DIARY – KEMPTON PARK
– MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2010
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Today was Choc’s
second outing as ‘The Face of National
Hunt Racing’ at Kempton Park. Being a Monday, my
first task of the day was to purchase a copy of the Racing Post, so as to
read Choc’s weekly column. With this
in mind, having showered, and washed and dried my hair, I set off for the
local supermarket, which is a mere 10 minute walk down the road. Then having returned home, reading over
breakfast, I discovered Choc had been given the go-ahead to commence riding
out (which he did for the first time at Timmy Murphy’s pre-training yard the
previous Saturday), although he was not permitted to jump his mounts over
fences for a couple of weeks, just in case he had a mishap. (And in other articles, you could detect
his apprehension about falling off, having gone through so much pain and
distress since his accident in July.) He reported that having noticed a massive
improvement in his knee following the most recent operation, a bit of
swelling had returned, which was slightly hindering his ability to fully bend
the knee. The aim was to be able to
touch the back of his thigh with his heel, so he was undergoing massage to
loosen up his knee, followed by very painful (tearfully painful in fact)
brute force to push his leg back. Choc also put forward the idea of splitting the
National Hunt season into two phases – summer and winter – and having a
Jockeys’ Championship for both ... although he freely admitted that AP would
probably win both! Choc’s third topic for discussion was ‘coaching’ for young jockeys. Choc’s opinion is
that the best way to gain experience is to be a conditional jockey based with
one trainer and, when not required to race-ride, the jockey would work in
that trainer’s yard. And, finally, he mentioned the
conflict of interest which was currently being debated in respect to the
funding of horseracing. After breakfast I applied my makeup
and changed into my outfit for the day – my grey tweed skirt (a favourite),
grey thermal vest, cerise sweater, black frilled edged cardigan, and black
patterned tights, which I would wear with my grey pull-on knee-high
boots. I placed my cerise pink short
length coat in the car, with the hope that the day would remain mild for the
time of year and, perhaps, the sun might make an appearance later in the day
too. The gates opened two
hours before the first race, which was due off at 13:00. I therefore decided to leave home just
before 09:30; taking the M25 and M3 to my destination. As I approached the M25 at junction 21A, I
did think about heading via Garston and Leavesden to join the motorway at
junction 19 but, in the event, and as the motorway traffic appeared to be
moving okay, I took the sliproad to join it at the earlier junction. However the traffic wasn’t free-flowing for
long, as I was soon crawling along in the countraflow system. However, despite this initial hold-up in my
journey, I reached my Kempton Park destination at 10:40. I also saw my second
magpie of the day as I drove up the M3, so felt a lot more confident that the
day would go well (the first bird had been strutting around my garden) – but
it’s only in recent years that I’ve become superstitious regarding these
creatures, and I won’t wear green to the races either (isn’t that a Nicky
Henderson superstition?) Having parked my car
in the free parking area, I set off for the main entrance building. I noticed that the ‘Chocmobile’ had arrived, as Choc was standing alongside the
vehicle and taking advantage of a cigarette break before he entered the
racecourse. I went to join a queue
forming inside the main entrance building, as there was a delay due to a
flatbed lorry being parked on the main concourse, which presumably had to be
moved for health and safety reasons before any punters entered the racecourse
precincts. Whilst I was
waiting, Choc walked in through the entrance; he was carrying his green
Hunter wellies in preparation for his ‘final
furlong’ course walk. He was
wearing his camel coloured coat today, and a brown pinstripe suit with a
yellow tie. I just knew it would be
his camel coat, as he’d worn his black coat last time! And Choc had undergone a haircut since his
last outing – which I knew about, as he’d appeared on Racing UK 9 days
earlier, having been interviewed at Newbury whilst representing Alan King
when Tuanku ran in a Ladies’ Amateur flat race at that track. I want my hair cut
... I missed my last ‘appointment‘
with my sister-in-law as it clashed with my visit to Kempton Park on 17
October. And I’ve reached the stage
where I want my hair to be cut short again, and I mean short! The only advantage about having longer hair
is that it keeps me warm in winter and stops me getting sunburnt in summer
... the front is white now, but the back is still brunette! Just my luck that I started to go
prematurely grey, starting at the age of 20. Finally the gates
were opened, so I purchased my ticket (£18), a race-card (£2.50) and then
went to the Racecourse Office to sign up for the ‘final furlong’ course walk, plus the ‘integrity tour’ on this occasion. Originally I booked to take part in the ‘integrity tour’ prior to the first
race, but a little later I went back to the office, selecting to go prior to
the third race instead. Fortunately,
being a weekday when few children would attend, there was no equicisor
today. I’d arrived so early
at the Racecourse Office, that the leaflet I was given still had the timings
for 17 October printed on it. However,
the time of Choc’s course-walk today was listed in the race-card, so I knew
that I had to arrive at Gate Q by 12:15, with the walk commencing at
12:25. Whilst waiting for the day’s
proceedings to commence, I went to sit on a bench overlooking the Parade
Ring, the sun putting in an appearance and remaining for the rest of the
day. It was mild and bright, very
untypical for November and I’ve been so fortunate with the weather on my days
out at Kempton Park so far this season! Racing UK’s Lydia
Hislop and Jonathan Neesom arrived just before midday, and would be
presenting for their TV channel today.
