DIARY – SANDOWN PARK – FRIDAY 05 DECEMBER 2008
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Another day’s annual leave accounted for. Choc had 4 rides scheduled at Sandown Park,
so once again I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go watch him ride. I left home at 10:45 to drive to Sandown. My route took me around the M25 and up the
A3. The trip went really well, with no
traffic hold-ups, not even in Esher. I decided to park in the centre of the
course, which is free and, as I had arrived early, there was space to park on
the tarmac area. Once I’d put on my gillet and coat, I walked down towards the racecourse
crossing, and purchased a Grandstand ticket costing £18 from the kiosk. Having crossed the course via the plastic
walkway, I purchased a race-card for £2.50. This was my second visit to Sandown Park, the
first being at the end of April for the Bet365 Gold Cup, so I knew which
route to take through the Grandstand to reach the Parade Ring area. I positioned myself at the apex of the
paddock, in the bright sunshine, to await the runners for the first
race. While I was waiting, Nick Luck
and a colleague from Racing UK ran through the race-card making their
‘winning’ selections for the 6 races. The non-runners were also announced – 3
runners in the 5th race, and Tifoso in the last – Choc’s mount. I
noticed ‘Sandy the Owl’ atop the stump of an old beech tree to the side of
the clock-tower. The horses came into the Parade Ring, followed by
the owners, then the jockeys. Choc’s first mount of the day was Tuanku.
When the bell went to mount, Choc and Alan walked over to the side near the ‘jockeys entrance’ for his mount to approach, and Choc was
legged up into the saddle. As Choc
went along the horse-walk, I walked through the Grandstand hall and out onto
the tarmac area in front of the stand in time to watch him canter down past
me to the start away to my right. Then they were off. Tuanku raced in 3rd
place, chasing the winner after the 5th flight, was being ridden out when he
hit 2 out, but made no impression soon after, and
finished in 2nd place. The winner was
Helium ridden by Liam Treadwell, trained by Nick Gifford. Once he had passed
the winning post I walked back through the Grandstand and around to the
Winners’ Enclosure to see him come back and unsaddle. When he had disappeared inside the Weighing
Room, I went back over to the Parade Ring to wait for the runners for the 2nd
race to arrive. The next race was a Steeplechase and Choc’s mount was Rustarix. Choc came into the Parade Ring alongside
Mattie Batchelor.
Tom Scudamore mounted Orphelin
Collonges early and rode him around the ring – this
was the horse which had bolted across the paddock at Huntingdon with Tom
O’Brien aboard. When the bell sounded,
Choc and Alan walked over towards me, and Alan legged
Choc up onto the horse. Once Choc was
on his way out onto the course, I walked through the Grandstand hall and
positioned myself near the open-ditch so that I could take a photo as the
field came over the fence. The start
for this race was over the far side of the track, so the horses cantered down
past the stands and then across a track through the middle of the racecourse.
Soon the race was off. Rustarix raced in
3rd, and tracked the leader from the 9th fence. He had a narrow lead and was hit 3 out,
then driven. He was joined at the
last, narrowly headed soon after, but rallied gamely under pressure to regain
the lead in the last few strides.
There was a photo-finish and the result was announced that he had won
by a short-head. The runner up was Creinch ridden by Charlie Poste. Back to the Winners’ Enclosure again to see Choc
and Rustarix return. I took photos as he unsaddled and spoke to
connections. Choc then had his
official photo taken with the horse, before disappearing into the Weighing
Room. Now it was time for Choc’s
3rd and final ride of the day, aboard Junior in the Novices’ Hurdle
race. This time Choc came into the
Parade Ring with Jimmy McCarthy, who I gather often rides out at Alan
King’s. Again the horses cantered down
past the stands to reach the start on the far side. I positioned myself by the rails to see the
action. When the race started, Junior was held up in rear
but well in touch, he hit the 6th, made headway to chase the leaders 2 out,
led but hit the last flight, and was driven out to the line, beating On
Raglan Road by a good margin. Again I returned to see Choc and Junior arrive
in the Winners’ Enclosure. I took a
couple of photos, before Choc disappeared into the Weighing Room. The 4th race of the day was an Intermediate
Steeplechase, with 5 runners.
Unfortunately Sam Thomas had to pull up the Nicholls’ runner, Ornais, who went lame at the railway fences, the horse
ambulance being sent to collect the animal.
The Queen’s horse, Barbers Shop ridden by Barry Geraghty,
won. I followed the same routine of watching the
horses in the Parade Ring, going out racecourse side to watch the races,
although the last 3 races were watched from the grandstand steps, and then
returning to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses come back. The 5th race was won by River Indus ridden by
William Kennedy – I thought the horse looked well when I saw it in the
paddock. The 6th and final race was
again won by William Kennedy, this time riding Kadouchski. So doubles for both William Kennedy and
Choc today. After seeing the horses return to the Winners’
Enclosure following the final race, I walked back through the grandstand,
across the course, back to my car. I
left straight away but got caught in the traffic queue leaving from the
centre-course car park. It took ages
to travel through Esher, but the A3 was clear to the M25. It was then hold-ups for most of the way on
the motorway until Maple Cross. I
arrived back home at around 18:20. Back to Sandown again tomorrow, to watch 6 races,
including the Tingle Creek Chase, but I’ll travel down by train this time. |
