DIARY
MARTIN KEIGHLEY’S OWNERS’ DAY
SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2013
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One of the stable stars, Champion Court In July I was very
pleased to receive and accept an invitation to Martin Keighley’s Biennial
Owners’ Day, on this occasion to be held on Sunday 29 September. It had been a very
quiet summer, Choc-less apart from the Heythrop Country Fair in June. This was due to an extended absence from
the racing scene whilst recovering from an injury incurred in early March. However, Choc returned to action on Tuesday
17 September, riding to victory aboard Letsby Avenue in a Handicap Hurdle at
Stratford. His first winner in a
season which would hopefully be productive and injury free. By the end of
September my diary was filling up, beginning with an Osmonds concert at the
St Albans arena on Saturday 21 September.
I also had the pleasure of meeting up with fellow-Choc and Osmonds fan
Sandra Stewart, who had kindly contacted me through this website to suggest
we meet up before the event. It’s always
good to chat to someone who appreciates the lovely Choc as much as I do. Just 8 days later it
would be time to set off into the beautiful Cotswolds countryside. The weather was set fair for both Saturday
and Sunday of this particular weekend, so I spent time on Saturday deciding
upon my final choice of outfit. For
weeks I had been intending to wear my ‘patriotic’
red, white and blue striped M & S tunic but, in the event, chose instead
one of my favourites, my mauve Wallis tunic, teamed with blue M & S
jeggings, a mauve long-sleeved cardigan, my purple jacket and blue ankle
boots. Plus a blue ‘stars’ scarf, purchased from M &
S, to tie the two colours together.
Although I was dismayed to discover I’d put on around 5lbs since I’d
last weighed myself just a couple of weeks ago! Never mind, tunics hide a multitude of sins
... namely my stomach! My alarm was set for
06:00, I rose at 06:15, showered and washed and dried my hair, before eating
a breakfast of porridge with blueberries, and two slices of white toast. Having applied my make-up, I was ready to
depart at 08:40. Does it really take
me that long to get ready? I must have
spent time faffing about! Mind you,
come to think of it, I always allow myself two hours to get ready during the
Cheltenham Festival. Anyway, my route
took me around the local ring-road and, as usual, I encountered one of those
Sunday morning drivers who are travelling at well over the speed limit and
overtake by using the right-only lane at traffic lights. I recall it was ‘white van man’ today. No
surprise there then. I drove to
Harpenden, then Redbourn and past Flamstead, heading for Dunstable. I was rather perturbed to see lots of roadkill
today, including a muntjac deer. Upon
reaching Dunstable I took the route through the housing estate, via Lowther
Road and Langdale Road; I was pleased to see that much of the roadway had
been resurfaced, but far less so that speed bumps had been installed. That’s all I need – they play havoc with
the suspension of the car. I’m sure
that’s why it costs so much to have a car serviced these days. Trust the few selfish speeding motorists to
ruin it for those who obey the 30 mph speed limit in residential areas. Having joined the
Dunstable to Tring road, I then took a right turning and headed for Tottenhoe
and onwards to pick up Lesley from her home in the village of Eaton
Bray. Our journey then took us around
the Leighton Buzzard bypass, through Wing and on to Aylesbury where we joined
their ring-road to reach the A41. We
got stuck behind a large lorry heading out of town and through Waddesdon and
Kingwood but, as I was immediately behind it, I was able to overtake on the
short stretch of dual-carriageway just west of the latter village. Although I did brake fairly sharply at the
end of this, to avoid a group of pheasants which wandered onto the roadway as
I approached. I didn’t particularly
want them plastered across my radiator grill.
Our route then took
us to the fast expanding town of Bicester, along their bypass, followed by a right
turn and a left turn to reach the B4030.
A group of five very noisy motorcyclists overtook us as we headed out
of the town, although they, like us, had to stop at temporary traffic lights
which had been placed prior to roadworks on our side of the carriageway just
west of the bridge over the M40.
