DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2012
DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY 14 MARCH 2012
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Choc and Vendor return to the Winners’ Enclosure having finished third in the Fred Winter Juvenile
Novices’ Hurdle The alarm woke me at
04:30; my heart pounding as a result. Having
showered, washed and dried my hair, I applied my make-up, I drank a cup of
black coffee and ate a breakfast of Weetabix.
I was ready to set off for Cheltenham at 06:26. My outfit today was
two thermal vests, black short sleeved top, purple sweater, purple fleece,
purple cardigan, grey tweed skirt, black wedge shoes, purple coat, and a
knitted Can Can scarf in red and purple berry shades. The weather
conditions today would best be described as murky. As usual, my journey took me around my local
ring-road to join the A4147 to Hemel Hempstead. Taking care to stay within the speed limit,
there being a number of speed cameras en route to the ‘magic roundabout’, I then headed to join the A41 dual
carriageway to Aylesbury. Upon reaching the suburbs
I travelled via the ring-road to rejoin the A41 west of the town. My route then went via the Bicester bypass
before turning southwestwards to reach junction 9 of the M40. Having negotiated the traffic light
controlled junction, I proceeded along the A34, before leaving at the
Peartree Interchange. This is the worst
section of my journey, as it is always difficult to enter the barely moving
traffic stream negotiating the roundabout beneath the junction before
travelling at a snail’s pace down the dual carriageway of the A44 to reach
the A40. It would not be such a
problem but for the fact that this section of my journey coincides with the
build up of rush hour traffic entering Oxford; it’s just the wrong time of
the day. But there’s no way I would
risk travelling via the M25 and M40 on a weekday, despite it being the
quickest route to Oxford ... provided there are no accidents blocking the
road! Having finally
reached the roundabout, I set off in an easterly direction towards
Burford. Any holdups on the initial
section of the A40 soon become a distant memory once the Witney bypass is
reached. I try not to drive too fast
along this stretch of my journey as, with petrol prices high, fuel
consumption must be a concern. My
petrol bill would total over £100 for the week. Having negotiated
the roundabout to the west of Minster Lovell, the road becomes single lane in
each direction once more. This section
of the journey is the most bleak; the countryside sloping away on both the
north and south sides of the road.
There is a speed limit of 40 mph in operation to both the east and
west sides of the roundabout located south of the town of Burford. After that it was back to the national
speed limit once more; that’s 60 mph on a single carriageway A road. My remainder of my
journey to Cheltenham went smoothly.
Today, for the first time and despite this being my 20th visit to the
racecourse, upon reaching the Six Ways Junction, I turned right to travel up
Greenways Lane. However, the road
proved to be even more potholed when travelling in this direction; so I
decided that I’d probably revert to my normal inward route for the remainder
of the Festival. At the end of the
lane I turned left and drove down Harp Hill to reach the ‘longabout’. It was a
little more difficult to exit onto the junction than I’d expected, with a
steady stream of traffic coming from my right. My route then took
me via Bouncers Lane, with the usual delay negotiating the roundabout at the
far end of it due to traffic exiting Prestbury. Having reached the racecourse, I drove
across the big roundabout just outside the main entrance, and entered Swindon
Lane before taking a right turn into the car park. Fortunately again
today, I was directed to park some distance away from the dusty roadway, in
fact just one car from the far end. It
was 09:00; plenty of time until the gates were due to open. I know, I’ll visit the local branch of my
employer, located in Pittville Street.
I put on my coat and changed into my wedge shoes and set off down
Evesham Road in the direction of the town.
