PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2018
DAY ONE
FEATURING THE CHAMPION HURDLE
TUESDAY 13 MARCH 2018
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Annacotty (foreground) takes part in the RoR Parade of
Stars; also Any Currency My first chore on the day before the Festival was
to fill up my car’s tank with petrol; I then came home, before popping out to
the local supermarket to buy a copy of the Racing Post. Later on I caught a bus to and from the
city centre to do a few odds and ends of shopping. I wanted to clean my car, but then discovered the
X-hose nozzle was broken – perhaps the recent cold snap had snapped it. So I then drove down to the nearest Argos
outlet in order to collect a new one; I’d reserved it on-line. Unfortunately that outlet is within the same
retail park as M & S ... and, as always, I couldn’t resist having a look
around! It will come as no surprise
that I came home with a new bra, and three thermal T-shirts – one
camel-coloured polo style, one cream-coloured round-neck and one
cream-coloured round-neck with a fleecy lining. Very useful as regards to colour ...
besides, my plum-coloured one and purple-coloured one are beginning to show
their age. L I cleaned my car, although I left it to dry by
itself ... the earlier rain having now stopped. However, the rain did return before I had
chance to back the car into the carport.
But it was fortunate that I didn’t put the car away, because my fifth
(and final) trip out was to Dunelm to buy a new
hand-towel; I also bought a pack of bin-liners – these proved invaluable
during the week! Anyway, my alarm sounded at 04:00 on Day One,
which gave me two and a half hours to prepare ahead of my journey. I took a shower, washed and dried my hair
before applying my make-up and eating breakfast. I recall I ate two slices of toast and
marmalade, and a banana too; plus half a cup of tea. This week’s handbag, which I used every day, was
a mauve-coloured Kipling one; my favourite Defea
design. I took two other handbags just
in case the original one got wet through, as they are not waterproof, and I needed
to swap my belongings. With everything packed, including the kitchen
sink, I set off from home at 06:30. My journey took me via the City centre, then to
Hemel Hempstead. I negotiated the ‘magic roundabout’ before heading via
Two Waters Road to reach the A41 dual carriageway and continue along it to
Aylesbury. My route then took me
around the northern section of their ring-road, and out through Waddesdon to Bicester. It was already 07:40 by the time I’d
arrived at the Oxfordshire town. I continued down the final section of the A41 to
reach Junction 9 of the M40; there was a 200 yards tailback from the
roundabout and also slow moving traffic for a short distance the other side
due to three lanes merging into two, and because of traffic entering the A34
from the subsequent side-roads. By the
time I’d reached the Peartree roundabout, traffic
was stationary around it. In fact it
took until 08:20 to negotiate the Wolvercote
roundabout at the far end of the subsequent dual-carriageway. So that’s 40 minutes in total, to travel
fewer than 10 miles! Once upon the A40, my journey went smoothly all
the way to Cheltenham; apart from the fact it had started to rain by the time
I’d reached Burford. Just prior to the
Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire county border, there could also have been a nasty
accident caused by the foolish driver of an oncoming articulated lorry. He’d decided to overtake a vehicle, despite
his size, and I had to brake in order for him to complete his manoeuvre; what
an idiot? The derelict unfinished houses, not far beyond
the Inn For All Seasons, are going to be redeveloped; my thoughts during my
previous trip to Cheltenham back in November, had been that these were going
to be bulldozed, with nothing left to show.
Mind you, they are very remote, despite being situated next to the
A40. Having travelled this outbound route nearly 50
times, landmarks are becoming very familiar ... and I’m even familiar with
the homebound route which is usually travelled in darkness! Having arrived at the Six Ways junction, I
was surprised to discover there was quite a tailback from the traffic lights;
it was gone 09:00. As suggested by the racecourse, I headed to the
northern car park, travelling via Greenway Lane, Harp Hill, Priors Road,
Bouncers Lane and Prestbury. It was a relief this year to park on gravel,
as to park on grass, following the recent snow and wet weather, might prove
difficult for a small Fiesta; if I’d got a 4x4 it would be a different
matter. I arrived at 09:35 and was directed to park in the
area close to the railway crossing and not far from the pedestrian walkway
which leads through the car park to the northern entrance. Being heavily loaded, I backed into the
parking space to ensure better traction when leaving later in the day; it was
a little bit ‘slushy’ close to the
grass bank and my car is front-wheel drive. Today’s outfit was a camel-coloured thermal
polo-neck T-shirt, a cream-coloured thermal T-shirt, and a cream-coloured
fleece-lined thermal t-shirt ... in fact the items I’d bought the previous
day. Also a cream-coloured ribbed
sweater, a cream with black spots sweater, a black frill-edged BHS cardigan,
a winter-white fleece, a beige check-patterned M & S skirt, brown tights,
black fleece gillet, peach/grey basket weave
knitted snood, oak leaf silver earrings, and snow-boots plus black faux
sheepskin coat once at the racecourse.
