CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2017
Day 2 – Wednesday 15 March
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Picture of the Day
The Queen
Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1): The winner
returns – Special Tiara trained by
Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Noel Fehily I thought I’d got up at 05:30, but it later
transpired that it was only 04:30! Showering proved very difficult. My room was on the top floor, under the
roof eves. This meant that, due to the
configuration of the bathroom, it was impossible to stand up in the bath and
use the shower head! In fact it was
difficult to even get out of the bath … I rarely have a bath these days, I
far prefer to take a shower. I went to the main Hall at 07:00 for breakfast;
cornflakes, two yoghurts, a croissant and coffee. I didn’t get my monies worth today, perhaps
tomorrow once I’d settled in! I set off to Cheltenham at 08:25 today … I appear
to be very laid back now that Oxford-based traffic jams are off the
agenda! However, this meant that I
encountered a tailback on the road leading into the centre of Witney but,
once the first two mini-roundabouts had been negotiated, the remainder of the
route through the town and through Minster Lovell were very straightforward. I do, however, need to mention that the state of
the road surface upon Mill Street was diabolical … as it is in many areas of
the country. Too much traffic and no
money to pay for repairs. But what
really annoys me are potholes caused by lazy homeowners … a short distance
from where I live, the road surface has deteriorated outside one particular
house solely because the previous homeowner used to park one of their cars on
the road overnight, despite having room for four or five cars in the
driveway. So, because traffic had to brake in order to pass around the
stationary vehicle on the busy road, it wore out the tarmac surface; it’s
never been properly repaired since and is a problem area to this day. Anyway, the day would turn out to be the second
warmest in recorded Cheltenham Festival history … although it did get chilly
when the sun went down behind the grandstand later in the afternoon. In fact
it was shirt-sleeves for some … but definitely not for me! I recall that upon two mornings it was misty near
to the Puesdown Inn, possibly Wednesday and
Thursday; no surprise as it is the highest point upon the A40. When it is really foggy, the cloud base is
so low that the Puesdown Inn area is the only one
in bright sunshine as it pokes through the top of the mist. Today, I popped into Sainsburys
off Priors Road to fill the tank, before heading to the racecourse; I arrived
at 09:40 and was instructed to park in the same section of the car park as
the previous day. I also found a lady to chat to whilst I was
queuing; she had a ticket for the Tattersalls
enclosure. As per yesterday, and for
the remainder of the Festival, I purchased a race-card before entry; they
cost £4.00 each day. Once the gates
opened at 10:30 I headed to the ladies’ loo before going to stand upon the steppings above the Winners’ Enclosure. Sprinter Sacre was
paraded in the Parade Ring before racing today, and Martin Kelly’s guests
were Rupert Bell, Davy Russell, and a number of rugby referees who were
currently involved in the Six Nations tournament, also Warren Gatland. RUK’s Tom Stanley interviewed a number of the
Ladies’ Day competition entries whilst they stood in the Winners’
Enclosure. Perhaps it should be
re-named Airheads’ Day … but I suppose it could never be as bad as the misnamed
Ladies’ Day at the Aintree Festival, which you have to see to be
believed!!! Again I headed off to the course-side rails well
ahead of racing in order to reserve my place. The favourite for the first race of the day was
the Harry Fry-trained Neon Wolf, ridden by Noel Fehily
and owned by Masterson Holdings; price 2-1. I had two runners of interest in this event,
namely Messire Des Obeaux
trained by Alan King and ridden by Daryl Jacob and Skipthecuddles
– the tongue-less horse – trained by Graeme McPherson and ridden by Kielan Woods. The race was won by Willoughby Court trained by
Ben Pauling and ridden by David Bass; they beat Neon Wolf by a head. The horse is owned by Paul and Clare
Rooney, and it was a first Festival winner for the trainer and a second for
the jockey. Both Messire Des Obeaux and Skipthecuddles ran
well to finish 3rd and 8th respectively. However, the race was marred by the death of
Consul De Thaix which fell at the third flight; a
broken neck being the cause I would suspect.
His jockey Mark Walsh was injured and subsequently taken to hospital
with suspected concussion and, later, it was announced he’d also fractured
his left leg! Being one of JP McManus’ jockeys, it would mean
that rides would now be juggled around for the remainder of the
Festival. From Alan King’s point of
view, this would be a win/win situation, as I feel it’s an advantage for
riders which are familiar with the horses to take the rides at such an
important event, rather than have someone parachuted in from Ireland! I’ve also lost confidence in Barry Geraghty since the sad demise of both Simonsig
and Laissez Dire; he was on the injury sidelines too at present, having been
injured at Kempton Park a few weeks ago.
The favourite for the next race was Might Bite,
trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico de Boinville; price 7-2.
The horse is definitely quirky, and would have won Boxing Day’s Grade
1 Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park but for a crashing fall at the final fence
that day. He’d since won a
confidence-boosting race at Doncaster 34 days ago. My one runner of interest was the mare, Briery Belle, trained by Henry Daly and ridden by Tom
O’Brien. As is his preferred style, the favourite took up
the running soon after the start and was pushed clear 4 out. Might Bite was still 12 lengths ahead two
out but was soon ridden and made an error at the last. He then veered off line to his right as the
guiding rail ended and was subsequently headed by stable-mate Whisper. However, he ran on again, possibly aided by
a loose horse, to reclaim the lead in the final stride; he won by a nose! I’m not sure whether Nico
was brilliant or just lucky … but Choc wasn’t impressed by the ride he’d
given the horse and stated so in a tweet; this was then picked up by at least
one of the papers! But, as Choc had
won the race in the past, he’s entitled to voice his opinion! Briery Belle was pulled up
after 4 out; it probably didn’t help that she’d been hampered earlier in the
race when Marinero blundered and had unseated its
rider.