It didn’t take long to get there, accustomed as I am to route
marching! They have got used to
expecting me to call in during Festival week, as I’ve now done it on three of
the past four years. The Branch Manager,
Samantha, offered me a cup of coffee and we had a long chat whilst in the
basement kitchen. It was then time for
me to return to the racecourse in time for the gates to open. However, despite me arriving back at 10:30
there were no queues, the gates had opened early. Never mind, I’d probably not missed
anything and, on the positive side, I’d not had to queue at all. My bag was searched by security before I
went through the turnstiles. I nipped to the loo
before purchasing a race-card from the kiosk located on the concourse. I then walked through beneath the
grandstand to reach the course-side rails; always hoping to catch a glimpse
of Choc as he returned from walking the course. It was also murky in Cheltenham, but not
damp. Whilst I was waiting, it was
announced that Choc’s intended mount in the Neptune Investment Management
Novices’ Hurdle, Batonnier, would be a non-runner. However, as expected, shortly afterwards
there was another announcement, this time to inform everyone that Choc would
ride the stable’s second string in this event, Secret Edge. Whilst I was waiting
I saw Aidan Coleman, current racecourse Chairman Robert Waley-Cohen and his
son Sam set off to walk the course; also Tom Scudamore. The Old Course was being used again today;
tomorrow and Friday it would be the turn of the New Course. Having waited until gone 11:00, I presumed
that I’d probably missed Choc and decided to return to the Parade Ring area. Having been stood by
the Paddock for a few minutes, I then noticed Choc and Racing UK presenter
Alex Steedman walking back between the white railings which lead to the
Winners’ Enclosure. They chatted
briefly, before Choc set off in the direction of the Owners and Trainers
area. Had I missed something? It soon became
apparent that I had! As, shortly
afterwards, broadcast on the big screen overlooking the concourse was an
interview Alex had undertaken with Choc; they had been standing in the
Winners’ Enclosure beside the statue of The Queen Mother. And in the background of the shot was me
rearranging my scarf, totally unaware that Choc was just metres away. I felt such an idiot!!! And I’d actually thought about walking
around the steppings to reach the area above the Winners’ Enclosure; if I had
I could not have failed to notice him.
My Choc radar didn’t
appear to be working very well this year.
If I’d stayed beside the Parade Ring instead of heading down to the
course-side rails I’d have seen him emerge from the Weighing Room prior to
the interview. Perhaps I will need to
rethink my strategy in 2013. But at
least I was able to take a photo or two whilst he chatted to Alex afterwards. Camilla, Duchess of
Cornwall, arrived by helicopter to watch the racing today. Her entourage driven up the track beside
the racecourse and through the crowds to reach the area beside the Royal Box,
where she alighted to go inside. Each day of the
Festival, at 12:15, the day’s Preview takes place in the Winners’
Enclosure. The first item today was
the presentation of two cheques; one for £2,000 to the IJF and the second for
£500 to Racing Welfare. The monies
having been raised from the Cheltenham Festival preview held at the
racecourse. Following this,
policeman Andy Seery (nicknamed Mad Cop) was introduced to the spectators. He was dressed as a knight and accompanied
by a rocking horse in preparation for raising funds for the Army Benevolent
Fund, the Injured Jockeys’ Fund and the Starlight Charity for terminally ill
children. His task would be to travel
from Scotland to Poland to raise money.
When asked ‘Why Poland?’ he said because of the beautiful ladies and
the vodka. It was to be his third
major challenge. And, according to my
notes, he’d once run 40 marathons in 31 days! Jonathan Powell then
interviewed three rugby referees; Chris White, Wayne Barnes and South African
Craig Joubert, the latter having referred the Rugby World Cup Final. The next person to be interviewed, this
time by Ian Carnaby, was the Irish Minister of Agriculture, Simon
Coveney. Trainer Paul
Nicholls was their next guest; he spoke about Rock On Ruby’s victory in
yesterday’s Champion Hurdle. He said
he wouldn’t have been able to chose between Zarkandar and Rock On Ruby’s
chances before the race. Overturn
setting the pace had greatly suited the latter of his runners. Paul said he has around 120 horses in his
main yard, with 20 or 30 more, including the victor, stabled at Richard
Barber’s satellite yard under the safe custody of Assistant Pupil Trainer
Harry Fry. Paul was also very happy
with Kauto Star ahead of Friday’s Gold Cup; Ruby Walsh having worked the
horse over 5 furlongs alongside Pearl Swan earlier today. He expected a sound race on Friday. Colm Murphy, trainer
of Champion Chase hopeful Big Zeb, was then interviewed by Ian Carnaby. He attributed his charge’s last defeat to
soft ground. Colm said that Brave Inca
was very much enjoying his retirement.
