PART II
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2018
DAY FOUR
FEATURING THE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
FRIDAY 16 MARCH 2018
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The winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup; Native River, trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by
Richard Johnson Click here to read my Day 4 Diary Part I Being the feature event of the day, there was an
on-course pre-race parade. The horses
were led out onto the racecourse, the competitors sorting themselves into
number order before being paraded in front of the grandstands; they were
preceded by a brace of mounted huntsmen. The favourite for this event was Might Bite, trained
by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico de Boinville, and winner of this season’s King George VI
Chase; price 4-1. There were no
returning winners in this event, as Sizing John was currently on the injury
sidelines due to a pelvis problem. However, last year’s third did return, Native
River; he’s one of my favourites in training.
In fact I first noticed him, because he’s a flashy chestnut, when he
ran at Cheltenham in January 2015! A
number of regulars returned, including Djakadam. There were two greys taking part – Bachasson and Saphir Du Rheu. There was no
Smad Place this year, as he’d been retired earlier
in the season having suffered a few ‘niggling’
issues; he was due to be retired at the end of the season regardless. Once the parade was completed, the horses
cantered down the turf to enter the all-weather strip and travel part way
down it before exiting onto the course.
The Gold Cup starting gate is situated just beyond the second nearest
steeplechase fence and is run over two complete circuits plus two fences and
the run-in.
And then they were off, with Native
River, Might Bite, Definitly Red and Our Duke
prominent as the runners headed towards the first fence. At the rear of the field was Tea For Two;
he hit the fence. The runners
continued to the next, where one of the greys Bachasson,
travelling to the rear of mid-field, hit the top and took a tumbling fall. Meanwhile, the remaining fourteen runners swung
left-handed in order to head up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure;
Native River continued to lead, and he was being shadowed by Might Bite. The horses subsequently turned into the
back straight, heading downhill to the third fence; they all cleared this
well. The loose horse was fine and he
followed the field, at a distance. The next fence was the water-jump; Native River
remained at the head of affairs jumping this one, from Might Bite, Our Duke,
American, Djakadam, Saphir
Du Rheu, Definitly Red, Anibale Fly, Road To Respect, Outlander, Total Recall, Tea
For Two, Killultagh Vic and Edwulf. The following fence was the first
open-ditch and American wasn’t fluent here.
The runners continued over the next fence; there
were no noticeable errors here.
Shortly afterwards, the competitors headed around the dog-leg turn on
their way to the second of the open-ditches.
Native River put in a lovely jump at this one; in contrast, near the
back of the field, Killultagh Vic made an
error. Being the New Course, there was
a further plain fence to be jumped before the top of the hill. The leading duo held a clear advantage of
around four lengths over their rivals as they cleared it. The runners subsequently swung left-handed to
head a short distance to the often tricky fence situated prior to the
intersection with the mid-course chute; it caused no problems for these
experienced chasers. There was no
change at the head of affairs as the horses headed down the hill to the tenth
fence. Djakadam
spearheaded the main group, from Our Duke, Definitly
Red, American, Road To Respect, Anibale Fly, Saphir Du Rheu, Total Recall,
Outlander, Killultagh Vic, Tea For Two and Edwulf. There were no jumping issues at this fence and
Native River led the field into the home straight; one circuit now
complete. The runners continued over
the sanded track-way, past the exit from the Old Course and on towards to the
next fence. The leader jumped it well,
as did the remainder apart from Our Duke and Killultagh
Vic who both hit it. There were no jumping errors at the fence close to
the grandstands, and the horses soon swung left-handed to begin their final
circuit; their progress was accompanied by cheers from the gathered
spectators. The main body of the field
had closed upon the leading duo by the time they entered the back straight
once more. They runners continued down
the hill to the next, where Djakadam made a
mistake. The following fence was the water-jump, which
they all cleared well; Definitly Red was
subsequently being pushed along.
