PART II
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2015
DAY TWO
FEATURING THE QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 2015
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Another gallant effort from Any Currency (Woody) in
the Cross-Country Chase ... but he had to settle for 2nd
place again. 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.
Despite now being 11 years old, Somersby can still get excited ahead
of a race; this being the case, he was first to exit onto the racecourse and
he also led the competitors in the pre-race parade. As noted earlier, numbers 1 and 2 were
absent; Champagne Fever was reported to have suffered a superficial head
injury when travelling from Ireland to the racecourse, and Clarcam had run in yesterday’s Arkle,
so was too stiff to run again today! Willie Mullins later decided that, when
travelling, the grey would be transported alone to avoid such problems! Although there were also rumours that a
stable-mate had, in fact, bitten Champagne Fever! The trainer later said the horse had got a
‘bite on his lip’ and hadn’t been
himself, hence his non-runner status on this particular day. Anyway, this meant that the Mick Channon-trained runner followed the two hunters when led
up in front of the grandstands, followed by Dodging Bullets, Mr Mole, Savello, Simply Ned, Sire De Grugy,
Sizing Europe, Special Tiara and Sprinter Sacre. What is it with the letter ‘S’ and top class 2-mile chasers? Parade over, the nine runners cantered back down
the turf to enter the all-weather strip and canter to the starting gate at
the far end of the home straight. The favourite for the race was the returning 2013
winner Sprinter Sacre at 9-4 and second favourite
was last year’s winner Sire De Grugy, despite a
mid-season set-back, and priced at 5-2.
Dodging Bullets, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, was the form horse this season having won
the Tingle Creek Chase and a Grade 1 at Ascot too. AP McCoy was aboard the enigmatic Mr Mole, who
had managed to win Newbury’s Game Spirit Chase the previous month despite
being left at the start although, that day, Sire De Grugy
had unseated when having his first run back following his set-back and Uxizandre had blundered at the last and unseated Barry Geraghty too. Also
returning, at the grand old age of 13, was the 2011 winner Sizing Europe;
he’d also been runner-up in this race in 2012 and 2013. Having milled around in the enclosure to the
inside of the course, as race time approached the horses were ridden out onto
the track; initially heading away from the tape before turning and walking,
on whole, towards it.
Then
they were off; first time. There was
no surprise that Special Tiara was at the head of affairs as they travelled
towards fence number one; stable-companion Sizing Europe, together with
Dodging Bullets disputed second position.
All of the experienced chasers cleared the obstacle without
bother. At the rear of the field, Savello blundered at the second. Having
jumped this fence, Special Tiara now took a stronger hold under Noel Fehily as they joined the Old Course and headed to the
third. Dodging Bullets and Sizing
Europe continued to dispute second position, from Mr Mole, the noticeably
sweating Somersby, Sprinter Sacre, Sire De Grugy, Simply Ned and Savello. AP McCoy’s mount wasn’t fluent at this
fence. Every runner cleared the
following fence without an issue. Although
more under control now, Special Tiara was possibly up to eight lengths ahead
of his nearest rival as he turned away from the main grandstands and headed
up the hill towards fence number five.
Again there were no problems at this obstacle. It was now time to enter the back straight
and head down the slope to the next fence.
Noel Fehily’s mount continued to hold a
clear lead from Dodging Bullets, Sizing Europe, Somersby, Mr Mole, Sprinter Sacre, then there was a short gap to Simply Ned and Sire
De Grugy; the latter less than fluent jumping the
fence. Savello
remained a couple of lengths adrift in rear. The
field had closed the gap slightly between themselves and the leader as they headed
over the water-jump for the one and only time. Sizing Europe hit the next, which was the
first of the open-ditches; as a result, his jockey had to push him along as
he travelled away from the fence.
Special Tiara was much closer to his rivals as they headed over the
following fence; Mr Mole made another error here. Having
negotiated the dog-leg turn, the runners headed towards the final
open-ditch. Special Tiara continued to
lead however, from Dodging Bullets and Somersby disputing second. Sprinter Sacre
travelled in fourth place, just ahead of Mr Mole and the ridden along Sizing
Europe; Sire De Grugy was in seventh position, just
behind him Simply Ned and, still at the rear, Savello.
Somersby
was a little less than fluent at the open-ditch, Sire De Grugy
reached for it but was fine, and Simply Ned made an error here. Having reached the top of the hill, the
runners then galloped around the far bend and headed down the hill to the
third last. Special Tiara still held
the advantage as they jumped it, but only by a length from Dodging Bullets
and Somersby. Sprinter Sacre travelled just behind these in fourth, and he was
just half a length up on Sire De Grugy and Mr Mole. Sam
Twiston-Davies’ mount drew alongside the long-time
leader as they headed to the final bend;
Somersby was now a couple of lengths adrift in third and being urged
along to keep pace with the leaders, and Sire De Grugy
had taken fourth. Entering the home
straight, these four horses appeared to be the only ones left with a chance
of winning. Dodging
Bullets was marginally ahead as they cleared the penultimate fence, but he
was less than fluent here; to his inside Special Tiara battled gamely in an
attempt to fight off the challenge.
