PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2016
DAY ONE
FEATURING THE CHAMPION HURDLE
TUESDAY 15 MARCH 2016
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Oh Crick takes part in the RoR Parade of Stars It was a difficult run-up to
this year’s Festival, with a re-organisation at work resulting in exhaustion
even before I’d begun my annual Cheltenham break. I also had a busy weekend, immediately
prior to this, with a visit to see Menace, my EPDS Racing syndicate horse, at
Blewbury in Oxfordshire and also briefly attending the second day of ‘Lambing Live’ at my local
Agricultural/Further Education College.
Lambing Live certainly lived up
to its name, as I saw at close quarters the second of twin lambs born. There were also numerous Saddleback piglets
with their mums, Toggenburg goat kids, horses and ponies at the equestrian
centre and, definitely last but not least, four alpacas - Nemo, Mr Toots,
Machu and Picchu. There had been
concerns regarding the suitability of the College fields for parking this
year, due to the excessively wet winter, but many attendees seemed to turn up
in vehicles directly at the venue despite a park and ride option being
available at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, and requests for
public transport to be used. I gather
it was necessary to use a number of suitable sports pitches at the venue
instead. I walked, as it wasn’t that
far away, and could have done so from most areas within my city. I also wrote,
proof-read and uploaded my Menace diary prior to heading off to
Cheltenham. On the Monday morning I
walked up to the local branch of my bank to withdraw money, and also bought a
copy of the Racing Post, before returning home. I spent time
planning my wardrobe, and ended up with 8, then 9 skirts hanging from the
picture rail just in case I wanted them; all ironed and ready to go. Suitable sweaters and cardigans were hung
upon the outside of wardrobe doors; also three coats with contrasting scarves. I made four ‘outfit’ lists in a notebook, and even threw together a new pearl
and glass bead necklace. But, as
always seems to happen at some point during the Cheltenham Festival, my
outfits soon went ‘off piste’ due
to the prevailing weather! The good news
is that the weather remained, more or less, dry for all four days; the bad
news was that the breeze was brisk and very cold. Having begun
publicising the BetBright sponsored Prestbury Cup back in January, the GB
Team Captain ... namely Choc ... was due to be at the racecourse on all four
of the racedays. J On Monday, Choc and his Irish counterpart,
Hector O’Heochagain, were interviewed at Cheltenham racecourse by Oli Bell of
Racing UK. Previously there had been
appearances on Channel 4 during Cheltenham Trials Day, telephone interviews
on ATR’s Get In, not to mention many photographs on social media and videos
on Youtube. BetBright’s recently
appointed Chairman is horse-owner Rich Ricci; born in 1964, he was formerly
the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking at Barclays, before he retired
from that career. Link Anyway, I set my alarm for
around 04:00 on Tuesday. Although, yet
again, I’d miscalculated slightly and it sounded just before then – the dial
only shows 00-15-30-45, so it’s difficult to judge when setting the alarm time. I woke, showered and washed and
dried my hair. I ate a breakfast of
Weetabix, raisins, blueberries and banana; just half a cup of tea was
consumed, otherwise I was bound to be desparate to spend a penny by the time
I reached the racecourse. My outfit today was a thermal
t-shirt – grey with black doves design (I have two of these for some reason);
grey thermal t-shirt – the material is brushed inside; black/grey/blue
polo-neck thermal t-shirt; a black M & S cardigan with peplum,
cobalt-coloured flippy hem skirt, cobalt blue fleece, black fleece gillet,
grey tights, black Hotter ‘Cannes’
lace-up boots, black/grey block design coat, black/white horse design cowel,
brushed check fringed M & S scarf – blue/grey/black/white. Black/grey M & S handbag, bought during
a price reduction period at M & S in November; I love sale items these
days. Black/white/pink pigtail
hat; long striped wristwarmers. Jewellery-wise, I wore solely earrings, a
pair ‘butterfly wing’ ones
purchased from UniqueDichroic, one of my favourite retailers on Etsy; the lady
who creates them is based near Perth ... Australia; my blue ones, with a
black background. I scatched my leg on a box which
I’d placed on the floor of my bedroom; it was bleeding slightly and stung too
when I put my tights on. I hate deep
scratches as, invariably, they scar ... and I still have the mark to prove
this. I was ready to go just before
06:25. My journey took me through the
City centre, to reach the road to Hemel Hempstead. Drat; I noticed that fluff from the fleece
I’d worn on Saturday, a lavender one, had stuck to my seat-beat and was now
transferring onto both my black cardigan and my blue skirt. I’ve a number of M & S fleeces, but
have noticed that the newer ones shed fluff onto other clothes; I know this
will often depend on whether the materials ‘attract’ but I can never recall it happening with the cobalt
blue, bright purple and purple ones.