Native River remained ahead as they headed over the penultimate
open-ditch; there were no errors at this fence. The leader did touch a twig or two when
jumping the sixteenth, but it didn’t affect his rhythm. The competitors had now reached the dog-leg
turn and continued on their journey to the final open-ditch; Killultagh Vic was beginning to lose touch at the rear of
the field. Richard Johnson’s mount put in a great leap over
the fence; both he and Might Bite had begun to put distance between
themselves and the main group once more.
The runners continued up the hill, jumping five out, before swinging
left-handed. The leader came up out of
his jockey’s hands at the next, the tricky fence at the top of the hill, but
cleared it okay despite having stood off it!
Our Duke and Saphir Du Rheu
were pulled up. Native River continued to stretch the field,
stamina being his forte. Might Bite
was still travelling well at his quarters, with Djakadam,
Road To Respect, Anibale Fly and Total Recall
endeavouring to get on terms with the leading duo. Nico de Boinville’s mount loomed up beside the leader as they
cleared three out; Total Recall, who is not particularly renowned for his jumping
ability despite winning the former Hennessy Gold Cup the previous December,
hit the fence, came down and then somersaulted. It was a horrible looking fall, but the
horse got up okay. Meanwhile, Native River was being pushed along as
the remaining horses headed towards the home turn; but he was still responding
to his jockey’s urgings. Might Bite
continued upsides and it looked only a matter of time before Nico de Boinville would give
his mount his head. Having entered the
home straight, the leading duo continued across the sanded track on their way
to the penultimate fence. The two were
still locked together as they jumped it.
Road To Respect and Anibale Fly were in
pursuit but not gaining. Might Bite narrowly headed the brave Native River
as they continued to the final fence, but the flashy chestnut wasn’t giving
in; in fact he was fighting back and landed marginally ahead as the duo cleared
the obstacle. But which of these two chasing superstars would
gain the day? As they began their
journey up the run-in it was neck and neck, before Native River’s strength
and stamina began to prevail. He
stayed on strongly and, despite edging right on the run-in and flicking his
tail on one occasion too, went on to win by 4½ lengths at the line; Richard
waved his whip in celebration after he’d crossed the line. Might Bite had
been outstayed today, but it was an excellent effort in defeat from the King
George winner. Anibale
Fly claimed 3rd place, 4 lengths further back, with Road To Respect 4 lengths
behind him in 4th. Djakadam
finished 5th, Definitly Red 6th, Tea For Two 7th, Edwulf 8th; American was 9th and last. Outlander and Killultagh
Vic had both been pulled up before the final fence. The winning jockey was congratulated after the
line by both Barry Geraghty and Nico
de Boinville; he received a pat on the back from
the former and a handshake from the latter.
It had been 18 years since Richard won his only other Cheltenham Gold
Cup aboard Looks Like Trouble. When interviewed, Richard said he’d been a
passenger; Native River loves jumping and does just as much as he has to when
waiting in front. He also thought he’d
set a steady pace but, when you’re on a good horse, it’s deceptive. “A
warrior and a pleasure to ride.”
He admitted on a different track with different going conditions, the
result may have been different. It was
a “A dream
fulfilled” for trainer Colin Tizzard. I love it when a horse I love wins! And it was fabulous to have such a good
vantage point when the triumphant pair returned to the Winners’ Enclosure
too.
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of this page After the excitement of the Gold Cup, with a
dream result, it was now time for The Foxhunter Chase; this is the amateur
riders’ equivalent of the feature race; run over the same course and
distance. The
favourite for this race was Burning Ambition, trained by P M Power and ridden
by Mr Jamie Codd; price 4-1. There were two greys in this race, Unioniste and the almost white Grand Vision; I love the
latter! Also returning was last year’s
winner, Pacha Du Polder. Having
left the Parade Ring, the competitors cantered up the all-weather strip in
front of the grandstand before returning via the racecourse turf to re-enter
the strip and exit onto the racecourse part way down it. The amateur jockeys took their mounts to
look at their first fence before returning to the starting gate.
