PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2018
DAY FOUR
FEATURING THE CHELTENHAM GOLD CUP
FRIDAY 16 MARCH 2018
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Winner of the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle; Kilbricken Storm, trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by
Harry Skelton I reported to the main hall for breakfast at
07:05. Breakfast was full English again today; three
rashers of bacon, scrambled egg, a fried tomato, giant mushrooms, and hash
browns. Also two yoghurts and a
croissant. Plus a pot of coffee, from
which I made 2 cups. I got back to my
room at 07:30. My luggage was almost packed, and I did a final
check before loading up my car ... although I later discovered I’d left one
or two items behind. Having taken
everything to my vehicle, I headed to reception to settle up and check
out. It had been my aim to leave Eynsham Hall at 08:20 but, in the event it was 08:40 before
I set off. Unfortunately the Woodstock Road remained closed
following yesterday’s incident, so I had to continue along Jubilee Way before
turning right at the traffic lights and heading along Oxford Hill. As a result, I got caught up in a long
tail-back from the mini-roundabout; in fact the roundabout I would have had
priority upon if I’d been able to travel via my planned route. There was so much traffic exiting from the
supposedly closed road that I was beginning to wonder if it was now open; surely
there couldn’t be that much ‘access
only’ traffic ... but I will never
know. Like Wednesday, but unlike yesterday, the Burford Road was closed due to re-surfacing activities;
as a result I had to take a right-turn having continued down the High Street,
in order to enter Welch Way. This
particular route, familiar from the day before last, would take me to a
junction mid-way along the A40 bypass.
Later research informed me that there were three suitable
opportunities to take a right-hand turn to return me to my intended route via
Minster Lovell, but I decided to continue along my recently discovered
alternative route, following the road signage! It actually took me until 09:30 to reach the
roundabout at the top of Burford; that’s 50 minutes
to travel approximately 11 miles! The
remainder of my journey to Cheltenham went smoothly and I even had time to
pop into Sainsburys on Priors Road to fill my
petrol tank too, without feeling pressurised.
There was a slight delay in Prestbury,
because a coach driver had decided to pull up on double-yellow lines; he
wasn’t even in the vehicle, as I saw him return to it! Anyway, I parked up in the usual car park at
10:20. As I was fully-loaded, I backed
into the space just in case the front wheels got stuck in the slightly ‘stickier’ area beside the grass
bank. All week I’d been parked fairly
close to the railway crossing, in the first two to four rows. Today’s outfit was a black polo-neck thermal
t-shirt, a dark pink thermal t-shirt and a purple thermal t-shirt. Also a magenta ribbed polo-neck sweater, a
black v-neck ribbed sweater, a mauve v-neck cardigan, my much worn dark grey
tweed double-frill M & S skirt, a bright purple fleece, black fleece gillet, black jeggings, purple
butterfly earrings, black with white horses snood, and pink/purple/mauve
material scarf. I took my ‘Bumbleberry’
shades of purple Caron Cakes Aran-weight snood with me and my ‘Raspberry’ pink Big Fab hat ... but wore neither as it wasn’t that cold
today! Having arrived at the north entrance slightly
after opening-time, I didn’t have to stand around in a queue, waiting to go
in. I headed to the ladies loo,
bumping into EPDS Racing’s John Powell for a chat en route. I then headed down to the plaza area below
the Parade Ring, where I sat on a bench for a while; I saw the currently
sidelined Ian Popham, also Mattie Batchelor and even Alan King ... but no sign of
Choc. It was just too difficult to
find him, considering weight of numbers within the grounds; like searching
for a needle in a haystack in fact. L Having discovered on Wednesday the benefits of
viewing from the upper ‘crescent’
of steppings overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure, I
decided to set up my stall from this position again today. I’ve spent years at the course-side rails,
and the previous Tuesday too, so it made a change to get a new perspective for
my photographs. My initial choice
having been prompted by the very cold easterly breeze and the worries about
the underfoot going on the members’ lawn!
Although exposed, the grandstands offer protection when standing on
the upper steppings. Martin Kelly’s guests today were Rupert Bell,
Davy Russell, Derek O’Connor who would partner Edwulf in today’s Gold Cup, Ted Walsh, Kate Harrington
(daughter of trainer Jessica) and Michael Shinners
from Skybet.