I also wore a material scarf – patterned with
pink, purple, white and red spots, plus the black snood with white horses printed
thereon. I put my berry-coloured
bobble-hat in my bag but I’m sure I wouldn’t need it today. I had to be a bit of a contortionist to change
into my snow-boots whilst sitting in the driver’s seat, but I couldn’t get
out of the car whilst wearing the moccasins I use when driving; the ground
was far too wet outside. I waited in
the car for a while, before setting off to the north entrance; I ate three
cheese rolls during this period. The
queue was stretched across the car park when I arrived but we were soon on
the move, as the gates opened at 10:30. Bags checked, and new turnstiles negotiated, I
purchased a race-card before heading to the little girls’ room. I took off my basket-weave snood, as I
wouldn’t need it until the sun disappeared over the back of the grandstand later
in the afternoon and the temperature dropped as a result. Having bought a bottle of water, I stood
overlooking the Winners’ Enclosure for a while, before heading over to view
the display of trophies; the majority of these would be presented today. After that, I did a tour of the Shopping
Village; there was a lovely print of Smad Place at
one of the galleries; and one day I must buy myself a cobalt blue felt
hat. Having completed the route around
the pavilion shops, I briefly stopped to watch a broadcasted replay of Katchit winning the 2008 Champion Hurdle before returning
to the steppings once more. There were announcements to let punters know
about book signings – I recall Henrietta Knight was available today to sign
her new book, but between races when I wouldn’t be able to drag myself away
from the action; besides I’d already got the book at home. Then, on Tuesday and Friday, Felix Francis
would be signing his new book – but again I wouldn’t be able to leave my
chosen viewing spot. I always buy his
books, and historically his late father’s books, in paperback format. I was presently reading ‘Damage’ ... but I’d got so many things
I needed to do that it was taking ages!
I did actually take it to Cheltenham with me; I didn’t get around to
reading any of it! As in recent years, the race-day presenter was
Martin Kelly. Today’s guests included
regular attendees – the rugby referees, including Wayne Barnes ... this is
where I almost doze off to sleep each year ... boring! They usually attend on the Wednesday of the
Festival, but not this year. Another
guest was Rachael Blackmore; she was the Champion Conditional in Ireland last
season. Rich Ricci also took part, as
did a representative of Unibet, sponsors of the
Champion Hurdle this year. Rupert
Bell, father of Oli, also put in an appearance on
three of the days; I think he missed one day due to being the worse for wear
having celebrated his birthday! Eleven horses were taking part in this year’s
Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) Parade which commenced at 12:30 – Annacotty, Any Currency, Barbers Shop, Back In Focus, Big
Buck’s, Dodging Bullets, Hunt Ball, Punjabi, Silviniaco
Conti, Wayward Prince and Wild West. Annacotty,
a Kempton Park Grade 1 winner and also winner of the 2015 Paddy Power Gold
Cup, retired last year. Owned by Mrs Prowting, her Racing Manager Hannah Bishop was busy
retraining her charge with the long term aim of competing in working hunter
classes. The partnership would
commence with RoR challenge classes this
season. He was very well behaved
today, as would be expected. Any Currency, formerly trained by Martin
Keighley, and first past the post in the 2016 Cross-country Chase, retired in
April 2017. He’s now in the care of
Harley Cornock and is being retrained for RoR show-jumping classes.
‘Woody’ was very excited to
be back at Cheltenham and sweated up whilst jogging around the Parade Ring. Barbers Shop, owned by HM The Queen and formerly
trained by Nicky Henderson, retired in 2012.