Somersby, although under pressure, was answering every call to the
outside; but Sire De Grugy was unable to pick up
the leaders as they headed towards the final fence. The game was up for Sprinter Sacre at this point as, having turned into the home
straight, he ran out of petrol and was pulled up having jumped two out. Under
a strong drive from Noel Fehily, the long-time
leader managed to hold his own and was still upsides Dodging Bullets as they
cleared the last; Somersby just half a length down too. After the last, the Paul Nicholls runner wandered
slightly on the flat as Somersby laid down his challenge to the outside, but
he stayed on resolutely to win by 1¼ lengths at the
line from the Mick Channon runner. Special Tiara claimed 3rd place a further
1¾ lengths behind him. Sire De Grugy finished in 4th, 7 lengths away; Simply Ned was
5th, followed by Savello, Sizing Europe and Mr Mole
crossing the line in their own time.
It
was hust like buses for Sam Twiston-Davies;
you wait for ages, then ride one winner and another comes along straight
away!
I
stayed beside the course-side rails to see the winning horse and jockey pass
by. This
son of Dubawi was bred by Frankie Dettori, so it was no surprise that the popular flat-race
jockey was on hand when the prizes were awarded following the race. It
was Somersby’s seventh successive Festival run; trainer Mick Channon was pleased with the horse but slightly gutted
that the veteran chaser had had such a good season without getting his head
in front. Following
the race, Paul Nicholls described Dodging Bullets as being mentally immature
on previous Festival visits, saying that he used to get himself stressed;
also the horse’s form used to tail off in the Spring. Having discovered that Silviniaco
Conti suffered from stomach ulcers, they thought it might be worth trying the
same remedial treatment on the winner, and they ‘tinkered’ with his breathing last Autumn too. Dodging Bullets has also worn a tongue-tie
for his last three races, all of which he’d now won; he said the horse’s
temperament would not have allowed this prior to the current season. Is
Sam Twiston-Davies known as ‘Batman’? For, when
interviewed by Lydia Hislop, I noticed that his
weight cloth had the ‘Batman’ logo
etched upon it! Evidently Harry Derham, nephew of Paul Nicholls and recently retired from
the saddle despite his young age, rides the horse out every day. When Frankie visited the yard, Harry
refused to let him ride the horse; Frankie had to ride a stable-mate
instead! Gary
Moore, trainer of Sire De Grugy, stated that the
ground had been too fast for his horse today, unlike last year when he said
they’d ‘just got away with it’. Race 4 - 3:20pm. THE BETWAY QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade
1) The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Noel Fehily,
the rider of SPECIAL TIARA, placed third, 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 Fehily for 2 days as follows: Wednesday 25 and Thursday
26 March 2015. The
Stewards considered the running of SPRINTER SACRE (FR), ridden by Barry Geraghty, and trained by
Nicky Henderson, which was pulled up. They noted the trainer could offer no
explanation for the gelding’s
performance. The Veterinary Officer reported that a post-race examination of
the gelding during routine
testing failed to reveal any abnormalities. In previous years I’ve headed across
to the centre of the racecourse in order to get a better view of the Cross
Country race but, this year, I stayed where I was. There was a good reason for this, namely
the fact that, if Martin Keighley’s Any Currency was to win the race, I
wouldn’t be able to get back to the Winners’ Enclosure in time to view the
celebrations. It takes ages to return
from within the centre course enclosures at the end of this race due to
weight of numbers; especially as race-goers have to wait until the course is
clear of horses and emergency vehicles too.
The favourite for this race was
French representative, Toutancarmont, priced at 9-2; evidently the leading
Cross Country horse in France. Second
favourite was last year’s fourth, Duke Of Lucca, priced at 5-1. With stable
jockey, Ian Popham, still recovering from injury, Aidan Coleman took the ride
aboard Any Currency (Woody). Six of
the field were greys! Obviously the starting gate for
the race was situated in the middle of the racecourse. This meant the horses crossed over the home
straight upon leaving the horse-walk to head up in front of the Best Mate
enclosure to reach it. The starting enclosure is very
small for sixteen runners to mill around within. As a result, Chicago Grey got a little too
close to Any Currency, and the latter unleashed a kick with both
hind-hooves. Woody is a nervous-energy
kind of horse, hence the regular hood, along with cheek-pieces today too,
plus noseband! When I visited last
September for the yard’s public Open Day, he was living in one of the larger
open-top boxes at the far end of the barn and, having got excited, he was
noisily letting fly with both hooves on that day too! The incident having happened, Chicago
Grey’s jockey Davy Condon was asked to trot the horse up so that the vet
could check him out. The Irish runner
was fine and rejoined the others. The runners continued to circle
within the enclosure. Latterly Woody
became a little muleish, refusing to move on as Aidan wished; the jockey
tapped him with the whip and he lashed out again. Fortunately he did not connect with anyone
on this occasion.