The first race of the day was the JCB Triumph
Hurdle. The favourite for this event
was Apple’s Shakira, trained by Nicky Henderson and
ridden by Barry Geraghty; price 6-5. As the name might suggest, the filly is a
full-sister to Apple’s Jade. One runner of interest for me, Redicean trained by Alan King and formerly owned by the
Apple Tree Stud. At the start of the day the ground
was soft, heavy in places following a little rain overnight. It was the smallest field since 1965! The first single figure field too … although
it is more likely to be a small field these days, the Fred Winter Juvenile
Handicap Hurdle having been added to the Festival card in later years. Four of the nine-strong field were trained
by Willie Mullins! 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; one of the two fillies,
Stormy Ireland, was fighting for her head as they approached the first flight. Also prominent one of the three greys, Sayo, along with Sussex Ranger; the latter almost
flattened the inside panel. Noel Fehily’s mount continued to fight for her head as they
continued up the home straight, Sussex Ranger was keen too. In third position was Sayo,
with Barry Geraghty endeavouring to settle Apple’s Shakira in his slipstream. Gumball travelled to the inside of the
track, from Farclas, Saldier,
Redicean and Mr Adjudicator. Having joined the circuit of the New Course, the
runners subsequently crossed the sanded track-way on their way to the second
flight. Stormy Ireland continued to
hold the advantage as the runners successfully negotiated the obstacle,
before swinging left-handed in order to head up the hill in front of the Best
Mate enclosure. The horses were
accompanied by the sound of loud cheers from the gathered crowds. Sayo
joined Stormy Ireland at the head of affairs as they entered the back
straight; he flicked his tail, not happy with being restrained by Danny
Mullins. However, once joined, she lit
up again on the run down the hill to the third; Redicean
was a little scrappy at this one. Sayo re-joined her on the run to the next, only to be
out-jumped by the filly at the flight.
At the rear of the field, Saldier put in an
untidy leap. Stormy Ireland continued to hold a narrow
advantage over the field as the nine runners continued their journey down the
back straight to the sixth flight; once again, Saldier
was less than fluent when jumping it.
The runners headed around the dog-leg turn, with Sussex Ranger now
starting to be pushed along by his jockey Jamie Moore. The ground continued to rise as they headed
towards three out; Sussex Ranger was less than fluent here, as was Mr
Adjudicator at the back of the field.
Having reached the top of the hill, the runners swung left-handed, led
by Stormy Ireland; she was just over a length clear of Sussex Ranger, Apple’s
Shakira and Sayo who were
disputing second position. Behind
these travelled Gumball with Redicean and Farclas; at the rear were Saldier
and Mr Adjudicator. All the runners
were closely grouped and travelling well, apart from Sussex Ranger, and the
slightly outpaced Gumball. The horses continued down the hill to the
penultimate flight, which Stormy Ireland took ahead of Apple’s Shakira and Sayo. However, just as it seemed that the Nicky
Henderson’s runner would burst through between Stormy Ireland and Sayo, Barry Geraghty switched
her to the inside; she didn’t quicken as would be expected. In fact Stormy Ireland continued to lead as they
headed past the two furlongs post. Sayo continued to pursue the filly, but Farclas and Mr Adjudicator had soon closed down upon and
passed him. The long-time leader
capitulated as they neared the final flight, with Farclas
and Mr Adjudicator now disputing the lead as they jumped it. Unfortunately, the game Stormy Ireland tipped the
top of the flight and fell, leaving Sayo in third
position and Apple’s Shakira in fourth. Farclas edged
slightly to his right as they headed up the hill to the line, staying on well
to win by 1¾ lengths from Mr Adjudicator at the
line. Sayo
came home in 3rd, 3½ lengths behind the 2nd, with the favourite finishing a
disappointing 4th. The first four finished a long way in front of
the 5th, which was Saldier; Redicean
was 6th and Sussex Ranger 7th. Gumball
had been pulled up before the last. Oh dear, it was another winner for Gigginstown; trainer Gordon Elliott had won the race four
years ago with Tiger Roll. Farclas had won on the flat in France, but this was his
first win following two runner-up efforts over hurdles, in the latter of
which he was beaten by Mr Adjudicator.
It had been a horrible fall for Stormy Ireland
but, eventually, she’d got to her feet and appeared fine. Nicky Henderson said Apple’s Shakira
had been far too keen; she would wear a hood next time and be aimed for the
Anniversary 4-year-old Juvenile Hurdle at the Aintree Festival. Redicean
was disappointing – whether it was the ground, going left-handed on an
undulating track or just not good enough on the day. Perhaps, if he came out of this race okay,
he might make an impression in the Grade 1 Anniversary Hurdle at Aintree;
Alan’s horses seem more suited by the Liverpool track these days.
