PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2014
DAY FOUR - FEATURING THE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
FRIDAY 14 MARCH 2014
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Montbazon canters up the horse-walk prior to the County Handicap Hurdle. FOG ... AGAIN! I was determined to arrive as
early as possible ahead of racing on the final day of this year’s Festival;
this being the case I set my alarm clock for 03:50 in the morning! Although that was more by luck than
judgment due to it being analogue in nature, with solely figures on its face
at 3, 6, 9 and 12! I showered, washed and dried my
hair, before eating the now ‘compulsory’
breakfast of two Weetabix with raisins.
However, today, I decided to drink just half a cup of tea, hoping this
would prevent me being desperate for the loo by the time I reached
Cheltenham! Today’s outside was black M
& S thermal vest, M & S thermal T-shirts layered 3 deep – dark rose,
plum and violet, cerise frill-edged cardigan (again); bright purple fleece,
black fleece gillet, long black hankerchief hem skirt (I’d given up on
displaying my legs by this time of the week having been a little cold
yesterday), purple tights, mauve BHS jacket (although I did put my black faux
sheepskin coat in the boot of my car just in case), mauve animal print M
& S scarf, black and white horse snood, and black mocassin wedge-heeled
shoes. A glance through the curtains
revealed a second foggy morning.
Great. But at least I now knew
the location of the switch to operate my car’s rear fog lamps! Having applied my make-up, etc, I was ready
to set off at 05:45. Again my route
took me through the city centre, down Folly Lane, up Bluehouse Hill, heading
for Hemel Hempstead. I joined the A41
bypass having negotiated the ‘magic
roundabout’ and driven along Two
Waters Road. Being earlier, there would have
been fewer vehicles on the roads this morning ... had I been able to see them
through the fog!!! Having reached the
end of the dual carriageway near Aylesbury, there was little sign of damage
to the roundabout caused by yesterday’s car accident when a driver had ‘mounted’ it due to the poor
visibility. I drove into Aylesbury, around
their ring-road, before re-joining the A41 and heading through Waddesdon and
Kingswood to Bicester. Arriving at the
Ambrosden roundabout on the outskirts of the town, I discovered that an
articulated lorry had overshot the junction and embedded itself in the middle
of the island, having hit a tree. The
emergency services were already in attendance; fortunately, as yesterday, the
blockage caused by the lorry did not affect my route. I headed to the far end of the
Bicester bypass, I turned left to travel down the dual carriageway to the
junction with the M40. As I was very
early, compared to usual and despite the fog, I got to within 200 yards of
the traffic lights before encountering the rear of a traffic queue. After a couple of signal changes, I was on
my way down the A34, leaving at the Peartree Interchange as usual. Traffic was actually moving
around the roundabout faster than it had been doing all week, but it was
almost incessant; so still took me a while before a gap permitted me to drive
across into the second lane in preparation for entering the short section of
dual carriageway prior to the Wolvercote roundabout. The traffic was moving better than usual
down this part of my route, barely stopping today; although, of course, not
with much speed! Having reached the roundabout I
turned right and headed out along the A40 into the Cotswolds. I wasn’t too worried about overtaking vehicles
ahead of me having reached the Witney bypass, with visibility still
poor. However I did overtake a small
handful as I approached the far end, mindful that I didn’t wish to be stuck
behind any large, slow moving vehicle once the road became single track in
both directions once again. However, this left me totally
alone as I travelled between there and the Burford roundabout; perhaps not
such a good idea after all. I joined
the back of a convoy of vehicles at this point so was not alone as I drove
the section of A40 between Burford and the Stow/Cirencester Road. Approaching the Puesdown Inn, the fog
suddenly cleared, it was bright and sunny at this point ... but only for a
couple of miles, until the dual carriageway section, where visibility closed
in once more. And there were still
vehicles who wished to overtake here, despite the fog, and the fact the road
headed downhill to a set of traffic lights at the Gloucester road junction
where a tailback might form. Having arrived in Cheltenham I
took my usual route to avoid any delays; up Greenway Lane, down Harp Hill,
along Priors Road, up Bouncers Lane, across the double roundabouts into
Tatchley Lane, New Barn Lane, Swindon Lane and into the car park. I parked up at 08:15; my journey having
taken just 2 hours and 30 minutes despite the fog; my quickest ‘out’ journey of the week ... by 2
minutes! I’m not sure what my interval
times were, such as arriving in Aylesbury, or at Bicester or leaving
Oxford. Again there was plenty of room
in the bottom field, and I parked very close to the bottom of the slope. I couldn’t get as close to the car next
door as I’d have liked, because the female passenger had opened her door
wide. The lad who parked next to me on
the other side then pulled up too close to my passenger door, typical. Don’t you dare touch my paintwork with your
door when you get out of your car! He
squeezed out; the woman on my right had gone by this time, so I backed out
and manoeurved my car to the right.