I travelled via Leverstock
Green, the ‘Magic Roundabout’ and
Two Waters Way to join the A41 bypass. This part of the journey went
without a hitch and I’d reached Aylesbury by 07:00, where I travelled around
the town, in an anticlockwise direction, via the road-road. My route then took me along the A41,
through Waddesdon to Bicester. It was
just a couple of minutes past 07:30; I was on schedule despite having to
travel behind a number of heavy vehicles latterly. However I’m going to take back previous
comments regarding the good condition of repair of the roads in Oxfordshire;
they were dreadful from the county boundary to Bicester on this
occasion! At the far end of the bypass, I
turned left to continue on the A41.
Amazingly, the traffic queue tailing back from the M40 junction was
almost non-existent; it took just one change of signals before I’d negotiated
the roundabout. Traffic was moving a
little more slowly on the A34, but this is not surprising, as vehicles
leaving the southbound carriageway of the M40 take this route into Oxford;
cars also join it from a number of side-roads. I’d soon arrived at the Peartree
Interchange; I left the Oxford bypass to reach the roundabout beneath
it. Today, traffic was queueing around
the island, so I had to ease my way into the flow gradually before heading
very slowly down the dual carriageway to reach the A40. Roadworks were being carried out at the
roundabout here; it appeared the island was being reduced in size, with the
width of the eastbound carriageway of the A40 being increased as it
approached the junction. As a result,
a speed limit of 30mph was in operation at the present time. Anyway, although the speed limit
soon changed to 50 mph, this was not possible as there was a concrete mixer
at the head of the convoy.
Fortunately, however, the driver soon pulled over to permit vehicles
to pass. The Witney bypass allows
further heavy vehicles to be passed, but I still got stuck behind one on the
route into Burford. Unusually, there
was a queue of traffic tailing back from the roundabout to the south of the
town; in fact I permitted a number of vehicles to cross through the queue and
enter the Carterton Road whilst I was waiting. Although this also let a number of vehicles
push out into the queue in front of me too!