And
then they were off ... or rather they weren’t, as Quantitativeeasing
bounded forward and through the starting gate before permission was
given. The others followed on for a
few strides; they soon halted and returned to the starting point once more. It
was a standing start on the second occasion, with Chicago Grey slowly
away. The runners were led over the
first, a bank with hedge, by the other French representative Nuage D’Ainay; in the rear group,
Charingworth made a mistake here. This relegated him to second-last, with
solely Chicago Grey behind him. The
runners headed around a left-hand bend and then galloped to obstacle number
two, a ditch with railed hedge, which they all cleared safely. Fence number three is the birch island
fence; named because the fence is split into two, an identical left and right
option, with a tall birch dividing ‘island’
in the middle. Six horses chose to
jump the right-hand option; this included near the rear of the field Charingworth who was much less than fluent here. Nuage D’Ainay
continued to lead the way, narrowly, from Any Currency as they continued to
the Aintree fence; the jockeys steered their mounts towards the outside of
the track in order to jump this fence à la Canal Turn style. Near the back of the field, Dogora made a small error, and this resulted in one of
the two Gigginstown runners, the grey Ipsos Du Berlais, being baulked
slightly and making a mistake too. Following
the left-turn, the field headed to a bank with hedge, before crossing the
mid-course chute and jumping fence number six, a double-bank of hedges. Continuing across the in-field, the next
obstacle was a log topped by a hedge; Nuage D’Ainay continued to lead by a few lengths from Any
Currency, Duke Of Lucca, and Toutancarmont. Sire Collonges
and Hey Big Spender disputed fifth position, from Quantitativeeasing
and Rose Of The Moon. The
runners then headed out over the Old Course to approach a double-bank with
hedge. After that they turned right
and galloped up the hill to a set of timber rails; the field had now closed
up and Any Currency jumped this fence alongside the leader. Having passed two horses, Chicago Grey was
no longer at the back of the field; behind him were Charingworth,
who hadn’t been jumping fluently throughout, and Ipsos
Du Berlais, who was probably still paying for his
earlier error. The
horses crossed the far end of the chute and continued their journey uphill,
bearing to their right to reach fence number ten, a railed hedge. In mid-field, Master Rajeem
hit this one quite hard. The runners
then traversed the downhill section of the Old Course once more before
arriving at a ditch with railed hedge, there being a slight drop on the
landing side too. Master Rajeem was noticeably slow at this obstacle and lost
ground; Chicago Grey made an error here.
The
runners continued across the in-field to fence number twelve, a pole and
railed hedge, before crossing the mid-course chute once more to arrive at the
ditch in front of a raised bank, with a hedge at the far side to negotiate in
order to reach ground-level again.
With so much experience over this course, Any Currency landed first
over the obstacle. They then continued
towards the throng of spectators surrounding the water-jump, the latter being
at the bottom of a dip because it’s part of the stream which runs across the
course. Having
jumped this fence, the horses were steered sharply left to head towards the
two cheese wedges, fences 15 and 16 respectively. Any Currency and Nuage
D’Ainay continued to dispute the lead, with two of
the greys, namely Chicago Grey and Ipsos Bu Berlais, still bringing up the rear. On this occasion it
was the French raider who was the quicker over this ‘combination’ fence. The
first, and largest, figure of eight circuit had now been completed. Another
sharp left-hand turn took the runners to fence number 17, a ditch with railed
hedge; the fence having already been number two on the first circuit. To the inside of the runners, in mid-field,
Quantitativeeasing was a little awkward in the
air. Following the jump, the field
headed around a 45 degree turn to approach the raised bank with preceding
ditch and rear hedge for the second time; it would be jumped at a 90-degree angle
to the previous occasion. The
leading runners were well-grouped as they headed away from the obstacle and
over the mid-course chute once again. Nuage D’Ainay and Any Currency
continued to lead from the grey Toutancarmont and
Duke Of Lucca. Also in the vanguard
were the grey Sire Collonges, the grey Rose Of The
Moon, Quantitativeeasing, Hey Big Spender, Are Ya Right Chief and Dogora. There
was a long run across the in-field before crossing the Old Course and
reaching fence number nineteen, a ditch with bank and hedge; another fence
they’d jumped previously. On this
occasion they skirted the group of trees and turned immediately right to
reach a double-bank with hedge before returning across the Old Course once more. The
next obstacle was a ditch and boarded hedge; Charingworth
finally managed to get rid of his jockey Harry Bannister when he blundered at
this one and unseated him. The
remaining runners continued their journey across the in-field to reach the
water-jump for the second and last time.
