PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2017
DAY FOUR
FEATURING THE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
FRIDAY 17 MARCH 2017
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One circuit to go and EPDS Racing’s Ami Desbois leads the way in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle I took my suitcase and sports bag to the car
before reporting to the main hall for breakfast at 07:00. Breakfast today was a bowl of cornflakes, plus a
cooked breakfast of three rashers of bacon, scrambled egg and a giant
mushroom, plus two yoghurts. And a pot
of coffee, enough to make 3 cups thereof. I then packed my remaining luggage and took it to
my car before returning to reception to pay the bill and check out; they’d
not yet added today’s breakfast to the total, so I had to point that out
also. It had been my aim to leave Eynsham Hall at 08:00 but, in the event, it was 08:20
when I set off. Having placed my car
parking docket on the passenger seat, I had to stop momentarily on the
driveway because it had slipped off when I took a sharp right turn on my way
out! Today’s outfit was a thin black polo-neck thermal
t-shirt, a violet-coloured thermal t-shirt, a plum-coloured thermal t-shirt,
a ribbed redcurrent-coloured v-neck sweater, a
large blue BHS cardigan, a purple fleece, black fleece gillet,
grey tights, burgundy-coloured M&S jeggings,
dark grey tweed double-frill skirt, black Footglove
snow-boots as it was threatening to rain later, black faux sheepskin coat,
black/white horse print snood, and mauve/purple M&S scarf. Today I wore my shades of red
butterfly-wing earrings. My journey to Cheltenham went smoothly, although
it would have been even more so had I not encountered an articulated lorry
turning onto the A40 immediately ahead of me at the roundabout on the
Stow/Cirencester Road and, once that had departed via the road to Gloucester,
a dumper truck held me up slightly beyond the traffic lights on the Andoversford bypass.
Having experimented with the Mill Lane
cut-through option the previous day, I decided to return to the Greenway Lane
route today. Close to the Harp Hill
junction, a white-bottomed roe deer bounded across the road and entered the
tree-lined garden of the house situated on the corner plot. As a precaution, I stopped off at Sainburys in Priors Lane to fill the petrol tank in
preparation for the journey home. I
had been expecting more traffic in the locality of the racecourse today but,
having arrived at 09:30, I was directed to park within the first row of the
public car park, close to the steam train station and the entrance to the
fenced walkway which leads to the north entrance. I set off to join the queue at 09:50, with the
gates opening at 10:30 as usual. I purchased a race-card whilst waiting and,
once inside, headed to the ladies loo for a comfort break having consumed
three cups of coffee with my breakfast, before purchasing a bottle of
water. I then headed to the steppings above the Winners’ Enclosure; it was a windy
day, but this area was fairly sheltered fortunately. Whilst there, I kept an eye on the Weighing Room
steps with the hope of spotting my favourite ex-jockey should he attend today
… but to no avail. My jockey-spotting
quest was probably handicapped by the fact that I’d then set off for the
course-side rails at noon, with the aim of reserving my favourite spot ahead
of racing. I later discovered Choc,
Jennie and Wolfie had been invited to lunch at the
racecourse, so I’d missed them, even if they had ventured to the weighing
room area at any point. L I’d love to meet Wolfie;
he has a very characterful face and a shock of dark
hair too. His hair colour would
lighten in the months ahead, the same thing had occurred with my niece Lydia
when she was a new-born. It proved to be far colder beside the rails, so I
put on my neon pink hat; presumably the wind was blowing from the east today.
The first race of the day was the JCB Triumph
Hurdle. The favourite for this event
was Defi Du Seuil,
trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson; price 5-2. Alan King had two runners in this race; Coeur De
Lion ridden by Tom Cannon and Master Blueyes ridden
by Wayne Hutchinson. Just one grey,
the aforementioned Master Blueyes. Ex Patriot unseated his jockey on the way to
post, but this adventure didn’t faze him. This equine had been offered for
purchase at the Tattersalls sale the previous
evening, but had remained unsold due to the high reserve price. The starting gate for this event
was at the far end of the home straight, with that and one complete circuit
to travel. As a result, the horses
cantered up all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before heading down
the turf and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their journey to
the gate.
And then they were off, at the first time of
asking. Spread wide across the course
heading to the first flight, it was Mega Fortune which touched down
marginally ahead as they landed over it.