Today’s punters pal
was Russ Wiseman of Sporting Bet; sponsors of today’s feature race, the Queen
Mother Champion Chase. His pick for
the big race was Sizing Europe. He
then went through the other fancied runners today. In the first these
were Harry The Viking, Teaforthree, Soll was the Pricewise selection, Alfie
Spinner also popular; Ruby Walsh’s tip for this Amateur riders’ race was
Allee Garde. Russ said Simonsig was
weak in the betting for the Neptune; popular now were Monksland, Cotton Mill
and Benefficient. Fancied in the RSA
Chase were Grands Crus, Bobs Worth, Join Together and First Lieutenant. Recommendations for
the Coral Cup were Balgarry, Poole Master, Get Me Out Of Here and
Silverhand. In race 6, the Fred Winter
Juvenile Hurdle, Vendor, Kazlian and Gorgeous Sixty were popular. Finally, in the bumper, money had been
coming for New Year’s Eve, Sir Johnson, Royal Guardsman and Moscow
Mannon. (I like to record these things
so as to see how the results turn out.) The Preview over, I
set off to find a good vantage point ahead of the first race of the day. The sun came out and temperatures began to
rise. In fact it would turn out to be
the warmest day of this year’s Festival.
The starting gate
for this long distance event over a 4-mile trip, was within the mid-course
chute; the horses cantering across the home straight and up along the all
weather strip around the top bend to reach it.
Then they were off; first time. The runners were led away by Four Commanders, Lively Baron and Teaforthree; others prominent were Our Victoria, Alfie Spinner, Blenheim Brook, Caught Red Handed, Our
Island, Allee Garde and
State Benefit. Turning into the home straight on the first of three occasions,
the Nina Carberry ridden Four Commanders continued
to cut out the running with Teaforthree and Lively
Baron. In rear were Leggy Lad,
Universal Soldier and Soll. A flock of birds flew up as the runners
approached the third obstacle. Cottage
Oak blundered at the 5th fence. The runners headed past the stands and out into the country;
Court Red Handed blundered at the first obstacle in the back straight, as did
Daffern Seal.
Teaforthree and Four Commanders remained at
the head of affairs, Lively Baron and Our Victoria prominent. The first two casualties were the Patrick Mullins ridden Allee Garde, who fell at the
12th; he brought down stable companion Soll. Down the hill, all the remaining runners
were still well grouped. Up front were
Teaforthree, Four Commanders, Our Victoria, State
Benefit, Strongbows Legend, Lively Baron, Alfie Spinner, Harry The Viking, Iron Chancellor, Leggy
Lad and Blenheim Brook. The runners continued around the home turn; Universal Soldier
made an error at the 15th fence, Leggy Lad hit the uphill fence, the
17th. The horses headed past the
grandstands once more, up the hill and out into the country for the final
time. State Benefit blundered very
badly at the first in the back straight, almost falling; his jockey was
unable to remain in the saddle. Iron
Chancellor pecked and was hampered here too. Strongbows
Legend made an error at the next, the water.
