PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2018
DAY THREE
FEATURING THE RYANAIR CHASE
THURSDAY 15 MARCH 2018
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Currently my favourite grey in training – Terrefort, runner-up in the JLT Novices’ Chase I was up at 06:00 today … and treated myself to a
mug of peppermint tea before breakfast.
The early morning TV news was reporting concerns with micro-plastic
molecules in bottled water – maybe time to give up the Evian then! I showered and washed and dried my hair before
heading to the main Hall at 07:10.
Breakfast was 3 bacon rashers, 2 hash browns, 1 tomato, scrambled
eggs, a sausage, two yoghurts (both yellow), and two cups of coffee. I returned to my room at 07:40, applied my
make-up and was ready to depart at 09:05.
It seems that the more time I have, the longer it takes for me to get
ready! The traffic queue into Witney was shorter than
the previous day; that’s because the Burford Road
was open to traffic this morning. I
got held up briefly by a skip lorry on my way out of town, but the journey to
Cheltenham went smoothly. I did end up
following a flat-bed lorry carrying building supplies, upon the Andoversford bypass; it even headed up Greenway Lane
ahead of me. It makes me cringe, when
I see large vehicles travelling that particular route. No wonder the road surface is in such a
state, although this particular lorry turned right at the top, rather than
head down Harp Hill. I arrived at the racecourse at 10:20 today,
parking up in the same area as the previous two days. Today’s outfit was a black/grey/blue polo-neck
thermal t-shirts, a grey with black birds design thermal t-shirt, turquoise
thermal t-shirt, grey ribbed polo-neck sweater, grey ribbed v-neck sweater,
lake-coloured v-neck cardigan, turquoise with black check and front frill M &
S skirt which I bought in the sale, a teal-coloured fleece, peacock-coloured jeggings, and teal-coloured padded BHS jacket. I wore a pair of blue butterfly earrings, black
with white horses snood, multi-coloured scarf (an absolute favourite), black
Hotter ‘Danville’ ankle boots, and
I took with me my ‘Cake Pop’
turquoise and grey striped Caron Cakes Aran-weight snood but didn’t need
it. I also had my delphinium-coloured
Big Fab hat with me and, possibly, wore it later in
the day. The turnstiles were open by the time I reached
the north entrance. Following a trip
to the loo, I went to stand at the top of the lower steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure. I didn’t
need to buy water today as I still had yesterday’s bottle ... perhaps I
wasn’t thirsty during the day yesterday. It soon started to rain, so I moved to shelter
beneath the upper steppings. Whilst there, one of the EPDS members
walked by; he (Barry?) stopped for a chat.
He spotted his friend too, who also stopped to chat to us. I subsequently climbed to the upper steppings, where I would remain for the rest of the
afternoon. Martin Kelly’s guests were Robbie Power, Patrick
Mullins, a journalist and writer named Tom Peacock, and Steve Jones; the
latter is ‘Templegate’
in the Sun and represented Sun Bets, sponsor of today’s Stayers’
Hurdle. Rupert Bell returned today,
having missed the previous day because he was the worse for wear following a
birthday celebration. He’s younger
than I am, just, so it makes me feel old that I’m older than Oli Bell’s dad! The ground, today, on the New Course was
described as soft, heavy in places; there having been rain overnight. With Ruby Walsh now on the injury
sidelines, there were a number of jockey changes too. The favourite for the first race was the grey Terrefort, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Daryl
Jacob; price 3-1. He’s one of my
favourite horses. Having left the horse-walk, the
horses cantered across the racecourse before entering the all-weather strip
which runs around the top bend in order to reach the two and a half mile
starting gate within the mid-course chute.
The jockeys took their mounts to look at the first fence within the
chute, then bypassed it to circle around on the course ahead of the race;
they jumped just two of the three fences therein.
And then they were off for the first race on
today’s card. The grey Terrefort, with his low head carriage, set off with Bigmartre to his inside.
The runners cleared the first safely with Kemboy
and the keen-running Benatar at the back of the
field. Modus had jumped it slightly
big and nodded on landing as a result. The nine-strong field continued along the
mid-course chute, heading over a sanded-trackway
and the Old Course intersection on their way to the second obstacle. Bigmartre led
marginally as they jumped this one.
