PART II
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2014
DAY TWO
FEATURING THE QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2014
|
My overall ‘Winning
Star’ of the 2014 Festival is Sire De Grugy who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase. This was jockey Jamie Moore’s first Cheltenham
Festival winner, and his father Gary’s second. Click here to read Day 2 Diary Part I It was now time for the feature event of the day,
the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The favourite for today’s event was popular
chestnut and this season’s Tingle Creek winner, Sire De Grugy,
ridden by Jamie Moore and trained by father Gary; price 11-4. Obviously there was no Sprinter Sacre in this year’s race, winner of last year’s renewal,
due to the horse’s heart-related health scare earlier in the season. Not that I mind in the least ... I’d far
rather own Sire De Grugy than Sprinter Sacre! I just love
the underdog! The 2011 Champion Chase winner, Sizing Europe,
was wearing first time cheek-pieces today.
There was also a second-season novice in the race, namely Hinterland. As with each of the feature events, there was a
pre-race parade; the horses exited onto the course and formed into number
order before the parade began. Having
been led up the home straight towards the winning post, the horses were
released to canter back down the turf to enter the all-weather strip and
travel to its termination in order to reach the two mile starting gate.
Then
they were off first time and heading to the first of the 13 fences. The runners were led away by Special Tiara,
from Sizing Europe to the outside, Arvika Ligeonniere between them and Somersby, who had been
sweating up a treat, to the inside. Baily Green jumped out to his right over the first,
Captain Conan was less than fluent and Kid Cassidy, held up in rear, was a
little slow too. Not surprisingly for
the two-mile Champion event, the pace was good as Special Tiara led the
runners over the second; Sizing Europe, Arvika Ligeonniere and Somersby close on his heels before a
break in the field to Baily Green, Module and the remaining
runners. Having
cleared the first two fences, the horses passed through the temporary gap in
the rail which separates the hurdle from chase track and joined the Old
Course proper. The leader got a little
close to the third; Baily Green blundered having
taken off too soon, and near the rear of the field Hinterland hit it
too. Special
Tiara took off too soon at the fourth, didn’t get the distance required and
thus stepped through it; jockey Davy Russell had to re-gather his ‘knitting’ and he lost the lead to
Somersby and Arvika Ligeonniere
for a brief spell before rejoining this duo as they approached the uphill
fence. Baily
Green in mid-field continued to jump out to his right; Wishfull
Thinking in his wake followed suit, and Captain Conan was ridden away from
the fence. The
runners entered the back straight. Arvika Ligeonniere under Ruby
Walsh held a two lengths advantage over a small group consisting of Special
Tiara, Somersby and Sizing Europe as the runners cleared the sixth
fence. There was then a gap in the
field of four lengths to Baily Green and Module,
and then same to the remainder headed by Sire De Grugy. Having jumped this fence, Barry Geraghty decided to call it a day aboard the struggling
Captain Conan. The
field cleared the water-jump without incident. Arvika Ligeonniere took off a little early at the first of the
open-ditches and landed back on his hocks as a result. He thus lost momentum and was soon headed
by Somersby. Kid Cassidy brought up
the rear until Wishfull Thinking put in a slow leap
at the ninth. After the dog-leg turn
and heading to the final open-ditch, the order was Somersby, Arvika Ligeonnaire, Special
Tiara, Sizing Europe, Module with Baily Green to his outside, Sire De Grugy,
Hinterland, Kid Cassidy, and Wishfull Thinking in
rear. There
was almost carnage at the next, the final open-ditch, as Baily
Green fell when placed just behind the leaders. Fortunately his tendency to jump to the
right took his body in that direction and thus Sire De Grugy
had sufficient room to sneak through between the fallen horse and the
rails. Hinterland wasn’t so fortunate,
as Baily Green fell directly into his path; the
novice managed to jump the prostrate horse and remain on his feet, but jockey
Noel Fehily was ejected over his head. Meanwhile,
Special Tiara had re-gained a narrow advantage over Somersby and Sizing
Europe as they travelled around the far turn; Module and Sire De Grugy completed the leading group and they had drawn well
clear of the remainder which was headed by the weakening Arvika
Ligeonnaire.