Having negotiated the fence, they took a sharp left-hand turn to
gallop past the many spectators before jumping a double-spread hedge. Their second circuit had now been completed;
there were just nine more obstacles to negotiate. Any
Currency was now leading the field, from Duke Of Lucca, Nuage
D’Ainay and Sire Collonges. However, he jumped the next fence, a bank
with hedge, more slowly than his rivals and this enabled Toutancarmont
and Duke of Lucca to go on. Mind you,
having said that, Any Currency is able to plug on for ages under a strong
ride and Aidan Coleman was about to really earn his riding fee! The
favourite led over the next, the third time they had jumped the same ditch
with railed hedge, accompanied by the loose Charingworth. The leader got a little close to the next
obstacle, which was the birch island fence once more; just three of the
runners went for the right-hand option, namely Sire Collonges,
Duke Of Lucca and the fading Nuage D’Ainay. The
runners then traversed the beginning of the mid-course chute to approach the
Aintree fence for the second time. Fortunately
the loose horse was far enough ahead to avoid hampering the leaders, because
he headed straight on over the jump rather than steering out wide to negotiate
it Canal Turn style like the others.
Having crept up the inside with the hope of gaining an advantage here,
Nina Carberry’s mount was slightly hampered as her
rivals cut across the corner of the fence; thus she found herself shuffled
back to fourth place. The
French favourite continued to lead as the runners headed over a bank with
hedge just prior to crossing the racecourse chute for the last time; Any
Currency continued as his nearest pursuer, with Hey Big Spender laying down
his challenge too. The next fence was
a double-bank with hedges, followed by the log fence with hedge on top. Having cleared this without incident, there
were just two stuffed hurdles to negotiate once they exited onto the
racecourse proper. As
they turned left to head down the hill to the second last, Any Currency was
duelling with Toutancarmont for the lead. Close on their heels were Quantitativeeasing and Hey Big Spender, followed by Sire Collonges, Duke Of Lucca and Rivage
D’Or; just behind these Uncle Junior, Dogora and Nuage D’Ainay. And just when it looked like Nina Carberry was going to cruise past to the inside of the
leaders, disaster struck! Toutancarmont
dived to his left when clearing the flight, barged into Quantitativeeasing,
and they both crashed through the plastic rails. To make matters worse, they also knocked
over a photographer who had been standing to the inside of those
aforementioned rails. The horses
didn’t actually fall but, obviously, they were out of the contest. This
now left Any Currency in the lead but the improving Rivage
D’Or was in hot pursuit. They headed
around the home turn, with the leader hanging slightly out to his right as he
approached the last; by the time they had reached it, Davy Russell’s mount
was upsides. Rivage
D’Or out-jumped his rival and headed up the run-in to win by 2¼ lengths at
the line. But, to give Any Currency
his dues, he did keep on up the hill to ward off the challenge of Uncle
Junior and claim second place for the second year running. ‘Go
on Woody’ was my cry as he headed to the line! Dogora nabbed fourth
at the line from Hey Big Spender and Sire Collonges. It was double on the day for jockey Davy
Russell, having also won the Neptune Novices’ Hurdle. The
photographer involved in the penultimate flight incident was Patrick McCann
who works for the Racing Post, and he suffered a broken leg as a result. Racecourses really have to brush up on
their Health and Safety with regard to photographers being allowed to stand
in dangerous locations.
Despite
not having won, I decided to return to the Winners’ Enclosure to see Any
Currency arrive back. When
Davy Russell spoke to RUK’s Lydia Hislop after the
race, he spoke up for a Cross Country event being run at the Festival because
he said that everyone has to remember that this is how National Hunt racing
began – riding across the countryside from steeple to steeple – it’s a
traditional sport. Race 5 - 4:00pm. THE GLENFARCLAS HANDICAP STEEPLE CHASE (A
CROSS COUNTRY STEEPLE CHASE) (CLASS 2) The
Stewards noted that ANY CURRENCY (IRE), placed second, jinked left
approaching the second last fence
causing TOUTANCARMONT (FR) to jump left, bumping QUANTITATIVEEASING (IRE) and
causing these
two horses to go through the rail, striking a photographer positioned nearby.
After viewing a recording
of the incident they were satisfied that it did not involve a riding offence.
