NOVEMBER 2012
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Friday 30
November 2012 |
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Today’s
results are as follows: Newbury: Bakbenscher (Alan King/Choc)
finished 12th & Benbane Head (Martin
Keighley/AP McCoy) finished 10th in the Handicap Hurdle Qualifier (17 ran). Bless The Wings (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap Chase (10 ran). He was neck and neck with The Knoxs when his rival fell at the last and then, having
idled on the run-in, he fought off a challenge from Mahogany Blaze in the
final few strides. When interviewed
after the race, Alan King said his charge has a tendency to pull himself up
if he gets to the front too soon, so the Twiston-Davies
challenge came just in time to spur him on again. Alan was
also questioned about Smad Place, who won’t be
running in tomorrow’s Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle against Big Buck’s. It transpired that the horse had a virus
when disappointing at Wetherby earlier this month
and for the past few days has not been moving so
fluently at home as would be expected or hoped. Investigations will soon be underway to
find out what the problem is. The
trainer is also convinced that horses either love the soft going or
thoroughly hate it ... similar to Marmite I suppose (I like Marmite but I
gather many don’t). He was surprised
to discover that Bakbenscher absolutely hated
today’s ground; although the horse was also hampered twice by fallers during
today’s race. He thinks that Hold On
Julio would probably prefer better ground, but you have to take what comes. And I understand the rain will return next
week ... David
Pipe’s Dynaste was not inconvenienced by the
conditions and won the Grade 2 Novices’ Chase in excellent style. More The ‘feel good’ result of the day was
veteran Fair Along winning the Pertemps Hurdle
Qualifier. Ruby Walsh
was stood down for the remainder of today following a fall during the Qualifier;
he sprained his thumb. And Timmy
Murphy went to hospital for an x-ray upon his back following a fall in the
last. The popular grey Pasco was taken
to the equine hospital having pulled up unsound behind during Bless The Wings’ race. Doncaster: Ali Baba
(Alan King/Ciaran McKee) finished 6th in the
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (13 ran). Lotus Pond
(Alan King/Peter Hatton) finished 2nd in the NH Flat Race
(Conditional/Amateur Jockeys) (9 ran). And
tomorrow is Hennessy Gold Cup day and the runners of interest are as follows: Newbury: 12:50 Call
Me A Star (Alan King/Choc) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Listed) 13:25 Godsmejudge (Alan King/Choc) & Patsy Finnegan (Alan
King/Charlie ‘Jockey Style’ Huxley)
– Novices’ Handicap Chase 14:35 Ardlui (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle 15:10 Hold
On Julio (Alan King/Choc) - Hennessy Gold Cup Steeplechase 15:40 Oh
Crick (Alan King/Mr Joshua Newman(7)) – Handicap Chase [Jim Joel Memorial Trophy] Towcester: 14:10 Two
Rockers (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle Newcastle’s
‘Fighting Fifth’ meeting goes
ahead, subject to an inspection at 08:00.
Bangor has been abandoned due to water-logging. There was
an ‘open’ racecourse situated on
land between Harpenden and St Albans, but it closed almost a century
ago. Pity, as it would have been my
nearest racecourse by far. And I
recall my late grandfather Harold told me about the venue too. More As it is
Friday, there’s a new edition of Martin Keighley’s Stable Talk. More And Wayne
Hutchinson’s Sporting Life column too.
More Choc’s valet, Phil Taylor,
was taking the mickey when he tweeted this photo
today: https://mobile.twitter.com/ptaylor217/status/274473787410509824/photo/1 Take no
notice Choc, you look very smart! And
William riding bareback too: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/274547721753460737/photo/1 I’ve
uploaded the photographs taken at Newbury yesterday. Click here to view. An early start for me tomorrow, as I aim to leave
home at 07:30, filling up my petrol tank again en route to Newbury. I have enough fuel to do the trip, but
prefer not to run the tank too low, as I expect to get caught up in a few
traffic queues in the racecourse vicinity!
Allegedly I can do approximately 400 miles to a tank when not ‘in town’. I’ve decided upon sensible boots tomorrow (low
wedges) ... as the soles of my feet are still sore from the high heeled not
very sensible pair I wore yesterday! I
shall wear thick tights, leggings and a long skirt plus seven tops and a coat
– the same as yesterday as my body was roasty
toasty! My hands got cold despite
wrist warmers and my feet were cold too but that was probably because the
high heels made my feet go numb! It is
forecasted to be cold tomorrow but I’d rather have that than dank ... I hate
dank! |
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Thursday 29
November 2012 |
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Faultless Feelings finishes
a very creditable 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle I was umming and ahing about whether
to go to Newbury today ... and, as you can see, I decided to go. However, it was a disappointing day for
Choc and my journey to the racecourse proved to be an absolute
nightmare! I left
home at around 09:15, dropping into the local petrol station to fill my car’s
tank on the way out. Before reaching
the garage, I realised that I’d forgotten my necklace and earrings, so I
popped into M & S too, to purchase a pair of drop earrings ... I feel
naked without my earrings. I set off
from the retail park at 09:45. Shortly
after joining the M25 at Junction 22, travel information signs gave details
of long delays on the M4 between junctions 11 (Reading South) and 12 (Reading
West). I decided to continue my
journey, hoping that whatever was causing the problem would be cleared by the
time I reached this stretch of the motorway.
But no such luck, the delays, which were caused by an accident, had
grown to 50 minutes in duration and now tailing back from junction 12 to
10. I left the motorway at junction
10, Reading East hoping to bypass the delays but, unfortunately, many other
motorists had decided to do the same.
The queues through Reading were so bad that it actually took me an
hour to travel on the A4 between junctions 10 and 12. When
visiting Newbury, I always leave the M4 at junction 12 and head along the A4
for the remainder of the journey. And
everything was going swimmingly until I reached the village of Padworth ... where I spent 30 minutes in a queue of
traffic due to the re-surfacing of a 200 metre stretch of carriageway. Unbelievable. And
everything comes in threes ... because further road-works were in place close
to the racecourse, where workmen were remodelling a junction; so more
temporary traffic lights. Finally, I
drove up the roadway which runs through the golf course, parked my car,
purchased a ticket and programme and set off to the Parade Ring. I’d missed the first race! I didn’t see any of the horses which ran in
it, just the presentation of mementos.