Soon it was time for
me to report for the course-walk; the number of people taking advantage of
the walk was far fewer than the maximum permitted (which is 30 I believe), so
I couldn’t feel bad about taking up one of the spaces by repeating the stroll
up the course. Our group exited the
gate and walked down the hurdles side of the course to wait until Choc
arrived. During my conversation with
the lady who was organising the walk, I confessed to running a website
dedicated to Choc. She asked me how
long the site had been in operation – two years (I set this site up at the
end of October in 2008). She thought
that I’d have lots of questions to ask ... well, actually, I’ve asked him
lots of questions in the past ... so probably wouldn’t be able to think of
anything new to ask today. However,
the walk is a wonderful opportunity to see Choc ‘up close and personal’ and to take photos of my favourite
person! Our hostess
suggested someone should ask Choc if he had any tips for the afternoon’s
racing, as Choc had selected 5 of the 7 winners at the last meeting. I understand that Choc had earlier joined
the tipster panel in the Clubhouse for Members only. The lucky Members will be treated to ‘Breakfast with Choc Thornton’ on
Boxing Day 26 December too ... I’m not a Member and, unfortunately, my funds
won’t stretch to this at the present time L. And, I gather, the lucky Members had the
opportunity to visit Alan King’s yard too.
When Choc arrived,
we went across to join him at the furlong post on the chase course and he was
very adept at walking backwards as we followed him up the course. My choice of pull-on
boots was a mistake, as my feet were soon soaked! Although I had worn them on the very wet
Cheltenham Gold Cup day last season without any problem. And I’ve been into the centre of the course
at Cheltenham to watch the cross-country event, again with no problem. However, I wash my boots when I get home,
put them in the airing cupboard, and when I take them out again they are
almost as good as new! Unfortunately I
cannot remember many of the questions or answers, but I do recall that upon
turning into the home straight and jumping the third last fence, he liked to
be one length down on the leader if his mount was going well. His major tip of the day was the Martin
Keighley trained Mark of Love, who was running in the last race of the day,
the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, to be ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies. Someone asked him
which was the most important winner he’d ridden at Kempton Park - Call
Equiname in the Victor Chandler Chase (1999), although the horse (a grey) was
not in the same class as his equine hero Desert Orchid! He also mentioned winning the Desert
Orchid Chase in consecutive years on Voy Por Ustedes (2006 & 2007). For the record, Choc rode a treble on the
day when he won aboard Call Equiname, winning aboard Flagship Uberalles and
Storm Damage too, all three horses were trained by Paul Nichols. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Chandler_Chase http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Orchid_Chase He was asked whether
he’d ever misjudged the finishing line (a strip of grass across the width of
the course is cut shorter than the rest to denote the line) ... yes he had,
at Wincanton (I think he said) and was
duly ‘hauled across the coals’ by
the Stewards. At the end of the
walk, one lady apologised to Choc for arriving late. I decided to ask Choc to sign his autograph
in my race-card today as, surprisingly, I’ve only asked for his autograph
once before. Everyone exited the
course via Gate Q, including Choc, the organiser walking back with him to the
grandstand area. I went down the
steps and through the betting hall to reach the Parade Ring in order to see
the horses arrive in the Parade Ring ahead of the first race of the day, a
two mile Novices’ Hurdle event. Alan
King had a runner in this race, Iolith, ridden by Wayne Hutchinson and it
duly won, by 2¾ lengths. A little later in
the afternoon, Choc was interviewed by Kempton’s raceday presenter for
Kempton Park TV (or KPTV - which makes me think of peanuts!) The interview took place in the glass-sided
studio next to the Parade Ring and, when the presenter suggested that Choc
might return in time for their Winter Festival at the end of December, Choc
said that may in fact be possible should his recovery continue to go
well. Choc was even asked about the
difficulties he’d encountered, such as going to the loo and sleeping, whilst
he’d been wearing the leg brace ... and this might have possibly gleaned a
little more information than we needed (although, I confess, it wasn’t the
first time I’d thought about this myself!).