And then they were off, with the 24 runners
charging towards the first fence; prominent were Minella
For Value, Top Wood, Volnay De Thaix,
On The Fringe and Foxrock. Despite the quick early tempo, all the
runners cleared the first fence; although Saddlers Encore did make a mistake
at it. Caid
Du Berlais made a mistake at the second and Balnaslow trailed the field. The runners swung left-handed, heading up the
hill in front of the Best Mate Enclosure; Top Wood now held an uncontested
lead. He was followed by Minella For Value, Shantou Magic and Sir Jack Yeats. Having entered the back straight, the field
headed downhill to the third.
Travelling near the back of the field, Saddlers Encore departed at
this one. The horse and jockey Josh
Newman were quickly on their feet. The next fence was the water-jump; the remaining
23 runners cleared this in their stride and Vincitore
and Balnaslow brought up the rear. They continued to the next, the first of
the open-ditches. Vincitore
over-jumped at this one and lost his rider as a result! Wells De Lune took over at the head of
affairs as the runners jumped fence number six, a plain one. The leader extended his advantage as they
headed around the dog-leg turn on their way to the second open-ditch. He was a little slow at this one, but subsequently
stretched his advantage once more. The runners continued to climb up the hill,
heading over another plain fence in the process. They swung left-handed before arriving at
the next. There were no noticeable
errors at this fence, and Wells De Lune led them down the hill to the
ninth. Twenty two runners were still
standing having jumped this one; Top Wood and Minella
For Value disputed second position, from Foxrock
and Warden Hill. Behind these
travelled Burning Ambition, the beautiful Grand Vision and Shantou
Magic. On The Fringe travelled against
the rail, with Unioniste and Cousin Pete. After these came Sir Jack Yeats, Virak and Barel of Laughs; the
latter owned by Mrs Peter Andrews, owner of Smad
Place. Further back were Volnay de Thaix, Wonderful
Charm, last year’s winner Pacha Du Polder, Premier
Portrait, Shotavodka, Caid
Du Berlais, Young Hurricane and, finally, Balnaslow. Having turned into the home straight, the horses
headed over the next, without incident; Wells De Lune continued to lead,
narrowly. The runners all cleared the
next, which would be the final fence on the next circuit. They subsequently swung left-handed to head
up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure once more. Having turned into the back straight for the
final time, the horses continued downhill to the thirteenth. Wells De Lune made a mistake at this one
and lost the lead to Top Wood. The
next fence was the water-jump and a number of the runners were now being
pushed along; these included Foxrock and Wonderful
Charm. The following obstacle was the
penultimate open-ditch, where Shantou Magic made a very bad error; he was
pulled up before the next. Top Wood was clear by about three lengths as they
continued over the sixteenth fence; his nearest pursuers were Grand Vision
and Warden Hill. The runners then
negotiated the dog-leg turn on their way towards the final open-ditch. The leader remained clear of the field as
he cleared this one; towards the rear of the field, Volnay
De Thaix made an error. The competitors continued to meet the rising
ground on their way to the next fence.
Warden Hill was tiring and had begun to drop back through the
field. Cousin Pete now joined Grand
Vision in their pursuit of the leader as they jumped it; On The Fringe was
less than fluent at the fence. Having
now reached the top of the hill, Top Wood swung left-handed on his way to
four out. He remained around five
lengths clear of the pursuing duo as he jumped it; they, in turn, were clear
of Barel Of Laughs, Burning Ambition, Sir Jack
Yeats and Pacha Du Polder. The leader’s advantage was diminishing as the
runners headed down the hill towards the third last; Cousin Pete was snapping
at his heels when Top Wood nodded on landing over this one. However, despite this, the latter retained
the lead. Grand Vision remained in
third position as they headed towards the home turn. Jamie Codd,
aboard Burning Ambition, pulled down a set of goggles having landed over the
fence and was closing in upon the leading trio. Barel Of Laughs
was also still in contention; Caid Du Berlais had made significant progress latterly and last
year’s winner was endeavouring to close upon the leading group. The runners headed into the home straight,
crossing the sanded track-way as they did so, on their journey to the
penultimate fence. Despite having
looked vulnerable having jumped the previous fence, Top Wood remained ahead
of his rivals as he jumped two out. Burning
Ambition was mounting a challenge but he wasn’t particularly fluent at this
fence. Cousin Pete was still a close
up third, just ahead of Caid Du Berlais
and Grand Vision. Jamie Codd’s challenge
began to falter as the runners headed to the final fence; meanwhile, staying
on behind the leaders were Balnaslow, On The Fringe
and Pacha Du Polder. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best of jumps
from Top Wood at the last, and Pacha Du Polder having
flown it, suddenly burst through to grab the lead. However, Top Wood soon began to rally. Harriet Tucker, aboard the Paul Nicholls
runner, gave her mount a slap but subsequently half-dislocated her right
shoulder; it happens often evidently!