Being early, there was no need
to take the signposted ‘alternative’
route to Cheltenham races; I presume that route heads via Stow-on-the-Wold
and Winchcombe. I continued on my
journey along the A40 and had soon reached Cheltenham. Being rush-hour, there was a tailback from
the Sixways junction; traffic was queued all the way back past the ‘school’ turning. Eventually I was able to turn right into
Greenway Lane, where I soon headed through the two chicanes, before turning
left at the far end and heading down Harp Hill. At the bottom of the hill I
turned right into Priors Road, headed past the entrance to the Sainsburys
superstore, before turning right into Bouncers Lane. Normally, at the far end, I’d head into
Tatchley Lane, then along New Barn Lane before negotiating the roundabout
outside the racecourse and entering Swindon Lane and the car park. However, my favourite car park is now
reserved for staff and a drop-off point; very annoying. This being the case, I turned
right and headed through Prestbury, as signposted for public parking. My route then took me along the B4632 to
Southam; ahead of me a car was spewing out fumes from its exhaust. I turned left to enter Old Road, then left
again to head along Southam Lane. I
recognised ‘The Manor House Farm’
from a photograph tweeted by Hannah Bishop ahead of Trials Day; they had been
stuck in a traffic jam there! It became a little bit confusing
at this point, as a number of entrepreneurs had set up their own car parks
along the road, in addition to the official Cheltenham ‘North’ car park. I was thinking that I didn’t wish to arrive too
early, so I continued past the entrance, over the railway bridge to arrive at
the Evesham Road, where I turned left when the traffic lights turned
green. I thus headed down the Evesham
Road to reach the roundabout outside the racecourse. A left turn, second left in fact, took me
past ‘Rosehill’ where UCAS is
based, and I thus soon headed along New Barn Lane in an easterly
direction. There’s nothing quite like
undertaking a recognaissance circuit of the roads around Cheltenham
racecourse! I was soon back in Prestbury,
and I continued to Southam once more, before arriving back at the entrance to
the North car park. This time I turned
left to enter and headed up the driveway, crossing two streams in the
process. I eventually arrived at a
fork; I turned right into the public car park as requested. Once inside I showed my pre-bought parking
docket to one of the stewards, a lady, before heading up the hill and being
directed to park over to my left. Excellent,
the surface of this area was gravel, not grass. Ideal for attendance during wet weather;
when the grass car parks become positively horrendous! No need for tractors here, to rescue
vehicles which get stuck in the mud. I ate two of the cheese rolls
which I’d bought with me, before applying my lipstick, putting on my coat and
heading up the roadway towards the entrance.
The Somerset guys will think I no longer attend, if they don’t see me
at the southern entrance this year; oh well.
I actually followed a lady up the drive who was wearing the
fawn-coloured version of my black Hotter ‘Cannes’
boots (officially described as ‘mushroom’
I gather). I love my boots, they are
comfy and warm; a bargain too, purchased in the sale for 60% of the original
price! For the record, I later bought
a mushroom-coloured pair, again offered in the Hotter sale; 50% off! Queues had begun to form on the
paved area outside the north entrance, ahead of opening time. There was also a kiosk to the side, selling
tickets for today and, presumably, the following two days also; Gold Cup day was
already a sellout I understand. I
bought a race-card whilst I was waiting, from a lady who was selling copies
to waiting racegoers. The throng was allowed in,
through the turnstiles, at 10:30; my first task would be a visit to the
ladies loo. Being a woman of habit, I
always visit the same loos ... I used to use the one to the west of the
concourse, tucked away under the Gold Cup restaurant building. However, although I know the men’s loo is
still open at that location, I’m not sure about the women’s; a couple of
years ago it was closed during the Festival so I changed my allegience to the
one on the ground floor of the main grandstand, near to one of the bars,
possibly the Mandarin bar. So, there I was, heading across
the Plaza, over the horsewalk and up the concourse towards the back of the
main grandstand. I first heard, then
saw, a group of guys taking a selfie with Rich Ricci; one of them was saying
words to the effect that he was a racing ‘A’
lister if ever there was one. Then, as
I continued up the slope who should I see but Choc; in fact he saw me at the
same time as I saw him.
Excellent. My number one goal
attained within 5 minutes of entering the racecourse! Hector was with him too. Obviously I went over to say
hello; giving Choc a kiss on both cheeks, as you do! We chatted briefly before parting; he
confirmed he’d be at the Festival every day.
Wicked. I then continued on my journey
to the ladies loo. I love it when I’m in the right
place at the right time; it happens rarely, to me. Although it did happen when I visited the
Barbury Horse Trials, with my friend Den, and we bumped into Choc as we were
leaving; in other words it was pure coincidence on that occasion. Having completed my task, I then
went to buy a bottle of water, before heading to the steppings above the
Winners’ Enclosure to survey the scene.