Both the former and Bob ‘N’ You hit the following obstacle, an
open-ditch. Iron Chancellor was being
niggled along when he blundered and unseated his rider at the 21st
fence. Teaforthree
and Four Commanders still held the advantage heading towards the far turn,
from Our Victoria, Harry The Viking, Alfie Spinner,
Court Red Handed, Our Island and Daffern Seal. Four Commanders held a very narrow lead
clearing 3 out. Heading around the
final turn, there were five runners in the leading group; Four Commanders, Teaforthree, Our Victoria, Harry The Viking, and Alfie Spinner. Nina Carberry’s mount led over the
last two but was headed on the run-in by Teaforthree;
the latter staying on well to win by 2 lengths. Harry The Viking, having been initially
outpaced, ran on to claim 2nd by a neck from Four Commanders and the game Our
Victoria in 4th. Caught Red Handed was
well behind when he fell at the last fence. It was the first Cheltenham Festival winner for trainer Rebecca
Curtis.
There was a
Stewards’
Enquiry associated with the first race: The Stewards held an enquiry following a
report from the Clerk of the Scales that Mr W. Biddick,
the rider of HARRY THE VIKING, had changed his boots after weighing out. They
interviewed the rider and the Clerk of the Scales. Having heard their
evidence the Stewards found the rider in breach of Rule (D)43.1
and fined him £650. I
remained beside the course-side rails ahead of the next race. As mentioned earlier, Choc had originally been engaged to ride Batonnier in this event; however, the horse had sustained
a swelling to one of his legs. Trainer
Alan King wondered if the horse might have got cast in his box. Choc was now aboard Secret Edge. The starting gate for this event was in the mid-course chute, the
horses 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 Fiulin; Nelson’s
Bridge, in rear, blundered at the first flight; Double Ross hit it too. Fiulin
led over the second obstacle, from Brass Tax, Sunny Ledgend,
Cotton Mill, Secret Edge, Double Ross, Simonsig,
Make Your Mark, Monksland, Natural High, Close
House, Nelson’s Bridge and Benefficient. In rear, Sous Les
Cieux bumped one of his rivals. The keen running Fiulin
set up an 8 lengths gap between himself and the field as they headed around
the far turn. Heading up the home straight on the first occasion the order was
Fiulin, Cotton Mill, Brass Tax, Sunny Ledgend, Secret Edge to the outside, Benefficient,
Double Ross, Monksland, Simonsig,
Make Your Mark, Nelson’s Bridge, Close House, Sous
Les Cieux, Felix Yonger,
Balderdash, Nagpur and Natural High. The advantage held by Fiulin was
closed by the time they reached the 4th flight, which is situated in front of
the stands, but he continued to lead.
Heading up the hill, Cotton Mill was in second position, with Choc and
Secret Edge in third. Simonsig, the 2-1 favourite, hit the 6th flight; as did
Secret Edge. However, the former was
still travelling well, but Choc soon became animated aboard his mount. Cotton Mill assumed the led after 4 out; as Fiulin
faded, Simonsig and Felix Yonger
began to close the gap between them and Denis O’Regan’s
mount. Simonsig
was one length down as they approached two out, when Cotton Mill jinked and
tried to run out, unseating his jockey.
This left Barry Geraghty with a four length
lead over his nearest rival. Simonsig
quickened and extended his lead before the last, his jockey pushing him out
to win easily; Felix Yonger stayed on under
pressure to finish 7 lengths back in 2nd, Monksland
completed in 3rd, Close House was 4th.
The loose Cotton Mill tripped over the last flight and fell; but he
was okay, despite his adventures! Secret Edge, who was the only Juvenile in the field, finished
12th. Nicky Henderson was now the winning most trainer in Festival history.
Once again I remained beside the
course-side rails. The next race was the RSA Chase. Choc’s mount in
this event was one of my favourite horses, Walkon. It had originally been the plan to run Invictus as the yard’s first string, but he had sustained
an injury. The starting gate for this event was
part way down the home straight, with one fence to negotiate before turning
away from the stands and travelling two further circuits. This being the case, the horses cantered up
the all-weather strip in front of the grandstand before returning down the
home straight and re-entering the strip to travel a short distance before
exiting back onto the racecourse. Grand Crus
arrived at the start some time after the other runners; presumably to keep
the horse as calm as possible ahead of the race.