This meant she couldn’t offer any further encouragement apart from
hands and heels as they headed towards the line. She held on by a neck, despite the best efforts
of the brave Top Wood and his pilot Sam Davies-Thomas who certainly went down
fighting; Top Wood was formerly trained by David Pipe. Barel Of Laughs
and Cousin Pete dead-heated for 3rd, a further 3¼ lengths away. Caid Du Berlais was a head further back in 5th, with Grand Vision
6th, Balnaslow 7th and Burning Ambition fading away
into 8th having suffered from heat exhaustion. I think that one could safely say that, had
Victoria Pendleton not ridden Pacha Du Polder in
2016 (they were a fast finishing 5th), he’d probably have won the race on
three occasions! He was a 25-1 shot
today; despite his previous record in the race. It was Harriet’s first ride at Cheltenham
and only her second ride under rules. I don’t know whether it’s my imagination, or just
the main camera angle being from the back of a vehicle, but the ‘tricky’ fence at the top of the hill didn’t
seem quite so bad this year. Could it
have been re-sited slightly, as an aerial shot on Googlemaps
suggests it may not be a permanent fixture on the track. The second last on the Old Course remains a
portable fence, having been moved from its previously controversial location
on rising ground just before the home turn.
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure following the race. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of this page The
favourite for the penultimate race was Flawless Escape, trained by Gordon
Elliot and ridden by Jonathan Moore; price 13-2. Alan King had a runner in this race, namely Coeur
De Lion ridden by Kevin Dowling. Another
runner of interest was the Martin Keighley-trained mare Brillare
Momento ridden by Harry Stock. There were three greys in this race, namely
Dream Berry, Carter McKay and Diese Des Bieffes. The
starting gate for this event was located in the mid-course chute; upon
exiting the horse walkway, the runners cantered across the home straight and
headed up the all-weather track in front of the Best Mate enclosure. They then crossed the racecourse to reach
the aforementioned chute, and would have two flights to jump before
negotiating the far turn in order to enter the home straight.
And then they were off; prominent heading to the
first flight were Brave Eagle, Delire D’Estruval sporting the Munir/Souede colours, the grey Diese
Des Bieffes, also Brillare
Momento wide of the others. The pace was restrained, the field closely
packed as they jumped the hurdle; as a result, Sire Du Berlais
representing JP McManus’ first string, jumped it awkwardly and this had a
slight knock-on effect with those around him. The runners subsequently headed over a sanded
track-way prior to crossing the Old Course circuit before arriving at the
second obstacle. Delire
D’Estruval led the runners over this one and Brillare Momento made a slight
mistake. Short of room near the back
of the field, one of the Ricci horses Deal D’Estruval
flattened the inside panel. At the
rear of the field was the other Ricci-owned runner, Burrows Saint. Having then crossed over the intersection with
the New Course, the sole Gigginstown representative
Blow By Blow took the lead. Deal D’Estruval’s jockey finally managed to place his left
foot back in the iron as the runners headed down the hill, swinging left-handed
as they did so. Blow By Blow led the field into the home
straight; he was a two or three lengths clear of Delire
D’Estruval who disputed second position with the
mare Brillare Momento. Flawless Escape hit the third flight but,
despite this, soon joined the latter two as they continued their journey up
the straight. They were followed by
Brave Eagle and Diese Des Bieffes,
then Lough Derg Spirit and Brelan
D’As. Next in the field were Melrose Boy, Poppy Kay, Sire Du Berlais, Couer De Lion and
Tommy Rapper. Travelling to the rear
of mid-field were Munir and Souede’s
No Hassle Hoff, Deal D’Estruval, Dream Berry, Early
Doors, Carter McKay, former Fred Winter winner Flaxen Flare, Burrows Saint,
Mr Big Shot, Arthington and, finally, Discorama. They continued over a sanded track-way before
joining the New Course circuit on their way to the fourth flight. All 23 runners cleared this one in their
stride before they headed up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure
still led by Blow By Blow; Brillare Momento was now a clear second. Discorama was
slightly detached at the rear of the field.
