PART II
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2014
DAY THREE
FEATURING THE WORLD HURDLE
THURSDAY 13 MARCH 2014
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The ‘new kid on
the block’. Winner of the 2014 World Hurdle, More Of That, trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by Barry Geraghty Click here to read Day 3 Diary Part I It was now time for the feature race of the day,
the Ladbrokes World Hurdle. As with each of the feature events, there was a
pre-race parade; the horses exited onto the course and formed into number
order before the parade began. The
race marked Big Buck’s’ second run since his return from injury; he’d
finished 3rd in the Cleeve Hurdle in January; Sam Twiston-Davies now with the responsibility of riding the
2009 to 2012 winner of this event. The
most anticipated runner was the Willie Mullins-trained, Ruby Walsh ridden,
Annie Power; the mare was unbeaten in 10 career starts but trying 3 miles for
the first time today. Also taking part was the JP McManus owned At
Fishers Cross, winner of last season’s Albert Bartlett but very disappointing
early season until runner-up in the Cleeve Hurdle
and the choice of AP McCoy today. In
the same ownership was More Of That, trained by Jonjo
O’Neill; also unbeaten but stepping up in trip. Barry Geraghty
was booked to ride this AP ‘cast off’! RUK’s Lydia Hislop
described More Of That as the ‘unexposed’
horse in the race. Other hurdling stalwarts taking part included
Celestial Halo, Reve De Sivola
and Zarkandar.
Medinas represented the Alan King stable,
ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. The favourite was Annie Power at odds of 11-8;
second favourite Big Buck’s priced 7-2.
Members of the police force and a number of
stewards had already lined up along the edge of the racecourse, upon the
all-weather strip, to deter anyone from attempting to run onto the track. Once the parade had been completed, the horses
headed to the starting gate which, for this event, was at the beginning of
the back straight. The runners milled
around at the start, and were then sent well back from the tape before
jogging in.
And
then they were off, to a cheer from the spectators. The field was led away by Reve De Sivola, from Celestial
Halo, Rule The World, Big Buck’s upsides At Fishers Cross, Medinas, Salubrious, Annie Power, More Of That and Zarkandar. The
horses streamed over the first flight and galloped on towards the second;
Annie Power was travelling keenly near the rear of the field, as was More Of
That. The
horses cleared this without incident, and headed to the third; Reve De Sivola was a number of
lengths clear of his rivals as he jumped it.
Having negotiated the dog-leg turn, Celestial Halo closed the gap
between himself and the leader; Daryl Jacob was riding this Paul Nicholls
runner today, with Noel Fehily aboard Zarkandar and Nick Schofield riding Salubrious. There were four or five lengths between the
leading duo and their pursuers as they jumped the fourth flight; Zarkandar made an error here. Having
reached the far turn, the runners then headed down the hill to the next
flight. Salubrious appeared keen in
rear during the descent, and Reve De Sivola landed a little awkwardly having jumped the
flight. Turning into the home straight
on the first occasion, the Nick Williams-trained runner continued to lead,
from Celestial Halo, Big Buck’s upsides Rule The World, At Fishers Cross, Medinas, More Of That alongside
Annie Power, Zarkandar and Salubrious. The
pace steadied as they headed to flight number six, the field bunching up as a
result. All the horses jumped this one
well; More Of That appeared to be a little short of room between Annie Power
and At Fishers Cross as they turned the corner to head up the hill and out
into the country for the final time. Reve De Sivola continued to
lead, with Salubrious bringing up the rear.
