PART II
DIARY – AINTREE FESTIVAL
GRAND NATIONAL DAY
SATURDAY 05 APRIL 2014
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The Grand National winner, Pineau De Re, is paraded following the final race of the day. Click here to read my Grand National Day Diary Part I During
the interlude between the fourth race and the Grand National, the Military
Wives choir performed the National Anthem whilst standing within the corral
in front of the Earl of Derby and Lord Sefton stands. I had hoped to retain my
favourite vantage point prior to the horses leaving the Parade Ring ahead of
the Grand National. But it was not to
be, as I was pushed back slightly away from the corner by others so was unable
to get a clear view of the horses as they headed in my direction. Damn. I’d also forgotten that the
competitors now begin the pre-race parade in random order immediately after
exiting onto the racecourse, rather than be organised first into number order
within the two holding pens in front of the Earl of Derby and Lord Sefton
stands respectively. Therefore I had
no second chance to take photographs. The starting gate remained in
its 2013 position, shortening the distance of the race by half a
furlong. This was to take the horses
further away from the cauldron of excitement; this having been emphasised in
recent years with the completion of the Lord Sefton and Earl of Derby
grandstands. It was disappointing that Alan
King had just one runner in this event; my favourite horse, the grey
Walkon. And more disappointing still
that Wayne Hutchinson got the ride, rather than Choc. Godsmejudge had been entered up until the
previous Monday; he’d been withdrawn as Alan wasn’t satisfied that the horse
was quite ready to compete due to his slow recovery from a mid-season blip
which had affected many of the equines in the yard. For the record, Godsmejudge took
part in the following Saturday’s Scottish Grand National which he’d won last
year. With Wayne having sustained a
knee injury a couple of days previously, the mount was taken by Aidan Coleman
and they finished a gallant 2nd to the outsider Al Co trained by Peter Bowen
and ridden by Jamie Moore. Choc had
ridden Midnight Appeal in the same race but came to grief at the last fence with
once circuit to go. Tidal Bay had made
a mockery of the weights on that day, with the majority of runners out of the
handicap. Midnight Appeal carried just
10 stone 1 pound; Choc and one other jockey had to put up overweight, as he
can’t do less than 10 stone 3 pounds! Two weeks later still,
Godsmejudge, ridden by the recovered Wayne Hutchinson, finished 3rd in the
bet365 Chase on season Finale Day at Sandown Park. Choc had been due to ride Midnight Appeal
again that day, but had picked up a neck and rib injury at Chepstow the
previous evening. Jamie Moore
deputised and they finished an unplaced last of the finishers. There were four greys in the
race, the aforementioned Walkon, Our Father, Rose Of The Moon and Swing
Bill. Katie Walsh deputised for the
injured Mikey Fogarty aboard Vesper Bell; there were no other jockey changes. There were two joint-favourites
at the off. Teaforthree and Double
Seven, priced 10-1. Having been to look at the first
fence before returning to the starting gate where the runners circled for a
number of minutes, the jockeys caught everyone by surprise as they moved
forward to line up despite evidently being advised by the Assistant Starter
that it was not yet time to do so.
They took no notice and, as a result, the Assistant Starter was
knocked over. They were requested to
take a turn. There was no surprise that
Battle Group hadn’t moved forward with the others, he’d dug in his feet
instead and remain glued to his chosen spot.
Brendan Powell had jumped off his mount, the horse then consented to
move forward and the jockey was legged into the saddle once more and cantered
to join the others. Then they were off ... or rather
they weren’t because the Starter decided it was a false start. Despite it
appearing that Battle Group might consent to leave the gate, although he may
have pulled himself up before they’d reached the first fence. The horses were recalled; Our
Father, Raz De Maree, Alvarado, Big Shu, Long Run and Lion Na Bearnai made it
to the footboard of the first fence but did pull up. The horses returned to the starting gate to
try once more.
They reorganised themselves and
then they were off; officially. Battle
Group planted himself once again and refused to start. The
39 remaining runners headed across the Melling Road
and approached the first fence. Across
The Bay and The Package led over this obstacle, also prominent were Wayward
Prince and Rose Of The Moon; the leading horses were mid- to far-side of the
field. Hunt Ball made a mistake here
and ahead of mid-field on the wide outside, Twirling Magnet gave Richie McLernon a tumble.
