DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2012
DAY 1 - TUESDAY 13 MARCH 2012
|
Choc
returns having finished 4th in the Supreme
Novices Hurdle aboard Montbazon Once again I’d booked the whole of
Cheltenham Festival week as holiday from work, giving me three days including
the weekend to prepare for it. Choc
rode at Sandown Park on Saturday 10 March but, although I‘d have loved to
attend that fixture too, it would have put too much pressure on my time ahead
of Cheltenham. For the record, he did
ride a winner, Call Me A Star, in the Mares’ Listed bumper; his 43rd winner
of an injury-interrupted season. On Sunday 11 March my friend
Lesley, her dad, his friend June and I attended ‘Let’s Do It’ starring Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke and
Erin Boag. The event took place at the
Colosseum in Watford and I decided that, instead of driving to the venue, I’d
catch the ‘Abbey Flyer’ train to
Watford Junction. Amazingly, I’d never
caught the train to Watford before, despite the journey taking a mere 16
minutes; although it does take around 40 minutes for me to walk to the
station to catch that train! Fares are normally collected on
board the train but, due to staff shortages on this particular day, fares
were paid at the barrier at Watford Junction; it cost £4.50 return. A bargain.
I caught the 12:28 train, so this gave me plenty of time to look
around the shops before the show started at 15:00. I hadn’t been to Watford on a
shopping trip for quite a while. I
used to visit Hobbycraft in Watford on a regular basis; whilst there, walking
up to the Harlequin Shopping Centre too.
But Stevenage now has a Hobbycraft store and, as it’s much easier to
drive to, this has now become my preferred store. I love shopping in M & S, and Watford
was always my favourite store; even more so than their London Colney
site. On this visit I looked around a
number of shops but, fortunately, I solely purchased a set of two bras and a
navy blue skirt ... from M & S.
The skirt has rear hem detail, which I love. It was suitable to wear for Cheltenham or,
if not, Aintree. Having finished
shopping, I headed to the Coliseum to meet up with Lesley and her
companions. The show lasted for 2
hours and, in addition to the ballroom dancing, we were treated to a live
orchestra, and a number of songs performed by Lance Ellington, who sings on
Strictly too. The dresses Erin wore
were beautiful – she reckoned she had around 540 available for the current
tour! There were a number of humorous ‘interludes’ too, including Erin and
Anton answering questions put forward by the audience. After the show,
Lesley gave me a lift back to Watford Junction and I caught to 18:07 train
back to St Albans. I walked home the
remainder of the way ... 2 miles, which included climbing the steepest hill
in the city, Holywell Hill. But I felt fit, if a little tired! The Osmonds
were due to appear at the Coliseum on Wednesday 14 March ... but, of course,
I’d be travelling back from Cheltenham so couldn’t make it. Instead, Lesley and I attended their
Birmingham concert on 29 March; although I did have to postpone my sinus
operation for 22 days in order to go! On the day before the Festival I
walked down to my local supermarket at 08:00 to buy a copy of the Racing
Post. I then washed my car, after
which I drove down to M & S at London Colney to
purchase a pair of navy blue woollen tights ... okay, I ended up with 2 pairs
of navy blue patterned ones, 2 pairs of black ones in the identical design, 2
pairs of plain navy blue tights; plus a large black ‘utility’ bag, which was to prove a godsend for Cheltenham and
Aintree! Following that, it was time to walk
to my local dental practice for my quarterly appointment with the
hygienist. My teeth are excellent but
my gums are not! I have 28 teeth, 4
having been removed for cosmetic purposes when I had my teeth straightened in
my mid-twenties. And I still have
those 4 perfect pre-molar teeth; they are stored in a small pot which is
placed on my bookshelf! I spent the afternoon watching the
horse-racing on ATR; Choc had one riding engagement at Taunton but he was out
of luck. I turned in at 22:00, with
the prospect of a 04:30 alarm call. In the event, I actually woke at
04:05; I lay in bed until 04:25. I
showered, washed and dried my hair; ate a breakfast of Weetabix,
and drank a cup of black coffee, before applying my make-up. Today’s outfit was two thermal vests,
a short-sleeved top, purple sweater, purple fleece, purple cardigan, brown
Next skirt (the tapered flippy hem is quite short at
the front ... above the knee, which is short for me these days), purple coat,
