PART I
DIARY – AINTREE FESTIVAL
GRAND OPENING DAY
THURSDAY 07 APRIL 2016
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Cue Card, winner of the Grade 1 Bowl Chase After an exhausting
Cheltenham Festival, when I was forced to miss Day 3 because of overwhelming tiredness,
I was determined to build up my reserves ahead of Aintree. This included taking a step back from my
Cheltenham diary writing, once I’d finished topping and tailing them; there’d
be plenty of time during the summer to catch up again. A little like those
connected with the racing world, the pressure is off after the Cheltenham
Festival, with owners, trainers and jockeys able to enjoy the Merseyside
event to a greater degree than the National Hunt showcase. These days, I’m also chilled about heading
off to Liverpool for three days. In
fact, I didn’t even feel like packing until early Tuesday morning, when I put
aside a few bits and pieces before I headed off to work. I packed further
items on Tuesday evening, and completed the task on Wednesday; a day
off. Having set up the Sky HD box to
record RUK’s highlight programmes on all three days and also the entire
coverage of Grand National Day, I was ready to turn in at 20:30. That would have been all well and good, had
it not been for the fact that the final episode of Series 2 of Grantchester
was broadcast at 21:00 that evening. I
had to watch it, so didn’t get to sleep until after 22:00. Thursday
almost started off with one of those ‘nightmare’
moments; the ones which happen in dreams when you miss something or someone
because you’re late! I set the alarm
for 03:15; when the alarm sounded I decided to wait until my heart had
stopped pounding at the shock of waking so early, only to doze off to sleep again. I don’t have a ‘snooze’ option on the alarm clock. I eventually woke again at 03:45, now with
just one and three quarter hours to prepare ahead of departure. I
showered, washed and dried my hair, before applying make-up and eating a
breakfast of two Weetabix, with banana, blueberries
and raisins. I drank just half a cup
of tea, as I knew I’d be desperate to spend a penny at some point during my
journey otherwise. Today’s
outfit was three thermal t-shirts (grey with black doves, purple and violet);
redcurrant V-neck ribbed M & S sweater, purple fleece, black fleece gillet, black Dottie Perkins peplum skirt, black thermal
tights, black BHS coat (my Aintree coat), plum-coloured Hotter shoes
(purchased in their sale for £21). A
mauve and purple M & S scarf and black/grey M & S handbag. Jewellery was the Fired Creations necklace
and earrings as worn for the past two Aintree Festivals. I had meant to wear a black and beige
striped peplum cardigan but, in the event, I left it hanging on the wardrobe
handle by mistake! |
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Purple fleece |
Black
fleece gillet |
BHS
£20 coat |
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Redcurrant V-neck ribbed M & S Sweater |
Dorothy
Perkins peplum skirt |
This
is the cardigan I accidently
left at home! |
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M
& S handbag |
Fired Creations necklace and
earrings |
Purple/mauve
M & S scarf pictured with horse design snood |
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Plum-coloured Hotter shoes
(centre) |
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Having
loaded up the car, I was ready to depart at 05:40; just 10 minutes later than
planned. My route took me via Harpenden
to join the M1 at Junction 9. In
hindsight, the delayed departure may have been auspicious, because there were
road-works on the M1 between junctions 11 and 12 due to the construction of a
new bridge over the motorway (there’s to be a new junction here too), and
these usually took place between 22:00 and 06:00 – so it may have affected me
had I left earlier. Further
up the motorway, nearing Northampton, I had a panicky moment when I saw an information
sign telling motorists that the road was closed ahead; it transpired to be an
error, because it referred to overnight road-works which had already been
completed. The 50mph speed limit was
still in place for a long stretch of the motorway, as it had been last year;
it is being improved to become a ‘smart’
motorway – evidently that means using technology to relieve congestion -
variable speed limits and use of the hard shoulder as an additional lane when
required. As
always on my outbound journey to Aintree, I continued on the M1 to Junction
23A, which is the Nottingham/Derby turning.