Somersby was the least fluent of this group jumping the third last;
Sire De Grugy had moved into fourth place and was
now on the heels of the leading trio as they headed towards the final
bend. Module had dropped away having
been outpaced in fifth. Jamie
Moore’s mount nipped up the inside of Special Tiara as they turned the corner
into the home straight and loomed up between Somersby to his inside and
Sizing Europe to his outside as they headed to the penultimate fence. Having cleared the fence, Sire De Grugy took the lead and was a length up on Somersby as
they jumped the last. The
leader then powered away from his rivals as he headed up the hill to the
line, winning by 6 lengths. Module stayed
on and almost stole 2nd place from Somersby, the margin a neck. Sizing Europe completed in 4th, Wishfull Thinking claimed 5th, Special Tiara faded into
6th and Kid Cassidy finished last of those which completed. Ruby Walsh had pulled up Arvika Ligeonnaire before 2
out. Paddy
Brennan patted Jamie on the back as they pulled up at the top of the course;
and Jamie put his arms around Sire De Grugy’s neck,
giving the horse a hug. There were
further congratulations from the other jockeys, and Paddy even planted a kiss
upon the winning jockey too! Then
additional hugs, pats and kisses for the horse from his thrilled jockey. It
was jockey Jamie’s first Cheltenham Festival winner and father Gary’s
second.
I stayed beside the course-side rails
initially, to take a photograph as the winning partnership passed by. I then decided to return to the Winners’
Enclosure, it was absolutely choc-a-bloc on the steppings. Many of Jamie’s colleagues had come out of
the Weighing Room to congratulate him as he was led through the Paddock. I had to walk all the way around to the far
side of the steppings and still only managed to get a small glimpse of
proceedings. On the RUK coverage I saw
Aidan Coleman raised upon shoulders to give Jamie a high-five, Sam
Twiston-Davies on the other side too; Choc were there, although I was unable
to see him in shot. It was a victory for the little
guys; Jamie explained that he loves the horse more than anything else in the
world apart from his daughters Lola and Roxy and wife Lucie. He rides the horse out each day too. Jamie explained that at the top
of the hill Ruby Walsh had offered useful advice, telling him to follow
Special Tiara and take his position when the rival began to tire. Brother Ryan was also in
attendance, but overshadowed today.
Trainer Gary Moore was joking that he’d probably re-broken his
recently broken thumb having shaken so many hands today. WHY THEY RAN BADLY: Ruby Walsh, the rider of ARVIKA
LEGEONNIERE (FR), which was pulled up, reported that the gelding ran too
free. The Stewards ordered ARVIKA LEGEONNIERE (FR) to be routine tested. It was now time for an excursion to the centre of
the racecourse, ahead of the cross-country race. As had been the case recently, I decided to
find a vantage point upon the crown of the bend, opposite the water-jump,
rather than head to the mound above the brook as had been my chosen position
during earlier Festivals. I was well
prepared too, as had worn my ankle boots today; although I do recall heading
out into the centre course enclosure in shoes later in the week! The favourite for this race was Big Shu, the easy winner of last year’s race; priced
3-1. Also taking part was the
admirable Balthazar King; he was second favourite. And Martin Keighley also had a runner in
this race, Any Currency (aka Woody) ridden by Ian Popham.
The
sixteen runners circled within the small starting area and then they were
off, first time. The runners were led away
by the sole grey Sire Collonges, he was followed by Duke Of Lucca and Any Currency. At the rear of the field was Big Shu. Having
cleared the bank with hedge, the field took a left-hand bend to head to the
ditch/railed hedge. On the outside in
mid-field, Bishopsfurze sprawled on landing over
this; the partnership survived, although in his wake Star Neuville
was hampered. The
third fence is the birch island fence, there being the option to jump either
the inside left-hand section, or the outer right-hand section. Richard Johnson aboard Balthazar King one
of only two to choose the latter path.
