DIARY – NEWBURY – HENNESSY GOLD CUP
SATURDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2013
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Choc and
Valdez win the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase This would be my 6th consecutive
Hennessy Gold Cup – I’d seen Madison du Berlais win in 2008, Denman win his
second in 2009, Diamond Harry in 2010, Carruthers in 2011 and Bobs Worth in
2012. Who’s turn would it be in
2013? Might it be Choc, who would be
riding Invictus; the horse returning from a 651-day injury absence? The trainer and jockey thought it a tall
order but, regardless, he’d been installed as the anti-post favourite for the
race. I’d booked both the preceding
Thursday and Friday as annual leave but, following last year’s trip to
Newbury on the first day of the Festival and the horrendous travel problems
I’d encountered in Reading due to an accident on the M4, I decided not to
attend on either of the first two days; I would keep my powder dry until
Saturday, Hennessy Gold Cup Day. This
would also enable me to complete my diary following a trip to Kempton Park
the previous Monday; I hate it when I go racing and my diaries begin to
snowball without any hope of completion before the quiet spring and summer
period. And I would be in trouble if
it began to happen as early as late November!
By the time I’d spent time on
Wednesday evening working on Monday’s diary, all I needed to do was write an
overview of each race; this I planned to do on Thursday. However, before I turned in, I did decide
to begin construction of a pine shoerack I’d purchased from Argos on the
Monday. It took longer than expected
and I only managed to piece together two of the four shelves before I turned
in at well past midnight; and one of those had a couple of loose screws which
wouldn’t bed-in in any further. As
much as I hate to admit it, it needed a man’s strength! My original plan had been to
wake early and begin the race descriptions by 06:00 or 07:00 in the morning
... fat chance of that, I was too tired after my late night. I also got sidetracked constructing another
shelf, but again a couple of screws wouldn’t go in tight enough ... I’d leave
it until I saw my younger brother the following Sunday, he’d be able to fix it
for me. So drafting of the race notes
finally began at 10:30 and was completed by 20:45. I had proof-read the copy and unloaded it
by 22:30. Job done. I’d recorded RUK’s coverage of
day 1 of the Heritage Festival so as not to miss anything should I dose off
to sleep during the afternoon ... and it wouldn’t be the first time ... but
in the event, the recording failed, as the planner couldn’t locate and play
it despite it being listed. So before
turning in on Thursday I had to re-build the planner in the hope of rescueing
the recording but, for the first time, it didn’t work – Tuesday’s missing
Lingfield recording appeared but Newbury did not. Damn. However, having realised I’d need to
transfer the races from RUK’s replay, the timings meant I could obtain two
before I turned in, and the third one at 07:30 on Friday morning! I then drove down to the local
supermarket to fill up my car’s petrol tank ahead of my Newbury trip the
following day, and a little later on went to the bank in order to pay a
number of bills and withdraw some cash ... it was pay day!!! And to buy a lotto ticket too. The afternoon as spent watching the second
day of the Heritage Festival, with Choc riding a winner in the final race, a
National Hunt Maiden Hurdle, aboard Wilde Blue Yonder. From memory, it takes me around
90 minutes to reach Newbury ... provided there are no accidents or delays en
route. This being the case, I intended
to leave home at 08:00 because the gates opened at 09:30 on Hennessy Gold Cup
day. I set the alarm clock for 05:30
which gave me more than enough time to get ready. I showered, washed and dried my hair, ate a
breakfast of two slices of buttered toast and croissants. I applied my makeup and was ready to depart
a couple of minutes before 08:00. My outfit today comprised, a
black thermal vest, a rose pink long-sleeved thermal vest, cerise frill-edged
cardigan, purple fleece, black gillet fleece, burgundy Per Una frill-edged
cardigan, green Cotton Traders heavyweight fleece, black tights, brown
leggings, long black handkerchief hemmed skirt, black faux fur jacket, black
engineer boots, black/white horses snood, and cerise Katia Big Snow
scarf. The weather was forecast to be
fine, if a little windy and it did turn out to be a sunny day, which was
great as late November is usually dank ... and I hate dank! And, of course, my Magic Branches necklace
for luck. It was a little disconcerting
however, to back out of the drive and see a single magpie on the driveway of
a nearby house. I knew what I had to
do ... I decided to drive along the perimeter road of a housing estate en
route to the M25 and, as expected, saw a number of other magpies. In total I saw seven today, at various
places on my way to the racecourse. I joined the M25 at Junction
22. There were no problems on the
motorway and I reached the M4 at 08:30.
Traffic on the M4 westbound carriageway was okay too, after all it was
Saturday. There was a brief section
with a 50-mph limit, coinciding with the Slough West junction where bridge
repairs were taking place. I’d reached
the Reading West junction by 09:00. My
route then took me along the A4, through Woolhampton, and Thatcham to
Newbury. I noted one idiot cyclist in
Thatcham who rode through red lights; I got caught by possibly all of
them. Cyclists drive me nuts ... they
either ride through red lights and narrowly miss knocking you over as a
pedestrian trying to cross at a junction or they ride on the path and nearly
collide with you too. They haven’t a
clue that you can’t hear them approaching from behind or they whizz around
blind corners and almost hit you. They
are dangerous idiots. Having exited the A4 and
travelled down the Hambridge Road, I took a left turn at the new roundabout
to head through the industrial estate; it was signposted ‘parking’ but I didn’t follow anyone and no-one else followed
me! There is a section of lane just
before the single-track railway bridge underpass in dire need to repair ...
but I guess it’s no longer of relevance since the planned redevelopment
includes a new bridge over the railway.