The horse was fine, got up and galloped away, but the jockey didn’t
look too good afterwards; having received a number of stitches in a gash
beneath his right eye. Balthazar King
was slightly hampered by the faller. The
runners headed on down to the second fence where to the inside of the track,
Burton Port blundered and unseated Brian Harding. Towards the rear, the 14-1 shot Big Shu who had been hampered at the second obstacle, fell at
the third fence, the open-ditch. There
were no casualties at the fourth but centre field, nearer last than first,
the white faced chestnut Chance Du Roy made a noticeable error here. The
horses headed on down to the fifth, to the inside in mid-field AP McCoy’s
mount Double Seven clobbered the fence; his jockey regrouped and the
partnership continued. Kruzhlinin travelled at the back of the field, he wasn’t
jumping smoothly, and he made an error here too; aided and abetted by the
loose horse preceding him. The
field then headed on towards Becher’s with Across
the Bay leading towards the outside of the runners, Long Run in runner-up
position centre field. Walkon was travelling in mid-field, almost upsides Swing
Bill to his outside. Sam Waley-Cohen steered his mount to the inside in the last few
strides before the fence to take advantage of the curve in the track which
followed it. All the runners
negotiated this safely, apart from one of the Irish raiders, Last Time D’Albain who made a jumping error and unseated Robbie Colgan. There
were no casualties at the Fionavon fence; Across
The Bay and Long Run led the field to the Canal Turn. Golan Way, on the outside of the field,
fell here. Unfortunately Tidal Bay was
travelling in his wake and had little room to manoeuvre; he collided with the
prostrate horse and Sam Twiston-Davies exited via
the off-side door. Our Father also
unseated here; he had been positioned close to the incident and perhaps the
scrimmage upset the jockey’s balance because he fell off some way past the
fence. Long
Run took a crunching fall at Valentines; his jockey fortunate to avoid the
hooves of two horses following in his wake as he rolled away. Mountainous who was travelling close to the
pace, to the outside, also got too close to the fence and fell; it was an almost
identical incident. In a loose horse
melee, which also involved the rider-less Our Father, Aidan Coleman was
knocked out of the saddle aboard The Rainbow Hunter; Chance Du Roy was
fortunate not to be involved too, although he was hampered, as was stable-mate
Balthazar King and Wayward Prince ahead of him. This
left Across The Bay well clear of his pursuers as they headed to the next;
there were no fallers here, nor at the next, which is another
open-ditch. Disputing second at this
point were Mr Moonshine and Colbert Station, behind these Rocky Creek and
Rose Of The Moon. In mid-field Pineau De Re made a bit of an error here. The remaining horses cleared one more
obstacle before heading across the Melling Road by
Anchor Bridge, around the long sweeping turn to face the thirteenth fence. Pineau De Re blundered
here, hampering One In A Milan in the process; but no fallers. The runners also cleared the next with no
mishaps and then headed towards the Chair.
There was a scary moment when two of the loose horses, one of which
was Our Father, decided to cut across ahead of the field and head down the
home straight instead of jumping this obstacle. On the inside Teaforthree
blundered and lost momentum, Nick Scholfield
catapulted over his head. Actually he
didn’t have a hope of winning anyway because he was my sweepstake horse! Across
The Bay held a clear lead over the water-jump but he was being harried by a
loose horse; it was Tidal Bay. Henry
Brooke steered his mount in the direction of the bend, but the loose horse
got ahead of him, and he knew where the stables were. Thus he carried Across The Bay all the way
to the plastic railings separating the chase from the hurdles track. Tidal Bay attempted to jump the rails, but
he demolished them instead. Henry
Brooke managed to stop his mount to a trot just in time and, now that the
loose horse was gone, he was able to rejoin the field; but he was now at the
back, many lengths behind. At
the same time, a number of the other loose horses arrived in the corral
immediately in front of me, including both Long Run and Mountainous. They looked absolutely fine following their
falls; they were caught and led away to the stables. Meanwhile,
back at the head of affairs, Colbert Station led the way narrowly from Rocky
Creek, Rose Of The Moon, Mr Moonshine, The Package and Double Seven. Walkon was still
going okay; he travelled to the inside of the runners in mid-field. There were no further fallers as they
travelled over the five fences before Becher’s. However, having lost touch, Shakalakaboomboom was pulled up before the 20th, Quito De
La Roque before the 21st and Triolo
D’Alene before Becher’s Brook, having struggled
over the previous fence. Mr
Moonshine and Rocky Creek led over Becher’s, from
Double Seven, Prince De Beauchene, and Pineau De Re, with Balthazar King to the wide
outside. The Evan Williams-runner One
In A Milan, having made an error at the 19th, and travelling just behind
these leaders, capsized upon landing over the infamous fence. That left 24 runners remaining as they
headed towards the Foinavon fence once more; the
tiring Colbert Station made an error here.