Having entered the back straight, the runners
continued down the hill to the next flight.
The leaders jumped this one well, but further back in the field there
was a number of sub-standard efforts; this included yet another error from
Deal D’Estruval.
The leader was travelling well within himself
as they headed to the next flight; he pricked his ears and wandered around a
bit on the approach. Flawless Escape
wasn’t flawless at this one; he bunny-hopped it! The pace was still steady as the runners
continued to the next flight; this meant there was quite a bit of bunching
amongst the main body of the field. Despite
this, all of the runners cleared this one okay. However as the horses headed towards the
dog-leg turn, the diminutive Poppy Kay got squeezed for room and stumbled;
she stayed on her feet and the partnership with Sean Houlihan
remained intact. There was no change at the head of affairs as
they continued to climb towards the farthest point of the course; they all
successfully negotiated three out before swinging left-handed to head down
the hill to the second last. Blow By
Blow still led, from Brillare Momento
but there was a wall of horses behind them; these included Flawless Escape, Delire D’Estruval, Diese des Bieffes, Tommy
Rapper, Early Doors, Mr Big Shot and Arthington. The leading duo jumped the penultimate flight
upsides. Tommy Rapper made an error at
this one, as did Deal D’Estruval back in the
field. Having tailed off, Poppy Kay
was pulled up after the hurdle.
Meanwhile, up front and having been joined by Brillare
Momento, Blow By Blow went on again as the runners
entered the home straight. As the mare began to fade, Diese
Des Bieffes and Early Doors came through to
spearhead the challenge. However, Blow
By Blow continued to hold his rivals at bay and he led by 3 or 4 lengths as
he cleared the final flight. Early
Doors jumped this one okay, but Diese Des Bieffes made an error.
With just the run-in now to conquer, the Gigginstown
runner ran on strongly all the way to the line to triumph by 5 lengths. Despite having just five horses behind him when
clearing two out, Discorama who was making his
handicap debut, had made such good progress since turning in that he jumped
the final flight in fourth position.
He subsequently stayed on the claim the runner-up spot, 1¼ lengths in front of 3rd-placed Early Doors. Another of JP’s horses, Sire Du Berlais finished 4th.
Diese Des Bieffes
finished 5th, Lough Derg Spirit 6th, Dream Berry
7th and Brillare Momento
a very creditable 8th. It was a
1-2-3-4 for the Irish. The winner had plenty of good previous form,
having been a Grade 1 bumper winner at the Punchestown
Festival a couple of years previously, beating Moonracer,
Bacardys and Presenting Percy! Admittedly, though, his rivals had given
him a soft lead today. This race can be a stepping stone to better
things, as Don Poli had won a previous renewal, as
had Sir Des Champs and Killultagh Vic. Mr Big Shot went on to win a race at the Aintree
Festival; today was his first outing in a handicap, over a longer distance
than accustomed to.
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of this page The favourite for the final race of the 2018
Cheltenham Festival was North Hill Harvey, trained by Dan Skelton and ridden
by brother Harry; price 7-1. There
were no greys in this race. I
had two particular runners of interest in the race, namely the Alan
King-trained Valdez ridden by Wayne Hutchinson and the Nicky Henderson
trained Theinval ridden by Jeremiah McGrath.
I remember making a wish to ask that Valdez and Theinval returned
safely after the race ... they did, but other horses, three in fact, weren’t
so fortunate L
Returning was last year’s winner Rock The World;
he was now owned by JP McManus, one of five JP runners in the race! Choc won the 2007 race on the Paul
Nicholls-trained Andreas. Having
reached the top of the racecourse, all the runners then headed down the turf
to re-enter the all-weather strip in order to continue their journey to the
starting gate at the far end of the home straight.