That solved any possible problem. The visibility was so poor that
I couldn’t actually see Swindon Lane from my position in the car park but I
decided that I’d actually enjoyed driving in the fog, in a masochistic way!!! By 09:15, the sun was visible as a shining
disc in the sky; the fog would soon burn off and disappear. At 09:50 I set off to join today’s queue
which had begun to form at the turnstiles.
Ahead of me I recognised the
guys from Somerset, who I had chatted with whilst at the turnstiles in
previous years. The older one had looked out for me on Tuesday but not seen
me; probably because I was later in joining the queue that day. We chatted about the horse racing; it’s
always good to have someone to talk to at any time during what can be a
lonely day. Once through the turnstiles, we
wished each other a good day and went our separate ways. Having purchased a race-card I set off down
the concourse in the direction of the Parade Ring. I popped to the loo enroute, although the
half a cup of tea had done the trick and I wasn’t desperate today! I then headed to the Parade
Ring, where I was rewarded by seeing Choc; he was sitting on a bench having a
cigarette break before returning to the Weighing Room to prepare for the day
ahead. Today he was wearing his long
camel-coloured coat with a yellow tie.
It’s always lovely to see him; and it’s not as if it’s stalking, as I
always go to the Parade Ring to wait for the action to begin when I’m at
Cheltenham ... and elsewhere for that matter too! Today, eager to reserve my usual
place beside the course-side rails ahead of the first race, I set off to
reach them even before the Pre-race Preview presented by Martin Kelly
commenced. Damn; this proved to be a big
mistake on this occasion and something I could not have predicted. It turned out that the Prestbury
Cup competition between Great Britain and Ireland, awarded to the team with
the most winners during the Festival, had already been decided; Great Britain
having amassed an unassailable lead.
So, ahead of racing, the trophy was presented to a group of jockeys
representing the home team, and included Choc and Andrew Tinkler; it being
difficult for Irish British-based jockeys to accept the prize presumably! And it was Choc who stepped forward to
receive the cup, with photographs of this being taken. And I missed it; I was gutted
... my best and only opportunity to take a photograph of this nature at the
Festival had gone. Damn, damn, damn,
damn, damn. For even if I’d run, I
wouldn’t have arrived at the Winners’ Enclosure in time. My one consolation was that there turned
out to be a snippet on Channel 4’s coverage and I’d taped it. Interviewed today, as part of
the Pre-race Preview, were a guy who had written a book about Arkle, plus
Noel Fehily, Kim Bailey and a representative from Betfred, sponsors of
today’s Gold Cup. It was soon time for the first
race of the day. The favourite was the
Paul Nicholls-trained Calipto, ridden by Daryl Jacob, price 11-2. Replacing CD Timmons aboard the 250-1
outsider Achtung was Peter Buchanan (see Stewards Enquiry notes below).
Instead
of exiting onto the racecourse from the corral and beginning immediately, the
runners were called out onto the track and were sent up the course away from
the starting tape. Meanwhile, jockey
James Best had dismounted from Amoruccio whilst the
horse’s saddle was adjusted and re-girthed by one of the Starter’s
Assistants. Having been legged-up onto
his mount, the jockey trotted him back past the others to join the rear of
the field.
Then
they were off, to the cheer of the expectant crowd; Royal Irish Hussar under
Barry Geraghty having been pushed wide on the
course as they negotiated the corner before passing through the starting
gate. In the front-rank jumping the
first were Abbyssial, Guitar Pete, Kentucky Hyden, Pearl Castle and Plinth. The
horses settled into their running order as they undertook the long journey to
flight number two, joining the New Course as they did so; Abbyssial
now with a clear advantage. Travelling
just behind him were from the inside, Plinth,
Kentucky Hyden, Guitar Pete and Royal Irish Hussar;
these were followed by Pearl Castle, Rutherglen,
Lindenhurst, Calipto and Tiger Roll. In the final third of the field were
Broughton, Adriana Des Mottes, the keen Cherry
Roll, followed at the rear by Amoruccio and Achtung. Then,
at the second, disaster struck for the leader; he took off too soon, clipped
the top and fell. This caused havoc
with those following him, Kentucky Hyden was
hampered, as was Calipto and Lindenhurst. But, worse still, stable-mate Adriana Des Mottes had nowhere to go and was thus brought down. This left Plinth, Kentucky Hyden and Royal Irish Hussar to dispute the lead as the
runners headed up the hill away from the stands. Paul
Townend, rider of Adriana Des Mottes
was soon up on his feet; Ruby Walsh was sitting up too, assistance quickly
arrived and he got to his feet too.