Then, having cleared the Canal Turn, Mark Walsh pulled him up. Mr
Moonshine led the field over Valentines, from Rocky Creek, Double Seven,
Prince De Beauchene and Pineau
De Re. Vesper Bell ridden by Katie
Walsh replacing the injured Mikey Fogarty,
blundered here. Vintage Star was
pulled up before the next, where Rose of The Moon fell; Buckers Bridge made
an error here. There were no
departures at the final open-ditch; Lion Na Bearnai
was pulled up prior to the fence. Walkon travelled in 13th position at this point. Rocky
Creek held a narrow advantage over Mr Moonshine as the runners jumped the
final fence before returning across the Melling
Road. The tailed-off Wayward Prince
fell here. Travelling around the final
bend, Balthazar King came under pressure and dropped back to dispute third
position with Double Seven, two or three lengths behind the leading duo of Pineau De Re and Rocky Creek. Three lengths behind these were Mr
Moonshine and Chance Du Roy. Back in
the field Walkon was pulled wide as he approached
two out; Wayne Hutchison soon pulling him up, he’d gone lame behind. Pineau De Re led over
the penultimate fence, from Rocky Creek and Balthazar King; although the
leader did jump out to his right.
Leighton Aspell’s mount had extended his
advantage to three lengths as they cleared the last, Balthazar King staying
on gamely to take second in pursuit.
Double Seven was in third position, Rocky Creek tiring in fourth,
Chance Du Roy behind him, then Monbeg Dude, the
fast-finishing white-faced Alvarado and Swing Bill. However
the leader wasn’t for catching and he continued to increase his advantage
over his rivals; the official distance at the line was 5 lengths. Balthazar King claimed 2nd, with Double
Seven 1¼ lengths back in 3rd. Alvarado
claimed 4th, a further 10 lengths away; never nearer. Rocky Creek just held onto 5th place, by a
short-head from Chance Du Roy. Monbeg Dude completed in 7th. Eighteen horses completed the course, with Hawkes Point finishing last. Here
is the full result for all those runners which finished the race:
And
those which did not finish:
This
year’s story the return of Leighton Aspell, who had
retired from the saddle in 2007 only to return in 2009; this was his 7th
attempt at the race, now aged 37. It
was trainer Dr Richard Newland’s first runner in the race. Having
arrived back from his early race mishap, Sam Twiston-Davies,
who rides regularly for the yard and had ridden the horse on a number of
occasions in the past, offered congratulations and hugs to the stable lass
Carolyn White and the trainer too as the horse was led back down the course
to be greeted by the waiting cameras and media. I
didn’t even attempt to return to the Winners’ Enclosure following the Grand
National this year. I was more concerned
for the fate of my favourite horse; I saw a horse ambulance heading up the
racecourse to collect him. It later
transpired that Walkon had slipped a tendon off one
of his hocks; he should be okay and race again following box rest. NEWS FROM
THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING THE RACE: The Stewards held an
enquiry following a report from the Starter that Sam Twiston-Davies,