Discounting
my visit to the petrol station and M & S, my journey had taken three
hours, instead of the usual one hour 40 minutes by my chosen route. Anyway,
here are today’s results: Newbury: Faultless
Feelings (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished
2nd in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). Lake
Legend (Alan King/Choc) was pulled up before 4 out in the Handicap Chase [2
miles 6½ furlongs] (11 ran). Vendor
(Alan King/Choc) finished last in the Intermediate Hurdle (Listed Handicap –
The Gerry Feilden Hurdle) (6 ran). Dontgoeasy (A Middleton/Choc)
finished 10th & Gone Too Far (Alan King/AP McCoy [JP McManus owned]) –
finished 2nd in the Standard Open NH Flat Race (16 ran). Taunton: Kenai Peninsula (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the NH Novices’ Hurdle (13 ran). Miss
Exhibitionist (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 7th in the Mares’ Handicap
Hurdle (8 ran). Tomorrow,
runners of interest at Newbury and Doncaster: Newbury: 14:40 Bakbenscher (Alan King/Choc) & Benbane
Head (Martin Keighley/AP McCoy) – Handicap Hurdle Qualifier 15:15
Bless The Wings (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase Doncaster: 14:30 Ali
Baba (Alan King/Ciaran McKee) – Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle 15:35
Lotus Pond (Alan King/Peter Hatton) – NH Flat Race (Conditional/Amateur
Jockeys) * *
* * *
* * Choc’s second Horse and
Hound column of
the season was published today and here is an overview: This week,
Choc looks forward to the Hennessy Gold Cup.
He is due to ride Hold On Julio in the big race and believes the horse
will be the stable’s best ever chance of winning the race. They carry 10 stone 8 lbs, Choc thinks
Julio has been crying out for this kind of trip (3 miles 2 furlongs), and
reckons the soft ground won’t worry him either. His handicap went up 30lbs last year but ‘homework’ suggests the horse is still
improving. Choc is
hoping that the stable will finally win a big handicap race; it’s their
turn. The Paddy Power Gold Cup was a
very near miss, Walkon being beaten by a better
horse on the day. Choc has watched the
race many times since, and doesn’t think there is anything different he could
have done which would have affected the outcome. He expects Walkon
to be aimed at the 2½ mile handicap chase at the next Cheltenham fixture (15
December). His only proviso is that the horse has shown his best form on his
first run each season. Raya Star’s
run in the Ascot Hurdle turned out as expected; he finished 2nd as he should
have done. At no point during the race
did Choc feel he could beat Oscar Whisky.
He
compliments Ruby upon his ride aboard Silviniaco
Conti last Saturday. Choc enjoyed watching
the race but did feel a little jealous as he’d love to ride a horse like
that, and to do it justice too. Choc
mentions the regular debate regarding Long Run’s jockey Sam Waley-Cohen. He
says that if the horse is good enough, then Sam will win. It’s 90% horse, 10% jockey. Choc is
hoping Sam’s dental practice will sort his teeth out once his riding career
is over. He reckons there’s not much
point before that. He writes
about the subject of mouth-guards, as mentioned in Brough
Scott’s recent H&H column. Choc
doesn’t wear one – mainly because he used to wear one to play rugby as a
youngster and it made him gag – but he has investigated whether a thinner one
can be made. They protect teeth, help
with concussion and protect your neck as well, because they absorb impact. Choc says
it’s 50-50 in the weighing room – Ruby, Tom Scudamore
and Timmy Murphy wear a mouth-guard but AP McCoy doesn’t. He wonders if they should be made
compulsory. He compares it to a back
protector; he hated wearing one in the Pony Club but feels almost naked
without one now. Choc
believes it’s going to be a difficult winter, weather-wise. He’s taking each week at a time, and
doesn’t know what his riding plans are beyond a couple of days in
advance. He mentions having to be
careful when running young horses on soft ground, as it can ruin them for the
season. Although they are fit and
ready to run, and owners want them to run ... and
they pay the bills. Finally he mentions the error made by Brendan
Powell Junior at Fakenham recently. He says the young jockey is in good company
as plenty of top riders have taken the wrong course at one time or
another. Choc says it’s never happened
to him; even when everyone in front of him went the wrong way during a
cross-country race at Cheltenham. But
he’s still keeping his fingers crossed that it never happens in future
either! |
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Wednesday 28
November 2012 |
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Runners of
interest at Newbury and Taunton tomorrow: Newbury: 13:30
Faultless Feelings (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) –
Novices’ Handicap Hurdle 14:40 Lake
Legend (Alan King/Choc) - Handicap Chase [2 miles 6½ furlongs] 15:15
Vendor (Alan King/Choc) – Intermediate Hurdle (Listed Handicap – The Gerry Feilden Hurdle) 15:45 Dontgoeasy (A Middleton/Choc) & Gone Too Far (Alan
King/AP McCoy [JP McManus owned]) – Standard Open NH Flat Race Taunton: 13:05
Kenai Peninsula (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 15:55 Miss Exhibitionist (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Mares’ Handicap Hurdle |
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Tuesday 27
November 2012 |
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Two
runners of interest at Lingfield Park today and this is how
they fared: Hollow
Penny (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Volcan Surprise (Alan
King/Choc) was pulled up in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles] (10 ran). Unsurprisingly,
both of tomorrow’s National Hunt fixtures, at Wetherby
and Fontwell Park, have been abandoned due to
water-logging. In Hertfordshire the
rain took longer to clear than had been forecasted ... it’s been dreary and
depressing. Choc has tweeted
a photo of William with Thomas the Tank Engine: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/273477142468231168/photo/1 My younger brother Neil had a large collection of
the Railway Series books which included stories about Thomas the Tank Engine
and his friends. Does the Fat
Controller still exist or has he been renamed due to political correctness I
wonder? |
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Monday 26
November 2012 |
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Two runners
of interest at Kempton
Park today and
this is how they fared: Shady Lane
(Alan King/Choc) finished 4th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran). Iron
Chancellor (Alan King/Choc) was pulled up in the Handicap Hurdle (9 ran). Two
runners of interest at Lingfield Park tomorrow; the fixture
is subject to an inspection at 07:30. 13:30
Hollow Penny (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:30 Volcan Surprise (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle [2
miles] Like the
majority of people, I’m bored with all this rain; fortunately I don’t live in
an area which is subject to flooding.