The Cheltenham Racecourse
Executive will review the incident. The
Stewards held an enquiry following a report from the Starter that Miss Nina Carberry, the rider of QUANTITATIVEEASING
(IRE), had allowed her horse to canter into the
start. They interviewed the rider and
the Starters. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the start
the Stewards found the rider
in breach of Rule (D)44.4 and suspended her for 1 day as follows: Thursday 26
March 2015. I think it must have been at this point in the
week that trainer Charlie Longsdon and friends were
standing upon the steppings just in front of
me. Presentations over, I returned to the course-side
rails ahead of the next race; I was in time to see the competitors canter up
the all-weather strip on their way to the 2-mile starting gate at the far end
of the home straight. The Fred Winter
Juvenile Handicap Hurdle race is designed for those youngsters who are
thought not to be quite good enough to take part in the Triumph Hurdle. It’s certainly made the latter race more safe, having reduced numbers in that event; there
used to be regular fatalities due to weight of numbers coupled with
speed. The favourite for this event was Box Office,
trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by AP McCoy;
price 13-2. As the off-time of the race approached, the
runners headed out of the enclosure and onto the racecourse proper. A number of the juveniles appeared quite
frisky as they jogged away from the starting tape, before turning back
towards it.
The starter quickly let them go, before they
broke into a canter; for they had formed an orderly line to approach the
starting gate despite appearing eager to get on with race. So they were off, first time. The runners were led away by the blinkered Starchitect, son of Sea The Stars; in second spot, centre
track was Gwencily Berbas. All the runners cleared the first flight
without problem; although in rear the second-string McManus runner, The Saint
James, was less than fluent here. The
leader was keen as they headed up the home straight to hurdle number two; the
cheek-pieced Verawal soon moved up into second
position. Gwencily
Berbas travelled in third, from Sebastian Beach,
the first-time blinkered grey Arabian Revolution, with Golden Doyen to his
inside. The field cleared flight number two without
incident before heading up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure; the
runners were still well-grouped. So
much so, that near the back of the field Mr Gallivanter
was a little short of room on the top corner and bumped the plastic
rails. Having entered the back
straight, the runners headed down the slope to flight number three; a number
of the runners clattered through it.
Starchitect
continued marginally ahead of the others as they continued their journey
along the back, Verawal remained a close second,
with Gwencily Berbas in
third. Just behind these were Golden
Doyen to the inside and Arabian Revolution to the outside. Having jumped the next, the field
negotiated the dog-leg turn. Towards
the rear of the field travelled Hostile Fire, All Yours, Box Office, Mr Gallivanter, The Wallace Line and The Saint James. The fifth flight claimed the first victim, when
Golden Doyen misjudged his take-off and fell.
He badly hampered the Gary Moore runner, Baron Alco, who had to jump
the prostrate horse’s legs and Richard Johnson too. Others which had to take
avoiding action were The Wallace Line, Hostile Fire and Mr Gallavanter. The
Philip Hobbs runner was fine and soon got to his feet. The remaining twenty-one runners continued to the
top of the hill, with Wilson Renwick aboard the leader kicking-on as they
turned the far bend to head down the hill to the third last flight. Queuing up behind the leader were Zarib, Gwencily Berbas, Verawal, Arabian
Revolution, Beatabout The Bush, Souriyan
and Qualando; Verawal
made a mistake at the flight and dropped back, bumping Souriyan
as a result. With the leaders still
closely grouped, All Yours was slightly hampered in the backwash of
this. Starchitect
remained ahead as they cleared two out, although Zarib
and Gwencily Berbas were
snapping at his heels. Two of the
three Paul Nicholls-trained runners were just behind these, namely Bouvreuil and Qualando. His other runner, All Yours, was under a
strong drive from Sam Twiston-Davies and disputed
sixth with Box Office. Having entered the home straight, the leaders
fanned out across the course as they approached the final flight. Qualando arrived
there first, from Zarib, Bouvreuil
and Starchitect.
However, Zarib ran out of fuel quickly after
landing over it, which left Qualando and Bouvreuil to fight it out to the line; the former claimed
victory by one and a half lengths.
Having been at the rear of the field for much of the race, The Saint
James stayed on strongly to claim 3rd, with long-time leader Starchitect battling-on to take 4th, All Yours finished
5th and Zarib 6th. If Day One had been Willie Mullins Day, today was
Paul Nicholls Day, with his third victory on the card. No Irish runners made the frame ... that
makes a change! In fact Paul Nicholls’
horses had claimed 1st, 2nd and 5th. It was Nick’s second Festival victory;
the first being Hunt Ball in 2012.
Richard Johnson
was fine following his fall from Golden Doyen, although he did return to the
Weighing Room with muddy and torn silks!
