DIARY – UTTOXETER – SUNDAY 29 JUNE 2008
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My friend, Mark, came with me to the races today. I desperately wanted to go to Market Rasen on Friday 27th as Choc was returning from his
enforced holiday (ie. 3-day riding ban) and had 6 rides,
but Mark was unavailable, so we settled for Uttoxeter
instead, where Choc was scheduled to ride 4 times. It is a mere 123 miles to Uttoxeter, whereas Market Rasen
is 143 miles away from my home. As it was my suggestion to go racing, I drove us to Uttoxeter in my Fiesta.
Our route took us to join the M1 at Luton, heading north, with one
‘comfort’ stop at Leicester Forest Service Station. We left the motorway at junction 23a, driving
west along the A50 dual carriageway all the way to Uttoxeter. The first heavy traffic we encountered was as we turned left
into Uttoxeter, parking quite some way from the
course entrance, having passed through an industrial estate to reach the car
park. The weather throughout the
journey was nice but, once we arrived, it turned grey and damp, with a couple
of heavy downpours, one just as the first race was due off, and another
before the 4th race. The weather must have been fine all morning, as the
locals were definitely not dressed for bad weather. Luckily I had brought along my bright pink
raincoat, so I put that on. Having
locked the car, we crossed a narrow river, and the railway line (near the
station) and decided upon Premier tickets costing £20 each, which Mark treated
me to, as I was paying for the petrol to get us to the course. It was very busy at the course, being Britannia Building Society
Summer National Day, where the organisation was welcoming many of its members
and staff to the event. As it was
quite early, we popped into the Premier Bar for a drink before the first
race. Choc wasn’t riding in the first 3 races on today’s card. The first race was won by Robert the Brave
ridden by William Kennedy. The second
race by The Snail under Christian Williams and the third race by First Boy
ridden by John Kington. Following this race, Mark decided to buy
some chips to eat – it’s difficult for him to find suitable food as he’s a
vegetarian, although he is a reformed vegan which was even worse! We had to shelter under the awning, as the
second downpour of the day started at this point. My now, my heart was beginning to beat
faster in anticipation of seeing Choc again!
Choc’s
first ride of the day was Festive Chimes in a Handicap Hurdle. I waited beside the Parade Ring, near to
the jockeys’ entrance so that I could see Choc approaching with his
colleagues from the Weighing Room.
Once mounted, the jockeys set off for the start at the beginning of
the back straight. When the race
started Choc rode in midfield for most of the way, but was probably never
nearer than 5th before fading into 10th of the 13 runners at the finish. Honeybrook was
the winner under Tom Siddall. The unplaced horses are unsaddled on course at Uttoxeter, so I saw Choc walk in, passing the Totepool office, on his way back to the Weighing
Room. Choc’s
second ride of the day was aboard Chabrimal Minster
in the Summer Grand National. The
start for this race was opposite the Premier Stand. Choc’s mount was prominent
for most of the race, leading from the 15th fence, but being headed 5
out. But he was still in the front
line when, unfortunately, his horse fell 4 fences from home, but he very
stylishly rolled away to the side, missing the hooves of his fellow
competitors as he did so. Snoopy Loopy
unseated independently at the same fence.
The race was won by Surface to Air ridden by Noel Fehily. I waited opposite the Weighing Room to see if Choc was fine
after his fall, and he walked back in okay, presumably having been picked up
in the Range Rover, as he arrived back very quickly. Choc’s face was
splattered with mud. When he appeared for his third ride, he still had two splashes
of mud on his left cheek. Having been
waylaid by autograph hunters, he trotted into the paddock, undoing a sweet
wrapper as he passed the Winners’ Enclosure section, and throwing the wrapper
to the ground - but there wasn’t much else he could do with it! My thoughts on this were maybe he’d smoked
a quick cigarette and wanted to mask the fact before he met up with the
trainer/owners of his next ride. His third ride of the day was aboard Meet the Legend in a
Handicap Steeplechase. However, he was
always towards the rear, making headway approaching 4 out to chase the
leaders, but weakened after 3 out to finish 8th to Haunted House ridden by
Richard Johnson. When he came back to the Weighing Room he was met by Alan King,
who asked Choc if he was okay. I
gathered the answer was affirmative. Alan accompanied Choc into the Weighing
Room, in preparation for collecting the saddle once Choc had weighed out for
the final race. I made my way to the
Parade Ring and noticed Alan return in preparation for saddling up Gaye
Starlet for the Bumper race. By the
time Choc appeared for his 4th and final ride, he had just one faint blob of
mud remaining on his left cheek! The National Hunt flat race started at the beginning of the home
straight and was run over 2 miles.
When the race started Choc held the mare up in touch, and was chasing
the winner over 3 furlongs out. She
hung both left and right in the closing stages, and could make no impression,
finishing 2nd. The winner was Magellan
Straits. Having watched Choc exit the Weighing Room for all his rides
today, I was struck by the fact that the majority of autograph and photograph
hunters made a beeline for him! Far
more for him than any of the other jockeys. I heard a comment of ‘one of the
well-known jockeys’ from someone regarding Choc, and another middle-aged
woman thought he was a girl – because of his long blonde locks I
presume! Bless. Choc having completed his final ride, and Mark having returned
from the Champagne tent, we set off for the car park to collect my car and
drive home. It took quite a while for
the queue of traffic to exit the car park due to weight of numbers. However we eventually made it out onto the
A50 and headed eastwards to the M1, then south towards Hertfordshire,
stopping off at the Toddington Services as Mark
wished to buy something at the Marks and Spencer Simply Food outlet. The journey had used 5/8th of a tank of
petrol. |