The runners then travelled across the beginning of the mid-course
chute, before jumping the Aintree Canal Turn style fence, the pilots having
to steer their mounts sharp left having cleared it. Sire Collonges
still led the runners; Bishopsfurze following his
error was a distant last. The
runners were already well-strung out as they reached the fifth fence, a bank
with hedge; this is the first of a line of three. They cleared this, returned across the
mid-course chute, and jumped the double bank with hedges and the hedge/log
fence prior to galloping across the downhill section of the Old Course. A matter of strides thereafter the
competitors cleared the double bank with hedge before making a sharp
right-hand turn, uphill, the reach the American-style timber rails. This fence is negotiated just once during
the race, as are the next two; Sire Collonges still
led but jumped out slightly to his left as he did so. Any Currency travelled in second place,
Duke Of Lucca to his outside in third, followed by Balthazar King and Sizing
Australia; at the rear of the field were Uncle Junior and Bishopsfurze. The
horses crossed the mid-course chute again, the section which runs between the
Old and New courses, continuing to travel uphill before jumping the railed
hedge fence. Then it was back across
the downhill section of the Old Course on a fairly long, also slightly
downhill journey to fence number eleven; ditch with railed hedge. The runners then negotiated a dog-leg turn
to their right to jump the pole and railed hedge; Sire Collonges
continued to lead the way. A
further dog-leg turn took the runners back across the mid-course chute in
order to jump the ditch with raised platform bank and hedge. There was a mistake by the one of Willie
Mullins’ trio, Sin Palo, who was taken by surprise by the drop on landing. The next fence is the water-jump, located
at the bottom of a small gulley which runs across the racecourse. Having cleared this, the runners now more
closely grouped. The horses then took
a sharp left-hand turn right in front of where I was standing and headed
towards the cheese-wedges, fences 15 and 16; Balthazar was a little awkward
when negotiating the latter part. And
still Sire Collonges led from Any Currency, Duke Of
Lucca, Balthazar King and Sizing Australia.
Having completed what is termed the first circuit, which involves
jumping half of the 32 fences, the runners set off around a long sweeping
left-hand turn to reach and jump the ditch/railed hedge for the second
time. Sin Palo was now last but one,
Uncle Junior the back marker.
Following a further left-hand turn, the runners negotiated the ditch
with raised platform bank and hedge; this was originally jumped as fence 13
but now taken at right-angles as fence 18.
Another
left-hand dog-leg turn took the runners across the downhill section of the
Old Course and over the double bank and hedge for the second time. Instead of heading up the hill like
previously, the horses turned left again to jump a ditch with railed hedge
for the one and only time, before heading uphill and returning across the Old
Course and jumping a ditch with boarded hedge, also for the one and only
time. A
couple of horses caught out at this one due to an unexpected drop on the
landing side were Any Currency and worse still, back in the field, Star Neuville. Ian Popham gave Any Currency a smack with the whip following
this; the horse is always a hard ride for his jockey! The
horses turned right and headed to the water-jump for the final time. Any Currency and Sire Collonges
disputed the lead, from stable-mates Balthazar King and Duke Of Lucca, they
were followed by Love Rory, Hey Big Spender, Sizing Australia, Quiscover Fontaine sporting the JP McManus first colours,
Big Shu, A Stray Shot, Star Neuville,
Quantitativeeasing with the jockey wearing the
McManus second colours, Sin Palo, Bishopsfurze,
Uncle Junior and Diamond Harry. Solely
the tops of the jockeys’ heads were visible on the RUK coverage as they
jumped the water; I got a far better view of the runners from my vantage
point opposite. The
horses took a sharp left and headed into the oncoming rays of the sun as they
travelled to fence number 23, the double-spread hedge; at the rear of the
field, Diamond Harry was pulled up before this obstacle. Following a left-hand bend, the horses then
jumped the bank with hedge; this had been the first fence also and they were
now on what was classed as the third and final circuit. Sin Palo had clambered over the fence and
was pulled up, and Bishopsfurze pulled up here
too. Having
negotiated a long sweeping left-hand turn the horses headed over the ditch
and rail hedge; Sire Collonges and Any Currency
holding a clear lead over the others, and despite the latter being bumped
along. The following fence is the
birch island fence; both Balthazar King and Duke Of Lucca deciding to take
the outside option, as opposed to the inner one as per the leading duo. Any Currency had taken the lead as they
crossed over the beginning of the mid-course chute to approach the Aintree
fence once more. Balthazar
King closed upon the leader by dint of taking the turn at a sharper angle and
despite not jumping it as well as Any Currency, and Sire Collonges
took an even shorter route to the inside.