Although he’s now retired from competitive showing, he proved very
successful in this post-racing career. Back In Focus, formerly trained by Willie
Mullins, won the 2013 running of the NH Chase but, following a freak accident
which resulted in him fracturing his cheekbone and losing his left eye, he
was forced to retire from racing. But,
despite this setback, the chestnut now enjoys team chasing and hunting under
the care of Clare Burrows. Big Buck’s, winner of the Stayers’
Hurdle on a record four occasions when trained by Paul Nicholls, retired from
racing in 2014. He enjoys hunting with
carer Lucy Felton, also accompanying her children and their ponies on rides. Dodging Bullets, winner of the 2015 Queen Mother
Champion Chase and formerly trained by Paul Nicholls, retired in 2017 and is
now being retrained for dressage and show-jumping by Lucy Sharp. Hunt Ball, who won at the Festival when trained
by Kieran Burke and was latterly trained by Nicky Henderson prior to a stint
in America, is now in the care of Nicky’s daughter Sarah. Their passion is hunting, but Sarah is
aiming to do some RoR classes and perhaps a
one-day-event. Sarah says that Hunt
Ball in an intelligent animal. Punjabi, winner of the 2009 Champion Hurdle and
formerly trained by Nicky Henderson, retired in 2013 and is in the care of
Rachael Kempster.
Initially concentrating on dressage, a career change was forced upon
him due to arthritis in a hock because of a previous injury; he now takes
part in hunter trials. Silviniaco
Conti won 7 Grade 1 races during his illustrious career before retiring in
2017. He’s been taken on by Charlotte
Alexander, who looked after Denman until the latter retired from his second
career. The horse had been team
chasing, progressing from novice to open classes, and Charlotte hoped to take
him eventing during the summer of 2018. He also enjoyed hunting and rounding up
sheep on the farm! Postscript: A few
weeks after his appearance at Cheltenham, Silviniaco
Conti died as a result of a fall whilst team chasing. RIP Wayward Prince, winner of the 2015 Scottish Grand
National, was formerly trained by Ian Williams and Hilary Parrott. He’s been hunting and competing in
dressage. Wild West was formerly trained by Aidan O’Brien
and subsequently Jonjo O’Neill. Although remaining a maiden under rules,
he’s enjoyed great success in his second career in showing. He was crowned Supreme Champion at the RoR Championships in 2017 when ridden side-saddle by
Lizzie Harris. He’s also enjoyed a
number of other high-profile successes in the RoR
showing arena. The race-day interviews having been completed, I
headed to the course-side rails in plenty of time to reserve my place ahead
of racing; probably at the half furlong mark.
The members’ lawn was very muddy, following the recent snow and rain
... I don’t understand why it’s not tarmaced; even astro-turf would be better! You would not have believed the state of my
snow-boots by the end of the day! This year, for the entire Festival apart from the
Cross-Country race, no spectators were allowed to cross the course to view
the races from within the centre course enclosure; the footfall would have
been far too damaging to the racing surface. The first race was at 13:30 and, of course, would
be accompanied by the famous Cheltenham roar as the horses set off. The
favourite for this race was Getabird, trained by
Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; their price was 7-4. As usual, Ruby was being blindly punted
upon, despite the fact that he’d returned to race-riding from injury just the
previous Thursday! There were no specific runners of
interest in this race this year. There
was just one grey, Debuchet trained by Margaret
Mullins. Debuchet
is by Smadoun, as is Smad
Place, hence the grey coat! To
reach the starting gate, upon exiting the horse walk the competitors cantered
up the all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before then heading down
the turf and re-entering the all-weather gallop to canter to the far end of
the home straight. The final hurdle was placed closer to
the winning line than is often the case; thus leaving quite a run from the
second last to the final obstacle. RUK’s
Stewart Machin also pointed out that the ground on
the inside was fresh, which meant the inside three hurdle panels had been
placed on this strip.
Having circled within the corral at the far
corner, the runners then exited onto the track; they initially headed away
from the starting gate before turning back towards it. And then they were off to the sound of the
famous Cheltenham roar, with the sole grey Debuchet
leading the way to the first flight.