Then they
were off; first time. The field was led
away by the Ruby Walsh ridden Join Together, from Cannington
Brook. In rear was Grands
Crus. The
order over the second fence was Join Together, followed by Cannington Brook, First Lieutenant, Mr Moonshine, Bobs
Worth, Walkon, Call The Police, Lambro
and Grands Crus. Join
Together flew the open-ditch; Mr Moonshine was not so good. Cannington Brook
blundered at the second open-ditch, soon losing his place. First Lieutenant progressed to dispute the
lead with Join Together. Bobs Worth
now prominent too. The
runners were well grouped heading up the home straight with just over a
circuit to go. Grands
Crus made ground as they travelled down the back
straight for the final time. The order
was First Lieutenant, Join Together, Bobs Worth, Walkon,
Grands Crus, Mr
Moonshine, Lambro, Call The Police and Cannington Brook. Join
Together weakened before 4 out, Bobs Worth taking a narrow lead when reaching
to clear this fence. Bobs Worth and
First Lieutenant then disputed the lead, from Grands
Crus, Walkon and Call The
Police. Grands
Crus came to join the duo as they headed for the
final bend but could not sustain his challenge. First Lieutenant took the advantage turning
in, with Barry Geraghty’s mount in close pursuit;
the latter assuming the lead before the last fence. Bobs Worth was ridden out on the run-in,
staying on to win by 2½ lengths at the line.
First Lieutenant completed in 2nd.
Having
come under pressure before two out, Grand Crus
weakened after the last, losing 3rd to the staying on Call The Police. In fact he only just held on to 4th place
by a neck from Walkon.
I remained beside the course-side rails ahead of the next
event. This was the feature race of the day; police and security staff were posted along the all weather strip to prevent
any protestors from gaining access to the racecourse. As there was a parade ahead of this race, the horses exited onto
the course, their lads and lasses sorting the runners into number order
before they paraded in front of the stands.
Once released, the runners cantered down the course and entered
the all weather strip to continue to the starting gate; it being at the far
end of the home straight, with that and one full circuit to travel. At this point I got chatting with a hat designer who was
spending the day at the races. She’d
been given a few tips by a friend and her selection in this event was Finian’s Rainbow.
Then they were off; first time.
The field was led away by Wishfull Thinking,
from Sizing Europe and Finian’s Rainbow. Realt Dubh hit the first fence; Kauto
Stone fell and Gauvain was hampered as a
result. Big Zeb
jumped low over the second fence. The order heading up towards the grandstands was Wishfull Thinking, from Sizing Europe, Finian’s Rainbow, Big Zeb, Realt Dubh, Gauvain
and I’m So Lucky. Then, Wishfull Thinking crashed out at the fourth fence, he
fell to his left, colliding with the plastic rails and ended up on the
infield amongst a group of spectators and photographers. The horse was quickly to his feet and,
fortunately, made no attempt to move so was caught immediately. However, his jockey Richard Johnson and a
bystander were still down. The incident had left Sizing Europe in the lead; he held this
position as the runners headed down the back straight, from Finian’s Rainbow, Big Zeb, Gauvain, Realt Dubh and I’m So Lucky.
By the time the field had reached the first open-ditch, both Realt Dubh and I’m So Lucky
appeared to be struggling in rear. Gauvain began to show distress signals soon after that and
Big Zeb was unable to make an impression on the two
leaders either. Sizing Europe held a one length advantage heading around the
final bend and over the penultimate fence.
However, the final obstacle had been dolled off; the three obligatory
markers placed to the inside of the fence and a chequered flag was waved from
behind the safety of the inside rail.
Initially the jockeys Andrew Lynch and Barry Geraghty
seemed unsure whether they should jump the final fence to the right of the
markers. Fortunately they steered
around the fence at the last moment, the horses bumping as they did so. Had either or both of them jumped the fence
they would have been disqualified. Sizing Europe did his best to hold off the challenge but Finian’s Rainbow proved too strong and asserted under
pressure as they neared the line, winning by 1¼ lengths. The 2010 winner, Big Zeb,
completed 15 lengths back in 3rd; Gauvain in
4th.