Having cleared this obstacle, we soon reached the traffic lights at
the junction with the B430 at Middleton Stoney. When the lights
changed, we continued across this slightly oblique junction and entered a
further section of the B4030, the early part of which contains a number of
sharp bends. Having passed through
Caulcott (you can tell I love maps) we reached a cross-roads, just to the
east of Lower Heyford. I recall on a
trip to the Cotswolds with my friend (and ex-boyfriend) Mark, that we once
drove straight across at this point and ended up in the village by
mistake. In fact to remain on the
B4030, you need to turn left at this junction. The road then bears
around to the right, down past Heyford railway station, over the single
road-width traffic light controlled causeway spanning the River Cherwell, and
up the hill to Hopcrofts Holt. Having
crossed the traffic signal controlled B4260, we entered the final section of
the B4030, again another section with many road bends. The route passes through the village of
Middle Barton, then Gagingwell before reaching Enstone. The suggested route
to exit onto the A44 is via a short section of the B4022, as this allows
better visability than the more northerly and oblique B4030 junction. We continued along the A44, reaching the
traffic light controlled junction where we turned left and entered Chipping
Norton. We drove along the High
Street, and turned down the hill, with the landmark of Bliss Mill soon
appearing to our left. Having left the
town we continued along what is still the A44, heading towards Moreton-in-Marsh. Opposite the Greedy
Goose pub, we took the A436 past the Adlestrop turning and descended the hill
to the bridge over the railway and Evenlode river. Following this, the road climbs up the hill
into Stow on the Wold, where we passed Choc’s current favourite haunt, The
Bell at Stow. We were slightly delayed
by the car in front of us seeking to find a parking space along the main
street. After waiting at the
traffic lights at the top of the hill, we turned right and headed a short
distance along the A429 before bearing off to the left onto the A424. After a while we saw a turning to our left
signposted Condicote, which we took. I
know it would be easier to drive just a little further along the A424 and
take the lane direct to Luckley ... but we have become accustomed to taking
the first available turning and doubling back upon ourselves. As the lane
descended into the valley we passed a large group of Sunday morning
ramblers. We then continued down the
hill and past the trout farm before climbing up the other side. Despite knowing that I had to take the next
turning, which is actually signposted Condicote, I continued straight ahead;
there was a car following us, and they took this turning. However, I did turn right at the next lane
and entered Condicote via a meandering route through the houses. Upon reaching the walled green in the
centre of the village, I drove around it in a clockwise direction to reach
the Luckley road ... solely because I felt like it!!! We were nearing our
destination, the lane dips down to cross a river before rising steeply and
approaching a small hamlet of houses and the entrance to Martin’s yard. Visitors were directed to park in a stubble
field across the way. I parked my car
at the far end of a row of vehicles. It
was about 11:10 when we arrived. I
changed from my driving mocassins into my blue boots and we set off to walk
back across the field, over the lane and into the driveway of the yard. Helpers waiting at
the gate handed me a programme, containing colour photos of all the
horses. Refreshments were on offer
just outside the main barn, Lesley had a drink and a cup cake, I refrained on
this occasion. We then set off into
the barn to see the horses.