Just behind him were First Flow, Getabird
and Kalashnikov; Khudha brought up the rear. The keen Getabird was
upsides Debuchet as they jumped hurdle number one,
and then Ruby Walsh let him take the lead on the long run to the second. Paloma Blue had
soon pulled his way through the field and now disputed second position with
First Flow and Kalashnikov. Dame Rose
was prominent to the outside of the field and travelled with Mengli Khan, Us And Them and the reined-back Debuchet. Behind
these were Shoal Bay, Slate House, Claimantakinforgan,
and the second-string Ricci runner Sharjah. Towards
the rear of the field were Summerville Boy, Western Ryder, Simply The Betts, Lostintranslation, Golden Jeffrey, Saxo
Jack and, finally, Khudha. The competitors cleared the second safely,
although the inside panels did look rather the worse for wear as the runners
continued their journey! First Flow
had made a mistake here, although the main offender had been Slate House; in
contrast, Saxo Jack jumped it big and bold. Getabird
continued at the head of affairs as they swung left in order to head up the
hill in front of the Best Mate Enclosure.
Turning into the back straight for the one and only time, David Bass
sent his mount forward to almost join the leader as they continued to the
third flight. All nineteen runners
cleared this without incident. First Flow continued to press the leader as they
headed towards and over the fourth flight; the leading duo were three lengths
clear of the main group, which was led by Kalashnikov. Khudha was still
chasing the field! The runners then
headed around the dog-leg turn, with four flights now to jump. First Flow went out to his right as he
jumped the next, with a number of the other runners mildly following suit;
this included Kalashnikov. In total
contrast to his second flight clearance, Saxo Jack
blundered at this one. Ruby had to straighten up Getabird
shortly afterwards, as he briefly shied out to his left and was in danger of
going to the wrong side of the inside guiding rail. A number of runners were struggling by the
time the field turned the far corner and began their journey down the hill to
the third last; in contrast, Summerville Boy was making good progress. Getabird still
led, from First Flow, Paloma Blue, Kalashnikov, Mengli Khan, Slate House, Summerville Boy, Debuchet, Them And Us, Western Ryder, Sharjah,
Lostintranslation, with a slight gap to Claimantakinforgan and Simply The Betts. The remainder were way out of contention
and Shoal Bay was in the process of being pulled up. The strong-travelling Kalashnikov joined the
long-time leader as they landed over three out; Summerville Boy had continued
to gain ground and now travelled just behind the leading duo, along with Paloma Blue and Mengli Khan, as
they headed towards two out. With Getabird now
beginning to tire, Jack Quinlan sent his mount into the lead and was a length
up as he jumped the penultimate flight. Unfortunately Getabird
had drifted to his right just prior to the hurdle, hampering Summerville Boy
in the process, who subsequently made a mistake, losing his hind-legs on
landing. Lostintranslation
then collided with his hind-quarters, which hampered Western Ryder too. As a result, instead of disputing second
position as previously, Summerville Boy had now been demoted to seventh
position. Having taken the lead, Kalashnikov spear-headed
the field as they headed around the final bend; Mengli
Khan and Paloma Blue were his nearest pursuers,
followed by Debuchet, Slate House, Getabird, Summerville Boy, Claimantakinforgan,
Sharjah, Lostintranslation
and Western Ryder. This group were
well clear of the remainder. As mentioned earlier, the final hurdle was some
way off the bend; Kalashnikov was able to keep his head in front of Mengli Khan as they approached it. However, danger was approaching from
behind, with Noel Fehily galvanising Summerville
Boy to produce a run, having been handicapped by the incident at the previous
flight. Kalashnikov cleared the final hurdle well, as did
Mengli Khan; their challenger less so. Slate House took a fall at the obstacle
when disputing seventh position. Jack
Quinlan’s mount continued to hold his advantage over the Irish raider, but
Summerville Boy was gaining with every stride as they headed up the hill
towards the winning post. In fact the
latter took the lead not far from the line and won by a neck. Tom George had finally claimed his second
Cheltenham Festival winner, the first being a Polish-bred horse named Galileo
in 2002. It was Noel Fehily’s 6th Festival winner, and owner Roger Brookhouse’s 3rd, following the ill-fated Cheltenian in the Bumper and the very ‘difficult’ Western Warhorse in the Arkle. Mengli
Khan finished 3rd, with Paloma Blue in 4th, Claimantakinforgan 5th, Western Ryder 6th and Lostintranslation 7th. Slate House was fine, following his final
flight exit; jockey Harry Cobden walked away, as the horse got up and
cantered after the others. The
favourite Getabird finished 11th, having been eased
before the last when his chance had gone.