The road to the bridge will commence at the roundabout situated at the
entrance to the industrial estate. So, today, I saw no vehicles
when I drove up the driveway through the golf course and past the club
house. There were, however, a number
of cars which passed me in the opposite direction on their way to the health
club. It was 09:25 when I parked up on
the front row of the general car park area.
There was a small section cordoned off to the front of my car, where
bookmakers were being instructed to park.
Redevelopment having begun in
certain areas of the racecourse, there will soon be a line of apartment
blocks built between the free car parking area and the racecourse. One block was already well under way, five
storeys already constructed alongside the top bend. Before leaving my parked car, I decided to
eat two of the cheese rolls I’d brought with me, saving the other two until I
returned to my vehicle after racing. I changed into my boots, put on
my coat and wristwarmers, packed my thermal gloves and woolley hat in my
handbag and set off to the grandstand extrance. One of the stewards asked if I was warm
enough ... ‘I hope so’ I said, ‘I’m wearing seven or eight layers’. Security staff waited beside tables close
the turnstiles, ready to check racegoers’ bags. Once checked, I headed to the turnstile,
where my pre-purchased ticket was scanned and I was permitted to enter the
racecourse precincts. I bought a
race-card from the nearby kiosk, cost £3.00. Having popped to the loo within
the Dubai Duty Free grandstand, I set off to the Parade Ring expecting Mark
Your Card to begin at 10:00. However
as it turned out, the timetable was completely wayward, a second promise of
Mark Your Card at 11:15 didn’t materialise either; in fact it was well past
11:30 before Emma Spencer, Bet365’s Andrew Holding and raceday presenter
Philip Brannan turned up in the Parade Ring.
In the meantime they’d wandered
around the shopping village, with Emma suggesting items which might be
suitable for Philip to buy his wife for Christmas! I recall they visited the Espayo marquee,
the company retailing a collection of high quality cutting-edge equestrian
fashions and accessories sourced throughout Europe. In other words, expensive equestrian items
for people with more money than sense!!! They also visited equestrian
artist Liz Armstrong’s marquee; amongst her collection were paintings where
she’d used betting tickets to provide the background for her art. Within the Bus Bar, they encountered
musician Aaron Norton; elsewhere Derek Thompson who was plugging his new
autobiography. They also caught up
with those overseeing the catering operation today. There was an opportunity to win
a luxury trip for two to Dubai, for the Dubai World Cup horserace; it did not
appeal to me whatsoever! Another
competition involved answering questions within the race-card to win one of
six sets of Racing Post books – Henderson’s Heros, Brough Scott’s Henry Cecil
biography, Tommo’s autobiography and AP McCoy’s new novel ... that was more
my style. With the questions relating
to the Hennessy Gold Cup itself, you could actually find many of the answers
within race-card! Daryl Jacob was okay to take up
his rides today, having stood himself down before the end of yesterday’s
engagements having suffered a fall on Thursday and aggrevated a shoulder
injury which had been operated upon during the summer. However, there had been two notable jockey changes
ahead of the big race, the first being the replacement of Lord Windermere’s
jockey Robbie McNamara who had broken his collarbone in a training accident
the day before the big race; Dougie Costello taking up the engagement
instead. The second replacement was
bizarre, and occurred when Timmy Murphy, who was scheduled to ride Our
Father, was taken to hospital following an incident in the Weighing Room –
evidently he’d had an altercation with Dominic Elsworth during which his
shoulder had been dislocated! More As a result, Conor O’Farrell
took over the ride aboard the David Pipe-trained runner. Today’s going was good, good to
soft in places on the chase track; good to soft, soft in places on the
hurdles track. It would be a Choc-filled day,
with my favourite jockey having a ride in all but the last of the seven
races. It was soon time for the first
race of the day, due off at 12:20.
Choc’s mount in this event was the diminuative The Pirate’s Queen, for
trainer Alan King at a price of 12-1.
The favourite was the Willie Mullins runner, Vicky De L’Oasis, ridden
by Ruby Walsh. As I Am went to the
start a little ahead of the others and her handler led her around once there. A group of young smartly dressed
men decided to stand beside me at the top of the steppings overlooking the
Parade Ring; one of them dropped his plastic beer glass on the steps, the
drink splashing everywhere. I would
not have been amused if I’d been standing in front of them and my skirt had
got soaked. People can be such a
nuisance sometimes. Personally I can’t
wait until the Parade Ring area is re-developed to provide a far better viewing
platform for the punters. I gather the
Weighing Room will be re-located to the far side of it, to the area where the
saddling boxes are now sited. Choc having headed out onto the
racecourse, I set off to find a vantage point as close to the course-side
rails as possible. And, despite there
being a big crowd today, I did manage to get almost to the front. The starting gate for the first
race was part way down the home straight, the horses having one flight of
hurdles to jump before heading out onto one complete circuit of the track.