I then headed in a westerly direction, along the dual carriageway of
the A50. Having encountered solely one
or two light rain showers so far, this became persistent heavy rain as I
approached Uttoxeter. I noticed that the Travel Lodge close to
the town had now been taken over as an office space by JCB; the Staffordshire
town is their UK base. As I was later
than on previous trips, there was already a tailback of traffic through the
underpasses by the time I’d reached Stoke-on-Trent. There was another traffic
jam as I headed down towards Junction 15 of the M6. Already
wanting to spend a penny, I would have stopped off at one of the Services on
the M6, rather than wait until the M62, but it was still tipping it down and
I didn’t want to get out of the car!
The heavy rain had stopped by the time I reached the Mersey Bridge.
Having joined the M62 westbound carriageway, I confess that I left it at
junction 9 by accident; there were road-works and, by the time I realised
this, I was heading up the slip-road!
But I styled it out by negotiating the roundabout and rejoining the
motorway via the other slip-road! Burtonwood Services is
adjacent to Junction 8, and I was 20 minutes behind schedule when I
arrived. I popped to the loo, ate two
cheese rolls and filled up the petrol tank before heading back to the
motorway. A couple of new industrial
estates have sprung up in recent years, and I nearly ended up entering one of
them as I negotiated the roundabout above the M62! The vehicle in front of me almost made the
same mistake too. At
Junction 6, I transferred onto the M57 and headed towards Southport. Aintree racecourse is just a mile or two
from the northern termination of the M57; I reached the racecourse at 10:20,
twenty minutes later than scheduled. I
showed my ticket to the stewards manning the entrance, and they waved me
through, the parking docket was already hanging from the rear view
mirror. It made a change for there not
to be a ‘jobs worth’ steward
manning the Anchor Bridge entrance. The
security checks went very smoothly ... and the car bonnet closed first time
too! That’s fourth-time lucky. I was directed to park in section 07, the third
car from the roadway. Having put on my
coat and scarf, and changed into my Hotter shoes, I walked up to the
entrance, hoping to meet up with my friend Sandra. In the event, she’d got a little lost on
the way to the racecourse, but I did see her drive by; I walked back towards
the car park area hoping to meet up shortly afterwards. Whilst
I was loitering on the roadway for Sandra to appear, a lady and gentleman
asked if I was ‘Choc Thornton’s Superfan’.
OMG, I’m infamous. It
transpired that they owned horses and Choc used to ride them. The horses’ names were Bearaway
and New Bird; research tells me Bearaway was
trained by Heather Dalton, after which he transferred to Donald McCain. New Bird started off with Alan King, then
Heather Dalton again, before ending up with Ian Williams. Choc rode Bearaway
9 times during the 2004/2005 season and New Bird 15 times between 2000 and
2006! I didn’t catch their names, and
this information doesn’t appear to be recorded for ex-racehorses, but they
did ask that I pass on their best wishes to my favourite ex-jockey when I see
him! Having
met up with Sandra, we cleared through security – a bag check and a body scan
– before walking across the Melling Road and
racecourse to catch a bus to the grandstands side of the site. Having arrived, we went in search of
race-cards, and found a young lady close to the left luggage kiosk selling
them. Badges weren’t issued for a
number of enclosures this year, including ours, so we had to find out how to
obtain the wristbands which were being used instead. Sandra
enquired about these at the information desk close to the left luggage point,
and we were told that there would be a manned desk close to the Earl of Derby
Terrace enclosure which would issue them.
We headed over in that direction, and soon found the collection point,
beside the horse walkway leading to the racecourse. However, the guys issuing the wristbands
were not ‘up to speed’, it being
the first day! We even had to ask for
our tickets back as, initially, they were going to be retained. So, instead, they punched a hole in each
ticket and then handed them back to us.
We
decided the wristband idea was okay, provided you arrived early, as later in
the day a long queue formed to collect them.