brown shoes, purple tights, and orange/pink/purple Loopy scarf. I also wore my ‘Purple Pool’ necklace and matching earrings; I’d revamped it
recently, replacing the multi-coloured facetted glass beads with solely
purple facetted beads. Later that day
I discovered that the earrings tended to get caught in the threads of my
scarf; it was very annoying. I was ready to leave at 06:27. My route took me to Hemel Hempstead,
Aylesbury, and Bicester. I then drove down the A34 towards Oxford, intermittent
delays caused by vehicles as they joined the dual carriageway from side roads
along the route; I left it at the Peartree
Interchange. Fortunately, today, an
HGV pulled up to my right when I was trying to exit onto the A44 roundabout
beneath the junction; this enabled me to join the non-stop flow of traffic to
the leeward side of this vehicle as it pulled out! This is the one bottleneck on my journey;
joining the A44 to drive along the short stretch of dual carriageway, very
slowly, to reach the A40. I left Oxford just after 08:00. My route taking me along the Witney bypass
and onwards to Burford. There is an alternative route to Cheltenham
racecourse signposted at the roundabout just outside the town but, as I’m
always early and well ahead of any traffic holdups, I have never needed to
explore this option; presumably via Stow. I continued along the A40 to
Cheltenham. The route takes me through
Charlton Kings to reach the Six Ways junction within Cheltenham. I continued along the A40 until turning right
at the traffic lights into Hales Road; through the ‘longabout’ junction, past a new
housing development and supermarket, before turning right into Bouncers
Lane. At the far end of this
thoroughfare I negotiated the mini-roundabout and entered Tatchley
Lane, before driving along New Barnes Lane to reach the large roundabout
outside the main entrance to the racecourse. I entered Swindon Lane and turned
right into the car park. Fortunately
I’d placed my parking badge on the dashboard ahead of my journey so, upon
showing this, I was directed to park in the lower field. It was 09:10; I arrive so early that the
majority of cars within this area belong to workers rather than
spectators. I was relieved to find
that I was parked mid-row; especially after last year when almost every day
I’d been parked near to the roadway only to discover my car covered in a
thick layer of dust upon my return! It then dawned on me that I couldn’t
recall applying my deodorant today!
What to do? Should I walk down
to town to buy one and risk getting sweaty in the process? Or leave it and carry on as usual? No-one would notice in the fresh air anyway
... not that I was likely to sweat ... perspire ... or even glow on a cold
day like today! I choose the
latter! Having eaten two cheese rolls which
I’d brought with me; at 09:30 I set off for the entrance. The gates opened an hour later; the bags of
those early queuers were checked by security staff well
ahead of time. Once inside I popped to
the loo, as the black coffee had now worked its way through my system! Race-cards were being sold outside the
gates but, being a woman of habit, I purchased mine from the kiosk on the
concourse above the Parade Ring as I always do. It was then time to walk down to the
course-side rails to take in the atmosphere ... and to maybe catch a glimpse
of my favourite jockey returning from walking the course. There was a guy fixing up the advertising
hoardings along the side of the horse-walk; we had a brief chat. He’d been to Sandown Park on Sunday to
remove the advertising signs following the previous day’s racing, and he’d be
heading up to Uttoxeter on Thursday ahead of their
Midlands Grand National fixture the following Saturday. With no sign of Choc, I returned to
the Parade Ring area. But still no
first glimpse of Choc; but I did see Alan King being interviewed by RUK’s
Alex Steedman; Noel Williams his Assistant Trainer;
Jason Maguire; Richard Johnson and Barry Geraghty. An overhead cable had been fixed
above the Parade Ring; a camera running up and down its length to get some
unusual shots of the proceedings. As
in previous years, a briefing took place for the official photographers
during which they were also issued with a warning of what not to do during
the course of their assignment. The going
on the Old Course, which would be used during the first two days of the
Festival, was good, good to soft in places.
The cross-country course was good to firm. At 12:15 each day, a Festival Preview
is held in the Winners’ Enclosure; the presenters being Ian Carnaby and Jonathan Powell. Their first interviewee was Bob Champion
regarding his continuing charity fundraising.