Also prominent were one of the fillies, Evening Hush, along with I See
You Well and another of the three fillies Dinaria
Des Obeaux. Taking a keen hold, Mega Fortune continued to
lead the way as they joined the New Course during their journey up the home
straight to the second flight. The
still prominent I See You Well changed legs and fly jumped just prior to the
dirt track which runs across the course soon afterwards. Towards the rear of the field, approaching
the second hurdle, were Defi Du Seuil,
Bapaume, Dandy Mag, Charli Parcs and Ex Patriot. They all jumped this well apart from Magie Du Ma who was a little flat-footed here. The horses then made their way up the hill in
front of the Best Mate enclosure with Davy Russell’s mount remaining at the
head of affairs. Heading into the back
straight, Dinaria Des Obeaux
was pressing the leader; this duo was followed by I See You Well alongside
Evening Hush. Soldier In Action was
next in the field, followed by Magie Du Ma, Coeur
De Lion, Master Blueyes, Defi
Du Seuil, Landofhopeandglory,
Landin, Bapaume, and
Dandy Mag; bringing up the rear were Charli Parcs alongside Ex
Patriot. Dandy Mag
wasn’t particularly fluent at the first flight therein. The runners continued to the next, where Evening
Hush made a bad blunder. Mega Fortune remained ahead of his rivals on the run
to the fifth flight; once again Dandy Mag jumped
this untidily. After this obstacle
there was a change at the head of affairs, with Dinaria
Des Obeaux taking a narrow advantage as they headed
around the dog-leg turn on the run to the next. However, Mega Fortune had regained the lead
by the time they jumped it. Soldier In
Action cleared this one more slowly than his rivals and, yet again, Dandy Mag wasn’t fluent. The runners continued to the top of the hill with
Soldier In Action now being pushed along, so too Coeur De Lion. The favourite had improved his position
into fifth place by the time the runners began to swing left-handed at the
top thereof; detached in rear were Landin and Dandy
Mag. The remainder of the field continued to be quite tightly packed as they
headed down the hill to the penultimate flight. Mega Fortune and Dinaria Des Obeaux remained at
the head of affairs as they cleared it.
The latter gave way as she hung slightly to the right having jumped
it; this tightened up the runners travelling in her immediate wake, namely Magie Du Ma and Master Blueyes. Meanwhile, Mega Fortune continued to lead as they
headed towards the home turn. Evening
Hush continued at his shoulder, whilst both Defi De
Seuil and Ex Patriot loomed up to their
outside. Landofhopeandglory,
Magie Du Ma, Dinaria Des Obeaux and Charli Parcs were just behind these; the latter having been
tapped for toe currently. As Evening Hush tired and dropped back, the
leading trio of Mega Fortune, Defi De Seuil and Ex Patriot, tacked over towards the stand-side
rail as they entered the home straight and approached to the final flight; Bapaume was now staying on behind them. The favourite began to assert as they neared the
obstacle and he was two lengths clear of his nearest rival as they jumped
it. Bapaume
was now in second position but every runner was fighting a losing battle as
they headed to the line spearheaded by Defi De Seuil. The
favourite galloped to the winning post to win by 5 lengths. Mega Fortune rallied after the last and
claimed the runner-up spot by a short-head from Bapaume. Ex Patriot finished 4th, with Landofhopeandglory 5th, Charli Parcs a disappointing 6th having run too free, Couer De Lion completed in 7th, Landin
stayed on to complete in 8th, with Magie Du Ma 9th
and Master Blueyes 10th; the grey finished
lame. All 15 completed the race; in last place was
Soldier In Action. Following the race, an emotional Philip Hobbs
admitted that it was a big relief that his charge had won; he said Defi Du Seuil is a brilliant
horse and had been favourite for such a long time that the weight of
responsibility had made him very nervous.
The choice of the Champion Hurdle or Arkle
route next year would lie with owner JP McManus. Still in the same ownership, Soldier In Action
returned to the flat under the tutelage of Mark Johnston and won a handicap
race at Epsom on Derby Day! However,
it transpired that Nicky Henderson was rather embarrassed to return the horse
to Mark so quickly because he’d lost a lot of weight because of this hard
race at Cheltenham.