the rider of TIDAL BAY (IRE), Mr S Waley-Cohen, the
rider of LONG RUN (FR), Andrew Tinkler, the rider
of HUNT BALL (IRE), Barry Geraghty, the rider of
TRIOLO D’ALENE (FR), Noel Fehily, the rider of
ROCKY CREEK (IRE), Brian O’Connell, the rider of QUITO DE LA ROQUE (FR), Mark
Walsh, the rider of COLBERT STATION (IRE), Wayne Hutchinson, the rider of
WALKON (FR), Richard Johnson, the rider of BALTHAZAR KING (IRE), Jack Doyle,
the rider of WAYWARD PRINCE, Ryan Mania, the rider of MR MOONSHINE (IRE),
Nick Schofield, the rider of TEAFORTHREE (IRE), Henry Brooke, the rider of
ACROSS THE BAY (IRE), A P McCoy, the rider of DOUBLE SEVEN (IRE), A E Lynch,
the rider of BUCKERS BRIDGE (IRE), Davy Russell, the rider of LION NA BEARNAI
(IRE), Paul Townend, the rider of PRINCE DE
BEAUCHENE (FR), Paul Carberry, the rider of MONBEG
DUDE (IRE), Peter Buchanan, the rider of BIG SHU (IRE), Brian Harding, the
rider of BURTON PORT (IRE), Denis O’Regan, the
rider of OUR FATHER (IRE), Jamie Moore, the rider of MOUNTAINOUS (IRE), Aidan
Coleman, the rider of THE RAINBOW HUNTER, Brian Hughes, the rider of VINTAGE
STAR (IRE), Tom O’Brien, the rider of CHANCE DU ROY (FR), Ryan Mahon, the
rider of HAWKES POINT, Wilson Renwick, the rider of KRUZHLININ (GER),
Leighton Aspell, the rider of PINEAU DE RE (FR),
Michael Byrne, the rider of GOLAN WAY, Richie McLernon,
the rider of TWIRLING MAGNET (IRE), Katie Walsh, the rider of VESPER BELL
(IRE), Tom Scudamore, the rider of THE PACKAGE,
Davy Condon, the rider of RAZ DE MAREE (FR), Jake Greenall,
the rider of ROSE OF THE MOON (IRE), David Bass, the rider of
SHAKALAKABOOMBOOM (IRE), Paul Moloney, the rider of
ALVARADO (IRE), Robert Colgan, the rider of LAST
TIME D’ALBAIN (FR), Adam Wedge, the rider of ONE IN A MILAN (IRE) AND Conor O’Farrell, the rider of SWING BILL (FR) had lined
up despite being advised by the Assistant Starter, who was positioned in
front of the field, that it was not yet race time and then proceeded towards
the start. The Veterinary Officer
reported that QUITO DE LA ROQUE (FR), trained by Colm A Murphy, which was pulled up, had bled from the
nose. Whilst
I was still loitering beside the course-side rails ahead of the next race, one of
the stewards manning the large walkway gates commented that I was probably
the only person he’d seen all day that, at no time, had been carrying an
alcoholic drink! I told him I was
losing enough brain cells by this stage of my life, without helping them on
their way. He laughed. I’ve never really worried about alcohol,
and can count the number of times I’ve had a hangover on the fingers of one
hand! The favourite for the next race was Katgary, trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Harry Derham, starting price 5-2. Michael Byrne deputised for the injured Mikey Fogarty aboard Rocky Wednesday. The starting gate for this race was located in
the far corner of the track. In the
background, as the horses circled at the start, vehicles could already been
seen leaving the centre course Steeplechase car park; pedestrians too. They’d seen the feature race and then went
home; they must have attended for the craic not the
racing. Some people have no
stamina!