However, he was holding his arm as he headed under the rails. The two loose horses, none the worse for
their falls, galloped up past the packed grandstands and through the winning line. The race continued, the runners soon
entering the back straight; Royal Irish Hussar and Guitar Pete holding a
narrow advantage from Plinth, Kentucky Hyden and
Tiger Roll as they cleared the third flight. Kentucky
Hyden ridden by David Bass and Plinth partnered by
AP McCoy joined Royal Irish Hussar and Guitar Pete as they jumped flight
number four; the former making a mistake here. The runners continued their journey along
the back straight; negotiating another flight, where Royal Irish Hussar made an
error, as did Achtung who began to lose touch with
the field as a result. Cherry Tiger
was also under pressure in rear and received a couple of reminders as the
runners headed around the dog-leg turn.
Clearing
the flight before the far turn, the leading group of eleven was still tightly
packed. Having reached the top of the
hill and negotiated the far corner, the runners began their journey down the
hill to the penultimate flight. Still
leading the way were Plinth, Kentucky Hyden, Guitar
Pete and Royal Irish Hussar; close on their heels and travelling well were
Tiger Roll and Calipto. Having jumped this flight, both Plinth and
Royal Irish Hussar had no more to give and dropped off the pace. This left Kentucky Hyden
and Guitar Pete to dispute the lead, with Tiger Roll and Calipto
close on their heels. However,
upon approaching the second last flight, Daryl Jacob’s stirrup leather had
broken, leaving him no option but to rid himself of his irons as he pursued
the leaders into the home straight.
His mount Calipto managed to keep in touch
with Kentucky Hyden, Guitar Pete and the improving
Tiger Roll for a while, but despite his jockey resorting to a number of
backhanders in an attempt to compensate, Calipto
dropped away. This
left Tiger Roll travelling to the nearside to take a narrow advantage over
Kentucky Hyden far side and Guitar Pete centre as
they cleared the final flight. Having
got his nose in front and with the stand-side rail to help him, Tiger Roll
extended his advantage up the hill to the line, winning by 3¼ lengths. Jockey
Davy Russell saluted the air with his whip as he passed the winning
post. Having lost his job as number
one jockey to the Gigginstown House Stud, in other
words Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary, earlier in the
season, this victory was sweet. For in
this race he was deputising for the injured Bryan Cooper who had been
appointed in his place. Despite
wandering on the run-in, Kentucky Hyden had
finished 2nd, with Guitar Pete 1¾ lengths back in 3rd and the unlucky Calipto 4th. The
winner had been trained by Nigel Hawke, winning a juvenile hurdle race at
Market Rasen, prior to being purchased to race in
Ireland. When
interviewed by RUK’s Lydia Hislop, Paul Nicholls
reported that Daryl Jacob had received a kick on the ankle from Abbyssial when he fell.
Therefore was the stirrup leather damaged when this occurred and then
went on to fail later in the race?
Presuming this was on the same side which received the kick.
There
was an announcement for Ted Walsh, father of Ruby, who was working as part of
Channel 4’s racing team during the Festival, to report to the Weighing
Room. That didn’t bode well for the
jockey; it later transpired that Ruby’s injury was a compound fracture of his
right humerus (upper arm). NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The
Stewards held an enquiry following a report from the Sampling Officer that
C.D. Timmons had provided a breath sample which was found to contain alcohol
in a concentration above the threshold level for breath
samples. They interviewed the rider and the Sampling Officer. Having heard
their evidence the Stewards found the rider in breach of Rule (D)65 and referred the matter to the British Horseracing
Authority. Under Rule (D)66 the Stewards suspended
Timmons from riding for the rest of the day. WHY THEY RAN BADLY: Daryl
Jacob, the rider of CALIPTO (FR), placed fourth, reported that his saddle
broke approaching the second last flight. The
favourite for this event was Cheltenian, trained by
Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson, priced at 5-1. Choc had a ride in this race, the Alan
King-trained Montbazon. And, OMG, there were 28 horses in this one! Being
run over a distance of 2 miles and one furlong, the horses cantered up the
all-weather horse-walk in front of the grandstand before heading back down
the turf and re-entering the all-weather strip to continue their journey to
the starting gate at the far end of the home straight. Having
reached the start, one of the JP McManus-owned runners, Never Enough Time,
had to have his saddle and girths re-adjusted. As with the previous race, the jockeys
having taken their horses to look at the example fence within the small
corral to the inside of the far bend and had their girths checked, the
competitors then congregation out upon the racecourse to circle around ahead
of the race. Diakali arrived at the
starting gate a few minutes behind the others, his jockey exercising
restraint upon his keen mount. The
delay was probably due to Danny Mullins being called up as a late transfer
replacement, rather than any kind of tack or shoe problem.