Mauricetheathlete was stabled in the first box to the right, the
unnamed Proclamation gelding to the left; the latter was very friendly and
enjoyed being petted. There were
warnings on the doors of the boxes of those horses which would bite or might
bite. I was particularly
taken with an unnamed Milan filly. She
is a very pretty bay, with four white socks or stockings. Another visitor did say to me that one
should avoid horses with four white socks – that old adage ‘one white sock buy a horse, two white
socks try a horse, three white socks look well about him, four white socks do
without him’. She told me her
horse had four white socks and sometimes had lameness problems ... personally
I love to see a flashy bay! My
favourite. Anyway, the filly was
gorgeous, so gentle and friendly. We worked our way
down the barn, saying hello to all the horses in turn (or at least those
which didn’t bite), including Benbane Head, Seymour Eric, Champion Court and
Any Currency (Woody). I was surprised
to see Georgian King, as I recalled the name from back in the day when he was
trained by Alan King. He’s 10 now, and
has been absent from the racecourse for almost 2 years, but should be back in
action again soon. In the large open
boxes at the far end of the barn were Havingotascoobydo and Court In Session
(Judge). And, in the far corner,
ponies Thomas and Crunchie. There are
two stable kittens – a black and a tortoiseshell – which Lesley made friends
with. She has two cats, Twiglet
(female) and Scrabble (male), which she took in many years ago when their
owner moved aboard. Also a Golden
Labrador named Max, which she also took in when the original owner was no
longer able to look after him. She
also fussed over Windsor, the Keighley’s black Labrador. Twiglet always makes a beeline for me when
I visit Lesley’s house, Scrabble is rarely seen as he seems to spend most of
his time out and about! Anyway, having
completed the tour of the barn, we headed out to see the horses occupying the
other loose boxes. Sky Calling,
recently retired due to injury, is still at the yard and will in future head
off to stud. Having seen these horses,
we headed across the way to spend more time with the Milan filly, who had now
poked her head out of the rear window of her box. I said hello to Martin too, as he exited
the main barn. When we returned to
the main barn once more, six of the horses were being saddled up in
preparation for warming up ahead of taking them across to the gallops. As it was now approaching 12:30, we found a
space to sit upon the straw bales alongside the warm-up area and the horses
and their riders soon appeared – Primo Capitano, The Kvilleken, Court In
Session, Havingotascoobydo, Annacotty and Benbane Head. The riders included stable jockey Ian
Popham, Tom Siddall, and presumably Ollie Garner. The horses were
walked, trotted and cantered anticlockwise around the all-weather strip, then
same in the opposite direction. At
this point, Lesley told me that Choc had arrived, because she had seen him
over my right shoulder. Be still my
beating heart! I glanced across, he
was wearing blue skinny jeans, a light brown tweed jacket, very shiny brown
boots and, I think, a blue shirt with white colour, plus sunglasses. Soon it was time for
everyone to head across to the gallops to watch the horses, I didn’t say
hello to Choc at this point as he was chatting to someone. I would save that pleasure until a little
later. Crossing the lane,
Lesley and I walked along to the top of the gallops, farther than many of the
guests ventured. With everyone now
watching from within the field, the horses arrived, their riders walking them
down to the bottom of the gallops before setting off toward us two by
two. Benbane Head with Annacotty, followed
by Court In Session and Havingotascoobydo, bringing up the rear Primo
Capitano and The Kvilleken. Having completed
their work, the horses were ridden back along the top of the field and we all
returned to base. It had been quite
breezy in the open space of the gallops, although certainly not unpleasant as
it had been wall-to-wall sunshine since daybreak. In the shelter of the yard, it was warm
enough to take off my jacket. We stood atop a large
grass mound in order to get the best view of the remaining horses as they
were paraded. I wrote the horses’
names in my notebook as I took photographs of them. ATR’s Robert Cooper was on hand to
interview Martin about his charges.
All the horses were well behaved, although Midnight Thomas needed a
lead from stable stalwart Brimham Boy, and the unnamed Kayf Tara pulled free
of his handlers, trotting around the paddock area for a few brief moments
before allowing himself to be caught once more. Martin also pointed
out the old David Nicholson gallops which could be seen running alongside the
wood in the far distance and said that his horses sometimes used them also. Young Freddie
Keighley demonstrated his jockey riding style upon one of the two mechanical
horses; these proving very popular with the children in attendance
today. I waited until we
headed to the food tent before saying hello to Choc. He was sporting stubble
today – which I can attest to having kissed him on the cheek! Unusual, as his face is usually as smooth
as a baby’s bottom! Ah, a bit of
rough!!! We joined the queue
for lunch – a choice of brown roll or white (I chose the latter), filled with
pork, apple sauce and stuffing. We
then returned to sit upon the straw bales whilst we ate, before venturing to
the marquee to find dessert. Lesley
had the last piece of cheesecake, I had a slice of chocolate gateaux and a
piece of the almond and plum dessert.