I was able
to remain beside the course-side rails until the winning horse and rider had
passed by, and return to the steppings above the
Winners’ Enclosure in time to see him arrive back there too. I walk fast and, possibly, it takes a
little longer for the horses to make the journey now that the horse-walk has
been re-aligned. Race 6 - 4:40pm. THE FRED WINTER JUVENILE HANDICAP HURDLE
RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 3) The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Wilson Renwick, the
rider of STARCHITECT (IRE),
placed fourth, from approaching the second last flight. 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. They suspended Renwick for 2 days and, taking into
account his deferred suspension
of 8 days previously imposed by the Disciplinary Panel, suspended him for a
total of 10 days as
follows: Wednesday 25, Thursday 26, Friday 27, Saturday 28, Sunday 29, Monday
30 and Tuesday 31 March
and Wednesday 1, Thursday 2 and Saturday 4 April 2015. The
Stewards considered the running of ARABIAN REVOLUTION, ridden by Barry Geraghty, and trained by John Ferguson, which finished
unplaced. The Stewards noted the trainer’s explanation that the gelding may
be suited by a longer trip in the future. The Veterinary Officer reported
that a post-race examination of the gelding during routine testing failed to
reveal any abnormalities. The
Stewards considered the running of HOSTILE FIRE (IRE), ridden by Davy Condon,
and trained by Gordon Elliott, which finished unplaced. The Stewards noted
the trainer’s explanation that the gelding ran to freely in the early stages
and was hampered by a faller three out. The Veterinary Officer reported that
a post-race examination of the gelding during routine testing failed to reveal
any abnormalities. The favourite for the Champion
Bumper, Moon Racer who was trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore, had been an expensive purchase (for £225,000)
from a Cheltenham Brightwells Sale. I saw Moon Racer win the Standard Open NH
Flat Race at Cheltenham’s Showcase fixture back in mid-October. The horse’s starting price was 9-2
today. Alan King had a runner in this race,
namely Yanworth, owned by JP McManus and ridden by
AP McCoy. Steve Ayres, who also looks
after Balder Succes, was leading the horse around
the Parade Ring. Supasundae,
priced at 17-2, had beaten the Alan King runner in a bumper at Ascot back in
December; following that race he’d changed hands for a tidy sum and was now
owned by the ‘Sizing’ Potts and
trained in Ireland by Henry de Bromhead. As an aside, Supasundae
was bred by the Newsells Park Stud; I know where
that is, because I’ve rambled through North Hertfordshire in the past and
actually walked along footpaths across their paddocks! It’s located near a village named Barkway. Willie Mullins had a mere six runners
in the race ... and that was because his seventh, Pylonthepressure,
was a non-runner! Even so, that is
still marginally over a quarter of the runners! Totally ridiculous. Belinda Keighley did raise this issue of
too many horses representing one yard in a tweet following the Festival ...
and she has a serious point. But she
agreed that there would be a problem enforcing a rule. But they manage to apply it in the
Olympics, etc, when larger nations are limited to three runners per event
despite having many who may make the required grade. Mind you, they also have trial events to
decide. I felt it wasn’t worth me heading
down the course-side rails to view the race, as the light had faded and would
make photography difficult anyway. So
I stood and watched the race upon the large screen beyond the Parade
Ring. As this race took place over the
extended two mile trip, the runners cantered up the all-weather strip in
front of the grandstand before heading down the turf and re-entering it to
continue to the starting gate at the far end of the home straight. Having headed away from the gate in
preparation for the required sedate approach once they’d turned around, Ghost
River got a little excited, then Jetstream Jack
more so. In the end it was Supasundae who broke the line and the starter decided he
couldn’t let them go at the first attempt.
As a result they had to line up for a standing start, with Neatly Put
very fidgety behind them; his jockey briefly taking his feet out of the
irons. Not satisfied, the starter asked them
to take a turn; just a few of them to outside of the line did what can only
be described as a pirouette! To the
inside, for a few moments Up For Review was facing backwards, also playing up
to the outside of the track was General Principle and Vigil. And, at one point, Ruby’s mount, Bellshill,
was preparing to unleash a kick with his near-hind hoof!
Finally
satisfied, the starter let them go; but a few really weren’t suited to this
kind of a start and dwelt. They
included Ghost River and Modus. The
favourite was slowly away too, but he soon managed to ease his way ahead of a
number of runners, including Neatly Put who seemed to be slightly
inconvenienced as he did so. Meanwhile
Au Quart De Tour had set off in front, from the keen racing Up For
Review. At their heels were Supasundae, Vigil, Theo’s Charm, Stone Hard and Bordini. As
they progressed up the home straight, Up For Review took a narrow advantage
due to pulling so hard; Bay Of Freedom and Neatly Put brought up the
rear. Supasundae
came through to lead as they turned away from the main grandstands to head up
the hill in front of the Best Mate Enclosure.