As
they headed into the back straight, Celestial Halo drew almost alongside the
leader; the latter made an error at the next flight. Reve De Sivola also made a mistake at the next too, the eighth
flight. Big Buck’s had to reach for
this flight, as it was now leaning at a jaunty angle! Having made these two errors, Richard
Johnson was now pushing his mount along but he remained ahead of his rivals
as he jumped the following hurdle and headed around the dog-leg turn. Celestial Halo was a little bit slow when
clearing the flight at the top of the hill. Having
reached the far corner, Richard Johnson gave his mount a backhander, hoping
to keep his mount ahead of his pursuers for a while longer, which he
did. Ruby Walsh, having been tracking Medinas, crept up the inside of the Alan King runner once
the rail to the inside of the hurdle track terminated; he briefly tracked Big
Buck’s as a result. However, towards
the bottom of the hill and approaching two out, he was able to switch Annie
Power towards the centre of the track as Medinas
drifted out to his right permitting this manoeuvre. Reve De Sivola
took off slightly ahead over the penultimate flight, from Rule The World to
his outside and At Fishers Cross wider still. Celestial Halo had dropped back to fourth
position, More Of That and Big Buck’s to his inside. Annie Power cleared the flight in seventh
place, followed by Medinas, Zarkandar
and Salubrious. Time was finally up
for Reve De Sivola
heading around the final turn, as both Rule The World and At Fishers Cross
laid down their challenges; the latter assuming the lead. However,
close of this duo’s heels were More Of That and Annie Power. As Rule The World dropped back, and AP’s
mount drifted over to the stand-side rails, the two 6-year-olds mounted their
challenge to his far-side; neck and neck to the final flight, they went into
the lead. At Fishers Cross could offer
little in response. They cleared it in
unison and began the battle up the hill to the line; Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty urging their mounts on. And,
slowly by surely, More Of That began to assume the advantage, triumphing by
1½ lengths at the line. It was only the horse’s fifth ever start
and he’d won The World Hurdle. More Of
That has that ‘terrier-like’ style
of racing, head down, neck outstretched, just like Bobs Worth, only he’s a
much bigger stamp of a horse. And
Annie Power lost nothing in defeat either.
At
Fishers Cross finished five lengths back in third, with Zarkandar
staying on to complete in 4th, two lengths further back. Big Buck’s was 5th and Medinas
finished 7th.
I
remained beside the course-side rails ahead of the next race. Following
the race, Paul Nicholls announced officially that this had been Big Buck’s
last race; he would now be retired.
Owner Andy Stewart said the horse would return to the Paul Barber
satellite yard to live alongside his 2002 Tingle Creek winner Cenkos, now 22-years-old.
He said the horse is far more popular than he is; Andy mentioning that
he received 22 Christmas cards whilst in Barbados, whereas Big Bucks received
174! Having
been unsaddled in the paddock reserved for the unplaced horses, Big Buck’s
had gone back to the stables almost unnoticed. However, it was arranged for the superstar
to return in order to undertake one final lap of honour around the Parade
Ring in front of his adoring fans in order to give the former-Champion the
type of send-off that he deserved.
Although I missed today’s lap of honour, I saw Big Buck’s parade on
season finale day at Sandown Park. It
was then time for the fifth race of the day.
The favourite for this event was the Philip Hobbs trained Colour
Squadron, ridden by AP McCoy. Martin
Keighley had a runner in this event, namely the top-weight Champion Court
ridden by Ryan Hatch claiming 7lbs.
Alan King was represented by Bless The Wings, piloted by Wayne
Hutchinson as usual; the horse sporting first-time blinkers. The starting gate for this event
is part-way down the mid-course chute, with two fences to be jumped before
the far turn. Having exited from the
horse walkway, the runners cantered across the home straight and up along the
all-weather strip around the top bend to reach the in-field.
And
then they were off ... or rather they weren’t; it was a false start, as both Bennys Mist and Act Of Kalanisi
made no attempt to jump off having bumped into the plastic rail due to insufficient
room at the back of the group as they tried to enter the chase track. And, as the run-up was so close to the
first fence, and there was such limited room available to bypass it, seven of
the runners actually jumped it before pulling up; namely Colour Squadron, Sraid Padraig, Mr Cracker,
Third Intention, Sew On Target, Giorgio Quercus and
Champion Court. For the record, the racecourse
was currently bathed in bright sunshine, making the camera shots very hazy; I
therefore hope I’ve identified the correct seven! There was conjecture from the
RUK commentators as to whether these seven horses would be permitted to take
part in the race having already jumped a fence due to the false start. It turned out not to be a problem and the 23-strong
field returned to the gate to try again. The runners were off at the
second attempt, this time from a standing start. They were led away by Champion Court
towards the inside; prominent were Act Of Kalanisi to the wide outside, Third
Intention towards the inside and Colour Squadron against the rail. Fighting
for his head just behind these was Sew On Target; Bless The Wings was nearer
last than first. In rear at the first
fence, Gallox Bridge made the first mistake of many during the race. The runners headed across the
Old Course to negotiate fence number two, then across the New Course and on
down the hill to the far bend; Champion Court continuing to lead the way from
Act Of Kalanisi. Christopher Wren
brought up the rear; he was one of four JP McManus owned runners in the
race. The
field turned into the home straight; just behind the leaders, Sew On Target
continued to fight for his head. To
the inside, near the rear of the field, Gallox
Bridge made an error at the third fence.