Newcastle and Newbury are now on weather watch, as the rain is going
to continue into tomorrow, before drier but colder conditions take over later
in the week. More I guess I’ve been a bit of a ‘wuss’ this weekend as, unlike my normal
self, I’ve not ventured out to the races due to the prevailing weather
conditions. I have been feeling tired
too ... I wonder if it is related to a re-occurrence of my sinus problems. |
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Sunday 25
November 2012 |
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Two
runners of interest at Kempton
Park tomorrow: 13:00
Shady Lane (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 15:10 Iron
Chancellor (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle One month to Christmas and I’ve bought or made
everyone’s presents, bar two. One of
these I need to knit (and it won’t take long) and the other I’m lost for
ideas so need inspiration at the moment! Trivia time ... the chestnut horse which stars in
the ‘Jockey Style’ video is named
Lady From Geneva. |
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Saturday 24
November 2012 |
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Five runners
of interest today and this is how they fared: Ascot: Chiberta King (Andrew
Balding/Choc) jumped badly left at the flights and finished 6th in the
Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Raya Star
(Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Coral Ascot Hurdle (Grade 2) [2 miles 3½
furlongs] (4 ran). More Champion
Court (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished 2nd
in the Carey Group Chase (7 ran). Haydock Park: Balder Success (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the
Hurdle (4 ran). More Trigger The Light (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson)
finished 3rd in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 4 furlongs] (15 ran). As
mentioned in the earlier report, Captain Chris won Ascot’s 1965 Amlin Chase. More And Silviniaco Conti won Haydock’s Betfair Chase. More There is
one advantage when the ground becomes soft; it makes the races more of a
level playing field for the trainers, with many more getting a slice of the ‘winners’ pie’. At Ascot the winning trainers were Paul
Nicholls, Kim Bailey, Tom Symonds, Philip Hobbs, Nicky Henderson, Evan
Williams and Fergal O’Brien. Whilst at
Haydock Park they were Alan King, Brian Ellison,
Lucinda Russell, Venetia Williams, Tim Easterby,
Paul Nicholls and Tom George. Tomorrow’s
fixture at Exeter has joined Towcester on the
abandoned due to water-logging list. I notice
the talented Salden Licht
is among the entries for the upcoming week; he’s been on the sidelines due to
injury since running at the Aintree Festival in 2011. I look forward to his return. The Daily Express has an obsession with reporting
about the weather; today’s story related to an icy blast from the north
occurring towards the end of next week, with the possibility of snow, even in
the south ... so I’m going to be keeping my fingers crossed that Newbury’s
Hennessy fixture is unaffected by any drop in temperatures. |
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Friday 23
November 2012 |
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It’s still
very soggy out there; Ffos Las was abandoned today,
tomorrow’s card at Huntingdon is lost, and Towcester’s
meeting on Sunday has gone. And the damp
weather is playing havoc with my sinuses too!
I’m trying not to consume dairy products in an attempt to ease my
symptoms, as I’m plagued with catarrh at the moment. Ascot: Shuh Shuh
Gah (David Bridgwater/Choc) jumped too big at the
first flight, stumbled badly and unseated Choc in the NH Maiden Hurdle (12
ran). Fair Trade
(Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Introductory Hurdle (6 ran). Pantxoa (Alan King/Choc)
finished 6th, last of the finishers (2 fell, 2 unseated), in the Handicap Chase
(10 ran). Haydock Park: Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Graduation Chase
(5 ran); he beat the Paul Nicholls trained, Ruby Walsh ridden, Domtaline. It was
great to see one of my favourites win again, especially after suffering
mishaps on two of his last three outings. There are
5 runners of interest tomorrow: Ascot: 12:35 Chiberta King (Andrew Balding/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:45 Raya
Star (Alan King/Choc) – Coral Ascot Hurdle (Grade 2) [2 miles 3½ furlongs] 15:20
Champion Court (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) –
Carey Group Chase Haydock Park: 12:20
Balder Success (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Hurdle 15:40 Trigger The Light (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase [3 miles 4 furlongs] Here is a link to Martin Keighley’s Stable Talk
column in this week’s Gloucestershire Press.
More Sad news that Go Native lost his life today
following an injury sustained on the gallops.
More A ticket for Newbury’s Hennessy Gold Cup day fixture
arrived today; that’s me sorted for next Saturday. I was
hoping that Choc would have more rides at Ascot tomorrow, but I guess the
prevailing weather conditions have affected the number of runners from the
yard. The forecast predicts ‘purple anorak’ weather in the Ascot
area, with heavy rain arriving during the morning and lasting all day ... so
I’m going to pass up the opportunity of a trip to the racecourse on this
occasion. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2656992?day=1 As luck would have it, the weather is also
forecasted to be wet in the Kempton Park area on Monday; typical. But I shall make plans to attend, dependent
upon the number of rides Choc has that day. |
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Thursday 22 November
2012 |
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Four
runners of interest at Market Rasen today and this is how they fared: The Mumper (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) won & Uxizandre (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the NH
Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran). Monturgeon (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the Beginners’ Chase (5 ran). Midnight Sail (Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in
the Handicap Chase [2 miles 6½ furlongs] (4 ran). Three National Hunt fixtures tomorrow, at Ffos Las, Ascot and Haydock
Park; with runners of interest at the latter two tracks: Ascot: 12:55 Shuh Shuh Gah
(David Bridgwater/Choc) – NH Maiden Hurdle 14:05 Fair
Trade (Alan King/Choc) – Introductory Hurdle 14:40 Pantxoa (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase Haydock Park: 13:20 Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Graduation
Chase No Horse and Hound column from Choc again this
week, but there is a small article about the Jockeys’ Winning Recipes Book sold in aid of the Injured Jockeys’
Fund. Choc’s
recipe is ‘Little Ears Pasta’ which
consists of crème fraiche, peas, bacon and, of course,
pasta! Choc states that it is simple
to cook as he’s not known for his culinary skills. Evidently he likes meals from Tesco’s
Finest range as he’s pretty good at reading instructions and putting it in
the oven!!! Should you wish to order the cook book, here is
the link: http://shop.ijf.org.uk/products/1 I’m hoping that, as Choc is at Ascot tomorrow,
he’ll be there on Saturday too so that I can take my first trip of the season
to the Berkshire track. A second
racing related outing also appears to be a possibility on Monday, when there
is a fixture at Kempton Park. No sign of my Hennessy Gold Cup day ticket yet
... but it was stated that tickets will be despatched approximately two weeks
before the chosen raceday; delivery must be
imminent? |
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Wednesday 21
November 2012 |
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It’s been
very wet today ... so much so that Warwick was abandoned and tomorrow’s
fixtures at Wincanton and Hereford have been lost too. Market Rasen goes ahead tomorrow,
subject to a precautionary 08:00 inspection: 13:10 The Mumper (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) & Uxizandre (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 13:40 Monturgeon (Alan King/Choc) – Beginners’ Chase 14:10 Midnight Sail (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 6½ furlongs] Choc has tweeted another photograph today, of William having his
haircut ... at the same time as himself! https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/271332758649970688/photo/1 |
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Tuesday 20
November 2012 |
|
Two
runners of interest at Fakenham
today and
this is how they fared: Tower
(Martin Keighley/Danny Hiskett) finished 7th in the
Selling Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Hail
Tiberius (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished
2nd in the Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (7 ran). Tomorrow
there are a number of runners of interest at Warwick: 12:50 Ali
Baba (Alan King/Ciaran McKee) – Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 3 furlongs] 13:50
Hollow Penny (Alan King/Choc) & The Mumper
(Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Novices’ Hurdle 14:50 Uxizandre (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle News today
that Imperial Commander has suffered a training setback and won’t be making
his long-awaited reappearance in Saturday’s Betfair
Chase. More Cue Card’s
next target is likely to be the Huntingdon’s Peterborough Chase. More And
Brendan Powell Junior has incurred a lengthy ban for taking the wrong course
at Fakenham today.