Seventeen completed, with Dame Rose and First Flow also having been
pulled up. The winner and runner-up had clashed earlier in
the season, in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at
Sandown Park, with Summerville Boy also winning on that occasion, by 4
lengths. Kalashnikov had won Newbury’s
very valuable Betfair Hurdle in the interim. Stewart Machin took a
look at the ground on the landing side of the final hurdle, prior to the next
race; the jockeys had described it as soft, heavy, tacky, dead ground. There were huge skid marks where Slate
House had come to grief, along with many other deep hoof-print diverts. No wonder the only time spectators would be
permitted to cross the track was for Wednesday’s Cross-Country event!
I
remained beside the course-side rails during the interval between races one
and two. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of Diary Part II A work colleague, Caroline, found me ahead of
this race. She was attending for just
one day, although she was suffering from a pretty nasty cold at the present
time. Colds are one of my nightmares,
as it seems to take me a long time to recover from them – 3 days coming, 3
days here and 6 weeks going! Besides,
Christmas Day 2017 had already been spoilt by a head-cold, as had my planned
trip to Kempton Park on Boxing Day; I’d stayed at home. L The hot favourite for the next race was Footpad,
trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; price 5-6. One grey, Petit Mouchoir. And no specific runners of interest,
because the Alan King-trained Sceau Royal had
picked up a ‘niggling’ injury a few
weeks before the race. 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.
Petit Mouchoir returned
from the Parade Ring to the Pre-parade ring prior to the race; his trainer
Henry de Bromhead said he just needed to ‘check something’. The horse wasn’t quite so ‘het up’ as he sometimes becomes before
a race. The runners assembled within the corral at the
far end of the home straight. Once
again, having exited onto the track, the jockeys steered their mounts away
from the starting tape, before turning back again to face it. And then they were off, with Saint Calvados
leading the way, closely pressed by Petit Mouchoir. The former got a little close to the first
fence, enabling the grey to take the advantage. Pleased to take a backseat at this stage,
Footpad, Robinshill and Brain Power travelled a
number of lengths behind the leading duo. The runners continued to the next, where Robinshill was less than fluent; after a further distance
they headed through a gap in the plastic rails in order to join the main
circuit of the track. The Harry
Whittington-trained runner was the more fluent of the leaders as they cleared
the third obstacle; Robinshill put in another below
par clearance at this one and, as a result, was relegated to last position. Saint Calvados jumped the next really well and
took the lead once more. Footpad was 7
or 8 lengths behind the leaders at this stage, with Brain Power a further
three lengths behind him, and Robinshill in last
position. Having swung away from the
main grandstands, the field headed up the hill to the next fence; it being
the Old Course, this is located in front of the Best Mate enclosure. Brain Power was a little hesitant at this
one, and Robinshill wasn’t fluent either. Having entered the back straight, Petit Mouchoir and Saint Calvados were continuing to dispute
the lead as they motored down the hill to the 6th fence; they both cleared it
well. However, it was the turn of the
odds-on favourite to make an error at this one; he actually stepped right
through it with his forelegs, the hind-legs following suit. The fence looked a mess, with birch now
trailing to the ground, but the horse and jockey partnership survived; it was
Ruby Walsh after all! Brain Power
jumped it okay, also Robinshill. The following fence was the water-jump, with the
leading duo clearing it many lengths ahead of the others. Footpad jumped it well, with Brain Power
and Robinshill not as fluent. The first of the open-ditches was next on
the agenda, and they all cleared this one okay; or at least I think they did,
as Robinshill was now out of shot of the broadcast cameras! Having gone hammer and tongs from the front,
Saint Calvados began to show signs of tiring as his rival Petit Mouchoir out-jumped him at the next; the latter quickly
held an undisputed advantage as they headed around the dog-leg turn on their
journey to the final open-ditch. The
leader jumped the fence well, with Saint Calvados now four or five lengths
behind him and less fluent too.
