DIARY
Kempton Park – Sunday 21 October 2012
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Choc returns to the
Winners’ Enclosure having won the
Juvenile Hurdle Race aboard McVicar Another day at the races beckoned; my second of
the weekend having attended the Cheltenham Showcase the previous day! And, of course, a further opportunity to
see the lovely Choc; he had two rides today, in the first and third races of
the fixture. A mere 40 miles away, I didn’t need to leave home
too early this day, my journey taking less than an hour. I awoke just after 07:00, spending time
writing notes for my Cheltenham diary.
I ate a breakfast of porridge and toast before showering, washing and
drying my hair at 09:00. I had intended to wear the same outfit as the
previous day but, in the event, my skirt seemed a little loose today. Perhaps I’d not eaten enough
yesterday! I searched through the
cupboard for a smaller sized one, and came upon an M & S skirt in black,
mauve, purple and white. The pink
cardigan and jacket no longer looked right, so I wore my black frill edged
ribbed cardigan and mauve jacket instead; the styles of each identical to the
pink versions. Fortunately the jacket
is one size too big, so two thermal vests, the black cardigan, my purple
fleece and burgundy cardigan fit underneath.
Michelin woman!!! I topped off
my outfit with a purple/mauve/grey/white material scarf, black moccasin style
wedge shoes and purple tights. And my ‘Purple Pool’ necklace and matching
earrings. Gate opening time was 12:15, so I decided to set
off at 11:00. Perhaps hoping that Choc
would arrive whilst I was queuing outside the entrance! I joined the M25 at Junction 22 and headed
anticlockwise to reach the M3, before heading towards Sunbury On Thames. I left the motorway at Junction 1, took the
A308 past the main racecourse entrance and drove up the driveway to park up
in the free of charge area. Usually I’d stay in the car for a few minutes to
eat a small snack before setting off to purchase my ticket. On this occasion I put on my coat
immediately and set off for the main entrance. Walking around the perimeter I could see
the jockeys’ vehicles parked in a line ... Choc’s
was already there, although it did look a bit grimy... although maybe it was
a trick of the light. Perhaps I should
have volunteered to clean it for him! It was before midday, so I joined the group of
race-goers standing outside the entrance.
After a few minutes, the doors were opened. I purchased a ticket (£16), and set off to
buy a race-card from the guy standing at the kiosk (£2.50). Having crossed the horse walk-way, I headed
for the main grandstand. I walked
through the ground floor hall to reach the doors leading out onto the area above
the lawn; I headed to the course-side rails.
The weather forecasters had been unsure about the
prevailing conditions today. They
seemed to think it would be damp a little further south and east of Kempton
Park until later in the day; but shortly after I’d arrived, so did the
rain! It spitted at first, so I went
to stand on the grandstand steps for a while; I then headed back through the
ground floor to reach the area beside the Parade Ring. It was now umbrella weather, so I stood in the
shelter of the grandstand first floor terrace. It became a little tedious waiting for the
action to begin with no-one to talk to, I even resorted to counting the
number of conifers planted along the back of the Parade Ring ... there are
30. And not a lot of people know that
or care! Before racing there was a Tipster Forum; the
members being trainer David Pipe, his stable jockey Tom Scudamore,
the owner of one of their stable stars, Grands Crus, Roger Stanley, and Racing UK presenter Niall Hannity. Fronting
up the panel was Anthony Kemp, race-day presenter. Whilst the forum was taking place, Grands Crus made a guest
appearance, being led around the Parade Ring. As mentioned earlier, Choc had two riding
engagements today; McVicar in the Juvenile Hurdle
and Roberto Pegasus in the Listed Novices’ Hurdle race. Both were making their hurdling
debuts. When running on the flat, McVicar had been trained by Mick Channon,
Roberto Pegasus by PM Phelan. It was soon time for the first race, the horses
being led around the Paddock. The
posse of jockeys arrived, Choc greeting his trainer and the owners of his
mount. One of the gentlemen must have
mentioned the fact that Choc no longer keeps his hair long; the jockey
removing his helmet to prove it. The
owner also took off his cap to show his bald pate! They all laughed in amusement. As always, I had taken up a vantage point to the
back of the Parade Ring, as I know that Choc would be legged up in this area
before heading out onto the walkway.