As
I Am was led out onto the track, soon to be joined by the others. Then they were off. She set off at the head of affairs,
followed by the two Nicky Henderson runners Rosie Probert
and Free Thinking. These were followed
by Vicky De L’Oasis, Brijomi
Queen and The Pirate’s Queen. All six
runners cleared the first flight in their stride before heading up past the
winning post on the first occasion. The
field proceeded around the top turn, the leader extending her advantage over
her rivals to around eight lengths, which she maintained for much of the back
straight; all six runners clearing the four flights therein
satisfactorily. Upon entering the far
turn, As I Am’s lead had shrunk to around four
lengths, the second favourite Free Thinking now her nearest pursuer; The
Pirate’s Queen close up in last place. Exiting
the turn, the leader was now a mere two lengths ahead of her rivals, Free
Thinking travelled in second place, from Rosie Probert,
Brijomi Queen, Vicky De L’Oasis
and The Pirate’s Queen. The field
closed up as they approached and cleared three out, As I Am still with a
clear advantage, the other five runners in a line across the track, preparing
to make their challenges. The
first to drop out was the Sam Waley-Cohen ridden
second-favourite, Free Thinking, then Brijomi Queen
as they cleared two out. Choc had
taken his mount to the inside of the track, with Rosie Probert
travelling to his right and Ruby Walsh’s mount to the nearside of these three. But, as they approached the last flight, As
I Am began to draw away from her rivals once more, leaving Vicky De L’Oasis and The Pirate’s Queen to fight it out for the
minor honours as Rosie Probert began to retreat in
their wake. Having
cleared the final obstacle, the long time leader continued to stay-on
strongly on the flat to win by 9 lengths at the line. Choc’s mount had
blundered at the last, but he kept her up to her work and she stayed-on to
beat the Willie Mullins runner by 1¼ lengths, with Rosie
Probert completing in 4th. Don
Cantillon’s winning home-bred mare has only one
eye, having lost her near-side (left) one in an accident as a youngster. Evidently she needs someone to sit outside
her box whilst at the races in order to keep her calm; she’d also had two
people leading her around the Parade Ring prior to the race.
I returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the
horses arrive back. Again, I’d managed
to manoeuvre through the spectators within the betting ring and return at speed
to the paddock area, doing so ahead of many of the other racegoers. In fact it was surprisingly easy to move
around today, and I don’t imagine there were fewer people than usual
attending on Hennessy Day. Choc’s mount in the next race
was flashy chestnut Valdez, again trained by Alan King; he was the 2-1 second
favourite. The favourite being the
Paul Nicholls-trained runner, Black River, a French import and half-brother
to Spirit River; this was his chasing debut in the UK, having won two
juvenile events in his native country. Once again, the starting gate
for this race was located part way down the home straight, with three fences
to jump, including the water before setting off upon one complete circuit of
the track.
Valdez
exited the track behind the other four runners and then they were off; four
almost in line as they approached the first fence, where Un Bon P’tit Gars was the first to rise, from Earls Quarter,
Flaming Charmer and Black River; Choc held up his mount in rear. Earls Quarter made an error at the second
fence, the jockey re-gathering his knitting as they travelled up towards the
water-jump for the one and only time; all the horses cleared this safely. Richard
Johnson’s mount continued to lead the way as the runners galloped around the
top turn and entered the back straight; Black River and Flaming Charmer
joined Earls Quarter in joint second position as they did so. All five runners cleared the fourth fence
with ease; Earls Quarter making a further error when jumping the next, the
first open-ditch. There were no
problems in the jumping department as they horses cleared the next two plain
fences and galloped on to approach the final obstacle before the far turn. However,
the favourite departed at the next, having put in an extra stride which
resulted in him hitting the top of the fence.
It looked like quite a nasty fall, but both horse and jockey were soon
on their feet. The remaining four
runners soon reached the far turn, Valdez having improved his position to
track Un Bon P’tit Gars who had led the race since
the start. Arriving
at the cross-fence, five from home, Choc’s mount jumped into the lead and
started to pull away as they entered the home straight. By this stage of the race, both Earls
Quarter and Flaming Charmer had become outpaced and were being pushed along
in rear. In fact Valdez was travelling
well within himself at the head of affairs as the field travelled up the home
straight; he jumped markedly to his right three out, the final open-ditch,
but this was solely to put himself on the right stride to clear the
obstacle. Valdez
jumped straight as a die over two out and continued to cruise away from his
three remaining rivals. He leapt the
last with ease, Choc glancing over his left shoulder to check for any dangers
as he sped away from the fence. They
were so far behind that his jockey was able to ease down by the time he’d
reached the elbow, and went on the win by 24 lengths at the line. Un Bon P’tit Gars
completed in 2nd, with Flaming Charmer a further 9 lengths back in 3rd having
overtaken Earls Quarter on the run-in.
I
returned to the steppings above the Winners’
Enclosure to see Choc and his mount arrive back. It was nice for me to see him triumph in
person at Newbury as, despite my frequent visits to the racecourse since the
2008/2009 season, this was only the third time I’d seen him win! The first was aboard Turbo Du Ranch in
March 2011, and the second time aboard Tante Sissi in March 2012.