I next spotted Choc and Hector on the terrace outside the Weighing
Room; just after 11:00 they headed in the direction of the Guiness Village and
I didn’t see hide nor hair of my favourite man for the remainder of the day. L Being the first day of the
Festival, the RoR parade was due to take place; at 12:30. Ahead of that, a cheque for £2,000 was
presented to a representative of Greatwood by bookmakers Stan James. Martin Kelly then interviewed jockey Bryan
Cooper (misspelt as Brian on the big screen); he wouldn’t reveal which ‘Don’ he’d be riding in Friday’s Gold
Cup – Don Cossack or Don Poli. Trainer
Henry de Bromhead was the next to be interviewed. Two RoR horses arrived in the
Parade Ring ahead of schedule – namely Denman and Punjabi; they were asked to
leave until the official RoR parade began!
Finally it was actually time for the RoR horses to make their appearance. There were 10 this year – 9 of which ran at the 2009 Festival; my first
Festival in fact. Firstly there was Comply Or Die,
winner of the 2008 Grand National; today ridden by Chelsea Pearce. Currenly, he does dressage and goes
hunting. Cappa Bleu, ridden by Jane
O’Brien; dressage and showing. Denman,
ridden by Charlotte Alexander; hunting and team chasing are his speciality,
he’s also been schooled around the cross country fences at the course. Forpadydeplasterer, ridden by
Joanne Quirke; he takes part in hunting and showing. He was being ridden side-saddle today ...
which looked rather effeminate for a horse such as he! Kasbah Bliss, ridden by Kirsteen Reid; he
does dressage, and his former trainer Francois Doumen was on hand today to
speak about the horse. Mikael D’Haguenet, ridden by
Lesley Sutton; having undergone an operation for a kissing spine, the horse
has been unable to do any jumping or hunting.
However, he does take part in dressage now. Oh Crick, ridden by David Nicholson’s
granddaugher Holly Nicholson. Having
begun with dressage competitions, the pair are hoping to event this summer. Punjabi, ridden by Rachael
Kempster; the specialty of the 2009 Champion Hurdler is dressage. Sizing Europe, ridden by Rosemary Connors;
showing. And, finally, Tranquil Sea
ridden by Clemmie Shipp; the winner of the 2009 Paddy Power Gold Cup, has
been competing in dressage and hopes to start eventing in the summer. RoR showing classes are also on the agenda. As per usual, Colin Brown
interviewed each rider in turn. Martin
Kelly also spoke to a representative from Stan James, sponsor of today’s
feature race, the Champion Hurdle. I also noticed that AP McCoy,
who now works for Channel 4 Racing, was being rewired for sound. As I’m paranoid about reserving
a space beside the course-side rails ahead of racing, I set off in good time
to find one. The favourite for the first race was Min, trained
by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; price 15-8. Next in the betting were two Nicky
Henderson-trained runners; Altior, which had won
his last outing impressively at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, to complete four
wins in a row, and Buveur D’Air
which had won both of his hurdle races so far. The starting gate for this event
was at the far end of the home straight, with that and one complete circuit
to travel. This being the case, the
horses cantered up all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before
heading down the turf and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their
journey to the gate.
And then they were off to the sound of the
familiar Cheltenham roar; game on 2016!
The runners were led away by the Kim Bailey-trained Charbel, closely pursued by the Irish ‘massive’; namely Min to the inside,
further out Supasundae and Bellshill, just behind
these the hooded grey Petit Mouchoir, along with
Tombstone. William H Bonney was amongst this clique too. Near the rear, Mister Miyagi made an error
at the first flight. The runners continued their journey up the home
straight towards the next flight, with Charbel hold
a two lengths lead over Min; bringing up the rear was Buveur
D’Air. The
field cleared the next without incident and then headed up the hill to the
audible sound of excitement from the gathered race-goers. The runners entered the back straight, still
headed by the nose-banded Charbel, with Min
continuing to keep close tabs on the leader.