I
remained beside the course-side rails during the interval between race one
and two. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 1 - 1:30pm THE JCB TRIUMPH HURDLE
RACE (Class 1)(Grade 1) The Stewards gave permission for DEFI DU SEUIL (FR), trained by Philip
Hobbs, to wear a hood in the parade ring and in the chute only. They noted
that BAPAUME (FR) and DANDY MAG (FR), both trained by W.P. Mullins would wear
earplugs and that MEGA FORTUNE (FR), trained by Gordon Elliott would wear
earplugs which would be removed at the start. The Stewards noted that
EX PATRIOT (IRE), ridden by Rachael Blackmore, unseated its rider on the way
to post but were satisfied that the gelding was checked by a veterinary
surgeon at the start and deemed fit to race. The Veterinary Officer
reported that MASTER BLUEYES (IRE), unplaced, trained by Alan King, was lame
left fore. Nico de Boinville,
the rider of SOLDIER IN ACTION (FR), unplaced, reported that the gelding was
never travelling. The favourite for this event was last year’s
Triumph Hurdle winner Ivanovich Gorbatov,
trained by Joseph O’Brien and ridden by JJ Slevin;
price 5-1. Alan King had a runner in this, namely Winter
Escape ridden by Wayne Hutchinson.
There were two greys taking part in this event – Air Horse One and Bertimont. As had been the case for the
first race, the starting gate for this event was at the far end of the home
straight, with that and one complete circuit to travel. As a result, the horses cantered up
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before heading down the turf
and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their journey to the
gate.
And then they were off, at the first time of
asking. Considering it was a 2-mile
handicap hurdle race, the hooded Wakea led the
runners to the first flight at quite a steady pace initially. Bringing up the rear was Gigginstown’s Tell Us More and he was less than fluent
jumping the first flight. Wakea
spearheaded the runners as they continued their journey towards the second
obstacle. Following close on his heels
were Jaleo, Ivanovich Gorbatov and Dominada. Behind
these travelled Ozzie The Oscar, Diego Du Charmil, Crievehill, North Hill Harvey and De Name Escapes
Me. There were no departures at the
second, although Bertimont made an error here. The leader was four lengths ahead of his rivals
as they swung left-handed to head up the hill in front of the Best Mate
enclosure and he continued to stretch his advantage as they continued into
the back straight. Wakea
cleared the third flight safely, as did his rivals; Tell Us More was already
detached at the rear of the field. The runners continued along the back straight,
jumping the fourth flight as they did so.
The main group was led by Ivanovich Gorbatov, from Dominada and Jaleo. Close up
were North Hill Harvey, De Name Escapes Me, Ozzie The Oscar, Diego De Charmil and Winter Escape. By the time the competitors had reached the
following flight and negotiated the dog-leg turn, the leader was at least 15
lengths clear. Wakea
jumped the third last well and the others streamed over it in turn. Having reached the top of the hill, they
soon swung left-handed, the main body of the field now in hot pursuit as they
headed down towards the penultimate obstacle.
With all of the runners in plain sight, here is a
run-down of their positions. Wakea was still well ahead of the blaze-faced chestnut Dominada, alongside the blinkered Ivanovich
Gorbatov, they were followed by the also
blaze-faced Ozzie The Oscar, the chestnut De Name Escapes Me, North Hill
Harvey, the nose-banded grey Bertimont, Diego Du Charmil, another chestnut Jaleo,
Winter Escape, Crievehill, Joey Sasa,
Mohaayed, Air Horse One, Wait For Me, Boite, L’Ami Serge, Court
Minstrel, Vosne Romanee,
Arctic Fire, Kapstadt, Baltimore Rock, Renneti, Song Light and, finally, Tell Us More which had
yet to pass a rival. Wakea
was still well clear as they jumped the flight, although his lead had been
reduced. The obstacle would need
remedial work before the next race, as the second panel had been flattened
and others showed signs of damage too.
The leader continued to the home turn, with Ivan Gorbatov, North Hill Harvey and Bertimont
spearheading the main group; they spread out across the course having entered
the home straight. There were many
runners still in with a chance, provided they could reel in Wakea. It was a long run to the final flight and, as they approached it, the long-time leader finally tired and he was swallowed up by his pursuers. Ozzie The Oscar overtook him first but Ivan Gorbatov, Winter Escape, Air Horse One, together with the fast finishing Arctic Fire to the stand-side, were close on the new leader’s tail. All of the leading contenders cleared the last
hurdle well, and Ozzie The Oscar under Tom O’Brien led the way home until the
final 75 yards when first Arctic Fire and then L’Ami
Serge headed him. The Nicky Henderson
runner continued to edge closer to Paul Townend’s
mount as they approached the line, but he failed by a neck at the post;
Arctic Fire had won, although he’d been absent from the track for over a year
hence his 20-1 starting price! He was
the top-weight as well, and the runner-up carried the second highest weight
too! Ozzie The Oscar finished a gallant 3rd, with Air
Horse One just edging out Winter Escape to claim 4th place. Ivanovich Gorbatov finished 6th, Mohayeed
7th and Ruby Walsh aboard Renetti 8th. All of the runners completed, apart from De
Name Escapes Me which pulled up before the last, where the tiring Jaleo took a heavy fall.