Footpad continued to close the deficit as they continued to the top of
the hill; Brain Power also. Ruby’s mount swept past the Harry
Whittington-trained runner as they swung left-handed to head downhill towards
the three out; he was rapidly gaining on the leader too. The favourite was less than a length down
as they cleared this fence, with Brain Power now in third position and Saint
Calvados in fourth; Robinshill continued, a tailed
off last. Besides there was a fifth
prize, of £3,920! Ruby was happy to travel upsides the grey until
turning in; Footpad was then sent on to lead over the penultimate fence,
although he did take off on a long stride at this one. Brain Power was clumsy at this one; he’s
not the best of jumpers, having failed to complete with an unseating and a
fall on his previous two outings. Footpad continued to put distance between himself
and his rivals as he continued to the final fence, which he flew. Not surprisingly, Petit Mouchoir
was tired and made a mistake here. On
the final climb to the line, the Willie Mullins-trained runner simply
galloped away from his rivals, winning by 14 lengths at the winning
post. Very pleased with himself, Ruby
stood up in his stirrups and saluted with his whip as he crossed the
line. This was the jockeys’ 57th
Cheltenham Festival winner. Having been up with the pace from the off, Petit Mouchoir was now a sitting target for the
conservatively-ridden Brain Power.
Thus the latter claimed the runner-up spot close home, beating the
grey by three quarters of a length.
Saint Calvados made it home in 4th position, 38 lengths behind the grey,
with Robinshill a further 71 lengths away in 5th.
My work colleague Caroline admitted to liking Ruby
... she disappeared into the crowds following the race. Meanwhile, I remained beside the
course-side rails. Reports from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race – see link
at bottom of Diary Part II The favourite for the third race was Coo Star Sivola, trained by Nick Williams and ridden by Lizzie
Kelly; price 5-1. There were no specific runners of interest, but
there were three greys – Ramses De Teillee, Vintage
Clouds and Vic De Touzaine. Having exited the horse-walk, the horses cantered
up the all-weather strip in front of the grandstands, before heading down the
turf and continuing part-way down the remainder of the all-weather strip
before exiting onto the racecourse close to the starting gate.
The main group of horses were sent back down the racecourse, away from the starting tape; meanwhile Casse Tete and Vintage Clouds
were still having their girths checked, before heading off the join
them. Once assimilated, the entire
field continued on their journey back towards the start. And then they were off, at the first time of
asking. Vintage Clouds led them away,
with Cogry initially prominent, before being swamped
when Shantou Flyer, Yala Enki,
Beware The Bear, Vicente and Eamon An Cnoic came to the fore.
Casse Tete and
Knight Of Noir were bringing up the rear as the runners cleared the first
fence. Yala
Enki joined the grey Vintage Clouds as they jumped the
second, with Shantou Flyer and Coo Star Sivola
close behind. The eighteen runners
then swung left-handed to head up the hill towards the next, situated in
front of the Best Mate Enclosure.
Having all negotiated this successfully, the field entered the back
straight for the first time and continued down the hill to the next. There were no casualties heading over this
sometimes tricky fence. Yala Enki and Vintage Clouds
continued to lead, from Coo Star Sivola and Shantou
Flyer. Behind these were Cogry, Wakanda, Beware The
Bear, Eamon An Cnoic,
Sizing Codelco, Singlefarmpayment,
Minella Daddy, Vicente, Ramses De Teillee, O O Seven, Gold
Present, Casse Tete, Vic
De Touzaine, and Knight Of Noir. The following
fence was the water-jump; again no casualties. The sixth fence was the first of the
open-ditches, which they all cleared in their stride. The runners then continued to the next, a
plain one, with Vintage Clouds and Yala Enki still at the head of affairs; the grey Vic De Touzaine and bay Knight Of Noir remained at the back of
the field. After this, the 18-strong
field headed around the dog-leg turn, before arriving at the second
open-ditch. They were all up and over
this one safely, whilst continuing their climb to the farthest corner of the
track. The runners subsequently swung left-handed to
head down the hill towards the next.