He spoke about this year’s Aintree Legends race in which Mick Kinane, Pat Eddery, Richard
Pitman and Adrian Maguire, amongst others, were due to take part. He was joined by Richard Rowe to speak
about the late Josh Gifford. The next
guest was Ruby Walsh, interviewed by Jonathan Powell. At 12:30, and still part of the
Preview presentation, the ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) Parade of Stars took
place, in the Parade Ring. There were
9 horses taking part – Beef Or Salmon (Showing); Comply Or Die (Hunting); Monkerhostin (Hunting); Dry Old Party (Eventing); Harchibald
(Showing); Penzance (Showjumping); Fork Lightening
(Hunting); Strong Flow (Eventing); and The Listener
(Showjumping).
Ex-jockey Colin Brown spoke about each horse. I was especially interested to see
the grey Fork Lightening, who had been trained by Alan King and gave Choc his
third Festival victory when winning the 1994 National Hunt Chase. It was Alan’s first Festival winner. Also Penzance, who I did see race more
than once; he won the 2005 Triumph Hurdle with Choc aboard. Andrew Parker-Bowles and jockeys Timmy
Murphy and Denis O’Regan were also interviewed as
part of this presentation. Today’s ‘punters pal’ was Rory Jiwani of Stan
James, sponsors of today’s feature race; he ran through the popular
selections today. Also interviewed was
jockey Daryl Jacob; as their original guest, Ronnie Corbett, was indisposed! Following the end of the Preview, I
headed down to the course-side rails in order to gain a good vantage point
ahead of the first race of the day.
Choc had three riding engagements today; Montbazon
in the first race, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle; Hold On Julio in the third
race of the day, the JLT Specialty Handicap Steeplechase; and Bless The Wings
in the final race of the day, the Pulteney Land
Investments Novices’ Handicap Chase. Prior to the first race, the ROR
horses cantered up the all-weather strip in front of the grandstand before
returning down the turf and re-entering the strip to canter the remainder of
the way down the side of the home straight. The starting gate for the first
event was at the far end of the home straight, so the runners also cantered
up the all-weather strip in front of the stands before heading down past the
winning post and re-entering the strip to travel to its termination.
As
is the custom before the first race of the Festival, a cheer rang out from
the assembled crowd as the horses began to head out from the holding
enclosure. This was followed by a much
louder roar from the excited spectators as it became apparent that the horses
would be off, first time. The
runners were led away by Agent Archie, Jimbill and
Catch Tammy; the fancied Darlan was held up near the rear of the field. Heading up the home straight towards the
stands, the order was Agent Archie, from Jimbill,
Catch Tammy, Trifolium, Midnight Game, Cinders And
Ashes, Montbazon, Colour Squadron, Simenon, Tetlami, Vulcanite, Prospect Wells, Hazy Tom, Darlan, Galileo’s
Choice, Dylan Ross, Steps To Freedom, Allure Of llusion
and Distant Memories. Montbazon was less than fluent over the second flight. Travelling
down the back straight on the only occasion, Hazy Tom tipped the top of the third
flight. Cinders And Ashes flattened
the fourth hurdle, but it did not affect his momentum. Choc and his mount were in fourth position
as the field reached the top of the hill. Down
the hill they ran, Agent Archie still leading the way, Montbazon,
Trifolium, Darlan, Vulcanite, and Cinders And Ashes
his closest pursuers. Tetlami was being driven; Prospect Wells making his
effort and closing on the leaders. Montbazon challenged for
the lead approaching two out and, despite not jumping it fluently, he soon
led. Trifolium,
Cinders And Ashes, Vulcanite and Darlan were in close pursuit; Prospect Wells
on their coat-tails as they headed towards the final obstacle. Jason
Maguire rode his mount to lead over the last and, although he flattened it,
he stayed on strongly up the hill to win by 1¼ lengths
from Darlan, who claimed second in the final strides; Trifolium
finished a neck behind in third. Montbazon, who had also made an error at the last, was a
head away in 4th. Prospect Wells was
just half a length adrift in 5th.
I remained beside the
course-side rails ahead of the next race; despite Choc having returned to the
Winners’ Enclosure. It’s always
difficult to decide what to do; whether to risk losing my viewing place or
not. BHA: Why they ran badly: Mrs
J. Harrington, the trainer of STEPS TO FREEDOM (IRE), unplaced, reported that
the gelding was coughing post race. The
starting gate for the next race was at the far end of the home straight, the
horses cantering up the all-weather strip in front of the stands before
turning to head past the winning post to re-enter it and travel to the start.
