DIARY – STRATFORD UPON AVON – SUNDAY 13 JULY 2008
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I went with my friend Lesley to the races today,
as I needed some moral support because I wanted to deliver a birthday card to
Choc today (his 30th birthday being tomorrow, 14 July). The card was designed and handmade by me
using cross-stitch, and featured jockey silks representing his big three
winners at the end of last season – Katchit (Cheltenham), Voy Por Ustedes
(Aintree) and Blazing Bailey (Punchestown).
It had also been recently announced that Choc would shave off his hair
in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund should he win the Eclipse ‘Hot Pants’ poll
– and I just couldn’t bear them to throw away all those beautiful locks
without asking if I could have one as a keepsake! I left home at 09:20 to collect Lesley, and our
trip took us along the A41 to Aylesbury, then Bicester, joining the M40 to
drive up to Junction 15, arriving early at the racecourse as there were no
road-works or serious delays in Stratford Upon Avon as had occurred during my
last trip on 15 June. We decided to park in the main car park, which
cost us £3 and purchased Club Tickets which would enable us to enter more
areas of the course. Being inside the
racecourse at around midday, before many of the punters had arrived, we went
straight to the Weighing Room and discovered there was a tour (or at least an
explanation of the Weighing Room procedures) so went inside to
participate. The presenter suggested
that a number of the jockeys might arrive whilst he was giving the talk,
however at the end I did ask if Robert Thornton had arrived yet and he
suggested the valet, Shane, would best be able to tell me. Shane looked in the changing room to see,
but Choc was not inside, so then suggested I should wait by the back door
where I was bound to see him sooner or later.
As I exited the Weighing Room, I glanced to my
right along the tunnel under the Members’ Stand and saw Choc silhouetted
against the light, taking a break with a couple of his colleages. “Choc’s just outside” I whispered to
Lesley. I decided it would be best to approach from the other side, rather
than creep up on him through the gloomy tunnel, so Lesley and I walked around
the stand, past the refreshments kiosk, to reach him. Shane came along
through the tunnel, calling out to say Choc was there, and I said yes, I’d
found him. Choc was dressed in his
civvies, polo-shirt (although I can’t recall the colour) and jeans, with his
brown shades perched above his beautiful long blonde hair. He didn’t appear
short (I’m 5 foot 8½ inches tall and was wearing 2 inch heels) because I
looked straight across at him, but maybe he was wearing heeled boots and
standing slightly above me on the foundations of the stand. He looked beautifully slim and very bashful
– as Lesley said he blushed! Shane joked that Choc would be 33 and old, but I
said don’t be horrible, he was definitely young, not old. Choc was embarrassed, especially in front
of his colleagues, but graciously accepted the birthday card and the short
letter I’d written to wish him luck in his endeavours to raise money for the
Injured Jockeys Fund, and where I also requested a lock of his hair if he
were to shave it off in mid-August. I
also wished him luck for the afternoon and to take care. We went to sit by the Parade Ring for a few
minutes so that I could recover my composure – being a shy and retiring
person it had taken courage to speak directly to Choc, and then we went for a
drink in one of the bars, returning to the paddock to watch The Quack Pack
sheepdog and ducks troupe perform. Choc was to ride in the 1st and 5th races, so
when the horses started to appear we went around and positioned ourselves
between the Parade Ring and the course-side rails near the winning post. Choc came out to ride Simarian, who was
favourite for the race, but his mount was disappointing, jumped poorly and
finished well down the field in the Novices’ Hurdle. We decided to go to the Warwickshire Stand after
the horses had gone out for the 2nd race. Whilst I was standing there,
waiting for Lesley to return from the kiosk with refreshments, I was watching
the big screen and noticed them showing Choc and a colleague sitting on the
ground by the plastic running rail along the edge of the track, taking a
break. Choc was wearing a white ¼
sleeved under-top, his body protector and wrist ‘mangles’. I had no idea whereabouts they were on the
course, but it could not have been far away, as a few minutes later he walked
back through the Winners’ Enclosure returning to the Weighing Room following
his colleague. I can fill in details here after watching the At
The Races recording – the colleague was Timmy Murphy (although the
commentator didn’t recognise him, perhaps because he was wearing a baseball
hat). The commentator’s comment of Choc
and Timmy was “Finely honed athletes preparing for the rigours ahead, taking
a gasper. Terrible habit.” Whilst we were still viewing from the Premier
Stand, I noticed Shane standing outside the Weighing Room entrance before
disappearing, and then shortly afterwards Choc came out again and stood there
for a few minutes too. Anyway, soon it was time for the 5th race, in
which Choc was riding Iffy, but this time he finished last – having won on
Iffy four weeks previously. Lesley had
two bets in the race, Leo’s Lucky Star and Iffy - £2 each on the Tote – she
won £11.80. Using my newly purchased
digital camera, I took my first photographs of Choc today, previous pictures
having been taken using my mobile phone.
The last we saw of Choc was as he walked back to the Weighing Room
with Richard Lee, trainer of Iffy. It
should be noted that Iffy was being a bit mulish at the start, and planted
himself until, after a little effort, was encouraged by Choc to walk on, but
not before he had lost his pitch on the inside rail. Now what is it they say about the horses
picking up the mood of the rider? I
hope I didn’t ‘frighten’ Choc today – as he rode two well-beaten favourites.
Whoops! We stayed until after the last race, and there
was a scary moment when the outsider of the field reared up and went over
backwards, but luckily the jockey was okay, although he did limp away. It then took a while to catch the horse, as
it galloped more than one circuit before being caught and withdrawn. We exited the car park okay, and decided to take
a short cut through Shottery, near Anne Hathaway’s cottage, and thus avoid
the traffic queues into Stratford. Apart from going around the roundabout
twice on the Stratford bypass, the journey home was good. Having dropped
Lesley off, I arrived home not long after 19:30. I wonder if I will hear back regarding my request
for a lock of hair. We’ll have to wait
and see. It would be fabulous and I would treasure it forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Chocolate for tomorrow. |