When
interviewed after the race, Alan King admitted that he was very fond of
Valdez; the horse’s next engagement is likely to be at Kempton Park over the
Christmas period – the Grade 2 Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase,
again over the two-mile minimum trip. Choc
was engaged to ride the Graeme McPherson trained Kilcrea
Asla in the next race, a 66-1 shot; the favourite
was the Philip Hobbs-trained, Richard Johnson-ridden, Carrigmorna
King. Handy Andy was late arriving in the Parade Ring, but no reason
given. The
starting gate for this race was in the back straight, with one plain fence to
jump before the far turn on the first occasion.
Then
they were off. Heading for the first
fence and spread wide across the course, prominent were Hector’s Choice, No
Secrets, Handy Andy, Mr Gardner and What A Warrior. Travelling just behind
Handy Andy was the cheek-pieced second favourite, The Druid’s Nephew, who
capsized at the fence, as did Opera Og. Ruben
Cotter was fortunate not to be brought down by the former and was badly
hampered; Carrigmorna King side- stepped the
latter. Choc avoided the fallers, as
he was travelling to the rear but on the outside of the field. Both the departed horses and the jockeys
were fine following their independent mishaps. The
next obstacle was the cross-fence, the leading trio being What A Warrior, Mr
Gardner and No Secrets as they jumped this fence; bringing up the rear as
they turned into the home straight on the first occasion were Kilcrea Asla, Tatenen and Carrigmorna
King. All the runners cleared the next
fence without incident, with Rendl Beach on the
inside near the rear of the field blundering badly at the first open-ditch
where he almost unseated his jockey Richie McLernon. There
was no change at the head of affairs as the runners jumped the next two plain
fences and headed towards the water-jump for the one and only time. These were followed by Gus Macrae, Handy Andy, Arthur’s Pass and Solix.
Hector’s Choice was just in behind these, then came Ruben Cotter, Sir Du
Bearn, Violin Davis, Valoroso, Tatenen,
Kilcrea Asla, Rendl Beach, Carrigmorna King
and one of the loose horses! The
remaining 16 runners set off down the back straight, with five fences ahead
of them before they reached the far turn.
There were no major incidents; there was little change in the order at
the front of the field, Tatenen had begun to make
ground, Carrigmorna King continued to jump with a
lack of fluency near the rear, and Kilcrea Asla had just one rival behind him, Rendl
Beach. There was a bit of an argy bargy at the beginning of the far turn, involving Solix, Hector’s Choice and Tatenen,
which shuffled the latter back through the field. The
runners cleared the cross-fence once more and rounded the corner into the
home straight. Carrigmorna
King had made very noticeable progress on the outside of the field and had
advanced into third place as they straightened up to jump the final four
fences. No Secrets and Gus Macrae led at this point.
Having jumped the first fence in the home straight, Richard Johnson’s
mount challenged and led over the final open-ditch, although he was still not
jumping as fluently as his rivals. However,
having made good headway since turning in, Tatenen
now mounted his challenge and took over the lead from Carrigmorna
King as they landed over two out.
Still in contention for the minor honours were No Secrets, Ruben
Cotter, Violin Davis and Gus Macrae. The leader was well in command as he flew
the last fence and stayed on strongly to win by 8 lengths at the line. Carrigmorna King
completed in 2nd, with Ruben Cotter 2½ lengths behind in 3rd and No Secrets
in 4th. A 14-1 winner. Kilcrea Asla was tailed off and completed last of the 13 who
finished, Arthur’s Pass, Handy Andy and Rendl Beach
having been pulled up.
Again
I returned to the steppings above the Winners’
Enclosure to see the placed horses arrive back. Also, as the unplaced horses are unsaddled
in the Parade Ring, I saw Choc debrief trainer Graeme McPherson and head back
to the Weighing Room. It
was now time for the fourth race of the day, in which Choc’s mount would be
the Alan King-trained Batonnier; the horse was
returning from a 672-day absence through injury. Alan’s other representative was Vendor,
making his seasonal reappearance following a very disappointing 2012/2013
season, much having been expected after he’d finished 3rd in the Fred Winter
Novices’ Hurdle at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival. With Wayne Hutchinson in action on Grumeti in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle today,
the ride upon the grey was given to Jack Doyle, the jockey having recently
recommenced riding out at the Barbury Castle yard;
which he done initially for a couple of years when arriving from
Ireland. When
Choc arrived in the Parade Ring he headed over to join the Thurloe 52 syndicate group connected with Vendor,
initially failing to located the Moulds, the owners
of Batonnier.
He was re-directed to the smaller group, where they had been joined by
the Princess Royal; Choc chatted to them whilst he waited for the bell to be
rung, which was the signal for the jockeys to mount their horses. Gibb
River arrived late into parade ring as he had to be re-plated. The race favourite was the Oliver Sherwood
trained Mischievous Milly, ridden by Leighton Aspell. There were
three greys in this race, the aforementioned Vendor, Native Gallery and Saphir Du Rheu; although the
latter was so dark grey that it was difficult to tell! The
starting gate for this event was at the far end of the home straight, with
that and one full circuit to travel.
Then
they were off. The runners were led
away by Shotavodka, from Native Gallery,
Citizenship and Punjabi. Choc, in his favoured inside berth, tracked Native
Gallery aboard the keen-going Batonnier; Vendor was
held up at the rear of the field and made a mistake at the first flight. The pace was slow for a large field in a
competitive handicap. Having cleared
the first two flights, coming to the fore was the nose-banded Notus De La Tour.