With Bright New Dawn being led in, they were off
and sprinting to the first. Prominent
were Foxtail Hill, Gino Trail and Three Stars. Just behind the leaders, the Ricci-owned
Townsend jumped to his right, colliding with Sizing Platinum as a
result. Not surprisingly, Valdez also
jumped to his right, but it caused no issue as he had plenty of space near
the rear of the field. Bright New Dawn
was already tailed off having been reluctant to race. The runners continued on to the second fence,
with Gino Trail and Foxtail Hill now clear of Three Stars who, in turn, was
clear of the others. Foxtail Hill
pecked on landing at this one. Travelling
just behind the leading duo, Dresden misjudged his take off, crashed through
the fence and belly-flopped on landing.
With momentum still carrying him forward and the jockey momentarily remaining
aboard, Bouvreuil then smashed into Dresden’s
hindquarters and he, too, was now on the floor and out of the race. Don’t Touch It was hampered in the incident having
been upsides Bouvreuil when the latter hit the
deck. Valdez was able to side-step the
prostrate horses, as did Doitforthevillage, because
they were behind the others. The Paul
Nicholls-runner was soon on his feet, galloping after the rest but poor
Dresden suffered a fatal injury as a result of the incident. L The remaining twenty competitors continued across
the sand track-way, subsequently joining the New Course circuit, on their way
to the third obstacle. Gino Trail held
the advantage over Three Stars and Foxtail Hill. Valdez jumped suddenly out to his right as
they cleared this fence, and Wayne Hutchinson was unseated; had he forgotten
that his mount nearly always jumps out to the right? It certainly hadn’t been his week, having
ended up on the floor when Dusky Legend fell, and again when Lisp fell, both
on Wednesday. But they say things come
in threes. Meanwhile Gino Trail continued at the head of
affairs as they continued towards and over the fourth fence; from Three
Stars, Foxtail Hill, North Hill Harvey, Sizing Platinum, Theinval, Don’t
Touch It, Dolos, Eastlake, Townshend, Garde Le Victoire, Some Plan, Vaniteux, Top Gamble, Le Prezien,
Rock The World, Born Survivor, Doitforthevillage
and, finally, Bright New Dawn. They subsequently swung left-handed to head up
the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure; one circuit now to travel. The rider-less Valdez remained amongst
runners and the loose Bouvreuil continued too, just
ahead of the back marker Bright New Dawn.
The runners entered the back straight and headed
down to the next fence, where Don’t Touch It made an error. Bright New Dawn remained at the back of the
field, but was no longer detached. The
horses continued to the water-jump, which they all cleared well; the loose
Valdez had now worked his way through the field and was almost upsides the
leader as they jumped it. Towards the
rear of the field, Born Survivor accumulated four faults, having dropped his
hind-legs in the water with a splash! The following fence was the first of the
open-ditches, the rider-less horse veered severely out to his right as he
jumped this one; Three Stars jumped out to his right too, as horses do tend
to copy those ahead of them. All of
the horses cleared this one, and Valdez came back to join the piloted horses
once more. Gino Trail led them over
the next, a plain fence, where Three Stars blundered. Valdez was tucked in behind Gino Trail as the
runners negotiated the dog-leg turn on the run to the final open-ditch; the
loose horse made a mistake here but, fortunately, he was clear of the field
so didn’t impend any of them. The
runners continued on their journey towards the top of the hill, Jamie Moore’s
mount leading from North Hill Harvey to the outside of Three Stars and
Foxtail Hill. Behind these travelled
Sizing Platinum, Some Plan and Theinval; after these Top Gamble, Eastlake,
the rider-less Bouvreuil, Vaniteux,
Don’t Touch It, Le Prezien, Garde
Le Victoire, Born Survivor, Rock The World, Doitforthevillage, Bright New Dawn, Townshend and,
slightly detached as they jumped five out was Dolos. The runners subsequently swung-left handed on
their way to the fence at the top of the hill. Once again the rider-less Valdez jumped out
to his right; North Hill Harvey got in a little close to this one and bumped
Three Stars when landing. There was
also a mistake made, one from the back of the field, by Townshend. Meanwhile the field was soon heading down the