More And,
finally, Choc has tweeted a picture of son William eating scrambled egg for
breakfast this morning: https://mobile.twitter.com/Choc_Thornton/status/270810058357624833/photo/1 |
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Monday 19
November 2012 |
|
RIP Sweet Irony 2006 – 19 November 2012 Sad news
today that Sweet Irony suffered a fatal injury during today’s Novices’ Chase
at Plumpton.
It happened having cleared the third last, an open-ditch; his nearside
shoulder gave way a few strides after, with Choc quickly pulling him up L This is
how the remaining runners fared today: Plumpton: Turn Over Sivola (Alan King/Choc) won
the Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran); Choc’s 19th winner of the season. Letsby Avenue (Alan
King/Choc) finished 4th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (6 ran). Leicester: Court In
Session (Martin Keighley/AP McCoy) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Chase (7
ran). Just two
runners of interest tomorrow: Fakenham: 13:00
Tower (Martin Keighley/Danny Hiskett) – Selling
Handicap Hurdle 14:30 Hail
Tiberius (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) – Novices’
Handicap Hurdle I posted the knitted birthday present today (Angy’s birthday is on Wednesday), so I now have to begin
knitting two Christmas presents – a hat for my older brother Nick and the
same for younger brother Neil. Red for
Nick as he’s an Arsenal fan, and navy blue for Neil as he’s a Spurs fan! Christmas almost sorted!!! |
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Sunday 18
November 2012 |
|
A couple
of runners of interest at Cheltenham today and this is how
they fared: Secret
Edge (Alan King/Choc) finished 15th in the Intermediate Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 5 furlongs] (18 ran); Choc’s mount carrying
top weight today. Vendor
(Alan King/Choc) was a non-runner in the Grade 3 Racing Post Hurdle [2 miles
& ½ furlong] Creepy
(Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished 4th in the
Grade 2 Novices’ Hurdle (9 ran). This was his first run over hurdles under
Rules and it was an eye catching outing despite his jumping being flawed
today. Olofi took the honours in
the Racing Post Hurdle; victory for owners the McNeill Family following
yesterday’s second place finish for Walkon in the
Paddy Power Gold Cup. More It was
disappointing that Choc didn’t ride a winner during the Open; he began with
eight riding engagements, three of whom defected. And the soft to heavy ground was a big
handicap too. But Walkon
was a complete star, offering the only challenge to the Paul Nicholls trained
Al Ferof. Oh
well, onwards and upwards. Four
runners of interest tomorrow: Plumpton 12:50 Turn
Over Sivola (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 13:20
Sweet Irony (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Chase 13:50 Letsby Avenue (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle Leicester 14:10
Court In Session (Martin Keighley/AP McCoy) – Novices’ Chase Back to work tomorrow after my long weekend ...
and looking forward to an even longer one next weekend! The advantage of not having taken that many
days holiday so far this year! |
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Saturday 17
November 2012 |
|
A number
of runners of interest at Cheltenham today and
this is how they fared: McVicar (Alan King/Choc)
finished 5th in the JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial Juvenile Hurdle (8 ran). Poker De Sivola (Ferdy Murphy/Choc) was
a non-runner due to the ground & Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Aidan
Coleman) finished 4th in the Handicap Chase [3 miles 3½ furlongs] (16 ran). Walkon (Alan King/Choc)
finished a very gallant 2nd in the Paddy Power Gold Cup [2 miles 4½ furlongs]
(18 ran) ... more details below. Lovcen (Alan King/Choc)
finished 5th & Benbane Head (Martin
Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies) finished 4th in the
Handicap Hurdle (Listed) [3 miles 1½ furlong] (13 ran). Ulys Du Charmil (Alan King/Choc) was withdrawn from the Novices’
Handicap Hurdle And one at
Uttoxeter: Hail
Tiberius (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) was a
non-runner in the Handicap Hurdle Here are
the reports regarding today’s Paddy Power Gold Cup. Walkon ran
brilliantly but met a top class horse in Al Ferof,
the latter winning by 3 lengths at the line.
There were only 6 finishers; with one faller and the remainder being
pulled up, including Grands Crus. Here are a couple of the press reports More and the Racing Post report too: http://www.racingpost.com/news/live.sd?event_id=1019138 This
drawing of Walkon has been tweeted; it’s from his
hurdling days when he had a threadbare tail: https://mobile.twitter.com/JRFArmstrong/status/269555765075931136/photo/1 With the
deteriorating ground at Cheltenham, Nicky Henderson has decided to withdraw
Sprinter Sacre from tomorrow’s Shloer
Chase. He doesn’t want to run him on
soft/heavy ground just three weeks before his intended target of the Tingle
Creek at Sandown Park. More Although
that’s provided the weather doesn’t beat the racing during December and
January, as today’s Daily Express is forecasting the worst snowfalls in one
hundred years to occur during that period! Tomorrow
there are three runners of interest at Cheltenham: 13:45
Secret Edge (Alan King/Choc) – Intermediate Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 5
furlongs] 14:50
Vendor (Alan King/Choc) – Grade 3 Racing Post Hurdle [2 miles & ½
furlong] 15:25 Creepy (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) – Grade 2 Novices’ Hurdle |
|
Friday 16
November 2012 |
|
There were
in fact two runners of interest today, at Cheltenham: Oh Crick
(Alan King/Mr Joshua Newman – claiming 7lbs) finished 6th in the Handicap
Chase (14 ran). Ted Dolly
(EU Hales/Choc) finished a tailed off last in the Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran);
the race was won by Dodging Bullets, Tominator
finished a disappointing 7th. Dynaste made a very good
impression when winning the Novices’ Chase, beating Fingal
Bay into 2nd place. More Lots of
runners to look forward to at Cheltenham tomorrow: 12:45 McVicar (Alan King/Choc) – JCB Triumph Hurdle Trial
Juvenile Hurdle 13:55
Poker De Sivola (Ferdy
Murphy/Choc) & Any Currency (Martin Keighley/Aidan Coleman) – Handicap
Chase [3 miles 3½ furlongs] 14:35 Walkon (Alan King/Choc) – Paddy Power Gold Cup [2 miles
4½ furlongs] 15:05 Lovcen (Alan King/Choc) & Benbane
Head (Martin Keighley/Sam Twiston-Davies) –
Handicap Hurdle (Listed) [3 miles 1½ furlong] 15:40 Ulys Du Charmil (Alan
King/Choc) – Novices’ Handicap Hurdle And one at
Uttoxeter: 14:40 Hail
Tiberius (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) – Handicap
Hurdle It’s a
pity I’m not making the trip to the Gloucestershire track L ... but I am hoping that Ascot may be a
possibility next weekend, although it does clash with Haydock
Park’s Betfair meeting. However, I’ll definitely be at Newbury for
the Hennessy Gold Cup in a fortnight’s time J My ticket hasn’t
arrived yet, but exactly the same thing happened last year, when it was
delivered around 10 days before the fixture (if not later). Anyway, I’m keeping myself busy this weekend by
knitting a birthday present. After
which I have two Christmas presents to knit! |
|
Thursday 15 November
2012 |
|
A number
of runners of interest today, at Taunton and this is how they
fared Will If I
Want To (Liam Corcoran/Choc) was pulled up & Typhon De Guye (Martin Keighley/Alan Cawley) won the
Handicap Hurdle [3 miles & ½ a furlong] (16 ran). Congratulations to the team, their 14th winner of the season. Roberto
Pegasus (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran). Kay Sera
(AG Newcombe/Choc) finished 7th in the Maiden Open
NH Flat Race (13 ran). Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Cheltenham: 14:25 Ted
Dolly (EU Hales/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle; the outsider of the field ...