Having jumped fence 28, the bank with hedge, where Balthazar King
narrowly led, the runners returned across the chute to jump the double bank
with hedges followed by the hedge and log fence. Behind the two leaders were Duke Of Lucca
and Big Shu, Sire Collonges
having weakened into fifth position by this stage of the race. Having
jumped fence 30 it was soon time to negotiate a left-hand turn and head onto
the Old Course in order to complete the race; the final two obstacles being
stuffed hurdles. These are the usual
hurdles but with lots of additional greenery to disguise them! Richard Johnson’s mount led over the first
of these before heading around the bend and into the home straight. However, he had not totally thrown off the
challenge from his rivals, the rallying Any Currency, with Big Shu and Duke Of Lucca; there was no more than three and a
half lengths covering the leading group.
Any
Currency swung wide around the final bend, but he still wasn’t giving up
under a strong drive from his jockey.
They cleared the last, Balthazar King with a half a length advantage
over Ian Popham’s mount and last year’s winner also
challenging to the inside; Duke Of Lucca was now booked for 4th. The next to capitulate was Big Shu. It was then
nip and tuck to the line, Any Currency very slowly but surely beginning to
reduce the margin. Photograph. Martin
Keighley threw his race-card across the Parade Ring in frustration when the
result was announced. The 2012 winner
and top-weight Balthazar King had won by a short-head.
‘A
good few hundred go out onto the course to watch the race’
said RUK’s Stewart Machin ... I think you’ll find it’s
more than that! Especially in view of
the amount of time it takes for everyone to file back to the enclosures
following the race. I know the
spectators have to wait until the racecourse is clear of horses, but it still
takes ages to return. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The Stewards held an enquiry into
the use of the whip by Richard Johnson, the rider of the winner, BALTHAZAR
KING (IRE), from the second last fence. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings
of the race, they found him in breach of Schedule (B)6
Part 2 in that he had used his whip above the permitted level. The Stewards
suspended Johnson for 4 days as follows Wednesday 26, Thursday 27, Friday 28
and Saturday 29 March 2014. The favourite for this event was the Nicky
Henderson representative, the grey Dawalan, ridden
by Barry Geraghty.
There were two other greys in the race, namely Cadoudoff
and Keltus.
This race is the ‘Division Two’
for juvenile hurdlers, ‘Division One’
being the Triumph Hurdle run on Friday. The starting gate for the extended two mile trip
is located at the far end of the home straight. Therefore the runners headed up the
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before returning down the turf
and re-entering the all-weather strip to travel to its termination.
