AINTREE FESTIVAL 2017
Day 1 – Grand Opening Day
Thursday 06 April
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Picture of the Day
Tea For Two and Lizzie Kelly This was the first of three days to be spent on
Merseyside. Having woken at 03:00, I
was ready to depart by 05:45; the more time I have, the more time I seem to
take before leaving home! Although
quite chilly today, it was dry throughout the journey, with little chance of
rain throughout the Festival. There
was, however, fog on the initial section of the A50, although not dense. Having stopped off at the M62 Burtonwood
Services at around 09:15, I then headed to Aintree, arriving at 10:10. I encountered the first issue of the day at
this point … having queued to enter the Steeplechase car park, the car bonnet
refused to close following the security check; not that old chestnut
again! But I did have a solution, I
removed two rubber stoppers from the framework and it then closed first time. It transpired that my friend Sandra was parked in
the row prior to mine, and immediately in front of me too. We set off to the entrance shortly
afterwards, thinking that we’d be able to enter the racecourse immediately;
however, we were told opening time for non-staff was 11:00 today. When that time arrived, it was then
discovered that the hand-held ticket scanning machines weren’t working. It took ages for the G4S stewards to send for
replacement machines. Meanwhile we had
to suffer the wrath of an irate bookmaker who was desperate to reach his pitch;
he was so mad that the stewards threatened to bar him from entry altogether. Anyway, at around 11:40 we finally gained entry,
before catching the bus to the grandstand side of the racecourse. We purchased our race-cards and a couple of
bottles of water before heading to the steppings
beneath the Weighing Room, visiting the ladies loo en route. I made a note of a number of people we saw whilst
waiting here – Marcus Armytage, Oli
Bell, Nick Luck, Gina Harding, Sir AP McCoy, Luke Harvey, Philip Hobbs,
Stewart Machin, Ed Chamberlin, Rupert Bell (father
of Oli), Alice Plunkett, Henry de Bromhead, Donn Mclean, Wayne
Hutchinson, Harry Skelton, Paddy Brennan, Sir Mark Prescott and Nick Skelton
(father of Dan and Harry of course). Today’s pre-race ‘entertainment’ was Nick Skelton being interviewed, whilst his
Olympic Gold medal-winning stallion Big Star was paraded in the Parade
Ring. The pair had announced their
retirement just a day or two ago. We also saw Sam Waley-Cohen,
Noel Fehily, Nick Williams, Dave Yates, Katie Walsh
and later on, course-side, the Frost family – Jimmy, Hayden and Bryony – the
latter would be riding in the Foxhunters’ Chase over the Grand National
fences later in the day. Well before the start of racing, we headed down
to our favourite spot within the Earl of Derby enclosure, beside the
horse-walk entry/exit point. It was soon time for the first race of the day;
off time 13:45. The favourite was Top
Notch, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Daryl Jacob; price 6-5. Noel Fehily’s
mount, Flying Angel, did just that as he exited the horse-walk onto the
racecourse; in fact people walking ahead of him had to dive for cover as he
charged by, extremely keen to get on with the job in hand. And, as it turned out, it was Flying Angel which
triumphed from Cloudy Dream. Top Notch
finished a disappointing 3rd, unable to show the same kind of form as he’d
displayed at the Cheltenham Festival when he’d run very well to finish just a
length behind Yorkhill in the JLT Novices’ Chase.
The favourite for the second race of the day was Defi Du Seuil, trained by
Philip Hobbs and ridden by Barry Geraghty; price
4-11. Once again the JP McManus-owned horse won well, as
he’d also done in the Triumph Hurdle.
The favourite for the next event was Cue Card
trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Paddy
Brennan; they’d won the race last year.
His price was 2-1. However,
today he found one better, with Lizzie Kelly riding her stepfather’s horse
Tea For Two to victory. We decided to return to the steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure after the race, returning to the Earl of Derby
enclosure ahead of the next one.
Stepping up in trip for the next and having
triumphed in the 2-mile Champion Hurdle, the favourite was Buveur D’Air; price 4-9. He won this too, yet again from My Tent Or Yours which
had also followed him home at Cheltenham; a one-two for trainer Nicky
Henderson.
The favourite for the Foxhunters’ was last year’s
winner On The Fringe; price 7-4. Sandra chose Black Thunder; I chose last
year’s runner-up Dineur. And today’s winner was Dineur
at 16-1; a shame that I didn’t place a bet on him. He did, however, finish lame and, as such,
was taken straight back to the stables rather than return to the Winners’
Enclosure. Black Thunder fell at
Valentines. We had returned to the steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure following the race, before heading back to the
Earl of Derby enclosure ahead of the next one; although we had to wait for
the horses to head out to the racecourse in the meantime, because the walkway
gates had already been shut.
The favourite for the sixth race was Bun Doran;
price 6-1. My selections were Parsnip
Pete and Doitforthevillage. However, the winner was Double W’s for trainer Malcolm
Jefferson and jockey Brian Hughes.
Parsnip Pete pulled up and Doitforthevillage
was hampered close to the top bend; he stumbled and fell as a result.
The favourite for the final race of the day was
the Warren Greatrex-trained, Gavin Sheehan ridden,
Petticoat Tails; price 9-2. However, the race was won by Dame Rose
representing trainer Richard Hobson and ridden by Alain ‘Squeak’ Cawley. Martin Keighley, who was at Aintree today,
congratulated the winning jockey; Squeak rode regularly for him a few years
ago, when their usual stable jockey was out through injury. Alain had recently returned from serious
injury too.
Racing over, we stayed to watch the initial lots
being sold at the Goffs Aintree sale, including
Paul Nicholls buying back Just A Par, for £100k I think; the horse held an
entry in the Grand National. However, it was a chilly evening, so we soon
returned to the Steeplechase car park aboard the free shuttle-bus
service. Sandra left just before me
and we both headed out via Anchor Bridge, before turning right at the
T-junction with Aintree Lane. Having crossed
the swing-bridge over the canal, the lane soon meets the A506 dual
carriageway; I turned left to head to the M57. However, this is where my carefully laid
plan went slightly awry! I headed up the slip-road onto the motorway but
didn’t realise the exit slip-road onto the A580 was quite so close. Too late, I’d missed my turning. Oh well, I decided to style it out. There were other exits but I decided to
continue to the M62, before heading east.
I then took the northbound carriageway of the M6, and left the
motorway at junction 23; this meant I was now on the intended A580 and just a
mile or two from our hotel. Sandra had arrived before me, although not that
long before, and she helped me carry the bags to my room once I’d checked in;
we used the lift to the first floor. I
was in room 103 this year. The rooms
have been renumbered since my last visit; single and double digit numbers are
on the ground floor, three digit numbers prefixed with a ‘1’ are on the first
floor, and three digit numbers prefixed ‘2’ are on the second floor. I hadn’t occupied this particular room
before, but I had stayed in the one next door, twice! The room faced south and was two along from
the lift. Sandra was across the
corridor, half-way along the landing, in room 112. We went to dinner at the adjacent Table Table restaurant at 19:45; unfortunately we were sat at
the ‘corridor’ table which I’m not
particularly keen on. I chose haddock
and chips today, with a Cadbury Dairy Milk sundae for dessert. Two apple and cranberry J2Os were consumed
too. It was a restless night; I didn’t sleep very
well. |
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