Then
they were off; first time. The runners
were led away by Cue Card, from Al Ferof, Sprinter Sacre, Blackstairmountain,
Menorah and Foildubh. Heading up the home straight on the first
occasion, there was little change in the order; Blackstairmountain
got a little low when jumping the fourth fence. Cue
Card continued at the head of affairs as the runners jumped the uphill fence
and began the journey down the back straight for the one and only time. The grey Al Ferof
was in second, Sprinter Sacre a close third. Menorah followed these, the two Irish
representatives still bringing up the rear. Cue
Card led until the 8th fence, at which Al Ferof
assumed pole position. However, two
fences later, Ruby’s mount took off too early, ploughing through the top of the
fence. He survived but it had knocked
the stuffing out of him. In contrast,
Sprinter Sacre was spring-heeled at the obstacle
and took up the running. Heading
down the hill, Barry Geraghty’s mount was in cruise
control; Cue Card his closest pursuer, Menorah in third position and Al Ferof ridden along in 4th spot. Another bold leap from Sprinter Sacre three out.
His jockey glanced behind to ensure there was no challenge as he
galloped around the final bend. Menorah
made an error two out; Cue Card stayed on well to chase and close on the
leader, but Sprinter Sacre had the move covered and
was ridden out after the last to win by 7 lengths easing down. Menorah completed 22 lengths back in third,
Al Ferof was 4th.
The two Irish runners well beaten in 5th and 6th. Prize money ranged from £56,654 to the
winner, down to £1,456 claimed by Foildubh in
6th.
Once
again I remained beside the course-side rails ahead of the next race, in
which Choc would be riding Hold On Julio. The starting gate for this event was located
between the two nearest fences in the home straight, which meant that one
obstacle would be jumped three times, the others twice. The horses cantered up past the grandstand
upon the all-weather strip before heading down the course past the winning
post; they re-entered the all-weather track to canter a short way before
exiting onto the racecourse. Choc
chatted away to AP McCoy as the runners circled ahead of the off.
Then
they were off; first time. The field
was led away by the Jamie Moore ridden Fruity O’Rooney
and one of the two greys, Our Mick. Zarrafakt was in rear.
Heading up the hill on the first occasion, Fruity O’Rooney
held the advantage from Our Mick, Billie Magern, Pentiffic, the giant Runshan,
Magnanimity, Noland and Hold On Julio.
Mossley made an error at the second fence; Bottman a little awkward at the 5th. At the rear of the field were Alfie Sherrin and Riguez Dancer. Running
downhill for the first time, Jamie Moore’s mount still led, from Pentiffic, Billie Magern, Runshan, Hold On Julio, Noland, Our Mick, Magnanimity, Quantativeeasing, Bottman, Mon Mome, Baile Anrai,
Mossley, The Package, Tullamore
Dew driven, Riguez Dancer, Alfie
Sherrin, Zarrafakt and
Mount Oscar. Still near the rear of
the field, Zarrafakt made an error at the 10th, the
last before heading out on the final circuit. Fruity
O’Rooney and Pentiffic disputed
the lead heading away from the stands; Billie Magurn
in third, Hold On Julio in fourth. Runshan had drifted back through the field. Pentiffic and
Noland made bad errors at the first fence in the back straight. Our Mick wasn’t fluent at the 14th, the
ditch after the water; nor was Hold On Julio.
By this stage The Package, a 6-1 shot, had made noticeable progress
from the back of the field, Timmy Murphy aboard. Choc was now pushing his mount along. Fruity
O’Rooney continued to lead from Pentiffic
as the runners proceeded downhill for the final time. Hold On Julio made an error 3 out. Jamie
Moore’s mount led the field into the home straight, from The Package, Our
Mick, Billie Magern and Alfie
Sherrin. He
held the advantage over the final two fences but Alfie
Sherrin stayed on under pressure to take the lead
on the flat and won by one length. Our
Mick finished 3rd, with The Package in 4th, Billie Magern
in 5th. Hold On Julio completed in
10th position.
Once again I remained beside the
course-side rails ahead of the next race. There was
a Stewards’ Enquiry associated with the third race of the day: The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Jamie Moore, the rider of
FRUITY O’ROONEY, placed second, 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 Moore for 7 days as
follows: Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29, Friday 30, Saturday 31 March,
Sunday 1 and Monday 2 April 2012. The parade over, the competitors
cantered down past the winning post and entered the all-weather strip to
canter to the starting gate; it being located at the far end of the home
straight.