Then they were off. The field headed along the short stretch of
track along the top of the racecourse before negotiating the bend and
entering the home straight. Leviathan
and Somethingwonderful led the field; Court
Minstrel was held up in rear. The
former made a slight error at the first, Swnymor a
worse one in mid-field. There was no
change at the head of affairs as the runners continued down the home
straight, clearing two further flights without incident. Heading past the main grandstands the
order was Leviathan and Somethingwonderful, from Nesterenko, Bordoni and Rainbow
Peak, they were followed by Katgary, Roman Flight,
Vasco Du Ronceray, Scots Gaelic, Swnymor, Yorkist, Bold Henry,
Kashmir Peak, Jumps Road, Glen Beg, Ubaltique, Two
Ways, Rocky Wednesday, Drumlee, Strongpoint, Court
Minstrel and Massini’s Trap. Having passed the winning post and
negotiated the bend, the runners headed along the short stretch of track in
front of the hospitality boxes before entering the back straight. Two Ways appeared to go lame behind, his
jockey applying the brakes and eventually easing to a halt; he
dismounted. Meanwhile the race
continued. Leviathan led the runners towards the
fourth flight; he held a two lengths advantage over Somethingwonderful. Three lengths back were Nesterenko,
Bordoni and Rainbow Peak; these three held a clear
advantage over the remaining runners.
The Gigginstown runner closed upon the
leader and they jumped it in unison; trailing in rear was Massini’s
Trap. Levianthan
stepped on the inside panel of the next flight and flattened it. The field headed over the pathway and
approached four out; Somethingwonderful and
Leviathan still led. Having cleared
the flight, near the rear of the field Scots Gaelic received reminders. As they entered the final turn, Leviathan
began to lose ground, with Somethingwonderful now
holding the advantage from the cheek-pieced Bordoni. The field were closely packed once more,
especially those ahead of mid-field. They headed along the top of the
track and negotiated the final turn to enter the home straight; Somethingwonderful led from Yorkist
and Bordoni.
Nesterenko and Glen Beg travelled just
behind these. The runners fanned out
to approach three out, where in third place Bordoni
made an error. Heading towards two out, Rainbow Peak was squeezed up having
tried to challenge between Yorkist and Glen
Beg. This forced his jockey to take
evasive action and he tried to switch to their inside, only to find that Katgary was now blocking his path. He had to sit and suffer for the
moment. The field cleared two out and headed
towards the last. Glen Beg held a
narrow advantage but almost upsides to her inside were Somethingwonderful
and Nesterenko; to her outside Strongpoint and the
cruising Court Minstrel. They jumped
the last; finally Rainbow Peak found room to make his challenge, although he
drifted to the far rail under a strong right-hand drive. It was then neck and neck to the
line, Court Minstrel versus Rainbow Peak; the former also edged to his left. Joshua Moore’s mount appeared to have every
chance as they approached the winning post but, in the end, Court Minstrel
prevailed by 1¼ lengths at the line. Glen Beg finished four lengths away in 3rd,
with Nesterenko just failing to pip her on the
line; a short-head the distance between them.
When Twoways had been
pulled up, the stable lass and the trainer had rushed out across the
racecourse in order to reach their horse as soon as possible; the stable lass
was the fitter, as she soon left the trainer in her wake. I later saw the horse ambulance drive back
towards the stables, presumably with the injured animal inside. NEWS FROM
THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING THE RACE:
Following
race six I actually decided to return to the Parade Ring to see Choc arrive
therein ahead of his ride in the next.
And I managed to scoot back to my favourite vantage point prior to any
of the horses leaving the paddock. Alan
King had two runners in this race, Ordo Ab Chao and McCabe Creek.
Choc was to ride the former and Wayne Hutchinson the latter. There were two 9-2 co-favourites for this
race, namely Modus trained by Robert Stephens and ridden by Tom O’Brien and Bringithomeminty trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by
Barry Geraghty.
Aqalim was full of
beans in the Parade Ring, bouncing around and kicking out with his
hind-legs. When it was time to head
along the walkway to the racecourse, the horse was led out with Denis O’Regan following on foot to be legged up a short while
later. The
starting gate for this race was located in the far corner of the track; with
one and a half circuits to travel. The
horses circle within a small holding pen to the outside of the course ahead
of the race. When they were instructed
to head out onto the racecourse, Aqalim leading the
way, there wasn’t much room to the inside.