Act Of Kalanisi landed with a slight lead
over the Martin Keighley runner at the next, but Champion Court regained the
advantage once more as they headed onto the New Course and towards the fifth
fence. Tap Night hit this one, as did
Christopher Wren at the rear of the field.
Having cleared the next, which King Edmund hit, the runners began
their journey up the hill towards the back straight. Champion
Court continued at the head of affairs, from Tatenen,
Act Of Kalanisi, Third Intention, Shangani and Bennys Mist. On the outside of the field, sixth or
seventh from the rear, Nadiya De La Vega was being
pushed along. The runners entered the
back straight and cleared fence number seven without incident; travelling at
the rear of the field were Wetak and Christopher
Wren. The following fence was the
water-jump, where Champion Court led to the inside of the track, Act Of Kalanisi close up on the wide outside. Bless The Wings also travelled wide, and
had improved his position, now almost upsides Bennys
Mist. Fence
number nine is the first open-ditch, where near the rear of the field Sraid Padraig blundered. There were no mishaps at the following
fence, although Tap Night was being pushed along and dropped to the rear
here. The horses then headed around the
dog-leg turn and towards the final open-ditch, where again there were no
incidents, although Tap Night jumped it slowly in rear. The
field was becoming strung out as it reached the top of the hill and jumped
fence number twelve. Three of the
runners struggling in rear were pulled up after this fence, namely Mr
Cracker, Christopher Wren and Tap Night.
The runners turned the far corner, Champion Court still led from Tatenen, Act Of Kalanisi, Third
Intention, Giorgio Quercus, Colour Squadron, Sew On
Target, Bennys Mist and Bless The Wings. The
tricky fourth-last fence caused a problem as is often the case; Giorgio Quercus hit it, Bless The Wings stumbled on landing and,
finally, Gallox Bridge failed to get his landing
gear out in time and capsized; both horse and jockey, Ian Popham,
were okay following the mishap. Nadiya De La Vega was pulled up after jumping this fence. The
remaining runners continued down the hill to the third last; Tatenen to the outside and Third Intention to the inside
held a narrow lead over Champion Court as they jumped it. Giorgio Quercus
was in fourth position, closely followed by Ballynagour,
Colour Squadron to the inside and Act Of Kalanisi
to the outside. As the latter came
under pressure heading towards the final bend, dropping back as a result,
Johns Spirit latched himself onto the back of leading group of seven. They
entered the home straight and headed towards the penultimate fence; Third
Intention and Tatenen disputing the lead, with
Colour Squadron in their slipstream.
Champion Court was a close-up fourth, but Ballynagour
was tracking them and travelling well.
The leaders were almost four in a line jumping the second last, namely
Third Intention, Tatenen, Colour Squadron and Ballynagour. But,
heading to the last, there was just one horse which was not under pressure,
and that was Ballynagour. Having
jumped the last he then powered clear of his rivals, jockey Tom Scudamore giving him a couple of backhanders just to make
sure and he galloped up the hill to the line to win by 8 lengths. Tom stood up in his irons and saluted the
crowd with his whip as he passed the winning post. In fact Ballynagour
was last year’s beaten favourite in this race. It was Tom’s third winner at this year’s
Festival. Colour
Squadron, having hung out to his left on the run-in as is his habit,
completed in 2nd, with Tatenen 6 lengths back in
3rd, Johns Spirit 1½ lengths behind in 4th.
Third Intention completed in 5th, Giorgio Quercus
6th and Champion Court 7th. Bless The
Wings faded to finish 15th. Having
made an error two out, Act Of Kalanisi was pulled
up.
Having
been disappointing in the main this season, Bless The Wings would be sent to
the DBS Spring sales; he was purchased by Tom Malone for £16,000. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE:
Looking
for a change of scene, I headed across the racecourse to view the next race
from the inside of the track. The
favourite for this amateur riders’ event was Indian Castle, trained by Donald
McCain and ridden by Mr Derek O’Connor.
There were three greys in the race, Our Father, Pickamus
and the ever-popular Swing Bill. The
starting gate for the next event was situated part way down the home
straight, the horses cantering up past the stands upon the all-weather track
before returning down the turf and re-entering the track to travel a short
distance before re-exiting onto the racecourse. Last
one out was Spring Heeled, partnered by Robbie McNamara; the horse a little
reluctant to return down the turf having cantered up the all-weather track to
reach the top end of the racecourse.