The
runners cleared the third flight and headed up past the stands with one
circuit to go. Shotavodka
still led the way, from Citizenship, Native Gallery, Notus
De La Tour and Gibb River, with Punjabi and Master Of The Game to the
nearside, Batonnier to the inner, Azure Fly, the
Stewart Family’s Saphir Du Rheu,
Gassin Golf, Aegean Dawn, Imperial Leader, The Bear
Trap sporting the first colours of JP McManus, the favourite Mischievous Milly, the other McManus runner Don’t Be Late and finally
Vendor. The
runners galloped around the top turn, the David Pipe representative still at
the head of affairs, ears-pricked; the horses were 6-deep on the track
further back in the field. They then
set off to face the four flights of hurdles in the back straight. Having cleared two of these, the
white-faced Citizenship came to share the lead, the remaining runners tightly
packed, with Vendor still bringing up the rear. Having
jumped the sixth flight, Notus De La Tour retreated
rapidly through the field, and by the end of the back straight he was
relegated to last place. Shotavodka led the runners around the turn, from
Citizenship and Imperial Leader.
Behind these were Native Gallery, Gibb River, Master Of The Game and
Punjabi; Batonnier still tracked the former. The
runners turned into the home straight, spread wide across the track as they
began their challenges. Shotavodka still led as
they crossed the third last flight; the favourite, Mischievous Milly making noticeable progress towards the stand-side
rails; Gibb River and Gassin Golf close on the
leader’s tail. Batonnier,
to the inside of every runner, was soon being pushed along; but, Vendor, also
to the inside, appeared to be cruising and had overtaken his stable-mate by
the time they reached two out, although he did hit this flight. On
the run to the last, Shotavodka still held court at
the head of affairs, despite the best efforts of his rivals. However, it soon became apparent that
Vendor had plenty left in his tank and he cruised up alongside the leader and
took over the running shortly after the final flight; Don’t Be Late also came
out of the pack to put in a challenge.
Having
headed the field, Jack Doyle drove his mount outn
to win by 2½ lengths at the line; the David Pipe-trained runner gamely held
on to 2nd, with Don’t Be Late a short-head away in 3rd and Saphir Du Rheu in 4th. Batonnier claimed
7th, a promising run on his first outing for nearly two years.
I
returned to the stepping beside the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses
arrive back. Alan King concentrated on
unsaddling Batonnier before turning his attention
to the winner; however he must have said something very amusing to Choc, as
my favourite jockey was in near hysterics as he headed back across the Parade
Ring. He stopped to chat with a couple
waiting nearby, before standing and looking a little lost for a minute or
two, perhaps expecting to see the owners.
He then set off back to the Weighing Room, stopping en route to sign
autographs and to have his photograph taken with race-goers. Following
his poor recent form, his trainer explained that Vendor underwent three ‘MOTs’, spending time during the
summer at the Bristol University veterinary department where work was carried
out on his breathing; although, evidently, Alan King wasn’t convinced the
horse was back to form ... until he won this race! It was a good prize too, with £19,494 to
the winner. However his chasing career
would be kept on hold, having far from enjoyed his novice outings over the
larger obstacles last season. Next
up was the Long Distance Hurdle; with Big Buck’s still on the comeback trail
following injury, this would allow for a new winner of the race. Choc’s mount was the diminutive Medinas, winner of last season’s Welsh Champion Hurdle
and the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival.
The 10-11 favourite was At Fishers Cross, winner of the Albert
Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival; today ridden by Barry Geraghty, with AP McCoy having travelled to Newcastle to
ride My Tent Or Yours in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle. Representing the connections of Big Buck’s
was able-deputy Celestial Halo; fresh from his Grade 1 triumph in France, Reve De Sivola, and Battle
Group. The
start of this race was partway down the back straight, with two flights to
jump before reaching the far turn.
Then
they were off. Or rather four of them
were, Battle Group had dug in his toes and refused to take part. Celestial Halo, sporting his usual
blinkers, led them away from At Fishers Cross, Reve
De Sivola and Medinas. Both At Fishers Cross and Medinas were a little awkward at the first, and I think
Choc may have lost his nearside iron for a few strides! And at the second the JP McManus runner
jumped away to his right, bumping Reve De Sivola in the process.
Heading
into the far turn, the Paul Nicholls representative held a six or seven
lengths advantage as he bowled along at the head of affairs. At Fishers Cross and Reve
De Sivola travelled together, with Medinas bringing up the rear. There was no real change in the order as
the runners headed up the home straight on the first occasion, bar the fact
that Richard Johnson’s mount was now a clear second; Celestial Halo’s advantage
just two or three lengths now. The
runners headed around the top turn and set off down the back straight; Medinas was less fluent than the others at the first
flight therein, Choc riding his mount along for a few strides to ensure he
didn’t lose any ground as a result.