After
this minor delay, they were off, first time.
The big field headed to the first, the blinkered Flaxen Flare taking
off slightly ahead of his rivals. Also
in the front rank were, from the inside, Cheltenian,
the JP McManus second-string Alaivan, Rainbow Peak
and Barizan; back in the field and towards the
outside, Lyvius put in a bigger jump than
necessary. Choc aboard Montbazon travelled in mid-field, solely AP aboard Minella Foru to his inside. Having
cleared the first without mishap, the runners set off up the long gallop towards
the second flight, joining the New Course en-route. The Andrew Tinkler-ridden
Master Of The Game came through to take the lead, from Rainbow Peak to the
inside and Barizan sandwiched between them; in
fourth place to the outside was Strongpoint.
Cheltenham was now in fifth position, from Flaxen Flare and Alaivan; bringing up the rear Morning Royalty. Back in the field, Cinders And Ashes made a
bad mistake at the second flight and Deep Trouble hit it too. The
field negotiated the left-hand bend and travelled up the hill in front of the
Best Mate enclosure, with the hooded Master Of The Game remaining at the head
of affairs. The runners soon entered
the back straight and headed to flight number three. Travelling just behind
the leader were Cheltenian, Rainbow Peak, Barizan and Strongpoint; the former flattened the inside
panel of the hurdle as he jumped it.
The horses continued to journey along the back straight; there were no
noticeable errors at the next flight.
The
runners galloped on towards flight number five, where one of the horses in
mid-field flattened a panel of the flight.
The closely packed field then negotiated the dog-leg turn, continuing
to climb the hill as they headed towards three out. In the front rank were Cheltenian,
Master Of The Game, the white-faced Rainbow Peak, and Barizan;
immediately behind these Lough Kent and Flaxen Flare. Having cleared the flight, struggling at
the rear of the field were Makari, Runswick Royal and Cash And Go. The
field then headed around the far turn; Cheltenian
and Rainbow Peak now holding the advantage as Master Of The Game began to
drop back, behind these Flaxen Flare and Barizan,
Jumps Road, Alaivan, Strongpoint and Never Enough
Time. Rainbow Peak took the lead as
the runners travelled downhill to the penultimate flight. Having gradually drifted back through the
field during the course of the race, Montbazon now
made progress, taking advantage of momentum built up on this section of the
track and a clear run towards the inside. Cheltenian was marginally
ahead jumping two out, with Rainbow Peak to his outside; Flaxen Flare and Barizan disputed third.
Montbazon had made ground into fifth at this
point. Entering the home straight,
Denis O’Regan’s mount took the advantage,
momentarily, with the Alan King-runner soon driven upsides him before taking
the lead. To the standside
Lyvius was laying down a challenge; just behind him
the fading Barizan was squeezed between the
improving Lac Fontana to the nearside and Diakali
to his far-side; Arctic Fire having drifted across their path. Montbazon held the
advantage as he jumped the last, but Arctic Fire continued to challenge to
the far-side whilst Lac Fontana stayed on strongly to the nearside. Both challengers drew alongside Choc’s mount as they passed the half furlong post, the
battle continuing to the line. The
Paul Nicholls-runner proved the stronger, winning by half a length. Compensation for Daryl Jacob’s
disappointments earlier this week.
Choc congratulated the winning jockey with a low five as he rode his
mount back towards the entrance to the walkway. Why doesn’t it work out for Choc? His luck never seems to change ... Arctic
Fire of course had finished 2nd, with Montbazon one
length away in 3rd. Diakali completed 3¼ lengths back in 4th. Twenty five of the runners completed, with
the other three pulled-up; Cinders And Ashes, Runswick
Royal, and Cheltenian before the last although
sound. I
had realised already that Choc had overdone it with his whip; possibly panic
setting in as another close fought race didn’t go his way. He was running out of time to get a winner,
with just one more ride to go before the close of the Festival; namely Raya
Star in the Grand Annual.