Then
they were off. It was a ragged start,
with a number of horses trailing behind the main group of runners; Swing Bill
was the most inconvenienced, Fine Parchment also very slowly away. Even the commentator seemed in two minds as
to whether it was a valid start. Tabhachtach set off at the front, his jockey glancing
over his shoulder; whether it was because he didn’t wish to be in front or
just wanted to check if the others were setting off too I don’t know! Basically it was an almost identical
problem as with the previous race; too many horses trying to enter onto the
track from the hurdles course through too small a space! I guess the starter let the runners
continue because, unlike the Byrne Group Plate, none of the horses collided
with the plastic rails. Having
jumped the first, both Buddy Bolero and Spring Heeled moved through on the
inside of Tabhachtach to take the lead as they
headed up the hill. These three were
followed by Balnaslow, last year’s winner Same
Difference, Twirling Magnet, Problema Tic and Pickamus. The
runners entered the back straight.
Buddy Bolero reached for the second fence, on the outside in mid-field
Our Father made a mistake, and Tabhachtach also
made an error here. The third fence
was the water-jump; There’s No Panic, Mumbles Head, Hunting Party and Lost
Glory were at the rear of the field, Swing Bill having made up the ground
he’d lost at the start. Fence
number four is the first open-ditch and all the runners cleared this without
incident. They jumped the fifth and
headed around the dog-leg turn to reach the second open-ditch. Spring Heeled now held the advantage over
Buddy Bolero; this duo was a few lengths clear of the grey Pickamus, from Tabhachtach and Balnaslow. The
horses continued to climb the hill, negotiating fence number seven in the
process; Quinz made a mistake at this fence. Having
reached the far turn, Spring Heeled now held a three length advantage over
Buddy Bolero, with a further four lengths to Pickamus
and Tabhachtach.
Fence number eight was the tricky one near the top of the downhill
section. It nearly caught out a number
of the runners, Buddy Bolero stumbled and pecked having landed, Same
Difference did the same although worse and lost his place, Saint Are made an
error as did Lost Glory; but none of the competitors departed. The
runners continued their journey down the hill to the next, where in mid-field
Gas Line Boy made an error; bringing up the rear at this point were Saint Are
and Lost Glory. Spring Heeled, ears
pricked, led the field into the home straight, followed by Buddy Bolero, Tabhachtach and Pickamus. The pace steadied as they headed over
fences ten and eleven; all the horses cleared these without incident before
travelling up the hill and out in the country for the final time. Just
behind the leaders, the Gigginstown runner Balnaslow made an error at the first fence in the back
straight. Spring Heeled continued to
bowl along as the head of affairs as they jumped the water, Tabhachtach now in second position. However, the latter stepped through the
following open-ditch, his jockey unseated out the offside side door; he
received a kicking too. Ouch! The next fence was a plain one and Same
Difference wasn’t fluent here. The
runners then headed around the dog-leg turn and towards the final
open-ditch. There were further untidy
leaps here, with Roberto Goldback making an error,
as did Same Difference and Quinz. Mumbles Head was pulled up before the
fence, as was Lost Glory. The field
had soon reached the far turn, the long-time leader was being pressed to his
outside by Balnaslow and Pickamus;
just in behind these were Twirling Magnet, Buddy Bolero and Our Father. It
was now time to jump the tricky fence once more. Spring Heeled pecked here,
but it caught out Buddy Bolero, who pecked at the same fence on the previous
circuit; Katie Walsh riding. It was a
horrible fall, and typical of its type at the jump; the horse unable to get
its undercarriage out in time.
Fortunately he got up and galloped after the others, appearing none
the worse. Because the runners were
stretched out at this stage, the only one appearing to be marginally hampered
was Hunting Party, his rider called it a day before the next. Also pulling up before the next were Fine
Parchment and There’s No Panic. Pickamus was almost
upsides the leader as they jumped the third last, but he blundered here. This enabled Spring Heeled to gain a two
lengths advantage heading in the final turn. He was pursued by Indian Castle to the
inside rail, Balnaslow and Pickamus;
behind these Our Father and Cause Of Causes.
This group was clear of Gas Line Boy who, in turn, was a couple of
lengths ahead of Roberto Goldback and Twirling
Magnet. Both Night Alliance and Saint
Are pulled up before the next fence. The
leading group entered the home straight and headed towards the penultimate
fence. Spring Heeled retained the lead
but Cause Of Causes was gaining upon him and jumped the obstacle in runner-up
position. Disputing fifth place at the
time, the first-time blinkered Our Father clouted the fence and almost
unseated his rider; it was a great recovery!