The runners soon took the left-hand bend to begin their journey along
the back straight. Travelling close
behind the leader were Up For Review, Au Quart De Tour, Jetstream
Jack and O O Seven; having been slowly away, Ghost
River had now made up noticeable ground to the outside of the field. The
runners continued along the back straight to negotiate the dog-left turn, Jetstream Jack now pressing Supasundae
for the lead. In behind this duo was
the green-running Up For Review, also Au Quart De Tour, Vigil, O O Seven, Bordini, Stone Hard,
Theo’s Charm, Livelovelaugh, Ghost River, Wait For
Me, Bellshill, Yanworth, General Principle, Davy
Doubt, Western Way, Moon Racer, Always Lion, Bay Of Freedom, Montana Belle,
Modus and Neatly Put. The
competitors soon reached the top of the hill and swept around the left-hand bend
before descending the slope. Supasundae and Jetstream Jack
continued to lead as their rivals lined up across the racecourse ready to
make their challenges. Bordini was noticeably struggling and dropped back
through the field. Having
reached the bottom of the hill, Jetstream Jack
drifted back into the pack as Vigil joined the leader; Wait For Me had begun
to make his move up the inside under Richard Johnson and was travelling
well. And tracking him through was the
favourite Moon Racer. The leading duo
swept into the home straight, closely pursued by the Philip Hobbs and David
Pipe representatives. As
they passed between the empty wings of the final flight, to the near side
Moon Racer took the lead, with Wait For Me now giving chase to him. Modus, who had been in around tenth
position as they turned into the home straight, continued to stay on under
pressure and overtook Richard Johnson’s mount on the climb to the line. He finished 1½ lengths
behind the winner, Moon Racer. Also
staying on, and appearing to need further, was Yanworth
under AP McCoy; he almost got to Wait For Me, losing out for 3rd position by
a neck. Vigil
was the first of the Irish home, in 5th; which meant that everything had been
turned on its head in the 2015 renewal of the race, with British horses
filling the first four places. And,
considering the number of Willie Mullins entries, they ran poorly; the first
home being Bellshill under Ruby Walsh in 10th!
So,
by the end of day two, the GB team had begun to claw their way back to 6 winners
compared to the Irish team’s 8 winners.
We were still trailing, but at least the numbers were heading in the
right direction! Tom
Scudamore was literally ‘over the moon’ aboard Moon Racer as he returned to the Winners’
Enclosure following the race. When
interviewed by RUK’s Lydia Hislop, Tom admitted
that it had not been his plan to get away slowly; the horse had hesitated due
to its inexperience, having had just two previous races and never undertaken
a standing-start before. He said some
horses take to it; others don’t and are thus slowly away. Being further back in the field than hoped,
Tom resigned himself to seeing what happened, and the horse was good enough
to overcome the problems regardless. Race 7 - 5:15pm. THE WEATHERBYS CHAMPION BUMPER (A STANDARD
OPEN NATIONAL HUNT FLAT RACE) (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) Mr
P W Mullins rider of BORDINI (FR) which was pulled up, reported that the
gelding weakened quickly turning
into the home straight. The Veterinary Officer reported that a post-race
examination of the gelding during
routine testing failed to reveal any abnormalities. Non-Race
Related Incidents Race
2: The Stewards
noted that the Veterinary Officer gave permission for SOUTHFIELD THEATRE (IRE),
placed second, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, and
trained by Paul Nicholls, not to enter the unsaddling
enclosure because it had sustained a wound to its left foreleg. Race
3: BARIZAN (IRE),
trained by Brendan Powell, was withdrawn by the Starter, acting on Veterinary advice,
after it had been kicked by another runner. Race
5: The Stewards
noted that CHICAGO GREY (IRE) had been kicked at the start, but after being examined
by the veterinary surgeon was passed fit and was allowed to run. Race
7: Following a
false start in this race, the Starters reviewed the video footage and were
satisfied that no
rider had breached the Starting Procedures. Presentations
over, it was soon time for me to leave.