Then
they were off; first time. The runners
were led away by Overturn from Celestial Halo; in rear were outsider Kalann and the 2010 winner Binocular. Heading up the home straight towards the
stands, the order was Overturn, from Celestial Halo, Rock On Ruby, Oscars
Well, Zaidpour, Zarkandar,
Brampour, Hurricane Fly, Binocular and Kalann. Overturn
continued to lead the field as they headed away from the stands and began the
journey down the back straight. He was
setting a good pace at the head of affairs and jumping slickly. Jason Maguire’s mount still held the
advantage at the top of the hill, from Rock On Ruby, Celestial Halo, Oscars
Well, Zaidpour, Hurricane Fly, Zarkandar,
Binocular, Kalann and Brampour. Both
Hurricane Fly and Binocular made up ground as the field headed down the hill;
but the leaders were still flying along.
Rock On Ruby took over the lead having cleared two out; he and
Overturn held a three length advantage over Hurricane Fly, from Oscars Well, Zaidpour and Binocular turning into the home straight. It soon became apparent that both Ruby’s
and AP’s mounts were having difficulty in making any further impression on
the two leaders despite being driven along.
Rock
On Ruby cleared the last and kept on under pressure to win by 3¾ lengths at
the line. Overturn was driven out to
claim 2nd. Hurricane Fly finished
third, 1¾ lengths away; Binocular, having blundered
at the last, completed a length further back in 4th. It
was trainer Paul Nicholls’ first Champion Hurdle winner. And a welcome change of fortune for winning
jockey Noel Fehily, who had lost the opportunity to
become Paul’s second jockey following injury last season.
Following
this race, I set off to join the hundreds of people walking across the
racecourse to reach the cross-country circuit in the centre of the track. In previous years I’d stood in the area to
the inside of the course, either on the mound or near to the stream; this
year I went to stand close to the water jump, which serves as the 14th and
22nd fences.
Then
they were off. Sizing Australia led to
the first fence, a bank with hedge; the Richard Johnson ridden Balthazar King
then taking over. He led to the fourth
fence, after which Jacqueline Coward aboard Wedger Pardy assumed the lead.
Having cleared this fence, Scotsirish was
pulled up when near the rear of the field; he’d broken his near-hind leg. Dancing
Tornado didn’t appear to be enjoying his experience and was at the back of
the field. The runners soon headed
across the racecourse proper, jumping a double bank with hedge, timber rails,
and railed hedge before returning to the central area once more. After clearing a couple more fences, they
negotiated the raised fence which consisted of a ditch with bank and hedge,
before heading to the water jump on the first occasion. Wedger Pardy still led from Sizing Australia, Balthazar King, Maljimar, Midnight Haze and Garde
Champetre.
In rear, Dancing Tornado unseated his rider at the second of the cheese
wedges. The second circuit began. The
runners negotiated a ditch with a railed hedge before jumping the raised
ditch with bank and hedge again; this time at a 90 degrees angle from
before. The competitors headed out
across the racecourse to jump the double bank with hedge once more. But disaster struck for the 2008 and 2009
winner of this event, Garde Champetre,
Nina Carberry pulling up her mount before the
fence. He’d broken a foreleg; a team
soon arrived to erect the green screens. The
race continued, Wedgar Pardy
still holding the advantage. Just a
ditch with railed hedge to clear before re-crossing the racecourse to jump a
ditch with boarded hedge and then gallop on towards the water jump for the
final time. Tailed off having tried to
refuse at the 19th fence, Fortification was pulled up before the 23rd. Gone To Lunch was now at the rear of the
field. Just
10 more fences to jump. The runners
then re-negotiated the first seven fences they’d jumped following the off;
Double Dizzy, who was in 8th but losing ground, unseated at the 27th, the
Aintree fence. Farther back in the
field, Dream Alliance also unseated here.
The tailed off Gone To Lunch was pulled up before 3 out. The
final two obstacles are situated on the racecourse proper; in fact they were ‘stuffed’ hurdles. Wedger Pardy, having led since the fourth fence, was headed 2
out by Balthazar King. Also close up
were reigning champion Sizing Australia and the 2010 winner A New Story. Richard
John’s mount was hard pressed as they reached the last, but he got a better
jump than his nearest pursuer, A New Story.