It could have been a neck-breaker but, although the green screens were
erected and they remained so for quite some time, the horse did get up
eventually and he appeared okay. Phew, that was a relief. Arctic Fire was described as suffering from joint
problems and he was competing as a ‘social’
runner! In other words, connections
didn’t think he had a chance of winning the race. It was jockey Paul Townend’s
first Festival victory since the 2015 County Hurdle which he won aboard
Wicklow Brave, sporting the same owner’s silks too. Wait For Me, which had finished a close 9th, had
experienced an issue whereby his reins got caught over his nose, thus
creating steering issues for his jockey Richard Johnson.
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 2 - 2:10pm The Stewards noted that
WINTER ESCAPE (IRE), placed fifth, had hung quickly right-handed after the
final flight, interfering with IVANOVICH GORBATOV (IRE), placed sixth, but
after viewing a recording of the incident they were satisfied that it neither
involved a riding offence nor improved WINTER ESCAPE (IRE)’s placing. The Stewards noted that
JOEY SASA (IRE), unplaced, had lugged left-handed after the second last
flight, before being quickly corrected, interfering with MOHAAYED, unplaced,
but after viewing a recording of the race they were satisfied that it did not
involve a riding offence. The Stewards noted that
CRIEVEHILL (IRE), trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies,
would wear earplugs. Noel Meade, the trainer
of JOEY SASA (IRE), unplaced, reported that the gelding bled from the nose. Noel Meade, the trainer
of DE NAME ESCAPES ME (IRE), which was pulled up, reported that the gelding
bled from the nose. The Veterinary Officer reported that a post-race
examination of the gelding revealed it to have lost its left fore shoe. The favourite for the next race was Death Duty;
sporting the Gigginstown colours, he was trained by
Gordon Elliott and ridden by Bryan Cooper; price 13-8. There was one runner of interest in this event,
namely the very game Ami Desbois, trained by Graeme
McPherson, ridden by Kielan Woods and part
syndicated to EPDS Racing whose colours he sports. There were two greys in this race, Baden and Turcagua. 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.
And then they were off, at the first
attempt. There never seem to be any
problems at the three-mile starting gate upon the hurdles track. It came as no surprise that Ami Desbois led them away; he’s a confirmed
front-runner. Step Back travelled at
his quarters and Elegant Escape followed these. In fourth position was Monalee,
followed by Wholestone, Constantine Bay, Baden, Any
Drama, Turcagua, Death Duty, Tommy Rapper, The
Worlds End, C’Est Jersey, Penhill
and Augusta Kate. The leader made a
minor error at the first flight but it didn’t affect him in running. The runners continued to the second flight, where
Any Drama hit the top of it. Ami Desbois, ears pricked, had stretched his lead to a couple
of lengths by the time they’d all cleared the third flight safely. The field then headed around the dog-leg
turn, before arriving at flight number four.