Then
they were off, first time. The runners
were led away by the first-time visored Ballyglasheen to the inside and Azza
the outside; having cleared the first without incident, these were followed
by the hooded Orgilgo Bay, Astre
De La Cour and Clarcam. The 24-strong field then headed up the home
straight towards the grandstands and the second flight; at the rear were Baradari and Gerdago. Holding
runner-up spot jumping this flight was the Wayne Hutchinson Astre De La Cour and he fell;
causing havoc to the pursuing horses. Ballyglasheen was severely hampered having been
travelling just behind him. Then,
further back in the field, Goodwood Mirage was
brought down. Also hampered by one or
the other, or possibly both, were two of the three Paul Nicholls runners
namely Keltus and Solar Impulse, plus Violet
Dancer, Noble Inn and Arzembouy Premier,
Certification was bumped. Ballyglasheen, having totally lost his place and dropped
to the back of the field, was soon pulled up.
Wayne Hutchinson was fine and got up and walked away, AP McCoy less
so; he was down for a while and there was a round of applause as the Champion
rose to his feet, but he was noticeably lame. Meanwhile,
having negotiated the uphill section of the course, they took the left-hand
bend and entered the back straight. A
good pace was being set, with Azza holding two or
three lengths advantage over Orgilgo Bay, Clarcam and Hawk High; on the inside, to the rear of
mid-field, Noble Inn made an error at the third flight. The
runners headed over flight number four without incident, negotiated the
dog-leg turn and faced up to the next which they all cleared safely too. There was still no change at the head of
affairs as the field turned the far corner and headed downhill to three out; Orgilgo Bay was still fighting for his head in second
position, behind him Hawk High and Clarcam. The field was closely packed as they jumped
the flight, with Orgilgo Bay and Clarcam now taking a narrow lead. They raced down to the penultimate hurdle. Clarcam tipped the top
of the flight and fell; he hampered Solar Impulse to his outside and Katgary to his inside, the latter being the third Paul
Nicholls runner in the race. Akdam, who was travelling not far behind, was brought
down. This left Orgilgo Bay to lead the runners
into the home straight, closely pursued by Azza;
Hawk High, Solar Impulse and Raven’s Tower disputed third, ahead of Katgary, Gerdago, Violet
Dancer, Keltus, Ivan Grozny and Baradari. Brian
Hughes aboard Hawk High, who had been carrying his whip in his left hand,
pulled it through to his right as he came to challenge the leader, Orgilgo Bay, approaching the final obstacle. To the inside Katgary
had also made headway to almost join them, although he was the least fluent
of the three jumping to final flight.
Then, after the last, Hawk High began to assert, with Katgary staying on but never quite able to reach him as
they approached the line. The winning
distance was three quarters of a length.
Orgilgo Bay claimed third having run too
freely, with Keltus fourth and Baradari
5th. Another
jockey who’d won today having lost out aboard Attaglance
the previous day. Brian almost set off
to return down the walkway a little too soon, losing his irons as he pulled
the horse out onto the racecourse again; the winner is supposed to be the
last one to return!
There
was misfortune for jockey Bryan Cooper, who broke a leg when Clarcam fell two out.
Also the sad loss of Akdam, who won the first
juvenile hurdle race of the season and was brought down when Clarcam fell; I believe he broke a foreleg as he did get
up and attempt to canter away but only got as far as the home turn before
being caught and the green screens erected. I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses arrive back before
heading back to the course-side rails ahead of the final race of the day, the
Champion bumper. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE:
WHY THEY RAN BADLY: Paul
Moloney, the rider of BALLYGLASHEEN (IRE), which
was pulled up, reported that the gelding was hampered by a faller. The
favourite for the bumper was Shaneshill, trained by
Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; priced 7-2. Martin Keighley had a runner in this event,
namely Coyaba sporting the blue and yellow colours
of owner Liz Prowting. Last year’s third placed horse, Golantilla returned for a second attempt in the race. The starting gate for the extended two mile trip
is located at the far end of the home straight. Therefore the runners headed up the
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before returning down the turf
and re-entering the all-weather strip to travel to its termination.