However, Choc didn’t elucidate, but said that his wife Meally had done
an excellent job of looking after him during this period. Both Alan King and
Martin Keighley had runners in the second race of the day, the National Hunt
Novices’ Hurdle. The Laodicean
finished 5th and Monty’s Revenge last respectively. The next ‘special
event’ of the day was an autograph signing/photo opportunity session with the
jockeys. A table and chairs were
arranged next to the glass-sided studio, and Barry Geraghty,
Sam Thomas, Mark Bradburne, William Kennedy, Tim Scudamore, Dougie Costello, and
AP came along to do the honours. And,
yes, I collected more autographs in my race-card. Ruby Walsh, I gather, arrived a little
later, but I had to report for the ‘Integrity
Tour’ at this time. Choc was
nearby too, and also signed a number of autographs. I joined three
other race-goers for the ‘Integrity
Tour’, one of the ladies remarking that, coincidently, her first name was
also Jane and her maiden name was the same as my surname! The tour leader took us up in the lift to
the top level, then up a flight of steps and past
the press box – evidently, on Boxing Day, extra tables will have to be put in
the corridor to accommodate the large number of press representatives who
attend on that day. We then walked
along the corridor to the commentator’s box.
Alan Howes was today’s commentator and,
although accustomed to commentating on all weather racing at Kempton, this
was the first time he’d commentated on the jump racing. We were in the commentator’s box whilst he
spoke about the horses as they headed to the start for the third race. Before the race
started, we went to the box next door, the tour guide raising the metal
blinds so that we could watch the race as it was run – a Novices’ Handicap
Chase, in which Alan King had a runner, the mare Itea
Du Fau. As I
don’t like heights, I didn’t get too close to the box edge which, of course,
was now open to the elements!
Obviously the view of the course was excellent and, in the far
distance, you could see the area where the abandoned ‘Jubilee spur’ used to be, before the course was made over to all
weather racing in the ‘mid-noughties’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempton_Park_Racecourse For the record, Itea Du Fau finished last of the
7 runners. It was then time to see
where the Stewards Room was located, and the Judge’s room, a lady judge being
on duty today. The floodlights control
room was also along this same corridor. Having finished
this part of the tour, we then returned to the ground floor using the lift,
and set off to see the Weighing Room.
As we went inside, Ruby Walsh was sitting in the corner, holding a
conversation on his mobile phone. Venetia
Williams arrived to collect her runner’s saddle and weight cloth (Maraafeq), her jockey Aiden Coleman standing on the
scales in the process of weighing out.
Leighton Aspell also weighed out whilst we
were there, he would be riding Alderluck for Nick
Gifford in the next race, the Pertemps Handicap
Hurdle Qualifier. And I saw the rear
view of an unidentified naked jockey as he walked across the inner
sanctum!!! The tour having
finished, we thanked our hostess tour guide and returned to the Parade Ring
in preparation for the next race of the day.