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure following the race. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of Diary Part II The
favourite for the next event was last year’s Fred Winter winner, Flying
Tiger, trained by Nick Williams and ridden by Noel Fehily;
price 6-1. Alan King had a runner in this, namely William H Bonney, ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. There were three greys taking part in this race
– Bleu Et Rouge, Sandsend and All Set To Go. 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 quite a steady pace
for a race of this nature; presumably there were some concerns about the
ground. Anyway, prominent heading towards
and over the first flight were Remiluc, Ivan Gorbatov, Sternrubin and Tigris
River; the latter two went into a clear lead as they continued up the home
straight, entering the New Course circuit as they did so. William H Bonney was now
spearheading the main body of the field.
Also prominent were Ivan Gorbatov, Remiluc, Brelade, Smaoineamh Alainn, Duca De Thaix, Moon Racer, A
Hare Breath, Mohaayed, Ben Dundee, Jenkins, Bleu Et
Rouge, Divin Bere, Spiritofthegames, Flying Tiger, All Set To Go, Lagostovegas, Le Richebourg, Meri Devie, Whiskey Sour,
Chesterfield, and Sandsend. Having jumped the second flight without incident,
the JP McManus-owned Tigris River went on; he was one of four horses
representing the owner in this race.
As the field headed up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure,
Richard Johnson aboard Sternrubin glanced under his
arm to see the whereabouts of his rivals.
Having entered the back straight for the one and only time, the
runners raced towards flight number three; as they did so, Sternrubin closed down upon the leader. Moon Racer jumped this less fluently than
his rivals. The Philip Hobbs-trained runner was at the head
of affairs as they continued along the back straight to the fourth flight.
Tigris River followed him, from William H Bonney
and Remiluc.
The sole Gigginstown representative, Duca De Thaix was clumsy at
this one; he stepped upon a panel with his hind-legs and flattened it. The runners continued to the fifth flight, which
they all cleared without any significant errors. Sternrubin
continued to lead from Tigris River as they negotiated the dog-leg turn; they
were five lengths clear of the main body of the field, which was still spearheaded
by William H Bonney. Flying Tiger brought up the rear. The leading duo’s advantage had been reduced by
the time they jumped three out; Duca De Thaix was clumsy once again, flicking his hind-legs
through the flight. Ivan Gorbatov was now being pushed along near the rear of the
field. Having reached the top of the hill, the runners swung left-handed to
begin their descent towards the penultimate flight. Sternrubin
retained his advantage as Tigris River began to drift back through the field;
his nearest pursuers were Remiluc and Mohayeed, closely followed by William H Bonney, Spiritofthegames and A
Hare Breath. The field was still
closely packed, apart from the detached Divin Bere. Having all successfully
negotiated this flight, Ivanovich Gorbatov and Tigris River also began to lose touch. Meanwhile Sternrubin continued
to hold a very narrow advantage as they swept into the home straight, with Remiluc taking over the lead as they headed past the 2
furlong pole. Mohaayed
was his nearest challenger, with Chesterfield also laying down a challenge to
the stand-side. Whiskey Sour also came
with a run, to the far side of Chesterfield.
Meanwhile, the grey Sandsend which had also
made significant progress from the rear of the field, suffered a catastrophic
leg injury and unseated Katie Walsh. It was almost four in a line as they jumped the
last, with Mohaayed and Whiskey Sour marginally
ahead of Chesterfield to the near-side and Remiluc
to the far-side; the latter hit the flight.
However, as they continued up the hill to the line, the challenge from
both Whiskey Sour and Chesterfield petered out, leaving Remiluc
and Mohayeed to battle it out to the line. In fact the Dan Skelton runner ran on
strongly as they headed to the winning post, to triumph by 2¾ lengths. Remiluc
held on to the runner-up spot, beating Whiskey Sour by three quarters of a
length. Chesterfield was 4th, Lagostovegas dead-heated for 5th with Spiritofthegames;
the latter also trained by Dan Skelton.
They finished 7 lengths ahead of the 7th, which was Brelade. Tigris
River, Divin Bere,
Jenkins, and Smaoineamh Alainn
had all been pulled up before the last flight. The winner was ridden by Bridget Andrews,
claiming 3 pounds. And she was snogged
after the line by her fiancé Harry Skelton, who had been aboard
Spiritofthegames. This was the first
handicap hurdle of this year’s Festival which had not been won by an
Irish-trained horse! Mohaayed was a 33-1 shot.
It was Bridget’s first Festival winner; her
sister Gina had won the Kim Muir last year aboard Domesday
Book.