Having taken the next in his stride, he was again less fluent at the
following hurdle, the 8th. Having
completed the jumping in the back straight, Medinas
appeared to be a little outpaced by his rivals, a slap of the whip was
administered down the horse’s shoulder before they headed into the final
bend. By
the time they began their turn into the home straight, both Reve De Sivola and Medinas were being ridden along. Facing up to the third last Celestial Halo
still held the advantage and was travelling the best of all, although Barry Geraghty had him in his sights by the time they’d reached
the penultimate flight. But it nearly
ended in disaster here, when At Fishers Cross skewed in the air and sprawled
on landing; the other two runners had soon caught up and had related him to
last place by the time they reached the final obstacle. With
an excellent clear round and only one brief glimpse of possibility that he’d
lose his lead earlier in the home straight, Celestial Halo galloped on to win
by 17 lengths at the line. Medinas had landed on all fours over the last, but won
the battle with Reve De Sivola
by a neck. At Fishers Cross, having
not recovered from his error two out, was eased to finish 5 lengths back in
fourth and last. An
able-deputy indeed; same trainer and same owners as the stable’s staying
hurdle star, Big Buck’s. And their
second winner of the day following Tatenen’s
victory in the earlier Handicap Chase.
I
returned to the steppings above the Winners’
Enclosure, deciding to take my chance with regards to getting a decent berth
beside the course-side rails ahead of the feature race. It’s always a gamble between Parade Ring
and course-side rails during major fixtures – do I stay or do I go? A
number of celebrities had been invited to attend today, including Bear Grylls, James Corden, Jeremy
Clarkson and AP McCoy ‘lookalike’
Rob Brydon.
Ruby Wax appeared in the Winners’ Enclosure whilst photographs were
being taken of Celestial Halo, and she got in on the act, also appearing on
the podium when the prizes were being presented. Despite having chosen to return
to the Parade Ring, I was able to return to within one person’s distance of
the course-side rails. Choc’s mount in the feature race
was Invictus, as mentioned earlier returning to action following a 651-day
absence due to injury. Despite this,
he was an 8-1 shot; the favourite was Our Father, at 11-2, Highland Lodge
second favourite at 6-1. Having reached the racecourse
itself, the runners were organised into race-card order ahead of parading
down in front of the stands, led by Cape Tribulation and preceded by a couple
of huntsmen, mounted on one bay and one grey; Choc’s mount was number 15 of
the 21 runners and I was close enough to the rails to take a photograph as he
was led by. Today was also the 2010
Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Imperial Commander’s final race before retirement
beckoned. The horses did a 180-degree turn
to canter down to the starting gate which is situated at the beginning of the
back straight, the horses having almost two complete circuits to cover during
the 3 miles 2½ furlongs of the race.
The
horses were sent a long way back from the tape; Loch Ba
trotted back to join them belatedly as they jogged in, circled once, jogged
in again and then they were off. The runners
were led away by Whodoyouthink together with
Imperial Commander, but they both fenced the first slowly, permitting Super
Duty and Highland Lodge to take over at the head of affairs. The back markers were Loch Ba, Houblon Des Obeaux and Theatre Guide.
Invictus was travelling to the outside, near
the rear of the field. The
second fence was an open-ditch, all the horses clearing this without problem;
Lord Windermere hit the third obstacle.
Highland Lodge and Imperial Commander continued to lead the way as the
runners negotiated the next fence. To
the inside Super Duty blundered at the 5th, in mid-field Hadrian’s Approach
stumbled badly on landing and unseated Nico de Boinville and towards the rear to the inside of the
runners, Opening Batsmen fell. There
was no change at the head of affairs heading into the far turn; racing just
behind the two leaders were Howdoyouthink matching
strides with Katenko, a couple of lengths behind
these were Super Duty, Rocky Creek and Cloudy Too. Following these were Triolo
D’Alene and Prince De Beauchene; Theatre Guide and
Our Father brought up the rear. The
loose Hadrian’s Approach preceded the runners as they headed up towards the
grandstand on the first occasion, causing a bit of a scare as he swung across
the field on approach to the fence following the open-ditch. Highland Lodge and Imperial Commander
continued to lead the way; Katenko travelled in
third place, alongside Rocky Creek and Prince De Beauchene. Close behind these were Super Duty, Triolo D’Alene, Cloudy Too, Lord Windermere, Terminal,
Merry King, the visor-wearing Same Difference, Invictus
to his outside, Whodoyouthink dropping back quickly
through the field, Houblon Des Obeaux,
Cape Tribulation to the inside, the grey Our Father, Loch Ba
and Theatre Guide. There
was a further ‘loose horse scary
moment’ as the rider-less Hadrian’s Approach chose the route between the
innermost rail and the inside running rail, where he would have galloped past
to the rear of the photographers who were taking photos as the field cleared
the water-jump; he also passed close by to a cameraman and assistant at the
apex of the top bend before exiting to rejoin the field, narrowly avoiding a
collision with the leaders. As
they approached the first fence in the back straight for the second and final
time, Highland Lodge and Imperial Commander still led from Katenko and Cloudy Too; Whodoyouthink
was now bringing up the rear. The
runners cleared the open-ditch without incident, but Katenko
got too close to the next and fell, badly hampering Lord Windermere, and
causing both Cape Tribulation and Super Duty to sidestep the prostrate
runner. Same Difference hit the 15th
fence. Having
cleared the next, it was noticeable that both Invictus
and Theatre Guide had made progress through the field from the rear; Super
Duty had, by now, tailed off. The
runners entered the final turn, Highland Lodge and Imperial Commander still
at the head of affairs; close on their heels were Cloudy Too, Prince De Beauchene and Rocky Creek, these were followed by Lord
Windermere, Triolo D’Alene and Invictus. From
being in the front rank approaching the cross-fence, Imperial Commander lost
his place very quickly and was soon pulled up. Turning into the final straight, Cloudy Too
under Richard Johnson travelled up to join Highland Lodge; behind these were
Prince De Beauchene, Rocky Creek and to their
outside Invictus, at his girth Triolo
D’Alene and behind these was Theatre Guide still travelling well. Having
cleared four out, Barry Geraghty’s mount cruised up
to join the leaders and held a narrow advantage as they jumped the
open-ditch. Sharing second place at
this point were Rocky Creek, Highland Lodge and Invictus;
Theatre Guide half a length down on these.