The horses crossed the New Course, swinging left-handed and heading
downhill to reach the entrance to the home straight. Straightening up, the horses had soon reached the
third fence. The leader jumped
slightly right-handed over this one; he continued to lead from Terrefort, Finian’s Oscar,
Shattered Love, Benatar, Modus, the blinkered West
Approach, Invitation Only and Kemboy. The
hard-pulling Benatar had progressed into third
position by the time they reached the next fence; West Approach had been
relegated to last place having jumped it. The runners now joined the main circuit of the
New Course as they continued to the fifth fence. The eleven competitors jumped this well,
before progressing to and clearing the next.
Bigmartre remained at the head of affairs as
the field swung left-handed to head up the hill in front of the Best Mate
enclosure, with one circuit now to travel.
The enthusiastic crowd cheered loudly as they did so. Bigmartre
continued to lob along to the outside of Terrefort
as they entered the back straight. Finian’s Oscar travelled in third position, from
Shattered Love and Benatar; Modus followed these,
from West Approach, Invitation Only and Kemboy. Having continued downhill briefly, Modus
made an error at the next fence. The following obstacle was the water-jump and the
Harry Whittington-runner led by a length as they jumped it; Invitation Only
was now at the back of the field. The
next fence was the first open-ditch, which Terrefort
flew over, jumping for fun. In
contrast Finian’s Oscar was less than fluent with,
behind him, Kemboy making a bad error. Terrefort
disputed the lead with Bigmartre as they crossed
the tenth fence; a plain one. Modus
made a mistake here and dropped back to share last position with Invitation
Only and Kemboy.
The runners subsequently headed around the dog-leg turn before
arriving at the final open-ditch; Bigmartre stood a
long way off from this, but cleared it well.
The runners continued to climb to the top of the
hill, jumping five out during their journey.
Having reached the far corner, the horses swung left-handed once
again; Terrefort, with ears pricked, was looking
for the next fence, although he did get a little bit close to it. At the back of the field, Invitation Only
sprawled on landing and almost came to a standstill; Paul Townend
pulled him up immediately as all chance had been lost. Meanwhile, the remaining eight were heading down
the hill towards three out; Finian’s Oscar had now
joined the leading duo at the head of affairs. However, he was out-jumped by the other
two, and Shattered Love overtook him in her pursuit of the leaders. Terrefort
continued to travel well as the runners headed towards the home turn, as was
Shattered Love; between them, Bigmartre was coming
under pressure, as was Finian’s Oscar behind
them. As Bigmartre
entered the home straight he lost his place, with Shattered Love and Benatar now in pursuit of the grey. The Gigginstown-runner
drew alongside Terrefort as they jumped two out and
she was more fluent than her rival too.
The mare began to draw clear of her opposition as they continued to
the final fence; although she did blunder at it. After the last she stayed on strongly up
the run-in and, despite wandering around, went on to win by 7 lengths at the
line. Terrefort
had run well in defeat and came home in 2nd position, 5 lengths ahead of Benatar. Kemboy claimed 4th, with Finian’s
Oscar 5th, West Approach 6th, Bigmartre 7th and
Modus 8th. They’d all carried 11 stone
4lbs, apart from the baby Terrefort who’d carried
11 stone 3lbs and the mare only 10 stone 11lbs. The winner’s sire is
Yeats. Ireland had made it 7 wins out of 8 in the JLT
Novices’ Chase; with the very sadly ill-fated Tarquin
Du Seuil the sole GB winner in the race’s brief
history. It was Jack Kennedy’s only ride of the day, but
it had been a winning one and it cemented his position as top jockey at the
Festival after 15 races had been completed.
Shattered Love was also the first female to win a novice event at the
Cheltenham Festival since Brief Gale won the RSA in 1995. Evidently Benatar had
finished lame on his near-hind.
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 this event was Glenloe, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Barry Geraghty; price 9-2.
There were no greys in this race. The
starting gate for this 3-mile event was at the beginning of the back
straight, with two circuits to travel.
This being the case, the runners cantered across the racecourse having
exited from the horse-walk and headed up the all-weather track in front of
the Best Mate Enclosure.
And then they were off, with Sykes taking the
lead from the blinkered Connetable as the runners
headed down the back straight to the first flight. Also prominent were Lovenormoney,
the first-time blinkered Thomas Campbell and Boite. The runners cleared the hurdle without incident
and they continued their run along the back straight to the next; at the rear
of the field was Louis’ Vac Pouch.
There were no departures at this flight, or the third, and Connetable together with Sykes led them around the
dog-leg turn on their journey to the fourth.