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of Diary Part II The
favourite for the next race was Santini, trained by
Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico de Boinville; price 11-4. There was one runner of interest in this event,
namely the Alan King-trained Talkischeap, ridden by
Wayne Hutchinson. There were no greys
in this race. 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, with Fabulous Saga
leading the way. Behind him travelled
Chris’s Dream and Mulcahys Hill, from Beyond The
Law and Kilbricken Storm. There were no issues at the first flight
and the runners continued along the back straight to the second where, again,
all the horses cleared it safely. There was no change at the head of affairs as
they headed to the next; Poetic Rhythm was travelling to the inside of the
course, away from the other runners; Mulcahys Hill
hit the flight. The competitors
subsequently negotiated the dog-leg turn; Fabulous Saga led the field, from
Chris’s Dream, Mulcahys Hill, Beyond The Law,
Crucial Role, Poetic Rhythm, Kilbricken Storm, Calett Mad, Robin Waters, Paisley Park, Talkischeap, OK Corral, Enniscoffey
Oscar, Mr Whipped, Tower Bridge, Chef Des Obeaux,
Real Steel, Santini, Dortmund Park and Ballyward. The twenty runners continued their journey up the
hill, clearing the fourth flight without incident as they did so. Having reached the far corner, the runners
swung left-handed in order to travel downhill to the next obstacle. Having jumped this one successfully, they
headed into the home straight for the first time. Fabulous Saga continued to lead the way,
from Chris’s Dream, Mulcahys Hill and Beyond The
Law. Paddy Brennan, aboard Poetic
Rhythm, continued to almost scrape his boot against the inside rail. Ballyward brought
up the rear. Once again the runners jumped the next flight
well, apart from Crucial Role who bunny-hopped it, before swinging
left-handed to head up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure. The leading group of six were now four
lengths clear of Poetic Rhythm and Robin Waters; these, in turn, were three
lengths clear of the main group.
Having entered the back straight, the pace increased as they headed
downhill to the seventh flight.
Chris’s Dream now held a narrow advantage over Fabulous Saga. Beyond The Law was less than fluent over
this one. Real Steel was now in last
place; ahead of him Dortmund Park. Poetic Rhythm was being pushed along as they
approached the next flight. Crucial
Role hit this and flattened a panel; so did one of the JP McManus
runners. The horses continued down the
back straight, to the ninth. They all
cleared this one, although Enniscoffey Oscar was
now being encouraged along and Paisley Park, also trained by Emma Lavelle,
was struggling to stay in touch along with Real Steel. The leaders negotiated the dog-leg turn once
more, before arriving at flight number ten.
Fabulous Saga had regained a narrow advantage over Chris’s Dream, Kilbricken Storm, Robin Waters and Chef Des Obeaux. In fact
Danny Mullins allowed his mount to stride on once more as they turned the far
corner and began their journey down the hill to the penultimate flight; he
was soon well clear of his rivals. Chris’s Dream began to weaken as they approached
the flight, leaving Kilbricken Storm spearheading
the main body of the field. Having
cleared two out without incident, the runners continued around the bend and
into the home straight. Initially it
looked as if Fabulous Saga may have slipped the field. He was being pursued, at a distance, by Kilbricken Storm, Robin Waters, OK Corral, Tower Bridge,
Chris’s Dream, Mr Whipped, Santini, Chef Des Obeaux, Ballyward and Dortmund
Park. However, having passed the two furlong post,
Danny Mullins began to send out distress signals as his mount started to tire. Meanwhile Kilbricken
Storm was staying on and now gaining with every stride. Presently, the best
of the rest were OK Corral and Santini. The Colin Tizzard-trained
runner took the lead just before the final flight and jumped it like a
stag. Fabulous Saga emptied completely after the last, with
OK Corral, Santini and Ballyward
overtaking him swiftly. Meanwhile Kilbricken Storm, although hanging left, kept on gamely
all the way to the line to win by 3 lengths.
OK Corral finished 2nd, with Santini one and
a half lengths behind him in 3rd. Ballyward completed in 4th. Tower Bridge was 5th, Robin Waters, who
flattened the last, finished 6th and Fabulous Saga was only 7th. Calett
Mad, Mulcahys Hill, Beyond The Law, Talkischeap, Crucial Role, Chef Des Obeaux
and Mr Whipped all pulled up; the other six completed. It was a first Cheltenham Festival winner for
Harry Cobden; he stood up in his stirrups and waved his whip in celebration
as he crossed the line. Another 33-1
winner on the day. The winner had finished behind Poetic Rhythm and Mulcahys Hill in Newbury’s Challow
Hurdle. But he had won the Albert
Bartlett trial at Cheltenham in December.
He’d had a number of issues, including pus in his
foot earlier in the week. Most of his
tail had also fallen off when he’d first arrived at the trainer’s yard!
I remained on the upper steppings
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of Diary Part II Well,
that’s it for the first half of the diary, please ... Click here to read my Day 4 Diary Part II |
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