These two battled to the line, Balthazar King prevailing by a head. Wedger Pardy was 5 lengths back in third; Sizing Australia 2½
lengths behind these in 4th. A
number of spectators ran across the roadway in an attempt to get closer to
the action as the horses galloped up the home straight; they seemed totally
unaware that the emergency vehicles were closely following the horses. Fortunately, the driver was able to brake
in time and didn’t hit anyone. They
couldn’t have been regular race-goers; otherwise they would have known that
the competitors would be tracked by an entourage of vehicles; a doctor, an
ambulance and a vet! It
was a good win for Balthazar King, who had been caught up in last December’s melee
which occurred on the final turn when Jacqueline Coward had taken the wrong
course, she’d also been riding Wedger Pardy that day. On
that occasion, today’s winning horse had sustained a cheek injury as a result
of the ensuing fall. This was the
first time that an Irish runner had not won the Festival cross country event. Sadly,
as earlier alluded to the Irish stalwarts Scotsirish
and Garde Champetre lost
their lives today.
As
always, it took ages to cross back to the stand side of the racecourse. Initially, everyone had to wait for all the
competitors to return and then we had to funnel through a narrow gateway
before walking back across the racecourse.
Having reached the enclosures, I returned to the course-side rails. The
starting gate for this race was in the mid-course chute, with two flights to
jump before the far turn. Upon leaving
the horse-walk, the runners cantered across the home straight and up around
the top bend via the all-weather strip to reach it.
Then
they were off; first time. The field was
led away by Dorabelle; Himayna
disputed the lead wide on the course.
Held up in rear were Candelita, Cloudy
Spirit and Kentford Grey Lady. Dorabelle held the
advantage around the far bend and heading up the home straight on the first
occasion, from Himayna still running wide, Kells Belle, Ixora, Violin
Davis, Golden Sunbird, Tempest River, What A Charm, Our Girl Salley, Swincombe Flame, Quevega, Shop DJ, Alasi, The
Strawberry One, Dare To Doubt, Terre Du Vent, Cloudy Spirit, Kentford Grey Lady and Candelita. Jason
Maguire’s mount continued to cut out the running as the field headed away
from the grandstands. Terre Du Vent
blundered badly at the fifth flight.
Heading for the far turn, Dora Belle retained the advantage from Kells Belle, Ixora, Our Girl Salley, Golden Sunbird, Swincombe
Flame, Violin Davis, Tempest River, Himayna and Quevega. The
tightly packed field meant that a number of runners were short of room on the
bend approaching 3 out; worse affected were Alasi,
Cloudy Spirit and Terre Du Vent. Heading
down the hill, three times winner of this race, Quevega
was soon close behind the pace. Having
cleared two out, Kells Belle took the lead from the
now tiring Dorabelle. Ruby’s mount tracked the leader and
quickened to take over before the last.
She was driven clear on the run-in to win by 4 lengths; her jockey
patting the mare’s neck even before they reached the line! The
runner-up and other placed horses finished in a group, Kentford
Grey Lady the best of these having run on to clinch second by a neck from
Golden Sunbird. Alasi
was a further neck away in 4th. The
race had been run slowly, the time being 13 seconds above standard.
I
returned to the steppings surrounding the Winners’ Enclosure
for the first time today; safe in the knowledge that the crowds were
beginning to disperse and I’d have no problem finding a vantage point beside
the course-side rails ahead of the final race of the day. There
was much celebrating as Quevega arrived in the
Winners’ Enclosure; the mare having now won this race for the past four
years! I
returned to the course-side rails well ahead of the horses leaving the Parade
Ring ahead of the last race. The starting
gate for this event was in the mid-course chute; the competitors cantering
across the home straight and up around the top bend upon the all-weather
strip to reach it.