However, at the first flight therein, Ruby Walsh’s mount took off half
a stride too soon, and clipped the top of it; he survived but conceded a
couple of lengths as a result, having slightly ‘lost’ his hind-legs on landing. The field had soon made up the deficit upon the
leader as they headed towards flight number four. Charbel continued
to lead, from Min, Supasundae, Petit Mouchoir, Altior and Bellshill;
Silver Concorde brought up the rear. Supasundae made a slight error at this hurdle. The runners headed around the dog-leg turn
before clearing the next flight; Bellshill was being pushed along by the time
they reached the top of the hill. The runners galloped down the hill, Charbel still holding the advantage over Min, from Supasundae, Altior, Petit Mouchoir, Tombstone, Bellshill, William H Bonney, North Hill Harvey to the outside, Buveur D’Air to the inner,
Mister Miyagi, Holly Bush Henry, Penglai Pavilion
and Silver Concorde. The long-time leader remained just ahead of Min
as they cleared the third last flight; however Altior
was breathing down their necks having now made progress on the outside of the
field into third position. The race
was on as they headed down to the penultimate flight; with Charbel, Min and Altior
clearing it ahead of Supasundae, Petit Mouchoir, Buveur D’Air and Tombstone.
North Hill Harvey, which had been in the main group, made an error
here and soon weakened out of contention. Ruby Walsh had the advantage of a run through
against the rail as they entered the home straight, but Altior
to the outside of Charbel was also able to go with
the pace as the long-time leader began to fade. And the Nicky Henderson runner proved to
have the better turn of foot as they headed to the final flight; he was two
lengths ahead as he cleared it with aplomb.
Having quickened up, Altior
continued to put daylight between himself and his rivals as he galloped up
the hill to the winning line; he won by 7 lengths, with his jockey Nico de Boinville having plenty
in hand to permit him to celebrate as he crossed the line. Min held on to the runner-up position, with
Buveir D’Air staying on
to claim third prize, one and a half lengths away. Tombstone claimed 4th, having caught the
gallant Charbel close home. William H Bonney
completed in 10th for Alan King and Wayne Hutchinson. The race took a lot out of Min, as it was decided
to put him away for the remainder of the season following this race. The winner’s sire is High Chaparral; Nicky said
that, with the sire’s unexpected success as a National Hunt stallion too,
offspring have now gone out of their price range again.
I
remained beside the course-side rails during the interval between race one
and two. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 1 - 1:30pm THE SKY BET SUPREME
NOVICES' HURDLE RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) The Stewards held an
enquiry into the use of the whip by Kielan Woods,
the rider of HOLLY BUSH HENRY (IRE), unplaced, from 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 when out of
contention. The Stewards suspended Woods for 5 days as follows:- Tuesday 29,
Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 March and Friday 1 and Saturday 2 April 2016. As is commonplace, the Arkle
Chase garnered a small field; 7 runners this year. It didn’t help that Douvan,
ridden by Ruby Walsh, was thought by his trainer Willie Mullins to be the
best he’s ever of trained, and that’s even taking into account all of his
other star names, such as Vautour and Annie
Power! It didn’t help that two
possible UK representatives, both trained by Gary Moore namely Ar Mad and Violet Dancer had suffered injuries earlier in
the year; Violet Dancer’s injury had proved to be life ending following
complications after surgery. They’d
both suffered condular fractures. Douvan was so fancied
for this race that his starting price was 1-4! Vaniteux was the
next best in the betting, priced 8-1. As had been the case for the first
race, the starting gate for this event was at the far end of the home
straight, with that and one complete circuit to travel. As a result, the horses cantered up
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before heading down the turf
and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their journey to the
gate.