Meanwhile
Spring Heeled had come under pressure and endeavoured to hold off the
challenge of the JP McManus first-string runner as they galloped to the final
fence. But a bad blunder by the latter
knocked the stuffing out of him and it was left to Spring Heeled to stretch
away from his rival and win by 1¾ lengths, the latter rallying towards the line
but unable to recover the lost ground.
Roberto
Goldback stayed on to claim 3rd prize, although 17
lengths behind the second, and Balnaslow 4th. Same Difference was 5th, Pickamus 6th, the favourite Indian Castle had faded into
7th having survived a very bad blunder at the last. Gas Line Boy completed in 8th, Our Father
9th, Problema Tic 10th, Swing Bill 11th and last
was Quinz.
Twirling Magnet stumbled and unseated his rider jumping 2 out and
Tranquil Sea was pulled up before the last.
It
was a fitting result, as Robbie is JT McNamara’s cousin; JT having suffered
life changing injuries as a result of a fall during this race last year. Festival winners are like buses, none for
ages and then two come along at once, the jockey having won the Champion
bumper yesterday. Another
winner for owner Dr Lambe too, having also owned
yesterday’s bumper winner Silver Concorde.
As
always, it took ages to return across the track, spectators within the centre
of the racecourse having to wait until all horses, ridden or loose, had
returned or been caught. Having
finally reached the main enclosures, I set off to the Parade Ring to see the
horses and riders assemble ahead of the final event of the day, the St Patrick’s
Day Derby, a charity race. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Mr Robbie McNamara , the rider of the winner, SPRING HEELED (IRE),
from the second last fence. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings
of the race, they found him in breach of Schedule (B)6
Part 2 in that he had used his whip above the permitted level. The Stewards
suspended Mr McNamara for 2 days as follows: Thursday 27 and Friday 28 March
2014. The
undoubted ‘star turn’ competing in the
Charity race was Channel 4 and RUK presenter, Rishi
Persad; he would be riding the Brian
Ellison-trained Twelve Strings.
Channel 4’s The Morning Line had covered his progress to fitness in
the months leading up to the race. I
sponsored Lucy Bridgwater, wife of trainer David Bridgwater. Having
exited onto the racecourse, the participants circled around in the area where
the home straight joins the uphill part of the track just in front of the
grandstands.
Then
they were off. The runners were led
away by Bally Longford, sporting the green and yellow silks of Ann and Alan ‘Sizing’ Potts. He was followed by Tom O’Neill, nephew of Jonjo, sporting the JP McManus colours aboard Church
Field. At little detached at the rear
were Ebazan, Twelve Strings and Engai. Shortly
after entering the back straight, Gifted Leader made up ground on the outside
of the field; jockey Vicky Laing allowing her mount to stride on into the
lead as the runners passed between the wings of the first flight
therein. By
the time the field had reached the dog-leg turn, Gifted Leader had
established a substantial lead over Mr Big, The Bear Trap, Bally Longford,
Church Field, Almadan, High Net Worth, Vagrant
Emperor, Twelve Strings, Gud Day, Engai and Ebazan. The
Ian Williams-runner continued to extend his lead over his pursuers as they
climbed the hill to reach the far corner, before beginning the journey down
the hill. Vicky must have been around
20 lengths clear by this stage of the race, a wide angle camera shot
necessary to keep both Gifted Leader and the leaders of main group in the
picture! Vicky’s
mount remained clear having soon reached the home turn; Mr Big had lost
ground and was now tailed off at the back of the field. The runners then began their journey up the
hill to the line; the group pursuing the leader now headed by Bally Longford,
Church Field and the grey Gud Day. However,
despite closing upon Gifted Leader, he still had three lengths in hand as he
passed the line. Church Field claimed
2nd, Bally Longford 3rd, Vagrant Emperor 4th and Gud
Day 5th. Gifted Leader was definitely
the prettiest horse in the race, a bright bay with blaze and three white
socks or perhaps stockings. Vicky
Laing is an International Showjumper. Rishi Persad had
steered a wide course along the nearside rail upon entering the home
straight; however his saddle had begun to slip as he negotiated the dog-leg turn,
so by the time he’d reached the furlong post he was riding without stirrups
because it had gone beyond recall!
But, regardless, he didn’t fall off and finished a commendable 7th!!! He pulled up safely at the top of the track
and dismounted, incredulous at the course of events. I couldn’t resist calling out ‘Well sat Rishi’
to him as he walked back down the horse-walk sans horse. Spectators close by laughed!