I remained beside the course-side
rails and the ‘hat lady’, who had shouted
encouragement to her selected horse, said goodbye and went to collect her
winnings! The injured spectator was French photographer, Jean-Charles Briens; he broke his nose and split his lip when Wishfull Thinking crashed through the rails. However, there were reports that he had
been ‘warned off’ previously having
got too close to the action in the past.
Fortunately Wishfull Thinking was
uninjured. Richard Johnson was stood
down for the remainder of the day having suffered a soft tissue injury to his
leg. Kauto
Stone’s jockey Ruby Walsh was okay too, as he could be seen jogging towards
the perimeter rails as the runners galloped around the final turn. There was a
Stewards’
Enquiry associated with the fourth race: The Stewards held an enquiry into the use
of the whip by A.E Lynch, the rider of SIZING EUROPE, placed second, on the
run in. 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 in
an incorrect place. The Stewards suspended Lynch for 6 days as follows:
Wednesday 28, Thursday 29, Friday 30, Saturday 31 March, Sunday 1 and Monday
2 April 2012. The Duchess of Cornwall presented the prizes to the winning
connections. The starting gate for the next event was in the mid-field chute,
the horses cantering across the home straight and up around the top bend via
the all weather strip to reach it. Tenor Nivernais was late arriving at the starting gate. Sam Twiston-Davies
replaced the injured Richard Johnson aboard Dare Me.
Then they were off; first time.
Son Of Flicka led to the first; prominent
were Featherbed Lane, Balgarry, Spirit River, Shoreacres, Golan Way and Tenor Nivernais. Saphir River, at
the rear of the field, blundered and unseated Sam Thomas at the second
flight. Balgarry
and Golan Way took up the running around the far turn, from Featherbed Lane,
Son Of Flicka, Tenor Nivernais, Shoreacres
and Poole Master; in mid-division were Get Me Out Of Here, Third Intention, Consigliere, Carlito Brigante, Megastar, Abergavenny,
Dare Me, Veiled and Silverhand. The field was very closely grouped as it
approached the third flight; possibly unsighted, Abergavenny
fell, bringing down Star Of Angels; Knight Pass was severely hampered. Heading up the home straight towards the grandstands, Balgarry and Golan Way continued to lead, from Shoreacres, Poole Master, Featherbed Lane, Son of Flicka, Tenor Nivernais, Consigliere,
First Fandango, Spirit River, Get Me Out Of Here, Act Of Kalanisi,
Third Intention, Dare Me, Veiled, Cape Dutch, Megastar, Bally Legend and Silverhand. Cotillion was at the back of the main group;
Knight Pass and Final Approach detached in rear. Heading along the back straight, Shoreacres,
Golan Way, Balgarry and Poole Master led the
field. Tracking the leaders,
Featherbed Lane sustained an injury prior to the 5th flight, which he jumped
but blundered and was quickly pulled up.
Balgarry continued to lead from Shoreacres and Poole Master; Golan Way now niggled along
before dropping back through the field. Balgarry
continued to hold the advantage as the runners reached the top of the hill;
Poole Master in second, then Son Of Flicka. Poole Master began to fade approaching 3
out, where he made an error. Son Of Flicka, Spirit River and Third Intention now close on the
leader’s tail. Under pressure, Balgarry bunny-hopped
over the second last flight. Veiled
and Get Me Out Of Here had joined the leading group as they swung into the
home straight for the final time. As
Tom Scudamore’s mount faded, Jason Maguire drove
Son Of Flicka to lead before the last; Get Me Out
Of Here, Veiled and Spirit River now his closest pursuers. The latter reached for and fell at the
last. Son Of Flicka stayed on well to win by
3½ lengths at the line. Get Me Out Of
Here finished 2nd, Veiled 3rd, and Silverhand,
never nearer, in 4th. Spirit River was fine following his last flight mishap. But sadly having broken his near hind leg
earlier in the race, Featherbed Lane was euthanized. The same fate befell Abergavenny,
who was fatally injured as a result of his fall at the third flight.