As lack of race fitness appeared to get the better of Choc’s mount he
began to drop back; four horses now ahead of him as he cleared two out; Triolo D’Alene spearheading the field. Rocky
Creek was almost upsides as they jumped the last, the Henderson runner’s
momentum being briefly checked as he put in a short stride before it. But, on
the run-up to the line, Triolo D’Alene’s stamina
kicked in and he pulled away to win by 2¾ lengths from the Paul Nicholls
representative at the line. Theatre
Guide stayed on to complete in 3rd, 1¾ lengths further back; long-time leader
Highland Lodge finished 4th. Merry
King stayed-on through beaten runners to finish 5th. Having
looked like he would finish ‘best of
the rest’, Invictus faded badly after the last
and, pulling up on the run-in, completed in 11th.
In
my rush to reach the Winners’ Enclosure I passed too close to the rear corner
of the concrete steppings, scratching the corner of
my new handbag slightly. Damn. Oh well, worse things happen at sea! Despite
being on the look-out for Choc and Invictus, I
didn’t see them return to the Parade Ring to unsaddle following the
race. This made me wonder if something
was wrong. I
noticed the Clerk of the Course, Richard Osgood, had gained ‘ownership’ of a horse - Hadrian’s Approach
– there being solely the lad in charge of it and he was unable to unsaddle
the animal without assistance! Prizes
for the big race were presented to the winning connections by the Princess
Royal. There
was a jockey change announced ahead of the final race, Noel Fehily who’d come to grief aboard Opening Batsman in the
Hennessy Gold Cup was replaced by Sam Twiston-Davies
aboard Greywell Boy. The race favourite was Next
Sensation at 7-2. Three greys again – Anay Turge, Elenika
and Greywell Boy, the former two being French-bred
horses. The
starting gate for this race was part way down the home straight, with two
fences to negotiate before the water-jump, followed by one complete circuit
of the track. The top-weight, Rody, was late arriving within the starting enclosure
where he’d have his girth checked, the remaining horses already waiting out
upon the track for him to join them.
Then they were off. The runners were led away by Next Sensation
and Greywell Boy. To the inside of the field, last
year’s winner Ulck Du Lin stepped through the
first; having survived this mishap, jockey Daryl Jacob gathered in his reins
once more. The horses cleared the next
safely and, too, the water-jump. There was no change at the head of
affairs as the runners headed around the top turn and began their journey
down the back straight for the one and only time. Leading the way was Next Sensation, from Greywell Boy, Parsnip Pete, Fairy Rath,
Anay Turge, Tetlami, Rody, Elenika, Ulck Du Lin, Consignliere and Filbert.
All eleven runners successfully
negotiated the first four fences in the line but not so the final one. Next Sensation put in a short stride before
the fence, hit it and unseated his rider; Anay Turge pecked on landing with the same result, Tetlami neatly sidestepping the prostrate jockeys, Tom Scudamore and Mark Quinlan. So now there were nine. The departures had left Greywell Boy in the lead, and he held a narrow advantage
over Parsnip Pete and Fairy Rath; the loose Next
Sensation galloped alongside Rody, followed by Tetlami, Elenika, Filbert, Ulck Du Lin and, in rear, the
2009 winner Consigliere. A few lengths behind was the rider-less Anay Turge, his right
cheek-piece flapping loose as he galloped along; finally it fell to the
ground as the horse approached the cross-fence. The runners still contesting the race had cleared
this obstacle without incident; exiting the turn ahead of the field was
Parsnip Pete, all bar the other loose horse.
Paddy Brennan’s mount still held a narrow advantage over four
out. Having made steady progress on
the outside of the field, it was now time for Richard Johnson to make his bid
for success aboard Filbert, the horse taking over second position as they
cleared the final open-ditch. Parsnip Pete clung to his advantage over two out,
the loose horse still accompanying the leaders; fortunately the latter
decided to bypass the last, allowing Paddy Brennan’s and Richard Johnson’s
mounts to clear the last and travel to the line uninterrupted. It was
Filbert, driven out by his jockey who got the upper hand in the final 150
yards, winning by 3 lengths at the line.
Parsnip Pete completed in 2nd, with Greywell
Boy a further 7 lengths back in 3rd. Rody completed 2¾ lengths back in 4th.