And then they were off. One of the Irish raiders, Sizing John, led
over the first, from the hooded and nose-banded Fox Norton to the inside, and
Douvan to their outer. Near the rear of the field, to the inside, Aso made a mistake at this fence. Heading over the second obstacle, The Game
Changer sporting the maroon and white Gigginstown
silks, pecked on landing. The septet continued their journey up the home
straight, joining the main Old Course circuit ahead of clearing fence number
three; Douvan jumped this fence alongside Sizing
John and then held a narrow advantage as they headed over the next. Travelling up the hill in front of the Best
Mate Enclosure, Douvan led, from Sizing John, Vaniteux, Fox Norton, The Game Changer, Baltimore Rock,
with Aso bringing up the rear. The runners cleared the uphill fence without
incident before heading out into the country for the one and only time. Douvan was now
bowling along at the head of affairs; there were no departures at the first
obstacle in the back straight, although Baltimore Rock pecked on landing over
it. The next fence is the water-jump,
which they all cleared in their stride, before approaching the first of two
open-ditches; Vaniteux was a little bit ponderous
in the air over this one. There were no noticeable errors at the next, a
plain fence; the field then headed around the dog-leg turn before arriving at
the second and final open-ditch. The
obstacle presented no problems and the seven runners continued their journey
to the top of the hill, still led by Douvan. They rounded the far turn and began their
progress down the hill towards three out; Nico de Boinville had now moved his mount into second position,
just behind the favourite. At the back
of the field, Aso was the least impressive jumping
this fence. Douvan
was travelling well within himself, but Sizing John and Vaniteux
were now being pushed along as they approached the home turn. In fourth position, and in contrast, The
Game Changer was also going well. The Nicky Henderson-runner had progressed under Nico’s encouragement, and was within half a length of the
leader as they entered the home straight.
However, with this pressure, his jumping let him down at the
penultimate fence, he blundered and stumbled badly on landing; this
catapulted his jockey out of the saddle.
The now rider-less Vaniteux struggled but
successfully remained on his feet, however he did bump into The Game Changer
in the process, and Nico was fortunate to miss the
hooves of both Sizing John and Fox Norton as he somersaulted into their
path. Baltimore Rock fell
independently at this fence. This left Douvan well
clear of his remaining five rivals as he approached the final fence. He did take a bit of a liberty at the last
by taking off too soon, but this had no bearing on the result as he galloped
up the hill to win by 7 lengths. Ruby
Walsh celebrated as he crossed the line.
Sizing John stayed on to finish 2nd, with Fox Norton claiming 3rd
having overtaken the weakening The Game Changer on the run-in. Aso was a
close-up 5th, and won £3,360 for his connections. As there was no 6th-placed horse, the prize
would be added to the winner’s pot! Both
Vaniteux and Baltimore Rock appeared fine following
their mishaps.
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 2 - 2:05pm. THE RACING POST ARKLE CHALLENGE
TROPHY STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No
Stewards Enquiry. The favourite for this race was novice Out Sam,
trained by Warren Greatrex and ridden by Gavin
Sheehan; price 13-2. Twenty-three
horses went to post; one non-runner being Indian Castle. Having exited the horse-walk and cantered up the
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands, Grand Jesture
was not at all keen to follow the others to the starting gate, which was
part-way down the home straight. As a
result he was initially led down the course, before the jockey was legged up
to complete the journey.
It was a standing start on this occasion, due to
the difficulties involved with getting a large field to approach the tape at
‘no more than a jog’; thus their
previous attempt or attempts had been aborted. But then they were off. Prominent as they jumped the first fence were The
Young Master, although he was less than fluent, the blinkered Holywell, Morning Assembly and Double Ross. Towards the rear of the field O Maonlai stumbled on landing, and Southfield Vic blundered;
Spring Heeled was in last position.