Behind these were Boite, Who Dares Wins and Lovenormoney, followed by Thomas Campbell to the outside
of Glenloe and Protek Des
Flos. After
these travelled Theo’s Charm, Kansas City Chief, Delta Work, Sort It Out, Whataknight, Dadsintrouble,
Mine Now, A Great View, Taj Badalandabad,
Forza Milan, The Mighty Don, Dell’ Arca, Prime Venture, Wait For Me and, finally Louis’ Vac
Pouch. Whataknight
wasn’t particularly fluent at the flight towards the top of the hill. The runners subsequently swung left-handed in order
to head down the hill to the fifth flight; there was no change at the head of
affairs as they did so. Being a 3-mile
hurdle race for, in the main, experienced handicappers, and also on soft to
heavy ground, the pace being set was steady.
The runners cleared the flight in their stride before heading
left-handed once more to enter the home straight. Sykes and Connetable
continued to spearhead the closely packed field as the runners headed over
the sixth flight; all 23 runners were still standing as the leading duo
galloped up the hill in front of the Best Mate enclosure with just under one
circuit now to travel. There had been
little change in the order by the time they entered the back straight for the
final time and headed down to the first flight therein. Matt Griffiths’ mount continued to jump well, and
cleared the flight without touching a twig.
Connetable remained almost upsides and they
were followed by Lovenormoney, Who Dares Wins, Boite and Thomas Campbell. The first of JP’s four runners, Glenloe, was travelling in seventh position, although he
was less than fluent at the eighth flight; Dadsintrouble
hit this one and Forza Milan was less than fluent
too, dropping to the rear of the field as a result. The horses continued their journey along the back
straight to the ninth flight; to the inside of runners in mid-field, Kansas
City Chief blundered at this one. Forza Milan received reminders having jumped the
obstacle, as he was now beginning to tail off. The remaining runners were still closely
packed as they headed around the dog-leg turn for the final time. The backmarker was pulled up before the
next flight, three out; it transpired that he’d broken a blood vessel. Sykes and Connetable
remained ahead of their rivals as they continued to the top of the hill; Lovenormoney was being rousted along to the outside of
the field, whilst Prime Venture was making significant progress, also to the
outside of runners. The horses
subsequently swung left-handed to head down the hill towards the penultimate
flight. The long-time leading duo were
still ahead of their rivals as they jumped it; further back in the field, A
Great View blundered badly and came off the bridle. There were still many horses in with a chance as
they rounded the home turn; Wayne Hutchinson had found a gap against the
inside rail and Who Dares Wins took a very narrow advantage as the runners
entered the home straight. Connetable went with him, as Sykes faded out of
contention. However, the Alan
King-runner was soon swamped as Glenloe, Delta Work
and Taj Badalandabad laid
down their challenges. Harry Cobden’s
mount was still in the front line too, having travelled over towards the
stand-side rails. In fact, Connetable
held a very narrow advantage as they jumped the final flight; both Glenloe and Delta Work, who were now his closest
challengers, each flattened a panel, with Glenloe
momentarily losing his hind-legs from under him too. Davy Russell then drove the Gigginstown runner into the lead, but the margin over Glenloe was narrow.
Barry Geraghty’s mount continued to press
Delta Work all the way up the hill to the line, but the latter prevailed by a
nose at the winning post. The tough and very game Connetable
stayed on all the way to the line to claim 3rd spot; 2¾ lengths behind the
first two. Taj
Badalandabad kept on under pressure to claim
4th. Who Dares Wins finished 5th, A
Great View 6th despite his bad error at the penultimate flight, Whataknight was 7th and Prime Venture 8th. A number of the backmarkers cantered or
just trotted over the line. Poor old Who Dares Wins had to shoulder 11 stone
6lbs, compared to the winner with just 10 stone 10lbs. The other horses which had finished ahead
of him carried even less! Damn, another winner for Gigginstown
... it was getting tedious seeing Dreary O’Leary and his family collecting
yet another winner’s trophy! The winner had only begun racing this season,
despite now being a 5-year-old, and had been in the money on all seven starts
to date.
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 odds-on favourite for the next event was Un
De Sceaux, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by
Paul Townend deputising for the injured Ruby Walsh;
price 8-11. Having left the horse-walk, the horses cantered across the racecourse before entering the all-weather strip which runs around the top bend in order to reach the two and a half mile starting gate within the mid-course chute. As this race began at the beginning of the chute, the jockeys took their horses to look at the demonstration fence on the in-field and, having had their girths checked, they circled around the Cross-Country birch island fence.