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses arrive back, and stayed
until all the mementos had been presented.
Before I left the grounds I popped to the loo, always sensible with
the prospect of a two and a half hour journey home! On
the way out of the entrance situated by the main Centaur building, I
purchased a copy of the following day’s runners for 60p; or rather the local
paper cost 60p, with the next day’s runners included! Having
arrived back at my car and eaten the two remaining cheese rolls, I was soon
ready to set off. I checked out the
following day’s runners whilst eating – two for Choc – Montbazon
and Raya Star. The car park was
already sparser than on the previous two days, this is because many of the
punters leave earlier, missing the charity race to enable them to get a head
start on the traffic chaos in Cheltenham. I
glanced at my watch as I left; it was 18:00 today; 10 minutes later than
yesterday, but far earlier than on Tuesday!
As traffic was flowing fairly easily along Swindon Lane, today I was
permitted to turn left. The idea in my
mind had been to head into New Barn Lane but, in the event, that was found to
be choc-a-bloc with vehicles; I therefore turned
right and headed down the Evesham Road towards the town. Having
walked this route on a number of occasions when visiting the town centre
ahead of racing, I realised that I’d soon arrive at the Clarence
Square/Clarence Road junction and be able to join my usual exit route, at one
of the sets of traffic lights. However,
observing road signs directing traffic to Pittville
and Cheltenham Hospital prior to Clarence Road, I decided to take this option
instead; it transpired that Wellington Road leads directly to the Prestbury Road roundabout which was on my intended route
anyway and this had provided me with a short-cut. I had a very strong vibe that this was
where I’d end up! I
took the route straight across, drove around Pittville
Circus and into Pittville Circus Road. A left turn at the far end took me along
Hewlett Road to join the ‘longabout’. I
took a left and right and headed up Harp Hill, turning right into Greenway
Lane, negotiate the two chicanes and arrived at the Six Ways junction without
delay. When the traffic lights changed
to green at this multi-phased junction, I turned left onto the A40 and headed
for the hills. It had taken me a mere
20 minutes today to negotiate the race-day traffic in Cheltenham. I headed through Charlton Kings, past the Dowdeswell Reservoir and up the Cotswolds escarpment to
reach the Andoversford bypass; the speed limit
thereon was currently 40mph due to road-works. Having negotiated two sets of traffic
lights, I headed up the short section of dual carriageway, past the Puesdown Inn, and straight across at the roundabout upon
the Stow-On-The-Wold to Cirencester road. The next sign of civilisation is Burford where, shortly afterwards, the Witney bypass
begins. At the end of that, having
driven through a staggered traffic light junction, negotiated a roundabout, and
a further set of staggered traffic lights, and headed over two bridges
en-route too, I passed beneath the A34 to reach the Wolvercote
roundabout. A long queue of traffic
had built up ahead of me leading to this roundabout. Traffic was very busy in Oxford on this
particular evening, perhaps because I was earlier, or perhaps people were
working later due to having been delayed by the fog this morning. Vehicles were queued in both directions on
the small section of road which runs through a residential area at the outset
of the Oxford bypass, and there was also a very long queue of traffic on the
opposite carriageway on the next long section of bypass. Being no further delays for me, I was soon
driving down the dual carriageway to join the M40 motorway. The ‘atmosphere’
was a little eerie along this part of the route, with patches of ‘ectoplasm’ fog in places. Having joined the M40 I headed eastwards
towards London; here too, before the motorway reached the Chilterns
escarpment, there were patches of fog. Having reached the lit section of the motorway,
there were no further ‘atmospheric’
problems, nor on the M25 later on. I
left the latter motorway at Junction 22 and headed towards the residential
area of St Albans. Again I dropped
into the Morrisons’ petrol station; the cost of
filling my car’s tank was £24.76, before I drove the final leg of my
journey. I reached home at 20:30, the
earliest time so far this week. Having eaten a supper of maybe spaghetti-on-toast
or a baked potato, uploaded my day’s photographs and copied a number of
useful links into my blog ready to write an overview the following weekend,
it was time for bed. Again I turned in at around 22:30, with just one
day to go of my annual marathon adventure ... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I was later reliably informed by my
mother that it had been fog-free and sunny in St Albans since 08:00 in the
morning. Typical. Photos – Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – Race
1 Photos – Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – Races 2 & 3 Photos – Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – World Hurdle Photos – Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – Races 5 & 6 Photos – Cheltenham Festival Day 3 – St Patrick’s Derby Charity Race |
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