The horses continued over the second fence, where in mid-field the
blinkered According To Trev made an error. Having sorted themselves out, the big field
headed up the hill towards the third, led by the familiar chestnut-coloured
Double Ross under Jamie Moore. He was
pursued by Holywell, Morning Assembly and
Shanahan’s Turn; after these Kruzhlinin, Audacious
Plan, The Young Master and Un Temps Pour Tout. There were no casualties at this fence. Entering the back straight, Double Ross and
Shanahan’s Turn cleared the next in unison; they all cleared this safely,
with Out Sam and Spring Heeled detached at the rear of the field. The horses
then negotiated the water-jump before heading to the first of four
open-ditches. The first casualty was
Audacious Plan, who fell here; as he had been travelling just behind the
leaders, he severely hampered Regal Encore, then having got to his feet the
horse collided and was knocked to the ground by Spring Heeled, who unseated
Brian O’Connell as result. Double Ross and Shanahan’s Turn continued to lead
as the remaining 21 runners cleared the next fence without incident, before
negotiating the dog-leg turn. There
were no issues at the following fence, which was the second open-ditch; Regal
Encore, According to Trev and Out Sam were bringing
up the rear. Having now reached the
top of the hill, the field headed around the far turn and began their journey
down the hill to the next obstacle. Over the next, Double Ross and Shanahan’s Turn
continued to lead, from Holywell, The Young Master,
Un Temps Pour Tout, Kruzhlinin, Morning Assembly,
Band Of Blood, Fox Appeal, Ballykan, Algernon Pazham, Theatre Guide, the visored
Beg To Differ, Katenko, Carole’s Destrier, Southfield Theatre, Doing Fine, Regal Encore, O
Maonlai, Out Sam and finally According To Trev. Having entered the home straight, Double Ross got
a little bit close to the next fence but continued to dispute the lead with
Shanahan’s Turn and Holywell. All the runners safely negotiated the
following fence, but Beg To Differ was short of room and clipped heels with
Algernon Pazham shortly afterwards; he stumbled as
a result and jockey Aidan Coleman was unseated. Twenty runners now remained and these
headed over the uphill fence without incident. Carole’s Destrier
appeared short of room as they rounded the bend to enter the back straight;
he collided briefly with the rail and lost ground as a result. An incident then occurred at the next, the
unlucky thirteenth, with Theatre Guide putting down and taking a heavy fall
and Southfield Theatre being brought down as a result; although the latter
did catch a foreleg on the fence, so may have come down regardless. Fortunately both horses were fine and
galloped away. The field was thinning out as Double Ross led
them over the water-jump, closely pursued by Kruzhlinin,
Holywell and Un Temps Pour Tout; Shanahan’s Turn,
having been prominent, was now dropping back through the field. Doing Fine fell heavily at the next, the penultimate
open-ditch, and Carole’s Destrier blundered badly;
Noel Fehily remained aboard but decided that now
was the time to call it a day. There
were 15 runners still going, as According to Trev
had been pulled up earlier in the back straight. The next fence was a plain one and The Young
Master blundered here. The field then
negotiated the dog-leg turn and headed towards the final open-ditch. Barry Geraghty
decided to pull up Regal Encore at this point. Double Ross was disputing the lead with Holywell and Un Temps Pour Tout as they cleared the
fence, which Kruzhlinin hit, before continuing the
climb to the top of the hill. A loose horse, which was actually Beg To Differ,
preceded the field as it headed down the slope to the third last fence. The Nigel Twiston-Davies
runner was now beginning to tire and, having jumped the obstacle, Holywell and Un Temps Pour Tout went on, with Morning
Assembly moving into third position as they rounded the bend and entered the
home straight. It was neck and neck as the two leaders cleared
two out; both jumped it well. With
both jockeys now cajoling their mounts, and Holywell
receiving a crack from Richie McLernon’s whip, Un
Temps Pour Tout moved into a slight lead and jumped the final fence
ahead. The small but gallant Holywell had no answer today at his beloved Cheltenham;
his rival drew away as they headed up the hill to win by 7 lengths at the
line. The
Young Master completed in 3rd, with Morning Assembly in 4th and Kruzhlinin 5th.
Algernon Pazham finished 6th and the
favourite Out Sam 7th; never nearer!
Despite more than a third of the field failing to complete, no
injuries were reported.
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 3 - 2:50pm THE ULTIMA HANDICAP
STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 3)
It
was cold, so I put my hat on; a steward admired it. I also chatted to a girl
from Newcastle – she was moaning about Willie Mullins – called him a crook
regarding Vautour’s defection from the Gold Cup,
preferring the Ryanair Chase instead, and she was
also upset that her male companion kept disappearing at intervals throughout
the afternoon!
Click here to read my Day 1 Diary Part II |
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