As a result, Fly Home Harry was squeezed up and he broke the top rail
away from the vertical post. Modus had
been shuffled back and relegated to near the rear of the group; he stepped
through the debris to follow the others.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by Battle Born, from Clondaw Banker, the hard
pulling Puisque Tu Pars
to the inside and Aqalim to the outside. McCabe Creek was at the rear of the field;
Choc aboard Ordo Ab Chao
travelling just ahead of his stable companion. The tightly packed field headed into the
first turn, where there was some bumping and barging to the inside through
lack of room; Royal Supreme baulked Beatu who, in
turn, hampered Hurricane Hollow. The
runners headed down the straight, passing between the wings of the three
absent flights; Battle Born leading the way. The order as they approached the
grandstands was Battle Born, from Clondaw Banker, Aqalim, Relic Rock, Modus, Aiaam
Al Namoos, Puisque Tu Pars, Ballybolley, Bringithomeminty, Fly Home Harry, Hunters Hoof, Ordo Ab Chao, It’s High Time,
Our Kaempfer, Royal Supreme, Uncle Muf, Beatu, McCabe Creek and
Hurricane Hollow. Aqalim was sweating
noticeably as he travelled past the winning post and around the grandstand
bend; it was dripping from beneath his breast girth. Relic Rock was sweating too. The field galloped along the short stretch
of track beside the hospitality boxes, around the bend and into the back
straight; there was no change at the head of affairs. The pace began to increase as they
travelled along this stretch of the track, between three sets of wings and into
the far turn. None of the jockeys had
raised a whip yet, although a number of the horses at the rear of the field
were receiving slaps down their neck.
The first horse beaten was Uncle Muf. Having
traversed the stretch of track to the outside of the cross-fence, the runners
then headed into the home straight.
Relic Rock, under the Champion Jockey took up the running prior to
them reaching the next set of hurdle wings.
To the nearside, It’s High Time was in hot
pursuit; Battle Born was disputing third place with Ballybolley
and Aqalim was behind these. In their wake was Ordo
Ab Chao laying down his challenge; McCabe Creek had
improved his position but was still some way off the pace. Relic
Rock continued to lead as they headed into the final quarter mile; Ballybolley now his closest pursuer. Aqalim held a
narrow advantage over Battle Born for third, with Choc making his challenge
to their inside. They entered the
final furlong, AP driving his mount for all he was worth to stave off the
closing Ballybolley under Sam Twiston-Davies. The line approached, it was still nip and
tuck. Photograph. Having
drawn upsides Aqalim in the final furlong, Choc’s mount had no more to give and the former pulled
away again as the line approached. The
result of the photograph was announced.
Ballybolley had won by a head. Aqalim was a
further 2½ lengths back in 3rd, with Ordo Ab Chao 1¾ lengths 4th.
Our Kaempfer finished 5th, long-time leader
Battle Born 6th and Hurricane Hollow 7th.
NEWS FROM
THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING THE RACE: The Stewards noted
that ROYAL SUPREME (IRE), unplaced, had interfered with BEATU (IRE),
unplaced, which in turn interfered with HURRICANE HOLLOW, unplaced, on the
first bend but after viewing a recording of the race they were satisfied that
it did not involve a riding offence. Following the final race of the day,
I went back to the Winners’ Enclosure see Choc return to the Winners’
Enclosure having finished 4th aboard his mount. Having dismounted, chatted with
connections, he removed his helmet in order to weigh out upon the scales
which were placed to the nearside of the podium. He then exited the Enclosure and climbed
the steps to return to the Weighing Room for the final time today. Choc’s mum and
companions waited on the steppings for him to
change into his civvies and return. Little did I know that it would be
the last time I’d see Choc for a while, because he suffered an injury at
Chepstow the evening before I was attending Sandown Park for the season
Finale; he missed three riding engagements that day. It was now time for me to
return to my favoured spot beside the course-side rails to await the arrival
of Pineau De Re who would be paraded in the
pulling-up area so that punters could take photographs. I guess it’s also to prove that he had
suffered no ill-effects following the race; a ‘media’ exercise; the same happened last year when Auroras Encore
won the big race. I took lots of
photographs and waited until the horse was led back to his box by his stable
lass before I decided to leave. There was just one more task
to perform before departure, a visit to the loos to the rear of the Earl of
Derby stand. This year the cleaners
were well on top of their tasks, with the toilets unexpectedly clean and tidy
at the end of each day this year. I
then walked along the concourse in front of the main stands to join the back
of a substantial queue which had formed to cross the racecourse in order to
catch the bus. It took a few minutes to be
given the all clear and we were permitted to walk across the course upon the
green carpet; today it was strewn with rubbish … nothing really changes! The two buses waiting were almost full,
standing room only; I don’t really enjoy hanging on for dear life at the end
of a day at the races! However, the
journey around the infield completed, I alighted and walked across the back
straight, over the Melling Road, just one coach
creeping up to the crossing point so barely a risk of being knocked over on
this occasion. My walk then took me beneath
the entrance marquee and following a right turn, I walked down the driveway
to find my car within the parking area.