Despite Choc having finished 3rd, I decided to remain
beside the course-side rails, frightened of losing my place ahead of the next
but one race, the Gold Cup. I hate it
when I have to make a choice at busy Festivals ... my decision would have
been to return if he’d won, and to hell with the Gold Cup! When talking about Daryl Jacob after the race,
RUK’s Stewart Machin said that ‘everything that can go wrong, had gone
wrong’ for the jockey so far this week, so he deserved this win. And then Lydia Hislop
began her post-race interview with the winning jockey by saying ‘without having had an injury, it’s been
about as torrid a week as it could possibly be’ ... oh dear, famous last
words as it transpired shortly afterwards.
NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The Stewards noted that ARCTIC FIRE (GER), placed
second, had interfered with DIAKALI (FR), placed fourth, who in turn
interfered with BARIZAN (IRE), unplaced, who in turn interfered with the
winner, LAC FONTANA (FR), approaching the final flight, but after viewing a
recording of the incident they were satisfied that it neither involved a
riding offence nor improved ARCTIC FIRE (GER)’s placing. WHY THEY RAN BADLY: Richard Johnson, the rider of CHELTENIAN (FR),
unplaced, reported that the gelding stopped quickly. The Willie Mullins-trained Briar Hill was the
favourite for the next race, price 2-1.
David Casey took the ride aboard the horse, deputising for the injured
Ruby Walsh, as the first choice replacement Paul Townend
was reported to be feeling under the weather now and stood himself down,
having ridden Upazo in the County Hurdle following
the misfortune when brought down in the Triumph Hurdle. The Gigginstown
runner in this race, Very Wood, was partnered by Paul Carberry,
in the absence of injured Bryan Cooper.
The starting gate for this event is at the
beginning of the back straight, with almost two complete circuits to
travel. Upon exiting the walkway, the
horses crossed the home straight to canter along the all-weather strip which
runs to the outside of the top bend to reach it. I believe Daryl Jacob’s mount Port Melon was the
last to leave the Parade Ring and to set off across the racecourse heading to
the start. However, he never reached
it, the horse veering off to its right just prior to entering the all-weather
strip and then colliding with the rails on the left-hand side of the run-in
and crashing into the Channel 4 TV camera position beyond. Having been standing at the half furlong
post, I watched as the drama unfolded in front of me. But I was not as close as a number of the
spectators standing within the Best Mate Enclosure who were just feet away
and stood staring at the injured jockey.
At first, I thought that the horse had been
fatally injured, struggling to get to its feet initially. Fortunately medical assistance soon arrived
to assess the jockey’s injuries; stewards erecting green screens to protect
Daryl’s privacy. Eventually the
injured jockey was put onto a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. It transpired that Daryl had sustained a
broken leg, knee and elbow in the incident.
More Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Port Melon, was
nonplussed; he had absolutely no idea what was going on, not having witnessed
the incident occur. His Travelling
Head Person, Donna Blake and the stable lass collected the loose horse and
trotted it back up the racecourse, unsure whether Daryl would be okay to
continue. Then, after discovering the
extent of the jockey’s injuries the horse was led away to return to the
stables. Presuming that the opening to the all-weather
strip had not been sealed off with a rail by the time Port Melon had set off
on his fateful canter, heading diagonally across the racecourse through a
couple of gaps in the rails reduces the space available due to the angles
involved. Meanwhile, the runners had been milling around at
the starting gate; on the TV broadcast coverage you could see the jockeys glancing
in the direction of the accident and the Starters’ Assistants raising their
arms to point in that direction also. Having circled around for a while and even headed
off to walk their mounts along the beginning of the back straight, the
runners passed to the far side of the first hurdle before returning. Evidently there was an instruction at one
point for the jockeys to dismount whilst matters were resolved, but no-one
seemed keen to comply with this, appearing to all remain on board.