The wristbands were very familiar, as they’ve been used at Wimbledon
for years and I still retain them as mementos of those ‘Agassi’ days! We
then headed to the steppings above the Winners’
Enclosure where we stayed for a while; although I did pop to the loo in order
to clean my shoes which had got dirty from the trip across the
racecourse. While we waited for the
action to begin, there was a small ceremony outside the Media Centre, in
which it was officially named ‘The Alan
Lee Media Centre’ in memory of The Times’ Racing Correspondent who died
suddenly last December aged just 61.
He was also a regular panellist on ATR’s Sunday Forum, and was one of
my favourite guests; he always talked a lot of sense ... unlike the ghastly
John McCririck!
The
RoR Parade took place ahead of racing today; the
participants were Cinders And Ashes, Comply Or Die, Danny John Boy, Denman,
Liverpool, Mad Moose, Midnight Chase, Monet’s Garden, Naunton
Brook, and Peddlers Cross. Cinders
And Ashes is based with Jackie and Brian Storey in Cumbria; his specialties
are dressage and showing. He is still
owned by Donald and Sian McCain and Dermot Hanafin. Comply Or Die lives in Gloucestershire with
Verity Green, ex-wife of his winning jockey Timmy Murphy; he’d recently taken
up dressage and was very good at it.
Danny John Boy is looked after by Leanne Crawford and takes part in
showing, dressage and eventing. Denman
continues to enjoy team chasing under the guiding hands of Charlotte
Alexander. Liverpool, with a racing
career that was less than distinguished, has excelled in showing and hunting
since his retirement. And what can one
say about the one and only Mad Moose?
Having been banned from racing because on a number of occasions he
refused to start, Mad Moose moved to Sophie Burkin’s
yard and has enjoyed going hunting and, latterly, been taking part in
dressage too. Midnight
Chase, formerly trained by Neil Mulholland, enjoys hunting and eventing; he lives with his owner’s daughter, Sally
Hayward. Popular grey Monet’s Garden
continues to enjoy showing. Naunton Brook has been taking part in showing and
show-jumping, having initially been the mount of a field master out
hunting. And finally, Peddlers Cross;
he also lives with Jackie and Brian Storey and takes part in show-jumping. He is still owned by Mr & Mrs Tim
Leslie. There
was, however, a sad postscript to the RoR Parade,
with Comply Or Die passing away only a few weeks later. Ahead
of racing, we went to find our vantage point at the site where the
course-side rails joined the walk-way exit gate; there was just enough room
for someone to squeeze in between the gate and a large waste bin when the
gates were open!!! It was not an issue
once the gates were closed, as you can stand behind them. The favourite for the first
race was Sizing John, trained by Henry de Bromhead
and ridden by Jonathan Burke; price 11-4. Having exited onto the racecourse, the runners
headed to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back
straight.
And then they were off, with Arzal
already two or three lengths ahead as the eight runners cleared the first
fence. Sizing John and Aso disputed second position, with clear daylight to the
remaining five led by Volnay De Thaix. The Harry Whittington runner continued at the
head of affairs as they jumped fence number two. Aso jumped it big
and nodded on landing; Rock The World nodded on landing too. The third fence was the first of the
open-ditches, which the leader jumped well, as did the other seven. They then headed across the sand pathway
which leads to the steeplechase car park, before reaching the final obstacle
in the back straight. Again all the
runners cleared this fence without incident. Arzal
held an uncontested lead as they entered the top bend; the remaining jockeys
happy to let him set the pace. The
leader jumped the cross-fence well, as did the others, and they headed around
the turn and into the home straight on the first occasion. Travelling at the head of the main group
was Sizing John, with Aso at his quarters; they
were followed by L’Ami Serge, Volnay
De Thaix, Rock The World, Bouvreuil,
and Garde La Victoire. Aso
stepped through the next fence but survived.
The following fence was the second open-ditch and they all cleared
this safely. Arzal
was at least ten lengths ahead as they continued across the Grand National
track before reaching the eighth fence.
Bouvreuil was the least fluent at this
one. The leader continued to bowl
along happily at the head of affairs as they headed down past the winning
post with one circuit still to travel; Garde La Victoire continued to bring up the rear. Arzal
put in a spring-heeled leap at the first fence in the back straight; the
others jumped it well also. All eight
runners cleared the next in their stride.