Someone parked close to my vehicle had been having a party; a number of
champagne bottles lay in a heap on the ground. I took off my outer clothes, changed into
my driving shoes, ate a number of Jaffa Cakes and was all set to leave,
departing at 19:00. Being further back in the car
park than I’m accustomed to, I was able to join the rear of the queue; the
driver of the vehicle in front of me was so impatient that he left the queue,
drove around a not very large grass island, only to rejoin it just a few cars
further on! Not worth the effort
really! Cars had also been parked
within the enclosed camping area, part way up the drive, and they were
merging into my queue too, thus delaying us further. Also, just prior to Anchor Bridge, the
stewards were ensuring that any coaches that wished to leave took priority
over the cars. The sand which had been
placed upon the Melling Road to provide a racing
surface for the past three days had been cleared to expose the tarmac once
more. It had taken me ten minutes to
reach the road outside. I turned left, as
signposted. Having been to Aintree on
13 occasions now, I really should investigate the possibility of travelling
via one of the back roads just as I do at Cheltenham. It then took a 15 further minutes to reach
the beginning of the M57 Motorway; the majority of the time having been spent
in the queue in Aintree Lane leading to the traffic lights where I turn right
into the Ormskirk Road – it’s a 4-phase junction
which holds up the traffic severely on days like these. I keep to the right-hand
lane, knowing I need to turn right again at the traffic lights where I cross
onto the A5036; the tailback here was no worse than on the previous
evening. When the lights changed to
green, the two cars immediately in front of me took rather a wide berth,
almost missing their intended route to join the M57; admittedly, this
junction must be one of the strangest I’ve ever encountered, with the A59 and
the M58 joining at right-angles to the M57 – both motorways terminating
here. It has been noted that
Merseyside love traffic lights, rather than roundabouts! The point in case being that the junction
appears to have gone through a transformation at some point, having once been
a very large roundabout! Through two additional sets
of traffic signals, a final right-turn took me onto the M57 southbound
carriageway; it was 19:25. I travelled
in the inside lane until its junction with the A580, where that particular
lane leads off down the slip-road. A
few miles further on I joined the M62 eastbound
carriageway and headed towards its junction with the M6. Having been in Merseyside for
three days this year, rather than the usual two, I felt it sensible to top up
the petrol tank prior to my 200-mile journey home. And where else would I choose but the Burtonwood Services as, strangely, I know it quite well
... apart from my lapse on Thursday morning but I put that down to very poor
signposting on the M62! It cost over
£17 today, so I’d used quite a lot of fuel during my visit to the area; it
had cost me less than £25 to top-up on Thursday following my trip up! It must have been all those queues and
traffic light junctions I’d encountered – my hotel being 3 or 4 miles east of
the M6 – a 30-minute drive from the racecourse. I was soon on my way again,
joining the M6 at Junction 21A and heading southbound. There were a number of road-works
encountered on my return journey. The
first being a contra-flow system on the Thelwall
Viaduct which spans the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the bridge
joints were under repair. The viaduct
actually consists of two bridges, the one carrying the northbound carriageway
which was opened in 1963, and a second carrying the southbound carriageway
which was completed in 1995. I was now counting down the
junctions to Birmingham; I always think that return journeys seem shorter
than outward journeys although, of course, they’re not. But today it seemed to take ages to reach
the Stoke junction (15); having surprised me how quickly I’d reached the M62
from Stoke in the other direction on Thursday morning. One thing that drives me
crazy on the motorway’s southbound carriageway at this time of the evening is
the ‘distance’ chevrons. They appear for a stretch before the Stoke
turning and there is another section further on too. I find them mesmerising and they actually
make me want to drive closer to the vehicle in front rather than keeping to
my usual sensible distance because I want to see them as little as possible;
the only way I can do that is to move closer!