hill to the third last fence, Gino Trail still holding the advantage from
Three Stars, North Hill Harvey and Some Plan. Out the back were Don’t Touch
It, Doitforthevillage, Garde
Le Victoire, Townshend and Dolos. They arrived at this fence, but the novice
North Hill Harvey hit the top of it and came down. It was a very awkward fall; his legs splayed
out beneath him as he skidded along the ground, Harry Skelton remaining
aboard initially. Barry Geraghty’s mount managed to side-step the prostrate
horse’s legs and Top Gamble had to jump over the fallen jockey’s legs; Vaniteux managed to avoid Harry Skelton too, Doitforthevillage both horse and jockey. As the remaining runners continued, poor
North Hill Harvey, although head up, remained in a crumpled heap on the
ground. L Meanwhile Gino Trail continued at the head of
affairs as the runners headed towards the home turn, Three Stars and Some
Plan had almost joined him; both of the uninjured rider-less
horses were travelling immediately behind the leading trio, with Theinval
heading the remainder. Having entered
the home straight, and unencumbered by the weight of a jockey, Bouvreuil and Valdez came to join the leader; he was
almost the meat in the sandwich. The rider-less Bouvreuil
remained on a straight course as he jumped the penultimate fence alongside
the leader; Valdez veered behind them, to his right, to clear it. Fortunately this manoeuvre it didn’t put
off Three Stars, Some Plan, Theinval or Le Prezien
who were in hot pursuit of the long-time leader. However, just behind these, Sizing Platinum
made a bad blunder. However, as they approached the last, Bouvreuil began to hang to his left, which meant that
Jamie Moore had to switch behind him; the loose horse then saw an escape route
and decided to bypass the fence, which meant changing direction and veering
off to his right. Fortunately he was
far enough in front of the leader at this point not to seriously
inconvenience him. But Valdez remained
amongst the leaders, along with his tendency to jump severely out to his
right. Gino Trail reached the last fence with a two
lengths advantage over his nearest rival Le Prezien. Meanwhile Valdez switched in behind Gino
Trail and across Some Plan; the latter was distracted by this movement and
subsequently fell. Having landed
safely, Le Prezien continued to gain upon the
long-time leader and had soon sailed on by.
Theinval was laying down his challenge to the far side, Top Gamble to
the near-side. Le Prezien continued to
storm up the run-in and won by 4½ lengths at the line, from the gallant Gino
Trail. The latter held off the late
challenge of his stable-mate Top Gamble who had closed down the deficit to a
neck at the winning post. Theinval
finished 4th. Both of the loose horses
had beaten Le Prezien to the line, with Valdez
veering across on the run-in to join Bouvreuil beside
the stand-side rails; fortunately the Alan King-runner had caused no further
carnage and he passed the winning post first. Three Stars claimed 5th, Doitforthevillage
6th, Dolos was 7th despite having appeared in
trouble four out, and Born Survivor was 8th.
Last year’s winner Rock The World finished 9th and Bright New Dawn,
who hadn’t wanted to race at all, completed in 10th; Foxtail Hill followed
him home, from Sizing Platinum, Garde Le Victoire, Vaniteux and,
finally, Eastlake. Townshend was
pulled up before three out and Don’t Touch It blundered 3 out when struggling
and was pulled up before the last. It
was Paul Nicholls’ 4th win in this race. As may have been surmised, North Hill Harvey
didn’t make it; he was too badly injured.
I believe Some Plan was taken from the course for assessment but he,
too, subsequently lost his life. L Jockey Harry Skelton was also asked to go
to hospital to be checked out as a precaution. The Grand Annual turned out to be a disaster with
regards to fatally injured horses; three having been lost. The race is okay but its run at the wrong
time, when jockeys are desperate to claim the final event of the Festival
each year. Raya Star was lost during
the 2014 running; Choc had been riding him that day. L
Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of this page For the second year running, the GB
team were seriously outgunned in the Betbright Prestbury Cup ... although we got two more winners than
last year; however, there was no Irish opposition in the Ultima
on day one!!!