The following fence was again an open-ditch; L’Ami
Serge jumped up to dispute second position with Sizing John as they cleared
it. They headed over the pathway once
more, before reaching the final fence in the back straight; having been
relegated to the back of the field, Rock The World made an error here. The runners headed into the top turn, with Arzal continuing to lead by half a dozen lengths. A number of jockeys in the pack were just
beginning to niggle away at their mounts.
The horses continued to the cross-fence, where all cleared it okay
apart from Garde La Victoire. Jockey Richard Johnson asked him for a big
jump but he put down on him and got far too close to the obstacle; he was
also travelling very close to the birch wing.
The horse landed steeply and ploughed into the turf, throwing his
jockey over his head. Fortunately the
momentum allowed Richard to scramble clear of the horse’s hooves as Garde La Victoire got to his
feet and continued after the others; no harm done to either horse or
jockey. Meanwhile, Arzal had
his remaining rivals on the stretch as he headed down to the third last
fence; Sizing John, Bouvreuil, Volnay
De Thaix and Aso was all
being driven along by this point, and Rock The World was detached at the rear
of the field. It now appeared that L’Ami Serge would be the only possible danger to the long-time
leader. But having jumped the fence
he, too, came under pressure. Arzal’s
jockey, Gavin Sheehan, remained almost motionless until after his mount had
jumped the final open-ditch, two from home.
L’Ami Serge remained well in touch with him,
although he did hit this fence; Sizing John also made an error here, and
stumbled after the fence as he battled with Bouvreuil
for third position. Gavin did resort to his whip as he headed down to
the last and this galvanised his mount to stretch the advantage over his
pursuer. The leader flew the final
fence and was then driven out to the line unchallenged; his winning margin 8
lengths. L’Ami
Serge, although no match for the winner today, finished 16 lengths ahead of
the third-placed horse, Sizing John, with Bouvreuil
in 4th position. Unfortunately
there was a sad postscript to the race, with the news reported by Racing UK:
We
decided not to return to the stepping above the Winners’ Enclosure following
the race. Race 1 - 1:40pm MERSEYRAIL MANIFESTO NOVICES' STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No Stewards Enquiry. The favourite for the next race was
the Triumph Hurdle winner, Ivanovich Gorbatov, trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Barry Geraghty. Alan
King had a runner in this race too, namely Sceau
Royal, ridden by Daryl Jacob. The
favourite kept the others waiting, as he was tardy heading out of the Parade
Ring; the cause being that his noseband had been adjusted. The starting gate for this race
was at the far corner of the track, the horses initially heading along a
short stretch of the course before turning into the home straight with that and
one full circuit to travel. Having
been circling to the inside of the track once their girths had been checked,
the runners were called out onto the course and instructed to head away from
the starting gate before turning and approaching the tape which had now been
strung across the course.
And then they were off. The runners were led away by Azzuri, from Apple’s Jade, Sceau
Royal and Khezerabad; bringing up the rear was Romain De Senam. Having started over in the far corner of the track,
close to the Anchor Bridge crossing, it was a long run to the first
flight. They headed along the top of
the racecourse before bearing left around the turn and into the home straight
on the first occasion; all 9 runners cleared the first hurdle in their
stride. Azzuri
appeared to be enjoying himself at the head of affairs and they’d soon jumped
the second; again with no noticeable problems. The leader hit the third flight, having got
a little close to it; it did not affect his momentum. The field continued its journey down to the
winning post, now with one circuit to go.