Then
they were off. Black Hercules was keen
to get on with it; he bounded in at the start and immediately went into the
lead, followed by another keen-going sort, Our Kaempfer
to his inside. At the back of the
field, against the rail, was Coyaba. As they headed up the home straight, the
leading duo were followed by Definitly Red under AP
McCoy, Value At Risk and Mountain Of Mourne;
between the latter two was Third Act and he was nearly squeezed out as their
courses converged at one point. As
they joined the main racecourse, the commentator reported that Coyaba was already being pushed along, having been
outpaced at this early stage. Black
Hercules continued to lead the way as they passed to the outside of the
penultimate fence on the steeplechase course, with Our Kaempfer,
Definitly Red and Mountain Of Mourne
disputing second. Third Act and Value
At Risk were just behind these, followed by Shaneshill,
Killultagh Vic and Vigil. Silver Concorde travelled close behind
these to the inside; pursued by Zeroeshadesofgrey,
Joshua Lane, Golantilla, El Namoose
and Assam Black. Then followed Coyaba, Neck Or Nothing, Stack The Deck, Oscarteea, Royal Vacation, Modus and Izzini. The
runners galloped past the grandstand, headed up the hill and out into the
country for the one and only time; Black Hercules continued to lead from Our Kaempfer and Definitly Red
disputing second place. As they
travelled down the back straight, Shaneshill began
to make ground upon the inside of the runners; as did Modus who continued to
travel wide of the field. The horses
had soon reached the dog-leg turn, climbing to the top of the hill at the far
corner of the track. Mountain Of Mourne received a couple of backhanders having begun to
lose his place amongst the leaders. And
still Black Hercules continued to lead, from Our Kaempfer,
Definitly Red and Third Act; the latter beginning
to be pushed along. The leading four
were followed by Shaneshill, Value At Risk, Vigil
and Modus. They turned the bend and
began the run down the hill. At the
rear of the field, Stack The Deck was eased, having lost his action; he’d
suffered a fatal injury. Meanwhile,
the race continued; Patrick Mullins’ mount still marginally ahead of his
pursuers. Stable-mate Shaneshill was travelling well in his slipstream, and
behind him was Silver Concorde. Third
Act had lost ground quickly and now travelled near the rear of the field; in
contrast, Joshua Tree under Barry Geraghty had
loomed up behind the front-rank. Heading to the final turn, Black Hercules
dug deep and remained at the head of affairs with, close up to his outside,
Vigil. Shaneshill,
Definitly Red and Modus were just behind the
leading duo. Black
Hercules swung a little wide around the turn, thus enabling Ruby Walsh to
make his challenge up the inside; no surprise there then! It took a while for Shaneshill
to master the long-time leader; meanwhile, Silver Concorde had followed
through in Ruby’s wake and mounted his challenge to the inside of them
both. Robbie McNamara’s mount proved
to be the strongest and he galloped up the hill to win by 1½ lengths at the line; despite drifting towards the nearside
rail under a right-hand drive. Ruby
had switched his mount but to no avail and completed in second. Joshua Tree kept on under pressure to claim
third, with long-time leader Black Hercules in 4th, Vigil 5th and Killultagh Vic finishing in 6th. The first home for the British team was Definitly Red in 7th followed by Modus in 8th. Coyaba completed
in 16th.
It
was the first Cheltenham Festival winner for amateur rider Robbie McNamara,
cousin of the injured JT McNamara. Trainer
Dermot Weld promised the horse would return as a hurdler in the future, but
not before exploring a career on the flat.