And finally they were off and heading
to the first hurdle. The runners were
led away by Kings Palace to the inside, the blinkered The Job Is Right centre
and, far side, Urban Hymn. The latter
guessed a little at the first flight, and The Job Is Right also made a
mistake here. At the back of the field
was the very keen Prince Siegfried, along with Cogry;
also held up near the rear were Very Wood and Champagne West. The runners then headed to and
cleared the second. Holding the
advantage now was Kings Palace, ahead of The Job Is Right and Urban Hymn;
just behind these Deputy Dan, Briar Hill, Masters Hill and Apache Jack. After clearing the third flight, the
runners headed around the dog-leg turn to reach flight number four; Urban
Hymn drawing alongside Kings Palace as they jumped it. A little detached from the main body of the
field at this early stage of the race were Cogry,
Prince Siegfried and Regal Diamond. Having reached the highest point on
the racecourse, the runners turned down hill and began the long run to the
next flight. Urban Hymn held the
advantage over Kings Palace, The Job Is Right, Deputy Dan, Rydon Pynes, Masters Hill and
Briar Hill; the former two jumped the hurdle in unison. Having gained momentum on the downward
journey, Prince Siegfried was wrestling for his head with jockey Denis O’Regan at the rear of the field. The runners entered the home straight
for the first time and travelled towards flight number six. Urban Hymn was marginally ahead of Kings
Palace, followed by Deputy Dan, the very dark grey The Job Is Right, Madness
Light, Rydon Pynes, Briar
Hill, the lighter grey Masters Hill, Apache Jack, Champagne West, Sausalito
Sunrise, Captain Cutter, Very Wood, Saint Roque, Cogry, Mosspark, Regal Diamond
and Prince Siegfried. Regal Diamond
jumped the flight more slowly than his rivals. Having passed in front of the grandstands,
the runners headed up the hill and out into the country for the final time,
soon approaching flight number seven.
In mid-field, Briar Hill clipped the top of the flight and fell;
fortunately he didn’t appear to hamper any of his rivals. The horse was quickly on his feet and
trotted away. Having lost his place
and drifted towards the back of the field, Rydon Pynes departed at the following flight, turning a
somersault and badly impeding Prince Siegfried in the process. The fallen horse appeared to be okay. Once more Kings Palace and Urban Hymn
disputed the lead as they headed over flight number nine. Just behind these travelled Deputy Dan,
Champagne West, Masters Hill, Apache Jack and Saint Roque. The field then negotiated the dog-leg turn with
just one more flight to jump before they reached the top of the hill; Apache
Jack was less than fluent at this hurdle.
Tom Scudamore’s mount led the runners around
the far turn, closely pursued by Deputy Dan, with Champagne West and Urban
Hymn a couple of lengths behind them. The field began the descent towards
the penultimate flight; a group of ten having broken away from the remainder
of the runners. Deputy Dan was upsides
Kings Palace as they cleared it.
Within this group, Saint Roque on the wide
outside, Sausalito Sunrise to the inside, and also Masters Hill made errors
at the obstacle. Kings Palace cried
enough as they entered the home straight, with Deputy Dan soon taking a clear
lead; he was followed through by Apache Jack, Champagne West and Very
Wood. In their wake, the fancied
Captain Cutter was one of those eased and pulled up. The leaders headed to the last,
Apache Jack and Very Wood cutting down the deficit with every stride. Deputy Dan was tiring and put in a slow
leap at the last, this enabled Very Wood’s stamina to take him into the lead,
jockey Paul Carberry driving him out to the line to
win by 4½ lengths. Apache Jack
continued to reel in the Oliver Sherwood runner all the way to the line, but
fortunately Deputy Dan clung on by a short-head. Champagne West completed in 4th, with
Masters Hill 5th. Only 8 runners
completed; Kings Palace fell at the last having tired quickly. The remainder were pulled up.
I
remained beside the course-side rails ahead of the feature race of the day. AP
McCoy had eased Captain Cutter due to the horse sustaining an injury. Having dismounted, the horse was walking
but was lame. However, he stood with
his weight taken off one of his hind-legs and the stifle twitching. The horse ambulance was sent to collect
him, trundling back up the racecourse past the grandstands to reach the
veterinary facility. Weeks
later it was reported that Captain Cutter had been put down due to complications
following the injury; it was reported he broke his shoulder during the race;
I thought he was lame behind ... but what do I know? Briar
Hill suffered a freak injury; he broke his cheekbone during his mid-race fall
but was expected to recover well. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The
Stewards held an enquiry into the fall of PORT MELON (IRE), ridden by Daryl
Jacob, on the way to the start. They interviewed two of the ground staff, who
were standing close to the incident but were unable to interview Jacob owing
to his injuries. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the
incident the Stewards found that the fall was caused by the gelding ducking
left handed causing it to crash through the rail and fall. WHY THEY RAN BADLY: A.P.
McCoy, the rider of CAPTAIN CUTTER (IRE), which was pulled up, reported that
the gelding lost its action. That’s
it for part one of my diary ...
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