The leading five were ahead of the main field, the latter led by Wholestone. Step Back was a little hesitant here and, towards
the rear of the field, Tommy Rapper made a bad error which resulted in him
losing his hind-legs on landing. The
latter was now in the last trio, with Penhill and
Augusta Kate. Meanwhile the EPDS runner continued to bowl along
at the head of affairs as they swung left-handed having already reached the
top of the incline; he then led them down the hill towards the next. The field was closer to the leader now,
with Step Back, Elegant Escape and the keen-going Monalee
his nearest rivals. Death Duty,
travelling in mid-field, had a noticeably lower head carriage than the other
runners. There were no noticeable errors at the fifth
flight and Ami Desbois led the closely packed field
into the home straight; Penhill and Tommy Rapper brought
up the rear. Elegant Escape was
pressing the leader as they travelled to the next flight, but Kielan Woods’ mount was the more fluent jumper and he
extended his lead to a length or so having cleared it. The runners soon swung left-handed to
travel up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure and subsequently
completed their first circuit. Ami Desbois remained at
the head of affairs as they set off down the back straight on the second
occasion. Elegant Escape and Step Back
were pressing the leader as they jumped the first flight therein; the pace
had quickened now. Turcagua
made an error at this flight. The runners continued to the eighth flight. At the back of the field, Augusta Kate
blundered badly at this one. They
moved quickly on to the next, which they all cleared in their stride. The dog-leg turn was then negotiated before
the following obstacle; this was three from the finish. But, being Cheltenham’s New Course, they
had a long way still to travel. Ami Desbois remained
half a length ahead of Elegant Escape as they jumped it; the latter made an
error here. Step Back was now a couple
of lengths adrift of them; he remained in third position for the present but
would soon be ridden along. Having
reached the top of the hill they began to swing left-handed. The Worlds End had noticeably improved to
the outside of runners and now disputed sixth position. Any Drama appeared to be a little short of
room at this point and lost ground as a result. Ami Desbois and Elegant
Escape were neck and neck as they began their journey down the hill to the
penultimate flight. The main body of the field was now snapping at their
heels. Having found himself trailing
the field, Danny Mullins pulled up the hooded grey Turcagua
at this point. Having reached the second last, Ami Desbois took off at the same time as The Worlds End. However, the latter misjudged it, tipped
the top and fell. Adrian Heskin was ejected from the saddle as he hit the ground
and the horse flipped into the path of Constantine Bay. Nico de Boinville clung on to his reins and managed to remain in
the plate. Meanwhile, Monalee had
sneaked up the inside to dispute the lead with Ami Desbois,
whilst Wholestone was laying down a challenge to
their outside. Death Duty was hot on
their heels, having seemingly been hampered prior to the flight they’d just
jumped; he now travelled to the inside of Elegant Escape. Although slightly hampered when forced wide
due to The Worlds End’s departure, Penhill had made
good progress and continued to do so as they entered the home straight. Ami Desbois finally
capitulated as they headed towards the final flight; Wholestone
and Monalee were now duelling for the lead, with Penhill continuing to close with every stride upon the
leading duo. With Wholestone
seemingly short of room against the nearside rail, as Monalee
responded to a left-handed drive, Daryl Jacob switched his mount to the far
side. However, Penhill
had already taken the advantage by this stage and was half a length up as
they cleared the final obstacle.
Although endeavouring to battle on under pressure, David Mullins’
mount soon proved no match for the leader and Penhill
drew away as they approached the line to win by 3½ lengths. Wholestone was
the best of the British; he finished a further 4 lengths away in 3rd. Amazingly it was Constantine Bay which ran on
again to claim 4th place, having been almost knocked out of the race by the
faller at the second last. Ami Desbois finished an excellent 5th; so, despite not making
it into the Winners’ Enclosure, he did win a prize of £2,800. Augusta Kate did well to recover from an
earlier error and came home in 8th position, just ahead of Elegant Escape. There were 11 finishers. The favourite, Death Duty, came home
without a rider having blundered badly at the final flight; he didn’t
completely lose his footing, hence it was classified as an unseated
rider. However, such was the nature of
this mishap, it would have been impossible for Bryan Cooper to have remained
in the saddle. Any Drama was pulled
up, before the last. It
was yet another winner for Willie Mullins, after the drought of the first two
days; his total so far was 6. And, of
course, another winner for jockey Paul Townend. Winners are like buses, nothing for ages
then two come along at once! Of
course, it’s also a confidence booster when you win!
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails in preparation for the feature race of the Festival. Reports from the Stewards’ Room: Race 3 - 2:50pm The Stewards held an
enquiry into possible interference on the run to the last flight. Having
heard their evidence and viewed recordings of the race they found that David
Mullins, the rider of MONALEE (IRE), placed second, had allowed his horse to
hang right-handed causing interference to WHOLESTONE (IRE), placed third,
ridden by Daryl Jacob. They found Mullins in breach of Rule (B)54.1 and guilty of careless riding in that he had allowed
his horse to drift right without sufficient correction. They cautioned him as
to his future conduct in races. The Stewards noted that
PENHILL and TURCAGUA (FR), both trained by W.P. Mullins, would wear earplugs. Ruby Walsh, the rider of
AUGUSTA KATE, placed sixth, reported that the mare made a bad mistake in the
back straight.
Click here to read my Day 4 Diary Part II |
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