Apart from the one race I’d watched from the top level of the
grandstand, I viewed all the other races from beside the course-side rails,
and in most instances I was stood close to the Winning Post. There were 9
runners in the Qualifier, including the Martin Keighley trained Rodrigo Gonzales,
and the popular Lough Derg. However, the race was won by Working Title
trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty,
but I think he was lucky to win as Alderluck was
travelling the best when taking a nasty tumble at the second last flight. Fortunately horse and jockey were
okay. However, when race favourite
King’s Forest fell at the last when booked for 4th, the situation looked
serious as the screens were erected around the prostrate horse. His trainer, Emma Lavelle, hurrying down the
course to see her charge, preceded by her partner Barry Fenton. But there was good news as I was returning
to the Parade Ring, the commentator announcing that the horse had got to its
feet and was fine. Rodrigo Gonzales
had finished 6th. It was now time
for the big race of the day, the 2 miles 4½ furlong Graduation Chase. Alan King’s runner, the grey Bakbenscher, was having his first run since February
having suffered a stress fracture of the near-fore cannon bone. Choc came to the Parade Ring to speak with
the horse’s connections - the same owners as Blazing Bailey (yellow and blue
chevron colours). Clive Smith, the
owner of runner Free World (and of course Kauto
Star) briefly spoke with Choc, presumably to ask how he was, as he passed by. The race was won
by the Nicky Henderson trained Riverside Theatre, who is partnership owned by
actor James Nesbitt. Free World
finished 2nd, with Tatenen running well to finish
3rd, having been transferred to Richard Rowe’s yard from Paul Nicholls whilst
still in the ownership of the Stewart Family.
Bakbenscher didn’t jump convincingly and
finished a distant 5th of the 6 runners.
Choc’s
final ‘official duty’ of the day
was to give guidance to one lucky race-goer who had been selected to choose
the Best Turned Out horse running in the 6th race of the day. The race-goer was accompanied by his
elderly mother and father. They chose
number 2, the Colin Tizzard trained Coup Royale –
my selection for this prize too, strangely enough – as a plaited mane always
wins ‘brownie points’. Trainer Brendan Powell spoke with Choc
whilst he was in the Parade Ring, and Richard Phillips shared a joke with him
too. Coup Royale
looked like the winner until ‘let down’
in the straight, being beaten into 2nd place by a typical AP ride aboard the
aptly named Victory Surge. The
race-goer also presented the prize to the winning connections – which, in the
absence of trainer Jonjo O’Neill and the owners,
was Travelling Head Lad Paddy Brennan. It was soon time
for the last race of the day, the Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, in
which Martin Keighley was to run Mark of Love, owned by Martin’s sponsors
7-day Catering, and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies. The horse had been off the racecourse for
981 days due to a leg problem (a tendon injury) which had also flared up for
a second time to prevent an earlier return to the racecourse. Mark of Love had transferred from Richard
Phillips’ yard during his absence and last ran on 24 February 2008 at Exeter! Alan King also had a runner, Quetzal, which
I recall once inflicted a kick upon Choc when in the parade ring at Uttoxeter prior to a bumper race. I’m very pleased
to report that Mark of Love duly trotted up, an amazing training feat. And, of course, Choc’s
top tip of the day too!!! Quetzal
completed in 3rd. I returned to the
Parade Ring to see the victor come back and I departed after the presentation
had been made. As the race was being
sponsored by London Irish Rugby Club, part of the prize was a team rugby
shirt! I returned to my
car and, having not eaten since breakfast, I ate a quick snack before setting
off for home at 16:40. As always,
there was a long traffic queue to negotiate leading up to the roundabout
below junction 1 of the M3. I reached
the M25 at 17:00 – rush hour! However,
the traffic wasn’t too bad, in fact it was travelling better than during my
homeward journey on Sunday 17 October, although at times we were reduced to
40 mph – the section between the M3 to M40 being the worst, and again when
entering the road-works which commenced at Junction 18. I arrived home
at 18:00, just 10 minutes later than I would normally do on a workday. As expected, my grey boots having been
washed and then placed in the airing cupboard for a day to dry, look almost
as good as new! |