There was a
Stewards’
Enquiry associated with the fifth race:
BHA: Why they ran badly: The Veterinary Officer reported that
CARLITO BRIGANTE (IRE), unplaced, trained by Gordon Elliot, had been struck
into behind. It was now time for Choc’s
final ride today, aboard Vendor; the horse started as the 3-1 favourite. Alan King had a second runner in this race,
Ardlui, ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. The starting gate for this event was at the far
end of the home straight. The horses
cantered up the all-weather strip in front of the stands before heading back
down past the winning post and re-entering the strip to canter to the far end
of it.
Then they were off ... or rather they weren’t; a number of runners
had been left in the holding pen to the inside of the course. The jockeys regrouped their horses and
tried again. But this time the starter
had not climbed the rostrum! They were
asked to take a turn and, finally, they were off. The runners were led away by One Cool Shabra,
from Moujit Bouget, Kie, Kazlian, Royal Bonsai,
Blue Cannon, Kapga De Cerisy,
Colebrooke, Ardlui, Sportsmaster, Vendor and Argocat. Near the rear were High Samana,
Bat Masterson, Edeymi, Arnaud, Soliwery,
Jackies Solitaire and Gorgeous Sixty. Soliwery made an
error at the second flight, Jackies Solitaire hit
it too. Heading down the back straight One Cool Shabra
led from Kazlian, Kie,
Royal Bonsai, Lemon Drop Red, Moujik Borget, Blue Cannon, Sportsmaster,
Dark and Dangerous and Ulck Du Lin. Bat Masterson, in rear, hit the 3rd
flight. Kazlian
went into the lead after this hurdle.
Dark and Dangerous hit the 4th, where Soliwery
was not fluent and Barry Geraghty pulled him
up. Tom Scudamore’s mount continued to
lead as the runners headed for the far turn.
One Cool Shabra hit 4 out and dropped back
through the field. Kazlian
was sent into an 8 length lead heading for 3 out, his jockey taking maximum
advantage of the downhill section of the track. In second was Lemon Drop Red, from Ulck Du Lin, Arnaud and the driven Vendor visible on the
outside of the field. No change at the head of affairs over the second last and
approaching the final bend, although the margin of advantage continued to
reduce. Kazlian
was just one length ahead of Arnaud jumping the last, also closing were Une Artiste, Edeymi and
Vendor. Jerry McGrath steered Une Artiste between runners and went on to win by 1¾ lengths from Irish raider Edeymi;
Vendor was half a length back in third, Kazlian
completed in 4th. Arnaud faded into
5th.
BHA: Why they ran badly: Barry Geraghty,
the rider of SOLIWERY (FR), which was pulled up, reported that the gelding
was never travelling. Tom O’Brien replaced
the stood down Richard Johnson aboard Village Vic. The starting gate for this event was at the far end
of the home straight. The horses
cantered up the all-weather strip in front of the stands before heading back
down past the winning post and re-entering the strip to canter to the far end
of it.
Then they were off; first time.
The runners were led away by Champagne Fever, Moscow Mannon and Horatio Hornblower; the
former going on as the other two were eased back. These were followed by Clonbanan
Lad, Sir Johnson, The New One, Cool George, Virginia Ash, Royal Guardsman,
Pique Sous, Jezki, New
Year’s Eve, Village Vic, The Romford Pele, Circular Quay, Yes Way Hosay, Ifandbutwhynot, Many
Clouds, Glenwood Present and Piano Concerto. Heading up past the stands and out into the country, Champagne
Fever held the advantage, with Moscow Mannon and
Horatio Hornblower disputing second. These were followed by Clonbanan
Lad, Cool George, The New One, Sir Johnson, Virginia Ash and New Year’s
Eve. There was no change at the head
of affairs as the runners reached the dogleg turn; Glenwood Present and
Village Vic were already being ridden along in rear. Royal Guardsman was shuffled back through the field where room
was tight around the inside of the far turn.