especially as Dodging Bullets and Tominator are
running in this one! I’m looking forward to a long weekend, as I have
another day’s leave booked for tomorrow.
I’ll be glad of the rest, as I felt off-colour Tuesday and yesterday,
with nausea. My colleague also felt
sick yesterday; it’s either a virus or we are allergic to something in the
office, as we both felt a lot better after we’d arrived home in the evening! |
|
Wednesday 14
November 2012 |
|
Just one
runner of interest at Exeter today: Willoughby
Hedge (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (13 ran). A number
of runners of interest tomorrow, at Taunton: 13:10 Will
If I Want To (Liam Corcoran/Choc) & Typhon De Guye (Martin Keighley/Alan Cawley)
– Handicap Hurdle [3 miles & ½ a furlong] 14:40
Roberto Pegasus (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:10 Kay
Sera (AG Newcombe/Choc) – Maiden Open NH Flat Race Big Buck’s
had a racecourse gallop at Exeter today and is all primed for his seasonal
appearance at either Haydock Park or Newbury. More Bobs Worth has been installed as favourite for
next month’s Hennessy Gold Cup. More As hoped, I uploaded my 05 November Kempton Park
diary yesterday evening, so my website is up-to-date once more. Click here to read. |
|
Tuesday 13
November 2012 |
|
Four
runners of interest today and this is how they fared: Huntingdon: Kauto The Roc (Alan King/Choc)
finished 4th in the Novices’ Handicap Chase (6 ran). Valdez (Alan King/Choc) won
the Novices’ Hurdle (13 ran); Choc’s 18th winner of the season. J Lingfield Park: Buddy Love
(Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished 8th in the Mares’
Novices’ Hurdle (15 ran). Miss
Exhibitionist (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) won the Flat Jockeys’ Handicap
Hurdle (9 ran); all competitors completing the course. More My tip, Eddie Ahern,
finished last! Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Exeter: 13:40
Willoughby Hedge (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle My Kempton Park diary is almost finished;
hopefully I will be able to upload it before turning in tonight. |
|
Monday 12
November 2012 |
|
Tower was
a non-runner at Southwell today, as he was found to
be slightly lame this morning. Tomorrow
there are runners of interest at Huntingdon and Lingfield
Park: Huntingdon: 13:40 Kauto The Roc (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Handicap Chase 14:10
Valdez (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle Lingfield Park: 13:00
Buddy Love (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) – Mares’ Novices’
Hurdle 14:30 Miss
Exhibitionist (Alan King/Fergus Sweeney) – Flat Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle My
thoughts are possibly watch out for Eddie Ahern on the bottom weight Bajan Sunshine ... he’s a dab hand at winning the showing
jumping competition at the Lambourn Open Day! My Kempton Park diary has been drafted and I hope
to put the finishing touches to it this evening and upload it tomorrow. |
|
Sunday 11
November 2012 |
|
Just one
runner of interest tomorrow, at Southwell: 15:20
Tower (Martin Keighley/Danny Hiskett) – Claiming
Hurdle I was
invited out to lunch today, by my younger brother and sister-in-law; they
live in the village of Silsoe in Bedfordshire. However, the early part of my return drive
was a nightmare. Being a very bright
autumnal day, the sun was low in the sky and, because I was heading westwards
to join the M1, I could barely see where I was going on the winding country
lanes despite putting the visa down.
There are a number of traffic calming chicanes in a place called
Greenfield (which we jokingly refer to as Greendale, like the village in
Postman Pat) where someone had knocked over one of the traffic bollards and
left it lying in the road. I think the
culprit may not have been able to see where they were going either! Having been out for much of the day, I decided to
get up at 07:00 this morning to continue my Kempton diary draft before
setting off. I hope to write more this
evening too. |
|
Saturday 10
November 2012 |
|
An
excellent day’s racing and this is how Alan King’s horses fared ... although
there was a touch of ‘thirditis’: Wincanton: Jojabean (Alan King/Choc)
finished 3rd in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (qualifier) (14 ran). Henry San
(Alan King/Choc) finished 2nd in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlong] (10
ran). Tante Sissi
(Alan King/Choc) finished 6th in the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (10 ran); she
faded late, so should come on for the run. Balder Succes (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Elite Hurdle
(Grade 2 Limited Handicap) (7 ran); the race was won by top weight Zarkandar, who beat Prospect Wells by a neck. Ruby Walsh chose to ride the latter, as he
was getting 17lbs from the winner. More West End
Rocker (Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Badger Ales Trophy (Listed
Handicap Chase) (12 ran). The race was
won by The Package, from Michel Le Bon.
Rocker wasn’t always fluent at his fences but, as he finished 41
lengths behind the second, it wouldn’t have changed the result. There were only 5 finishers. More Sandown Park: Rayadour (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 6th in the Juvenile Hurdle (11 ran). No riding
engagements for Choc tomorrow. I still haven’t begun the draft of my Kempton Park
diary ... but will make a start before I go to bed tonight. They said
I’d be on the Kempton Park facebook page! I’ve discovered that I also have season 9 of
Dallas on DVD; so that is 1 to 9 I’ve got.