Then
they were off; first time. The field
was led away by Cucumber Run, who dived to his left when jumping the first
fence. Charminster
made an error here and pecked on landing; he also blundered at the second, as
did Ruby Walsh’s mount That’ll Do. Despite
jumping erratically, Cucumber Run continued to lead, from Saint Are, Vino Griego, Falcon Island,
Hunt Ball, Cowen Glendower, Carrickboy, Ackertac, Triolo D’Alene,
Battle Group, White Star Line, Mic’s Delight, The
Panama Kid, Bless The Wings with Choc aboard, Quincy
Des Pictons, Going Wrong, Harpsy
Cord, Educated Evans, Charminster and That’ll Do. Ruby’s
mount fell at the 4th; this left Charminster at the
back of the field, but he then unseated his jockey, Jason Maguire, at the
5th! Cucumber
Run continued to lead as the runners negotiated the fences in front of the
stands and he had a few lengths advantage heading up the hill towards the
8th. Vino Griego was a clear second. They were followed by Falcon Island, Hunt
Ball, Ackertac, Carrickboy
and Saint Are. Bless The Wings, on the
outside of the field, had made up ground on the leaders. Hunt Ball and in rear, Educated Evans made
errors at the first fence in the back straight. The
loose Charminster, who had up until now continued
to follow the field, then decided he didn’t wish to continue out on another
circuit. He tried to jump the plastic
rails separating the hurdles and steeplechase course but knocked them off
their support, stumbling on landing; he then cantered back towards the home
straight. Cucumber
Run continued at the head of affairs as the runners headed over the water,
followed by an open-ditch and a plain fence; he was closely attended by the
loose That’ll Do. However, he slowed
approaching the next open-ditch and lost the lead, Vino
Griego going on.
Down the hill they headed, Jamie Moore’s mount in front, from Battle
Group, Hunt Ball, Owen Glendower, Falcon Island, Bless The Wings and Harpsy Cord. Choc’s mount wasn’t fluent 3 out and began to weaken. Vino Griego and
Battle Group disputed the lead around the final bend, Hunt Ball in their
slipstream; White Star Line behind these.
Battle Group led after two out but Hunt Ball soon took over, clearing
the last and powering up the hill to win by 8 lengths. White Star Line completed in 2nd, Owen
Glendower 3rd, Battle Group faded into 4th.
Bless The Wings finished 10th. Sadly,
Wayne Hutchinson’s mount, Educated Evans, suffered a fracture to a hind-leg
when falling two out and was euthanised.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses arrive back. It was of no surprise that his winning
owner, Somerset farmer Anthony Knott, was thrilled that his horse had won the
race. Regular followers of National
Hunt racing knew the story of Hunt Ball’s amazing rise through the handicap
ratings, from 69 to 142 following six wins in seven starts. And about the antics of his owner; he’d
jumped aboard his winning horse, the jockey still in situ, when it won at
Wincanton back in January! It
was also the first Festival winner for trainer Keiran
Burke; the ex-jockey having taken over Pat Rodford’s
training licence last summer. Keiran had ridden the stable’s Holmwood
Legend to victory in last year’s Byrne Group Plate. There was
a Stewards’ Enquiry associated with the final race of the day: The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Nick Scholfield,
the rider of the winner, HUNT BALL, 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
when clearly winning. The Stewards suspended Scholfield
for 6 days as follows: Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29, Friday 30,
Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April 2012. BHA: Why they ran badly: Mrs
J. Harrington, the trainer of STEPS TO FREEDOM (IRE), unplaced, reported that
the gelding was coughing post race. The
day’s events having been completed, I set off to collect my car from the ‘Paddocks’ car park; having first paid
a comfort break to the loo. Always a
sensible idea, as the journey home would take nearly three hours! After eating the two remaining cheese rolls
which I’d brought with me, I set off to join the queue exiting the car park;
it was 17:50. Outside
the gate, everyone is directed to turn right and travel in a westerly
direction. At the first
mini-roundabout I turned left and travelled down Tommy Taylors Lane/Folly
Lane. At the end of the road there was
a traffic policeman directing vehicles, so a hold-up ensued! Having turned left, I drove along St Paul’s
Road to reach Clarence Square, queuing at the traffic lights to cross into
Clarence Road. I then headed up Prestbury Road before taking a right at the roundabout to
reach Pittville Circus. Having
negotiated this, I then travelled along Pittville
Circus Road to reach Hewlett Road.
Another left turn took me to the ‘longabout’, I
then turned left and immediately right to climb Harp Hill. As the countryside approached, I turned
right and drove down Greenway Lane; negotiating two traffic calming chicanes
before reaching the traffic lights at the Six Ways Junction. Having
turned left onto the A40, I drove up the escarpment and into the Cotswolds,
heading for Oxford. My journey took me
back via the M40 and the M25. I left
the latter motorway at Junction 22, filling up my car’s fuel tank at the
petrol station on the nearby retail park before proceeding home. I arrived back at 20:40. I
ate a microwave meal of Spaghetti Bolognese, uploaded my photographs and
wrote my blog before turning in. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