Pique Sous had made progress through the
field; as had Many Clouds on the outside of the runners. Patrick Mullins’ mount was still ahead as they reached the final
turn; the favourite New Year’s Eve holding the inside rail position just
behind, with Pique Sous to his outside. Behind these were Moscow Mannon, The New One and Royal Guardsman. However, despite being in the front line since the start,
Champagne Fever continued to find more under a very strong drive from his
jockey; neither Barry Geraghty aboard New Year’s
Eve or Ruby Walsh aboard Pique Sous able to pass
him on the run to the line. He won by
1¼ lengths; New Year’s Eve completed in 2nd, Pique Sous was 3rd.
Moscow Mannon stayed on to claim 4th.
There was a
Stewards’
Enquiry associated with the final race: The Stewards held an enquiry into the
use of the whip by Mr P.W. Mullins, the rider of the winner, CHAMPAGNE FEVER
(IRE), from the final bend. 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 Mr Mullins for 2 days as follows: Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29
march 2012. BHA: Why they ran badly:
I returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the placed horses
return. It was then time for me to
depart for home. This year I’d been
leaving in good time having returned to my car and today was no
exception. I joined the queue to leave
the lower car park and, having turned right upon exiting the gate I was on my
way ... or so I thought! My preferred route takes me down Tommy Taylors Lane to join St Paul’s
Road but, today, there was a policeman and his motorbike blocking that
particular road. Damn! I was directed to continue along Swindon
Lane in a westerly direction ... I wasn’t sure which left turn to take, so
continued to the T-junction which was situated just after a
level-crossing. I turned left, in the
certainty that I’d be able to double-back on myself and return to my intended
route. Oh no ... there was a further
police road block, and I was directed to take a right-hand turn, this time
through an industrial estate area which took me even further west. I followed the queue of traffic and was able to find my way back to
the A4019 Tewkesbury Road; I turned eastwards, went straight ahead at a large
roundabout and then had to decide where to go next. I was under the impression that the town
centre now lay ahead of me and I didn’t want to get caught in queues of
traffic trying to reach the eastbound A40; ‘been there, done that’ on previous Festival visits! So I took a right turning at the next set
of traffic lights. You have to bear in
mind that I don’t have satnav in my car and have to
go on instinct! Anyway, it transpired I was now travelling in the direction of
Gloucester so, given the first opportunity, I turned left at a set of traffic
lights. Later research informed me I
had driven through the Lansdown area of the town,
before proceeding through the sought after location of Montpellier. Anyway, I eventually ended up in a slow
moving queue of traffic heading northwards on the Old Bath Road to reach the
traffic lights at the junction of London Road and Hales Road. I knew exactly where I was now! Having finally got to the head of the queue, I turned right and joined
the A40 to travel through Charlton Kings.
Thanks to the traffic police, it had taken 40 minutes to escape from
the town of Cheltenham instead of 15 to 20 minutes. Having left the racecourse at 18:00 I had
hoped to reach Burford before it was dark; instead
darkness was already falling as I drove up into the Cotswolds. Fortunately my trip across the Cotswolds to Oxford passed without
incident. As I’d done the previous
day, I decided to take the Oxford bypass to reach the M40 motorway. I drove eastwards to the M25 before taking
the clockwise carriageway to junction 22, London Colney. My fuel tank being under half full, I
visited the nearby petrol station to top up before continuing the short
journey home. I arrived back at 20:45. Time
to eat a small snack before uploading my photographs, writing my daily blog
and turning in for the night. Two more
days to go. And, fingers crossed, Choc
would ride a winner tomorrow or Friday. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