Once he’d begun the journey to the racecourse, I set off around the
side of the grandstand, up the steps, over the tarmac area and across the
lawn to stand beside the course-side rails.
I reached my position before Choc and his mount
cantered by, he rode down alongside AP McCoy aboard the favourite, Fisher,
representing Irish-based trainer Gordon Elliott. Fisher was definitely the ‘looker’ in
the field. Being a 2-mile event, the
starting gate was at the far end of the home straight; with that and one complete
circuit to travel. Race 1: Juvenile Hurdle – 2 miles – 8
hurdles Then they were off in this 10 runner race. Choc rode his mount in mid-division, taking
the shortest route as is his usual preference! The Joshua Moore ridden Dalmo
led the field until headed after 3 out; McVicar was
not particularly fluent at this flight but continued to close on the leader,
which was now Fisher. Choc drove his
mount to challenge over the penultimate flight, but initially it appeared
that AP’s mount had pressed home his advantage as they approached the
last. However, Fisher blundered at the
flight, handing the initiative to McVicar, the
latter ridden out to win by 1¼ lengths. This was the third time in 5 years that an Alan
King trained runner had won this particular Juvenile Hurdle event (2010 – Jubail who, having gone to Donald McCain’s yard, was
fatally injured at Uttoxeter earlier this year
& 2008 – Saticon, currently trained by Richard
Phillips). I hurried back to the Winners’ Enclosure in order
to get a good vantage point before Choc and McVicar
were led back in. He unsaddled his
mount and spoke with connections before posing for a photograph with the
winner. Having moved position to the side of the walkway,
close to the Parade Ring entrance, I was in the perfect position to
congratulate Choc on his win. However
I was thwarted, initially when it appeared that he would be chatting to Denis
O’Regan on his way back to the Weighing Room;
however he was then accosted by the Clerk of the Course, Barney Clifford, who
wished to get a ‘going’ report from
the winning jockey. Oh well ...
perhaps I’d be lucky later in the afternoon. Race 2 – Beginners’ Chase – 2 miles – 12
fences Eleven runners in this race. The David Pipe trained My Brother Sylvest led the runners from the off; the prominent Akula blundering at the first and unseating Colin Bolger,
in rear Theodore Lamb falling at this fence.
Tom Scudamore’s mount continued to lead
until headed 3 out by the favourite, Sire De Grugy. Jamie Moore’s mount soon went clear and
despite blundering 2 from home, had a 10 lengths advantage over the
last. He ran on to win by 6 lengths
easing down. Grams and Ounces
completed in 2nd, the long-time leader My Brother Sylvest
finished 3rd and Polisky 4th. It was now time for Choc’s
second and final ride of the day, aboard Roberto Pegasus. Once he had been legged up, I set off
around the side of the main grandstand to reach the course-side rails. I was in time to see him canter by on his
way to the start. Race 3 – Novices’ Hurdle (Listed) – 2 miles
– 8 hurdles Eight runners in this event. Then they were off. The field was led away by the Tim Vaughan
trained Hawkhill, ridden by Aidan Coleman. Choc held up his mount in mid-division, on
this occasion deciding to take up a position upon the outside of the
field. The favourite, Princely Player,
made an error at the fourth flight. Very fit from hurdling during the summer, Hawkhill was able to keep up the pressure at the head of
affairs and was still two lengths clear as they jumped the final flight. He held on to win by ¾ of a length at the
line from Princely Player and Spirit of Shankly. The white faced Roberto Pegasus had chased
the leading trio before 2 out but was soon ridden and left behind, finishing
10 lengths adrift of the 3rd placed runner. Choc having finished 4th in this race, returned
to the Parade Ring. Having ‘power walked’ back from my position
beside the course-side rails, I was in time to take a photograph of Roberto
Pegasus being led back along the horse-walk prior to reaching the Winners’
Enclosure. Having remained in that vicinity whilst Choc
unsaddled his mount, I was in the perfect place to re-position myself beside
the crossing point where the jockeys exit onto the concourse on their way
back to the Weighing Room. At first it
appeared that Barney Clifford might accost Choc once more, but he decided to
speak with one of the other riders instead; Choc was therefore alone as he
approached me. I congratulated him upon his earlier win; he said
‘thank you’ and asked how I
was. ‘Fine, thank you’ I replied.