The favourite for the Coral Cup was the Gordon
Elliott-trained Tombstone, ridden by Bryan Cooper; price 7-2. I had three runners of interest in this race, the
beautiful Taquin Du Seuil,
trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by Aidan
Coleman. Plus two Alan King runners,
Who Dares Wins ridden by Wayne Hutchinson and River Frost ridden by Tom Cannon. The race was won by Supasundae
for trainer Jessica Harrington and jockey Robbie Power; the horse is owned by
the ‘Sizing’ Potts who transferred
their horses out of Henry de Bromhead’s yard
earlier in the season. Trainers
Jessica Harrington and the Tizzards being
beneficiaries of this move; also Mouse Morris and Jim Dreaper
evidently. Who Dares Wins finished 3rd and River Frost,
owned by JP McManus, finished 9th.
The favourite for the feature event, for which
there was a pre-race parade, was the Willie Mullins-trained Douvan, ridden by Ruby Walsh. The Festival banker evidently … and priced
at 2-9! However, Noel Fehily
judged his ride aboard Special Tiara to perfection and held on to win by a
head from the fast finishing Fox Norton.
The winner is trained by Henry de Bromhead,
and he used to train the Potts-owned horses and they bought Fox Norton
earlier this season! So it was one in
the eye for them although, having said that, they were magnanimous in defeat
and did congratulate the winning trainer!
Being the best around, I’m very surprised that
Ruby Walsh didn’t pull Douvan up. The horse didn’t jump very well … or should
I say over-jumped at a number of the fences … and was discovered to be wrong
behind, shortly after pulling up at the finish. Having run totally out of character and
placed only 7th, Douvan was later discovered to
have suffered a stress fracture to his pelvis.
The favourite for the Cross Country race was the Enda Bolger-trained Cantlow,
ridden by Adrian Heskin deputising for the injured
Mark Walsh; price 9-4. The veteran Any Currency, now 14, returned in an
attempt to win the race for a second time.
He won it last year but was disqualified due to a surprise drug
infringement – traces of an allowable drug were found, having not dispersed
as it should have done during the period since administration. Very unfortunate for connections, as it was
a pure accident. Anyway, the race was won by Cause Of Causes, a
specialist Festival horse, for trainer Gordon Elliott and jockey amateur
rider Jamie Codd.
The horse is owned by JP McManus and won the National Hunt Chase in
2015 and the Kim Muir last year! Any
Currency finished 9th.
The favourite for the Fred Winter Juvenile
Handicap Hurdle was the Nicky Henderson-trained Divin
Bere ridden by Noel Fehily;
price 9-2. Alan King had three runners in this race, Dino
Velvet ridden by Wayne Hutchinson, Rainbow Dreamer ridden by Tom Cannon and Fidux ridden by Tom Bellamy. The race was won by Flying Tiger, a 33-1 shot,
trained by Nick Williams and ridden by Richard Johnson; he beat the favourite
by a neck. It was a first Festival
winner for the trainer. The best of Alan King’s runners, Dino Velvet,
finished 8th; Rainbow Dreamer completed in 12th and Fidux
19th; he was the last one which completed.
Having taken a photo of the winner, I abandoned
the course-side rails in order to head to the Pre-Parade Ring. There were two runners of interest in the
bumper, namely the Alan King-trained Perfect Harmony ridden by Ian Popham, and Dans Le Vent
trained by Jamie Snowden and ridden by Aidan Coleman. The race favourite was Cause Toujours,
trained by Dan Skelton and ridden by brother Harry; price 9-2. However, it was won by the Gordon Elliot-trained
mare Fayonagh ridden by Mr Jamie Codd; she began the race in last position but swept
through to lead where it mattered, at the winning post! Dans Le Vent followed up
his excellent Newbury third place with a 6th place today, at 100-1! Perfect Harmony, which must have one of the
kindest demeanours I’ve ever seen, finished 11th.
So, yet again, the Irish had outpointed the GB
team and, after day two, they had a two point lead in the Prestbury
Cup.
Knowing that the first day (Tuesday) seems to
have teething problems with regards to leaving the racecourse, I was hopeful
that Wednesday would be an improvement … but it wasn’t. Traffic was almost gridlocked on the
approach to the gateway which exits onto the driveway; it didn’t help that drivers
were jumping the queue and pushing in further down the hill, thus
disadvantaging those like me near the back thereof. Grrrrrrr …. Once again, there was a long and slow queue
through Prestbury, courtesy of the police directing
traffic at the islands to the far end of Deep Street. I’d left the racecourse
at 18:10, but it took me until 19:15 to escape from Cheltenham. The only advantage I can ascertain to
parking in the north car park is the fact that my car won’t get stuck in the
mud during heavy spells of rain! The
western car parks are so much quicker to make an escape from, usually 25
minutes maximum to reach the Six Ways junction! Anyway, the trip across the Cotswolds went
smoothly, apart from one idiot who pulled out from the Puesdown
Inn immediately in front of me; I had to brake. I arrived back at Eynsham
Hall at around 20:00, with the contents of a Pot Noodle tub once more for
supper! |
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