Once again, Gordon Elliott snatched the Leading
Trainer award from Willie Mullins.
There were 17 Irish-based winners, with 15 of those trained by Gordon
and Willie.
With Ruby Walsh injured since early on day two,
Davy Russell claimed his first Leading Jockey title this year.
Sadly there had been six equine fatalities at the
year’s Festival – Gordon Elliott’s Mossback (Gigginstown),
Evan Williams’ Report To Base (the Ruckers), Willie
Mullins’ Sendsend (Sullivan Bloodstock), Henry
Oliver’s Dresden (Dan Lloyd), Dan Skelton’s North Hill Harvey (Mrs Widdowson and Mrs Kelvin-Hughes) and Henry de Bromhead’s Some Plan (Roger Brookhouse);
five of these are well-known owners in the National Hunt field. I headed to the ladies’ loo for a comfort break
ahead of beginning my journey home to Hertfordshire. I began my journey at around 18:45; it took me
until 19:15 to reach the gateway on Southam Lane
due to queuing vehicles. I waited
until the final opportunity to cross into the right-hand lane too; for
London-bound traffic only. I had enough
impetus to get up the two slopes – onto Old Road and Southam
Road shortly afterwards; fortunately the temporary traffic lights were still
in operation at the latter junction. This year, there was no queuing traffic through Prestbury on any of the four days; or at least not when
I’d driven through! I headed out via
Harp Hill and Greenway Lane ... I wonder if authorities will ever be able to
afford to resurface this route or many other roads for that matter! Although, having said that, the two traffic
calming chicanes have been re-tarmaced quite
recently. I left the Six Ways junction
at 19:30. My driving glasses, which I wear over the top of
my vision glasses, seemed to help me a lot this year, even the intermittent
rain didn’t faze me as it sometimes does after dark. Having been staying near Witney for the duration
of the Festival, I was hopeful that I’d be okay driving home on Friday
night. However, this year, I still ‘hit the wall’ at Beaconsfield and
spent a little too much time yawning – not recommended when driving on the
M40 and M25. I did make fairly good
time and arrived home at 21:35; although this was 20 minutes later than last
year. Having snowed two weeks previously, the stable-yard
visit to Graeme McPherson’s had been postponed
until Saturday 17 March. I could have
stayed over but, in hindsight, was glad I got home before the snow returned
once more. The Lambourn Open Day
was also severely affected by the bad weather, with solely Nicky Henderson’s
yard able to open and no afternoon events taking place either. Hopefully, next year, the weather will be
better, as Easter is later in the calendar.
Next up was the Aintree Festival … and I was
looking forward to meeting up with my friend Sandra for the three days of
fabulous racing on Merseyside. It’s
far more relaxed than Cheltenham and, hopefully, the Irish-based trainers would
be concentrating on the Punchestown Festival at the
end of April, rather than the Grand National fixture! Tickets for the 2019 Cheltenham Festival went on
sale on 19 March 2018; with the first ‘price
hike’ taking place in early July. Despite wondering if I’d curtail my diary writing
due to issues with my pelvis affecting my ability to sit for extended periods
at a laptop, I’ve completed the Cheltenham Festival ones as usual! Fortunately RUK broadcast the Festival
highlights on Good Friday, as my Skybox failed to record both Wednesday and
Friday; although I recorded the latter highlights programme when I arrived
home from Gloucestershire. I later discovered that I’d left my multi-socket
power lead in my hotel room; that was quite a feat, as I recall checking that
everything was switched off and unplugged!
At the time, I thought I’d also left behind my slippers; so I had to
replace two items. The power lead was
a year old, but I’d only bought the slippers the previous Monday; fortunately
they cost only £7.50. Later in the summer I found the slippers hidden
inside my holdall bag ... never mind, you can never have enough pairs of flip-flop
slippers to wear! |
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