trained Hold Em. Daryl Jacob was deputising for Timmy Murphy
aboard Chapoturgeon in this race. The
start of this race was in the mid-course chute, Ruby Walsh taking Poquelin to the start early.
Then
they were off. The field was lead away
by Our Vic, Tamarinbleu, Razor Royale and Bible
Lord. Choc was close behind, on the
outside in 5th. Bible Lord hit the
first fence, unseating Ed Cookson.
Having jumped 3 fences, Danny Cook took the wrong course aboard Our
Vic, leaving Tamarinbleu in the lead. As
they galloped up the straight before going out on the final circuit, close
behind Tamarinbleu were Razor Royale, Hold Em, Atouchbetweenacara, Stan,
and Poquelin.
Knowhere wasn’t travelling today and, having
made a mistake at the 6th, became tailed off and was pulled up before the 8th
obstacle. Mount Oscar was also
struggling, having made a couple of jumping errors, and was pulled up
too. Razor
Royale had taken the lead by the 7th, Hold Em hit the open ditch, and soon came under pressure. Having entered the final straight, 4 horses
had drawn ahead of the field - Razor Royale, Poquelin,
Skippers Brig and Chapoturgeon, the latter
stumbling after the last, Daryl Jacob somehow managing to remain in the
saddle but with all chance gone. Poquelin galloped
on to win by 7 lengths. Another big
Saturday winner for Ruby Walsh and Paul Nicholls. The very consistent Hold Em finished 6th. Danny
Cook was referred to the BHA, this being the second time he’d taken the wrong
course in recent months.
It
was now time for the big race of the day, the Boylesports
International Hurdle. Choc’s mount, Medermit,
runner-up to Go Native in the Supreme Novices at last season’s Cheltenham
Festival, was on trial today, Alan hoping to decide if the horse would take
his chance in the Champion Hurdle next March, or whether he would now be
switched to novice chasing. Being
the feature event of the afternoon, there was a pre-race parade. The horses, having exited onto the course,
circled around to position themselves into race-card order – Choc aboard Medermit was the last to parade, being number 7 of the 7
runners. Having walked up past the
winning post at the top end of the course, the horses then turned and
cantered down to enter the all-weather track to continue to the start, which
was at the far end of the home straight.
The
field was led away by Ashkazar, although appearing
a little reluctant, ridden by Tom Scudamore
deputising for Timmy Murphy. Celestial
Halo and Ebadiyan disputed second, followed by
Punjabi, Songe, Medermit
and Khyber Kim in rear. Down
the back straight, Ashkazar was being pushed along
to keep the lead, Medermit made progress and was
close behind the leaders by 3 out.
Down the hill they ran and Celestial Halo took up the running,
followed by Punjabi and Medermit. Khyber Kim had moved smoothly through the
field and was just behind them. Punjabi
was the first to tire, as Nicky Henderson had predicted would happen on his
first appearance of the season. However, Celestial Halo had no answer to the
strong finishing Khyber Kim who galloped up the stand-side rails to win by 2¼
lengths. Medermit
was a further 3 lengths away in third, and will now be aimed for the Champion
Hurdle rather than switching to novice chasing this season.
We
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see Choc come back in, unsaddle, speak
with connections and return to the Weighing Room. It
was now time for the final race of the day.
Choc was engaged to ride the Alan King trained Shalone,
who had been off the track for over a year having sustained a slight leg
injury on his last run. Paddy Brennan
was deputising for Timmy Murphy on Secret Dancer in this event.
The
field was led away by Golan Way, only to unseat his rider at the 2nd
flight. This left Night Orbit in the
lead, followed by Zaynar, Cape Tribulation, Shalone and Secret Dancer. Night Orbit took a wide line
up the straight, Cape Tribulation disputing it on the inside. Shalone blundered at
the 3rd last flight. Cape Tribulation
still lead as they entered the final straight, Zaynar
was travelling easily in 2nd, with Shalone pushed
along in 3rd. Barry Geraghty shook up Zaynar to
take the lead just before the last and went clear, easing up to win by 6
lengths on the line. Shalone finished in 3rd.
As
Choc had finished 3rd, we returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see him
arrive back. Having unsaddled and
spoken with connections, Choc returned to the Weighing Room for the final
time today. We waited beside the
Parade Ring for a while, as the traffic queues can be horrendous on the roads
outside the racecourse. Meally
and her friend, with the baby in the pram, appeared soon after, waiting
inside the Weighing Room whilst Choc changed into his civvies before setting
off home together. As the light was now fading fast, we
decided it was time to leave. We left
via the exit next to the Centaur building, and walked over the bridge and
back past the horsebox area to the car park.
We waited a few more minutes, as there were still queues exiting the
course, but once these had cleared we set off for home. Our route was clear initially, but we did
get held up in a long queue at the traffic lights to join the A4. These queues continued as we drove through
Charlton Kings but, as always, the road cleared once we’d traversed the final
set of traffic lights. We passed through a heavy shower just
east of Burford, but the weather was fine for the
remainder of the journey. We retraced
our route – Oxford, Bicester, Aylesbury, Wing – and
back to Lesley’s home village. I
dropped her off and continued my journey back to Hertfordshire, arriving home
at 19:30. I’d missed the beginning of the
Strictly Come Dancing semi-final – oh dear, the public voted Chris Hollins and his professional partner, Ola Jordan, through
to the final, along with Ricky Whittle and partner Natalie Lowe. This meant that the highest scoring couple
– Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna were eliminated. It’s become a popularity competition again,
not a dance competition! |