So, when more solvent, I’ll purchase seasons 10 to 14 too. |
|
Friday 09
November 2012 |
|
Runners of
interest at both Wincanton and Sandown Park tomorrow: Wincanton: 12:35 Jojabean (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle
(qualifier) 13:10
Henry San (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Chase [2 miles 5 furlong] 13:40 Tante Sissi (Alan King/Choc) –
Mares’ Handicap Hurdle 14:50
Balder Succes (Alan King/Choc) – Elite Hurdle
(Grade 2 Limited Handicap) 15:25 West
End Rocker (Alan King/Choc) – Badger Ales Trophy (Listed Handicap Chase) Sandown Park: 13:50 Rayadour (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Juvenile Hurdle Alan King
is hoping for a good showing from Balder Succes in
tomorrow’s Elite Hurdle. More Here is
the link to this week’s edition of Martin Keighley’s Stable Talk in the
Gloucestershire Press. More And Wayne
Hutchinson’s column returns to the Sporting Life’s website. More No riding
engagements for Choc at Ffos Las or Market Rasen on Sunday. I caught
up with Dallas last night, although I did miss a small segment where Elena
broke up with JR’s son, John Ross, and got back together with Bobby’s adopted
son, Christopher ... because I’m always liable to doze off at any time! It turns out that Christopher’s estranged
wife Rebecca isn’t who she claimed to be, in fact she’s Cliff Barnes’
daughter. Cliff being Bobby’s
ex-brother-in-law. I have been wondering who Rebecca’s mother is ...
and I’ve found the answer on Wikipedia ... Afton Cooper,
Cliff’s ex-wife (which makes perfect sense).
She’s Pamela Rebecca. I only
have the first eight seasons of the original Dallas on DVD, so don’t recall
that Afton had a daughter during the penultimate series; there being 14
seasons in total. The infamous series
9 turned out to be a dream; Bobby Ewing having been killed off at the end of
series 8 and returning for series 10. Dallas I confess that I’ve not begun drafting my Kempton
Park diary yet, but hope to do so tomorrow.
I expect to be doing some more knitting too; not scarves this time,
but hats as birthday and Christmas presents!
|
|
Thursday 08
November 2012 |
|
Three
runners of interest at Towcester today and this is how they fared: Oyster
Hill (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) was pulled up
in the Novices’ Hurdle (15 ran). Benbane Head (Martin Keighley/Choc) won the Handicap Hurdle
[2 miles 5 furlongs]; Choc’s 17th winner of the season and Martin’s 13th winner of the season. Monty’s
Revenge (Martin Keighley/Danny Hiskett) finished
5th in the Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs] (7 ran). No runners
of interest tomorrow. Choc’s Horse and Hound column has returned
this week and here is an overview: This is Choc’s 18th season as a professional jockey and he says
he is as hungry as ever for winners.
He is pleased the season is now in full swing, although he’d still
like to be busier ... his yard not having moved into top gear yet. Choc is
very pleased that Alan King’s horses are running well, with five or six
winners last week; although he did miss out on the big one, Raya Star. He takes the blame, as it was his choice to
go to Wetherby to ride Smad
Place instead of going to Ascot. He
thought the grey had an outstanding chance in the John Smith’s Hurdle,
whereas Raya Star was on a career high handicap mark and the feeling was that
he’d need the run. He felt a little
bit sick to miss out, but was pleased for the team and that the winner is
still progressing. Choc talks
about the plans for Raya Star – the Greatwood
Hurdle at Cheltenham on 18 November (although, since his column was written,
Alan has outlined his plan B; the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle at Ascot). Following his next run, it will be decided
whether the horse stays over hurdles or goes chasing. Raya Star reminds Choc of Voy Por Ustedes
– ‘sharp and fiery with a quirk, but a
good one’. Choc
mentions two horses to watch – Hold On Julio and Call Me A Star. The former stayed on well at Cheltenham a
couple of weeks ago and will head straight to the Hennessy Gold Cup. He thinks Julio will improve a lot between
then and the Newbury race and, despite being nine, says the horse has got
stronger – a late maturer. Call Me A
Star won first time out over hurdles at Uttoxeter
last Friday. He describes her as a
big, strong, solid mare that needs a bit of handling when she wants to take a
grip. But she’s as nice a mare as the
yard has ever had. In
addition, he mentions Valdez, who was beaten at Wincanton 10 days ago,
although he was not on board. Choc
gives his opinion as to why he didn’t win.
He’s sure the flashy chestnut will win a race and believes he might
turn out to be a good horse. Choc says
he had a good summer. Although quiet
riding-wise, this did permit him to spend a lot of time with his son
William. He mentions that William has
been on a pony a number of times and loves it. He also
attended his friend Stuart Morris’ wedding; acting as an usher and also
enjoying a morning’s hunting with the Pytchley,
where his friend is a Master of Fox Hounds.
Choc has known Stuart all his life, but particularly from when his
father hunted the Belvoir when Choc was about 12. Choc used
to go team chasing, and later point-to-pointing, with Stuart. The latter worked at Henrietta Knight’s
yard whilst Choc was at David Nicholson’s yard. Choc said they had a great day, although
whilst out hunting he did get a little carried away – jumping an iron gate
and a set of stud rails. The rails had
a strand of electric wire on top, which they didn’t notice until almost in
the air. Finally he
mentions the Flat Jockeys’ Hurdle race taking place at Lingfield
shortly, in which Fergus Sweeney will be taking part. With this in mind, Fergus spent the morning
schooling with Choc, amongst others, at Barbury Castle;
Alan King will be providing his mount for this hurdle race. Choc tells us that Fergus was very
impressive and even jumped a chase fence aboard Oh Crick. * * * * * * * * * Having
spent Monday at Kempton Park races, by yesterday I was totally confused about
which day of the week it was and missed the final episode in the current
season of Dallas ... but, evidently, it’s being repeated on Five * at 23:00
this evening. Let’s hope I can stay
awake for that! My Christmas shopping is just getting
underway. I like to have it completed
by the end of November; I don’t do last minute ... I’ve ordered some wool to
knit a number of hats, and need to buy some beads to construct a necklace
with pendant for my sister-in-law Anita.