Better safe than sorry, I popped to the loo prior to leaving. I’m not sure why the pegs on the inside of
the loo doors aren’t more substantial, as my bag slipped off the end and
crashed to the floor. Fingers crossed
that my camera, new mobile phone and old pay-as-you-go mobile phone survived
the impact; and my best spectacles and the spectacles I wear when I take
photos too – it’s a very big handbag because it needs to be! I
find it difficult to see close up objects when I’m wearing my contact lenses,
hence the back-up glasses; although my sight in this department is improving
as old age long-sightedness begins to compensate for the short-sightedness
caused by too many hours spent crafting over the years! These days I even have to wear glasses to
see my computer screen at work, and another pair to knit, sew and make
jewellery. I’ve not resorted to
expensive varifocal glasses yet. I didn’t need to wear glasses at all until
I was 29. I
returned along the concourse, over the bridge, across the driveway, headed
past refreshment kiosks to my left, before weaving between traffic to cross
the Evesham Road. Just prior to the
latter, I was handed a sheet of runners and riders for Thursday; always
useful. I walked up the driveway
opposite, before entering the bottom field and turning right to walk along
the top thereof. There’s a gap at the
far corner, then a brief section of grass, before I crossed the farm driveway
and entered the area where the temporary staff parked their cars ... and me
too! There’s obviously a public
footpath across the driveway, as there are stiles in the fencing each side of
it; but, because there were also gaps in that fencing, I didn’t need to climb
over them ... although I might have done so in my rambling days! Many a time I’ve done an unintended flying
dismount from a slippery wooden stile! Having
returned to my car, I consumed the remaining two cheese rolls. I also checked that the contents of my
handbag were undamaged. Everything was
working okay and my glasses were fine; although maybe the lid of the case
containing my best glasses was slightly out of alignment now. I’d only bought it during a visit to Dunelms a couple of weeks ago; it’s amazing what items
you find close to the check-outs! And
my race-card looked a little battered too; with a half inch tear across the
first three pages. I
set out upon my return journey at 18:20.
Having been parked in the farthest Swindon Lane car park, upon exit I
had to turn right as directed by the traffic police officers; this meant that
I missed the entry point to Tommy Taylors Lane. Mind you, Windy Ridge has often been my
preference in recent years as I find it bypasses the longest queues. But, today, I was annoyed to discover that
all traffic heading in a westerly direction was being sent along this
thoroughfare by another traffic officer and this had caused a tail-back at
the far end of it. Poodles. Once
I’d eventually reached the T-junction at the far end of Windy Ridge, I turned
left to travel back along Swindon Road.
There’s a mini-roundabout a short distance along and I turned left
again at this point to remain on the same road. Further along, I forked off to the left
along St Paul’s Road and had soon driven past the Tommy Taylors Lane/Folly
Lane exit. I really don’t like driving
along St Paul’s Road, as vehicles are parked along the left-hand side and the
road continues to narrow as it approaches Clarence Square; as a result
there’s always a need to give way to oncoming vehicles. Having
briefly waited in a queue at the traffic-lit junction with the Evesham Road,
I proceeded into the one-way Clarence Road opposite. I took the left-hand option, to arrive at
the first roundabout on the Prestbury Road, where I
turned right and travelled around Pittville Circus
before heading along Pittville Circus Road to reach
Hewlett Road. There are a number of
retirement apartment blocks situated on roads off of Pittville
Circus Road and I quite fancy moving to Cheltenham when the time comes ...
it’s not too far away in years either. L I wish I was 20 years younger. I
turned left into Hewlett Road and had soon reached the longabout,
where I turned left then right to head up Harp Hill. But I was perturbed to discover a
smallish-sized coach was heading up the incline in front of me, much to the
annoyance of oncoming traffic, and me too.
Having turned into Greenway Lane, it was also a very tight squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze for him to negotiate the two traffic
calming chicanes. I arrived at Sixways at 18:40. The
coach was obviously heading towards London, because it then travelled up the
A40 immediately ahead of me; however I was able to overtake it at the traffic
lights on the Andoversford bypass because I was
quicker off the starting line! Once
given my head, I was able to make good progress and had sight of the
tail-lights at the rear of the preceding convoy not long after negotiating
the roundabout upon the Stow/Cirencester Road. As
I prefer to leave a sensible sized gap between myself and the vehicle in
front, a driver chanced their arm by pulling out of a side-turning on the
left; they were turning right but I had to brake because they’d misjudged the
speed at which I was travelling. The numpty. Having
reached Oxford, once again I chose the quicker M40/M25 route home. There’s always a risk of losing
concentration on the motorway when tired and, as it turned out, today would
be the low-point of Cheltenham week as regards tiredness. I think my earlier headache had contributed
and I yawned on a number of occasions during the latter part of my journey. As
I was approaching Junction 21A I noticed warning signs notifying drivers of
an accident just after the junction.
So, to ensure I wasn’t delayed, I decided to leave at the
aforementioned interchange. As I
needed to top up the petrol tank yet again, I drove through St Albans city
centre on my final leg of the journey in order to do so at my usual
supermarket forecourt. I arrived home
at 20:43. As
per yesterday, I uploaded today’s photographs for safe keeping and copied a
number of links in preparation for writing my Festival blogs the following
weekend. Supper this evening was
spaghetti on toast. I turned in at
around 22:45. Two
down and two to go! Photos
- Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Races 1 & 2 Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Race 3 Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 2 – Race 4 (Champion Chase) |
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