Azzuri led, from Apple’s Jade, Sceau Royal, Khezerabad, Ivan Gorbatov, Diego Du Charmil,
Doubly Clever, Footpad and Romain De Senam. The runners
then headed around the bottom turn and out into the country. Azzuri
continued to set a good pace, and he was four lengths clear of his rivals as
they headed over the first flight in the back straight. Apple’s Jade led the main group, with
Doubly Clever, Footpad and Romain De Senam beginning to lose touch. The runners jumped the next, by which point
Khezerabad was drifting back towards the rear of
the main group. The horses had soon
reached the final flight in the back straight, where Footpad and Ruby Walsh
departed! The Willie Mullins
second-string turned a somersault but got to his feet quickly; no harm done. Meanwhile Azzuri led
the runners around the top turn, from Apple’s Jade, Sceau
Royal, Ivan Gorbatov, Diego Du Charmil
and the improving Romain De Semain. Khezerabad and
Doubly Clever were now tailed off; both were pulled up before the next. Azzuri
continued to lead as they entered the home straight, but Apple’s Jade had
soon taken his measure and was a length up as they jumped the third
last. Sceau
Royal, travelling in third position, made a slight error at this one. Having taken the lead, the filly continued
to extend it, the others now toiling in her wake. She flew the penultimate flight, with Azzuri, Ivanovich Gorbatov and Diego Du Charmil
now battling it out for the minor honours.
Having faded, Sceau Royal and Romain De Senam were both
endeavouring not to finish last! The race was already over by the time the filly
jumped the final flight, and she went on to win by 41 lengths, easing
up. Ivanovich
Gorbatov got the better of the game Azzuri, to claim second position by half a length. Diego Du Charmil
was a further 4½ lengths back in fourth, Romain De Senam 5th and Sceau Royal the
last to finish in 6th. The filly never ran on the flat, and never ran in
a bumper, this being only her fourth start.
We
didn’t return to the Winners’ Enclosure following the race, choosing instead
to remain in position close to the horse-walk exit point. Race 2 - 2:15pm THE BETFRED ANNIVERSARY 4-Y-O
JUVENILE HURDLE RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No Stewards Enquiry. The Stewards noted that APPLE’S JADE (FR),
trained by W. P. Mullins, would wear earplugs. The favourite for the next race was Cue Card,
trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Paddy Brennan;
price 6-5. It was a chance to redeem himself following a nasty fall during the closing stages
of this season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. The
starting gate for this race was at the far end of the home straight, with
that and two full circuits to travel.
The horses circled out on the track whilst girths were checked then,
as the start time approached, the horses were ridden away from the starting
gate before turning and walking in.
And then they were off, with Dynaste
and Don Poli leading the runners over the first; Taquin Du Seuil was at the rear
of the field. The second fence was an
open-ditch, and Houblon Des Obeaux
jumped it more slowly than the others.
There was a long run to the next, due to crossing the Grand National
racecourse. The grey Dynaste led them over it, from Don Poli,
Djakadam, Wakanda, Saphir Du Rheu, Cue Card, Irish
Cavalier, Taquin De Seuil
and Houblon Des Obeaux. There was a bizarre incident as the 9 runners headed
down towards the winning post with two circuits to go. The inside running rail (slip rail in fact,
without supports) had been dislodged, at one end, and this resulted in Dynaste and Djakadam breasting
it, and Saphir Du Rheu
and Taquin Du Seuil also
having to avoid the rail which was latterly lying on the ground. However, all 9 runners continued in the
race, with Dynaste and Djakadam
leading them around the bottom turn and into the back straight for the first
time. The horses continued over the next without
incident, with Cue Card improving his position as they headed towards the
fifth; at the rear of the field, Houblon Des Obeaux made an error here. The following fence was the second
open-ditch, which Cue Card had to reach for.