I returned to
the steppings above the Parade Ring for the final
time today, waiting to see the prizes presented to the winning connections of
the final race. Filbert’s owner was
confined to a motorised wheelchair, so the organisers kindly moved the ‘ceremony’ to the area in front of the
podium so that he could take part. There were also
prizes for the winning-most jockey and the
winning-most trainer during the three-day Festival. Daryl Jacob won the jockey prize with five
winners and, strangely enough NOT, Paul Nicholls won the trainer’s
prize. However when Paul arrived to
receive his memento, he told the organisers that he had been in the car park
about to leave when informed, having not realised he’d won! For the record,
Choc rode two winners (Wilde Blue Yonder and Valdez) and shared second-place
with Barry Geraghty and Noel Fehily
in the ‘winning-most’ jockey
category. Alan King was runner-up
trainer with three winners (Wilde Blue Yonder, Valdez and Vendor). With darkness
soon on the horizon, I decided to return to my car following these final
presentations. I exited the racecourse
via the gate closest to the car park.
There were numerous spaces where vehicles had already departed and a
queue of traffic waiting to leave via the main entrance. However, the golf course exit appeared to
be free-flowing. Having taken off my
boots, coat and other layers of clothing, I sat for a while and consumed the
remaining two cheese rolls. Whilst I was
sitting in my car deciding whether to make a move or not, I checked my mobile
phone and noticed a tweet suggesting that Invictus
pulled up ‘very very lame’ after
the race and was loaded into a horse ambulance. That would explain why I didn’t see Choc
and his mount return to the Parade Ring to unsaddle, which had suggested
something might be wrong. Oh dear,
what a terrible shame. L It was 16:25
when I decided to depart. I drove
across the car park to avoid the traffic which was queuing westbound on the
roadway and fully expected to find a tailback at any moment on the road which
runs past the golf clubhouse and down through the fairways and greens to
reach the gate and the lane leading to the industrial estate. Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t
believe it. No queue whatsoever on the
busiest National Hunt day at the Racecourse Newbury. Apart from a
large van or people-carrier which pulled across the lane to reach a gateway
located on the unmade-up section which delayed me for a few moments, I
reached the Hambridge Road without stopping. There was a police car parked to the side
of the road just prior to this, but no sign of any officers directing the
traffic. As I was turning
right at the roundabout, I had the right of way over all vehicles queuing
from the direction of the racecourse’s main entrance. Even the traffic lights at the junction of
the A4 soon changed to green and I was on my way out of Newbury; although
those in Thatcham were definitely not on my side as
I had to stop at each junction with the lights showing red. My route took me
back through Woolhampton, and onwards to join the
M4 eastbound carriageway at the Reading West junction. I’d arranged to visit my friend Denise in Caversham after racing, so I left the motorway at Reading
East to head along the A329(M) to reach the A4. Heading eastwards, I took the third Sonning turning, namely Charvil
Lane, and doubled back on myself to reach the Sonning
bridge over the River Thames. The
first junction would have taken me through the narrow village lanes with
parked vehicles obstructing the way, best avoided after dark, and I didn’t
know the route along the second turning.
Yellow lines prevent parking on the route I’d taken. The traffic
lights on the single track bridge were green as I approached and remained so,
thus avoiding any delay. And it was so
much more pleasant than my trip on this equivalent day last year, when the
road had only just been re-opened following extensive flooding. In fact it was only fit for a 4x4 last
year, not my poor little Fiesta! On
that occasion I’d been too much of a sissy to return home via the Sonning short-cut due to the residue of flooding on the
lane. Having reached
the roundabout on the Henley Road I turned left and headed towards Caversham, pulling up on the pavement outside Denise’s
house to park. It was 17:15. Den had invited me to tea too, and I stayed
until 21:15. It had also enabled me to
drop off her Christmas presents, which I like to do in person because I’d
hate for them to be lost in the post. Today I returned
via Sonning and the A4 to reach the A404(M), selecting the option to head for the M4, as
opposed to the M40. Being quite late
into the evening, traffic on the M25 was moving smoothly and I left the
motorway at Junction 22. My route then
took me via the London Colney bypass and into St
Albans. I arrived home at 22:15. Once home I was
able to check the BHA website ‘Why They
Ran Badly’ section and found this note: The Veterinary Officer
reported that INVICTUS (IRE), unplaced, trained by Alan King, was lame. By Monday, his
name had been moved across to the ‘Resting
Horses’ section on Alan King’s website reserved for horses on the injury
sidelines. Then, on
Tuesday, the severity of his injury was revealed. It
is such a shame, his heart is very willing but one of his legs is very fragile. And shoe rack
news ... my brother Neil put together the fourth and final shelf and was able
to bed-in those loose screws, although not before he’d broken the handle of
the old screwdriver! However we
purchased a new one and that solved the problem. He ran out of time to attach the four
uprights, but with the help of the new screwdriver, I was able to do this
part myself. Wicked! I have a new shoe rack, and there’s even
space for new pairs of shoes ... resist, resist! And, what is my opinion
about the new dress code introduced by the racecourse? Personally I can’t see anything wrong with
people dressing up to go to the races.
If men wish to wear denim or women wear skirts so short that they
suffer from brain freeze, they can spend their day in the grandstand
enclosure, there’s nothing wrong with that.
I’m a grandstand enclosure person, despite my outfit passing muster on
Hennessy Day. The very sad
postscript to this day is that Invictus was put to
sleep, unable to be saved for a happy retirement as had been initially hoped. Click here for photos – Race
1 & 3 Click here for photos – Race
2 Click here for photos – Race
4 |
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