My nieces and nephew are easy to ‘buy’
for ... they just want cash!!! |
|
Wednesday 07
November 2012 |
|
Three
runners of interest at Warwick today, and this is how
they fared: Kings
Troop (Alan King/Choc) finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle [
2 miles] (14 ran). Iron Chancellor
(Alan King/Choc) finished 3rd in the Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Fine
Moment (Ian Williams/Choc) finished 4th in the Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat
Race (11 ran). The Martin
Keighley trained Tower, ridden by George Baker, ran in a 2-mile all-weather
flat race at Kempton
Park this
evening and finished 8th of 14. Three
runners of interest at Towcester tomorrow, including Martin Keighley’s ‘Benny’ with Choc aboard: 13:50
Oyster Hill (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) –
Novices’ Hurdle 14:20 Benbane Head (Martin Keighley/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 5 furlongs] 14:50
Monty’s Revenge (Martin Keighley/Danny Hiskett) –
Handicap Chase [2 miles 6 furlongs] News today
regarding the probable seasonal re-appearance target for Martin Keighley’s
stable star Champion Court. More Thirty-one
entries have been received for Boxing Day’s King George VI Chase. More Looking
ahead at Choc’s weekend riding engagements, he’s
booked for rides at Wincanton. So that fits in with my expectations as
expressed yesterday. So that’s no
racing for me this coming weekend, as Sunday he appears to be Market Rasen bound. The
following weekend is the 3-day Cheltenham Open fixture, and I don’t expect to
venture out to Gloucestershire alone at this time of the year. So I’m going to be keeping my fingers
crossed for Ascot the week after that; although that’s also Haydock Park’s Betfair
day. My Aintree Grand National Festival tickets
arrived yesterday. I now just need my
Hennessy Gold Cup ticket to arrive and I’m all set!!! Mind you, I won’t be holding my breath
about delivery for a little while yet ... as, if last year is anything to go
by, they will not be despatched until a few days before the fixture! The Racing Post is reporting that the Gangnam Style parody ‘Jockey
Style’ has now had over 100,000 views on YouTube! |
|
Tuesday 06
November 2012 |
|
Three
runners of interest at Exeter this afternoon and
this is how they fared: Salmanazar (Alan King/Choc)
finished 4th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (8 ran). Ukrainian
Star (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) was pulled up
in the Handicap Chase [3 miles] (10 ran). Mauricetheathlete (Martin Keighley/Mr N
Slatter) finished 3rd in the Handicap Hurdle [2
miles 7½ furlongs] (11 ran). It was a
very good day for the Tizzards, with Cue Card
winning the Haldon Gold Cup very impressively. More And their
day became even better, when Theatre Guide won the Novices’ Chase. More National
Hunt racing at Chepstow and Warwick tomorrow, with runners of interest at the latter: 12:50 Kings
Troop (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle [ 2 miles] 14:55 Iron
Chancellor (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 16:05 Fine
Moment (Ian Williams/Choc) – Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race Monday and
Thursday are schooling days at the Alan King yard, and yesterday flat jockey
Fergus Sweeney stayed for second lot and jumped fences aboard Oh Crick
upsides Choc. Evidently it was the
most fun Fergus had experienced aboard a horse for a long time! I’ve
uploaded the photographs taken yesterday at Kempton Park. Click here to view. I don’t think I need to be in a hurry to draft
and complete my Kempton Park diary as, looking at the race entries for this
coming Saturday, my current feeling is that Choc
will be riding at Wincanton. That
means I may not have an opportunity to go racing again for at least two or
three weeks, so very little chance of a website backlog! But we shall see ... And,
finally, check out the jockeys’ Gangnam Style
parody video ... the jockeys taking part are Dave Crosse, Gerard Tumelty, Charlie Huxley, Colin Bolger and Sam Jones: |
|
Monday 05
November 2012 |
|
The King George VI Trophy
and me! I’m not really that fat ... ‘Michelin Woman’ is wearing 6 layers
plus coat! And my ‘Etna’ scarf was very warm ... As you can
see from the photograph above, I went to Kempton Park today. It was a lovely sunny day, although quite
cold, and everything was going okay and I was enjoying myself until Choc’s final ride of the day ... Kempton Park Hindon Road (Alan King/Choc)
finished 5th in the NH Novices’ Hurdle (11 ran). Medinas (Alan King/Choc)
finished 2nd in the Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Choc) took
a crunching fall at the 4th fence in the Graduation Chase (3 ran). But I’m
very pleased to report that Choc has confirmed that both jockey and horse are
okay. As I
didn’t wish to drive home too late into the afternoon and especially during
the rush-hour on the M25, I had intended to leave either after race 5 or 6.
I’d seen Choc walk from the ambulance back across the course towards the
Weighing Room, so he seemed okay.
However I decided to sit at one of the tables situated on the
concourse, instead of watching race 6, in the hope of seeing him depart. He did so, when the runners were being led
back from the Winners’ Enclosure to the stables after this race. It was then time for me to go home
too. Plumpton Awesome
Bella (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 5th in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle
(10 ran). Three
runners of interest at Exeter tomorrow: 13:50 Salmanazar (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 15:50
Ukrainian Star (Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) –
Handicap Chase [3 miles] 16:20 Mauricetheathlete (Martin Keighley/Mr N Slatter) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 7½ furlongs] I received
a lovely email from a lady called Rebecca.
She told me that she owns a horse called Cool Spot, who Choc rode a
number of times including winning aboard 5 times, around the turn of the
century. Her horse is now 24 years old
and is enjoying a long and happy retirement, and still enjoys jumping. My ticket and car parking pass for Kempton’s
Boxing Day fixture arrived today. Back to work tomorrow. L |
|
Sunday 04
November 2012 |
|
Choc was
at a very gloomy Huntingdon this afternoon and
this is how he fared: McVicar (Alan King) won the Juvenile Hurdle (6 ran); Choc’s
16th winner of the season J Gold Ingot (Alan King) finished 7th in the
Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Four
runners of interest tomorrow: Kempton Park 13:30 Hindon Road (Alan King/Choc) – NH Novices’ Hurdle 14:40 Medinas (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle 15:10 Kumbeshwar (Alan King/Choc) – Graduation Chase Plumpton 13:20
Awesome Bella (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle Alan King
has outlined his ‘Plan B’ for Raya
Star and confesses to being mystified by the poor showing of Smad Place at Wetherby
yesterday. More When interview
on ATR yesterday, Alan mentioned that he’d purchased four horses at last
week’s Tattersalls’ Horses in Training Autumn
Sale. I’ve trawled through the
catalogue and have found three of them (it’s a big list – 1426). Two horses,
Seventh Sign (62,000 guineas) and King Of Dudes (50,000 guineas), are from
Tommy Carmody’s yard and Uriah Heep
(23,000 guineas) from Sir Michael Stoute’s
yard. The TV news has reported that there is lying snow
in the Bath area; Choc tweeted to tell everyone that it was snowing last
evening at his home near Stow On The Wold.