The runners then headed over the last in the back straight led by Djakadam and Don Poli, from Dynaste and Cue Card. They entered the top bend and jumped the fence at
the far end of the racecourse. Ruby
continued to dictate the pace aboard Djakadam, from
stable companion Don Poli, followed by Dynaste, Cue Card, Saphir Du Rheu, Wakanda, Irish Cavalier, Taquin Du Seuil and the pushed
along Houblon Des Obeaux. The runners then headed around the bend and
into the home straight with one circuit now completed. Cue Card got a little bit close to the next
fence, the 9th. The following fence
was an open-ditch, where Wakanda was the least
fluent. They continued across the
National course to reach the 11th fence, which they all jumped well and the
order remained unchanged. The runners
then headed down past the winning post with one circuit now to travel; the
rogue running rail which had caused the incident on the previous circuit had
now been replaced. All the runners were travelling okay at this
point of the race, apart from Houblon Des Obeaux which continued to struggle and was adrift at the
rear of the field; Aidan Coleman administered reminders. However, upon entering the back straight,
the jockey decided to call it a day, leaving eight runners to head out on the
final circuit. Djakadam
continued to lead, although he did hit the next fence having got too close to
it. Further back in the field, to the
outside, Wakanda also blundered here; his jockey
going to the buckle end of the reins to steady himself. The error by the leader allowed Don Poli to draw almost alongside as they headed over the
next, with Cue Card now in third position; with the defection of the Venetia
Williams runner, Taquin De Seuil
now brought up the rear and just ahead of him Wakanda
was being pushed along. Djakadam
put in a good leap at the penultimate open-ditch as he continued at the head
of affairs. The runners headed across
the sanded track which leads back to the Steeplechase car park, before
reaching the final fence in the back straight. The two Willie Mullins runners were
galloping stride for stride as they entered the top turn, Cue Card was a
couple of lengths behind the duo, with Saphir Du Rheu four lengths further back and Dynaste
a couple of lengths behind him; Irish Cavalier, Tarquin
De Seuil and Wakanda were
even further adrift. The remaining eight headed over the cross-fence
and entered the home straight, just three fences now to jump. The leading three were travelling far
better than the remainder and continued to extend their advantage. Djakadam now had
to give best to his nearest rivals as they reached the third last, with Don Poli and Cue Card jumping it in unison. The latter, with his customary high head
carriage, now proved the stronger as they headed down to the final open-ditch
and he was a couple of lengths clear of his rivals as they jumped it. Cue Card continued to extend his lead as they
headed across the Grand National track on their journey to the final
fence. Djakadam
appeared to rally, initially, but Don Poli soon gained
the upper-hand once more in that particular battle. Saphir Du Rheu currently held onto fourth position, ahead of Dynaste, Taquin De Seuil and Irish Cavalier; Wakanda
was pulled up before the last. Cue Card cleared the last fence well and, having
now set up a lead of 12 lengths on the initial run to the line, jockey Paddy
Brennan was able to ease his mount as the winning post approached; the
official winning distance 9 lengths.
Don Poli, having been given a more positive
ride than usual, completed in 2nd, with Djakadam a
further 8 lengths away in 3rd. Dynaste stayed on to claim 4th, finishing five lengths
further back, and Taquin Du Seuil
claimed 5th, with Saphir Du Rheu
the final horse to complete. Irish
Cavalier had fallen at the last, when a modest 4th. I wonder what would have happened in the Gold Cup
had he stood up that day. Would Don
Cossack have won, or Cue Card?
Evidently Cue Card has run at Aintree on three previous occasions,
finishing second every time! It transpired that the rogue rail incident was a
result of carelessness by an official photographer (Alan Crowhurst
of the Daily Mail evidently) … that old chestnut again!
With Cue Card the victor, I set off at top speed towards the Winners’
Enclosure; you have to be quick too, otherwise the gates are closed to allow
the horses to re-enter the horse-walk and access is cut off as a result. I caught Sandra slightly on the hop, so we
got split up for a few minutes as we both headed back to the Winners’ Enclosure
at different paces. I found a space on the steppings from which
to view the proceedings and I had time to video Cue Card as he entered the
Winners’ Enclosure. I stayed for the
presentation also, before taking the long route back to the course-side rails
– I did a clockwise circuit around the outside perimeter of the Parade Ring
in fact! Sandra and I met up again
shortly afterwards. I also bolted for it at Sandown Park on Season Finale day when I was
at the races with my friend Lesley, but she knows what I’m like and where to
find me too! Besides, you don’t have
to worry about losing each other now that we all have mobile phones! Race 3 - 2:50pm THE BETFRED BOWL STEEPLE
CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1)
That’s
it for Part One of my Grand Opening Day diary ... Click here to read my Grand Opening Day Diary Part II |
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