They are totally pointless. There were further road-works
just south of Stoke and a long section prior to the beginning of the Toll
Road which carried on along the non-Toll motorway to past the Hilton
Services. On principle, I refuse to
pay a toll to drive on the motorway – I pay my road tax so why should I pay
extra? The weekend reduction in the
toll was definitely not enough to tempt me. Much of the motorway through
Birmingham had been resurfaced since last year, nor I
didn’t encounter any wayward cones on the section of motorway as it
heads downhill to merge with the Toll Road.
Unlike last year when I’d actually run over one! The section between Birmingham and the M1
didn’t seem as bad this year either; as I often struggle with the darkness
here. That doesn’t fill you with
confidence does it? The M1 Junction 19
improvement scheme is currently underway; it started in January this year and
will not be completed until the Autumn of 2016. Two new bridges are to be constructed, with
an aim of properly linking up the A14 at the junction too; the A14 passes
Huntingdon racecourse as it travels further east. The noticeable difference here at present
is the realigned slip-road leading from the M6 eastbound carriageway onto the
southbound carriageway of the M1. I
wouldn’t have minded being a construction engineer in a different life ... I
used to love Lego! Or an architect! There were a few further
occurrences of very minor road-works on the M1 as I travelled south. Junction 12 onwards is very familiar
territory, as the Toddington turning is the one I
use if visiting my younger brother.
The slip-roads here have been reconfigured just a few years ago; they
now consist of very sharp bends, which I hate. Wherever possible I prefer to
return via the same route as the outbound journey, or at least I do when I
near home. I’m a bit superstitious
like that. This being the case, I left
the M1 at Junction 9, travelling around the Redbourn
bypass, through Harpenden’s Hatching Green and back via the A1081. Having then joined the St Albans ring-road
I arrived home at 22:45. I had a snack before bedtime
and, despite being tired following my trip, I also logged on to my laptop in
order to save any relevant news links from the ATR website in preparation for
writing my post-Aintree blog the following day. I turned in at gone midnight but still rose
before 07:00 on Sunday. I uploaded my
photographs, tweeted a few, before walking down the road to buy a copy of the
Racing Post. Upon returning home I wrote
my catch-up blog; this task took well into the evening. It didn’t help that my printer was
being temperamental for much of the day; it worked first thing in the morning, but around 90
minutes from start-up my PC
turned itself off because it was too hot … after which I didn’t experience any further trouble with the
computer but got
absolutely no response from
printer for the
remainder of the day.
Very frustrating, as I wished
to print out the race results for the past three days as it would have speeded up my diary blog catch-up no end. I unpacked before I went to
bed on Sunday. Back to work on Monday
and feeling like I needed a holiday to recover from my holiday!!! Also, by Monday, I had the Coral ‘advert’ theme playing over and over
again in my head; how annoying! Click here for photos – Parade
of Champions Click here for photos – Race
1 Click here for photos – Race
2 Click here for photos – Race
3 Click here for photos – Race
4 Click here for photos – Race
5 – Part I Click here for photos – Race
5 – Part II Click here for photos – Race
6 |
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|
JOCKEYS TABLE |
|
TRAINERS TABLE |
||||||||
|
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
|
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
|
Barry Geraghty |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Nicky Henderson |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
AP McCoy |
3 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
|
Alan King |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Sam Twiston-Davies |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Paul Nicholls |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
Wayne Hutchinson |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Nigel Twiston-Davies |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
|
Tom Scudamore |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Willie Mullins |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Noel Fehily |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
|
David Pipe |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
Choc Thornton |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Philip Hobbs |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Richard Johnson |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jonjo O’Neill |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Paul Townend |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Tom George |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Paddy Brennan |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Dessie Hughes |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Leighton Aspell |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Donald McCain |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Paul Carberry |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dr Richard Newland |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sam Waley-Cohen |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Evan Williams |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Adam Wedge |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