Hertfordshire had a lot of rain overnight and again this morning; and
it became so dark after breakfast that I had to put the lights on! I’ve been a little more industrious today, and
have knitted a purple Rico Can Can scarf ... to add
to my very extensive collection!!! I
even took photographs of them all yesterday, as I want to set up a file of
pictures so that I have something to refer to when choosing one to wear. I did the same with my home-made jewellery,
although it does need updating to include new items. As I have booked a day’s leave tomorrow, it looks
like a trip to Kempton Park will be in order.
Especially as one of my favourites, Kumbeshwar, is due to run.
|
|
Saturday 03
November 2012 |
|
Wetherby Smad Place (Alan
King/Choc) finished 3rd in the John Smith’s Hurdle (Grade 2) [3 miles 1
furlong]; the race was won by the enigmatic Tidal Bay. More Jetnova (Alan King/Choc) was
pulled up in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4 furlongs] (14 ran). The
Charlie Hall Chase was won by Silviniaco Conti;
Wayward Prince was runner-up. More It was a very
good day for the Paul Nicholls yard, with Kauto
Stone winning the big race at Down Royal. More Ascot Compton
Blue (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) finished 9th & Forresters Folly (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished
5th in the Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 3½ furlongs] (16 ran). Raya Star (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the Handicap
Hurdle (Listed) [2 miles] (15 ran). More Lidar (Alan King/Wayne
Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Byrne Group Handicap Chase (Listed) [2 miles
1 furlong] (12 ran). Raya Star
proved to be my ‘star’ of the day;
I found myself shouting him home, despite the fact Wayne Hutchinson was
riding him, not Choc! He is living up
to his name, having won the Ladbroke Hurdle and the Scottish Champion Hurdle
last season too. His career didn’t
start that auspiciously, with two falls during his novice season, but that
may have been because he didn’t used to settle during his races. Tomorrow
Choc will be at Huntingdon, where he has two
riding engagements: 12:45 McVicar (Alan King) – Juvenile Hurdle 14:55 Gold Ingot (Alan King) – Novices’ Hurdle I’ve not done very much at all today ... and
haven’t done anything else to my laptop either, so my Explorer is still
prehistoric! |
|
Friday 02
November 2012 |
|
Alan
King’s horses are in very good form, with another couple of winners today: Uttoxeter: Dalavar (Alan King/Choc)
finished 5th in the Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Call Me A Star (Alan King/Choc) won the
Mares’ Maiden Hurdle (8 ran); Choc’s 15th winner of the season. J Wetherby: Bless The Wings (Alan
King/Wayne Hutchinson) won the
Handicap Chase (Listed) [2 miles 4½ furlongs] (11 ran). There’s a
report regarding Bless The Wings’ win at Wetherby
today. More AP McCoy
suffered superficial facial injuries when unshipped from his mount prior to the
first race at Wetherby; but he has confirmed he
will be back in action tomorrow, at Ascot.
More It appears
that I will be dipping in and out of the Breeders’ Cup TV coverage this
evening! As I fully
expected, Choc will be at Wetherby tomorrow, not
Ascot. And here are tomorrow’s runners
of interest: Wetherby 14:50 Smad Place (Alan King/Choc) – John Smith’s Hurdle (Grade
2) [3 miles 1 furlong] 16:00 Jetnova (Alan King/Choc) – Handicap Hurdle [2 miles 4
furlongs] Their
feature event is the Charlie Hall Chase, with Master Of The Hall, Midnight
Chase, Time For Rupert, Silviniaco Conti, Planet Of
Sound and Wayward Prince due to take part.
This being the case, both Ruby Walsh and Richard Johnson will be
riding at Wetherby too. Ascot 12:50
Compton Blue (Alan King/Gerard Tumelty) & Forresters Folly (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap
Hurdle [2 miles 3½ furlongs] 14:35 Raya
Star (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Hurdle (Listed) [2 miles] 15:45 Lidar (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Byrne Group Handicap
Chase (Listed) [2 miles 1 furlong] I decided
that I had to complete my Cheltenham diary yesterday, even though I wasn’t
expecting to go to Ascot this weekend.
Click here to read. Choc has
two riding engagements at Huntingdon on Sunday; more about that
tomorrow. But, as I have booked Monday
as leave, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that I might visit
Kempton Park on that day! I’m
looking forward to having a fairly early night tonight and a little bit of a
lie-in tomorrow. Especially as I can’t
recall turning in before midnight for the past four days!!! I still have a few tweaks to make to my laptop
... I wonder if I shall be brave enough to undertake them this weekend! I cannot upgrade Explorer until I’ve
successfully loaded both Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2 so, at the moment
there are websites I cannot view, including Amazon. But that might not be such a bad
thing! Mind you, I do prefer
Play.com. But the good news is that I
can view the internet at work, using an hour quota each day, so websites are
not totally inaccessible. |
|
Thursday 01
November 2012 |
|
A touch of
‘seconditis’
was evident today: Stratford Upon Avon: Buddy Love
(Martin Keighley/Alain Cawley) finished 8th in the
NH Novices’ Hurdle (10 ran). Godsmejudge (Alan King/Choc) finished
2nd in the Beginners’ Chase (11 ran). Hereford: Cold
Knight (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) finished 2nd in the Novices’ Handicap
Hurdle (9 ran). Une Dame D’Or (Martin
Keighley/Danny Hiskett) finished 2nd in the Mares’
Maiden Open NH Flat Race (14 ran). Runners of
interest at two fixtures tomorrow: Uttoxeter: 12:50 Dalavar (Alan King/Choc) – Novices’ Hurdle 13:20 Call
Me A Star (Alan King/Choc) – Mares’ Maiden Hurdle Wetherby: 14:00 Bless
The Wings (Alan King/Wayne Hutchinson) – Handicap Chase (Listed) [2 miles 4½
furlongs] With the
colder weather setting in, Choc has been complaining that his ears are
cold. However, he intends to maintain
his hair at its current short length and intends to buy a hat! He doesn’t need to tell me about cold ears
... it has been one of the things I’ve noticed since my saga blonde hair was
cut short again a couple of years ago.
I have a brimmed hat which I often wear to the races, and a black and
pink Dappy hat which I’ve not had the nerve to wear
yet! The BBC morning news programme visited the Paul
Nicholls yard this morning, to see Kauto Star. I found it amusing when they went over ‘live’ to the female sports presenter
and she and the cameraman went to the stable-door to check why their star
turn wasn’t poking his head out of his box ... only to discover Kauto was having a wee! |