The field was still well-grouped, with Vintage Clouds and Yala Enki continuing to lead,
and Knight Of Noir and Vic De Touzaine at the rear
thereof. There were no issues at the fence
and all the runners appeared to be travelling okay as they entered the home
straight with one circuit now complete.
As they approached the tenth fence, Wakanda
began to be pushed along by his jockey Sean Quinlan. The horses jumped this and the next without any
incidents, although Sean was now even more animated aboard his mount. The runners then swung left-handed to begin
their final circuit; travelling in mid-field, Singlefarmpayment
wasn’t particularly fluent at this uphill fence. Also, at the rear and slightly detached,
Vic De Touzaine made an error. Turning into the back straight for the final
time, a number of runners put in untidy leaps at the next; in particular Yala Enki, who dropped back
into fourth place as a result and was then bumped along by his jockey. This left Eamon
An Cnoic to dispute the lead with Vintage Clouds as
they continued over the water-jump.
The runners continued to the penultimate open-ditch; travelling to the
inside of the field, Singlefarmpayment clouted this
one and lost ground. Vicente also made
a serious error at this one, and dropped to the rear of the field. The next fence was a plain one where, once again,
there were a number of less than perfect clearances; notably O O Seven, who hit it hard.
Having scrambled over this one, Sam Twiston-Davies
decided to pull Vicente up; this left the struggling Wakanda
at the rear of the field. Having
negotiated the dog-leg turn, Eamon An Cnoic led the runners over the final open-ditch, from Coo
Star Sivola, Vintage Clouds, Yala
Enki, Shantou Flyer, Casse
Tete and Ramses De Teillee. Wakanda made an
error here and was subsequently pulled up. Having reached the top of the hill, the runners
swung left-handed to head down the slope forwards three out. The David Pipe-trained second-string
continued to hold the advantage over Coo Star Sivola,
Shantou Flyer and Vintage Clouds; the latter having already received a number
of stern reminders from his jockey Danny Cook. Bringing up the rear were Sizing Codelco and Knight Of Noir. The leader belted the third last; he survived,
but this enabled Lizzie Kelly’s mount Coo Star Sivola
to stride on into the lead as they approached the home turn. Having jumped the fence, both Sizing Codelco and Knight Of Noir were pulled up. Coo Star Sivola led the
runners into the home straight, from Shantou Flyer, Eamon
An Cnoic, Vintage Clouds, Singlefarmpayment,
Casse Tete and Ramses De Teillee. He
remained ahead as the leaders jumped the penultimate fence; the tiring Casse Tete made a mistake at
this one. Lizzie’s mount subsequently
cleared the last well, Shantou Flyer less so, having put in a short stride
before take-off. Vintage Clouds jumped
it in third position; Singlefarmpayment hit the
last and lost momentum, with Eamon An Cnoic clambering over it, having tired greatly. Meanwhile, Coo Star Sivola
was driven up the hill to the line although as it approached, Shantou Flyer
kept on and was closing the gap all the way.
In fact the favourite just clung on, to triumph by a neck at the
winning post. Vintage Clouds finished
a further six lengths back in 3rd, with Beware The Bear, who his trainer
describes as a ‘lovely person’
staying on well to the line to claim 4th, 2¾ lengths behind the grey. Jeremiah McGrath’s mount had made an error
at the tricky 13th fence (the one before the water), after which he been
struggling before staying on at the finish. Last year’s runner-up, Singlefarmpayment,
finished 5th, with Yala Enki
6th, Ramses De Teillee 7th, Casse
Tete 8th and Eamon An Cnoic 9th. O O Seven completed in 10th, Cogry
in 11th and Minella Daddy in 12th, last of the
finishers. Vic De Touzaine
had been pulled up before the last and Gold Present was pulled up before two
out having broken blood vessels. This was Nick Williams’ second Cheltenham
Festival winner, following Flying Tiger’s win in last year’s Fred
Winter. Nick’s step-daughter, Lizzie
Kelly, had claimed her first Cheltenham Festival winner. She was also the first female professional
jockey to win at the Festival since Gee Armitage in
1987.
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails. 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 1 Diary Part II |
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