Having exited the in-field, the runners headed onto
the racecourse and then they were off and heading towards the first
fence. Cue Card led the way, from Sub
Lieutenant and Un De Sceaux; Cloudy Dream brought
up the rear. Having negotiated the first fence safely, the
runners continued their journey along the mid-course chute towards fence
number two. Un De Sceaux,
subdued for the present, got in a little close to this obstacle. The horses then headed over the sanded
track-way, prior to crossing the Old Course circuit, and arriving at fence
number three. There was no change in the running order as they
continued across the New Course intersection before swinging left-handed and
downhill towards the turn into the home straight. Cue Card continued to lead as they jumped
the first in the home straight, although he did get a little close to
it. The horses journeyed to the next
obstacle, which Cue Card, Sub Lieutenant and Un De Sceaux
jumped in unison. The six competitors joined the circuit of the New
Course shortly afterwards, continuing over a sanded track-way on their way to
the sixth fence. Having now been given
his head, Un De Sceaux took up the running and led
over it. Sub Lieutenant was now in second position, from Cue Card, Balko Des Flos, Frodon and Cloudy Dream.
The leader jumped the next with plenty to spare, before swinging
left-handed to head up the hill in front of the Best Mate Enclosure. Having entered the back straight, Un De Sceaux extended his advantage over his rivals as he
headed downhill to the eighth fence.
The leader flew over the fence; the others jumped it well, apart from
Cloudy Dream who was a little less than fluent. The next fence was the water-jump, with Cue
Card being niggled along as they approached it. The runners cleared this one in their
stride and continued to the next, which was the first of the open-ditches. The leader took off a long way from the fence but
cleared it well. Having jumped the
obstacle, Cue Card began to lose his place despite jockey Paddy Brennan
pushing him along. The following jump
was a plain fence, which they all cleared well. Un De Sceaux was
four lengths clear of Sub Lieutenant as they headed around the dog-leg
turn. Balko
Des Flos followed him, from Frodon
and Cloudy Dream; Cue Card had now been relegated to last position. Realising that the veteran had lost all
chance, Paddy Brennan pulled him up before the open-ditch. Meanwhile Un De Sceaux
had cleared the open-ditch with a clear advantage, with Balko
Des Flos out-jumping his stable-companion to take
second position as the five remaining runners continued their journey up the
hill to the next obstacle. The leader
put in another extravagant jump at this one, Balko
Des Flos travelled well in second position, from
Cloudy Dream; both Sub Lieutenant and Frodon were
now being ridden along at the back of the field. Having reached the top of the incline, the
runners swung left-handed before reaching four out; all five runners cleared
this without a problem. Having closed
upon the leader, it appeared that Davy Russell would mount his challenge to
the inside of the track. However, Paul
Townend shut the door on him and Davy subsequently
switched to the outside berth instead.
The chestnut was travelling so well that he jumped the third last upsides
the favourite. Having landed, Balko
Des Flos breezed into the lead without effort as
they headed towards the home turn.
Having entered the straight, Davy Russell’s mount continued to cruise
along in the lead. Paul Townend hadn’t given up though, and urged his horse along
in an endeavour to keep tabs on the Gigginstown
runner. Having jumped the penultimate fence, Balko Des Flos extended his
advantage; his jockey administering the odd slap down the horse’s neck to
ensure he didn’t lose concentration.
The chestnut made an error at the last, but he still had too much in
hand over his rival and was ridden out to the line to win by 4½ lengths. Un De Sceaux
finished 2nd, and Cloudy Dream was 8 lengths further back in 3rd. Sub Lieutenant came home in 4th, with Frodon last. Damn, another winner for Dreary O’Leary. Ireland had won the race for the third
successive year, although this was the first time that the sponsor had won
their own race. Connections had been
worried about the ground today. Davy said his mount had taken him to the front
three out, rather than him wanting to go forward; he didn’t mind, as Balko Des Flos wasn’t the type
to quicken and he didn’t want to be out-battled by the favourite on the
run-in. Having been pulled up today, connections of the
12-year-old Cue Card decided to ‘let
the dust’ settle with regards to their charge’s future. However, with a final outing planned for
Sandown Park on the last day of the season, he failed to sparkle on the
gallops as the fixture approached and, as a result, was retired. He did, however, make a guest appearance at
the Esher track that afternoon.
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 3 Diary Part II |
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