We both had a slice of the horse-shaped cake. Desserts are my favourite. Choc was chatting to a group friends
outside the marquee, as I could see him through the thin rear awning! It was now drinks
time – no alcohol for me as I was driving – nor Lesley as she asked for a
drink of water. I had blackcurrant
with ice. We returned to the hay bales
and soon people began to drift away to head home. We left at around
15:15. But not before I’d said goodbye
to Choc. We hung around for a few
minutes until Robert Cooper had departed having said his farewells to my
favourite jockey. Another kiss on the
cheek from me. I apologised for being
a little tongue-tied today. It
sometimes takes me that way, when I speak with my favourite jockey! If I were a horse, I know I’d be the one
standing at the back of the loose box, unsure about ‘saying hello’ until I knew the human being well! When we reached the
car park I noticed that Choc had left his driver’s window half open ... these
country folk obviously don’t expect thieves to be rambling through the
countryside! Or crazy old superfans to
stow themselves away in his car either!!! Upon leaving the car
park I decided to turn left and head back through Condicote, before joining
the B4077 and driving back through Upper Swell to Stow. We got stuck behind
a farm vehicle as we headed down the hill out of the town. One crazy driver decided to overtake me,
the car in front of me and the farm vehicle as we headed down the lane;
however, it wasn’t really necessary as the obstruction soon turned into a
farm entrance and we were free to increase our speed to the 50-mile an hour
limit applicable for this stretch of road.
We re-traced our
outward journey, through Chipping Norton, Enstone, Middle Barton, past
Hopcrofts Holt; we had to wait at the traffic lights for our turn to drive
across the causeway over the River Cherwell, and were also held up once more
at the roadworks close to the M40 bridge.
We then returned to Bicester and civilisation once more ... oh how I’d
love to live in the beautiful Cotswolds countryside. Civilisation is very uncivilised these days! We drove back along
the A41 to Aylesbury, the car in front of us almost failing to stop at one of
the roundabouts as a car heading in the opposite direction took a right-turn
at one of the roundabouts to the west of the town. We then headed around their ring-road,
ensuring that I stayed within the speed limit on this camera-controlled
stretch of the journey. Our journey then
took us along the A418, at one point a couple of police cars sped along the
road in the opposite direction. We
drove through Wing, and joined the bypass to the west of Leighton
Buzzard. Lesley asked me to stop off
at the petrol station on the Billington Road in order that she could visit
their cash machine. Then we headed back
to her home in Eaton Bray. On our
drive along the lane on the outskirts of the village we passed her daughter
Hollie, she was out walking their dog Max.
We waved to her. I dropped Lesley
off, promising to let her know of any racing-related plans I might have in
the near future – so that she might accompany me. It’s always last minute plans, as I never
know for definite until the racecards are published 24-48 hours ahead of time
and I’m informed of where Choc is riding and how many rides he might have. As it was still
daylight, I decided to travel back via Tottenhoe and Dunstable; I would be
able to easily spot the road speed bumps mentioned earlier. It seemed that as soon as I reached the
Hertfordshire county boundary, the sun disappeared and it became gloomy. Very weird.
I travelled back past Markyate and Flamstead, around the Redbourn
bypass, turning left to reach Harpenden Common and to begin the final leg of
my journey back to St Albans. I arrived home at
18:10. It had been an excellent
day. Fantastic weather, beautiful
countryside, lovely horses, great company and, last but not least, the
gorgeous Choc! What more could a girl
want? |