The fifth home, Vigil, was also trained by Dermot Weld. The
second and fourth were owned by Andrea and Graham Wylie; the latter
co-founded the Sage Group; he programmed the initial Sage accounts software
himself. He retired from Sage in 2003
and founded a new company Technology Services Group. I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses arrive back. Before leaving for the day, I popped
to the loo; every day I seem to time this right, there being a queue of just
two or three people ahead of me. After
that I set off up the concourse and, today, I decided to purchase a copy of
the local paper from one of the sellers standing close to the main gate
because they also provided a sheet containing the following day’s runners;
price 60p. I then set off back to the
lower field of the car park to find my vehicle. Before beginning my drive home, I ate
the two remaining cheese rolls; it would be around three hours before I’d be
able to eat my evening meal. Cones had
been set out in a line along the centre of the driveway, allowing cars from
the top field to travel down either side thus doubling the queuing capacity
if necessary when approaching the lane outside. However today it was actually very
quiet and I exited from the field onto the driveway with ease; it was 17:50
when I drove out onto Swindon Lane, turning right as instructed by the
traffic police outside. Having found Windyridge Road to be an excellent way to bypass long
queues of traffic despite being a longer route, I decided to drive straight
on when I reached the mini-roundabout at the top of Tommy Taylors Lane. As I’d done yesterday, I took a left
turn at the next mini-roundabout to head down the aforementioned Windyridge Road.
Three further left turns took me back to St Pauls Road which runs
along the end of Tommy Taylors Lane/Folly Lane and thus takes me back to my
familiar Cheltenham escape passage once more.
Having dodged the parked vehicles and oncoming traffic on this narrow
part of my route, I arrived at Clarence Square and the traffic lights on the
Evesham Road. When the lights changed to green, I
headed into the one-way Clarence Road, taking the left-hand option to drive
up the Prestbury Road before taking a right-hand
turn to travel around Pittville Circus and journey
to the far end of Pittville Circus Road which was
currently full of potholes! Having
reached Hewlett Road I turned left and soon arrived at the ‘longabout’
at the end of Hales Road, where a left and a right took me up Harp Hill,
followed by a right turn into Greenway Lane. I drove through the two chicanes;
traffic from the opposite direction having right of way due to their travelling
up hill. The surface of Greenway Lane
was also in a bad state of repair, especially the heavily used upper chicane;
it being a regular cut-through for local traffic. There were more vehicles than usual using
the route tonight and, to prove this point, it took around 10 minutes of
queuing before I was able to exit onto the A40; the longest delay I’d ever
experienced when using this route and resulting in it taking me 30 minutes to
escape from the town. Having joined the A40 I drove through
Charlton Kings, past the Dowdeswell Reservoir and
climbed the escarpment into the Cotswolds.
Traffic was moving well and at speed, delayed solely by the
possibility of having to stop at one or both sets of traffic lights; the
first on the Andoversford bypass where road-works
were currently underway, the second at the junction with the road to
Gloucester. Having reached the short section of
dual carriageway following the second set of lights, traffic is able to find
its preferred speed level, faster vehicles overtaking much slower ones as
they climb up to the top of the Cotswold escarpment. But today, a number of cars having sped
into the distance despite me travelling at around 60 mph, I began to catch up
with them as my journey took me past the Puesdown
Inn; there was a slow-moving vehicle ahead. This meant that we travelled at 40
mph all the way to Burford; and upon the short
stretch of road between the town and the beginning of the Witney bypass
too. After that, traffic was able to
sort itself out once more and I’d soon arrived at the Wolvercote
roundabout on the western edge of Oxford.
My route took me around their bypass and onwards to join the M40 at
junction 8. Being mid-evening, traffic was
flowing smoothly on both the M40 and the M25 and I arrived at Junction 22 of
the latter motorway without a hitch.
Having used over half a tank of petrol once more, I visited the local Morrisons supermarket to fill up the car, arriving home
at 20:35; 20 minutes earlier than on the previous day. It cost me an outlay of £26.76 at the
petrol station. As had been the case on Tuesday, once
home I uploaded my photographs and copied website links into my blog in
preparation for the next update.
Phones were re-charged, as were camera batteries. I think my supper was Penne Mozzarella, but
I’m not 100% sure. And again I turned
in at around 22:30. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Races 1 & 2 Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Races 3 & 4 (Champion Chase) Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Races 5 to 7 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