All the better for speaking with you I thought. I know I must have had a soppy grin on my
face; I usually do when I talk to him.
But who cares? He’s gorgeous
... in a beautiful ‘munchkin’
kind of way! Having popped to the loo situated at the back of
the grandstand hall, I returned to the Parade Ring. Paralympics Dressage Gold Medallist,
Natasha Baker, made a special guest appearance today, being interviewed in
the Winners’ Enclosure about her achievement. On a couple of occasions during the afternoon,
punters had been given the opportunity to pose on the Winners’ Podium to have
their photograph taken with the King George VI Chase trophy. The rain had returned. Race 4 – Handicap Chase – 3 miles – 18
fences Another 11 runner steeplechase. The field was led away by joint-favourite
Firm Order, but he blundered and unseated Dominic Elsworth
at the first. Poor old Dominic, it was
the third time he’d ended up on the deck this weekend; once at Cheltenham and
in the earlier steeplechase when riding Theodore Lamb. Tim The Chair was left in the lead by this
departure, Chapel House taking up the running shortly afterwards and leading
until 4 out; Font was going better than many when he departed at this
fence. Basoda
had now gone on and soon established a clear lead; in fact he went on to win
by 25 lengths, easing to a walk near the finish. Baily Storm
finished 2nd, Sea Cadet 3rd and Nom De Guerre 4th. With Choc’s rides for
the day already completed, it was at this point that I decided the weather
had beaten me. Having returned to the
Winners’ Enclosure to see the placed horses arrive back, I set off for the
exit gate, located close to the closed turnstiles. As I wanted to set off as soon as possible in
order to avoid driving home in the dark, I didn’t consume even one of the
cheese rolls which I’d brought with me.
Having departed the confines of the racecourse, it was not a surprise
that there were no traffic queues on the A308 waiting to join the roundabout beneath
the M3; there were still 3 races to complete.
My journey took me down the M3 to join the M25 clockwise
carriageway. The Sunday afternoon
traffic was quite busy, with slow moving vehicles between the M4 and M40
junctions, but no serious delays. No
sighting of Choc heading home either. I reached home at around 17:00 and I did actually
watch the final race of the day on TV!
My jacket, scarf and cardigan collar were a little damp; they spent a
few days in the airing cupboard because I forgot they were there! My supper consisted of four cheese rolls and a
bowl of tomato soup. In fact I hadn’t
eaten a proper meal during this entire weekend! Here are brief details of the races I missed: Race 5: The William Hill Hurdle – 2 miles –
8 hurdles Just 4 runners – Australia Day, Brampour, Get Me Out Of Here and First Avenue. As always, the grey Australia Day took a
keen hold and held a clear lead until after 3 out, although jumping right at
times. Brampour
took poll position over the penultimate flight, but was overtaken by Get Me
Out of Here before the last. The
latter won by 1½ lengths at the line from Brampour;
First Avenue a further 3¾ lengths away in 3rd. After his early exertions, Australia Day
dropped away to complete 17 lengths adrift in 4th. A winner for AP McCoy, Jonjo
O’Neill and JP McManus. Race 6: Handicap Chase – 2 miles – 11
fences (1 omitted) Twelve runners; the winner was Lucy’s Legend
ridden by Paddy Brennan, trained by Paul Henderson. Shooters Wood, who had made most of the
running, finished 2nd; Mibleu 3rd and Bhaltair 4th. Race 7: NH Novices’ Hurdle – 2 miles 5
furlongs – 10 hurdles This 12-runner event was won by the Emma Lavelle
trained, Dougie Costello ridden Le Bec. Definite
Chance completed in 2nd, Up For An Oscar was 3rd with long-time leader,
Present View, 4th. Having arrived home earlier than expected, I had
time to select and upload today’s photographs onto my website. My Cheltenham pictures would have to wait
until the following day, which they did. At this point I was not panicking about writing
today’s Kempton Park diary. Nor was my
Cheltenham diary from yesterday a cause for concern, as I’d have at least 11
days to complete them before going racing again. However, little did I know that I’d
encounter a major problem with my laptop two days later; this would lose me 4
days of valuable writing time. I later discovered that Choc hadn’t headed
directly home, but had met up for supper with Horse and Hound Hunting and
Racing Editor, Catherine Austen.
That’s good news, confirming that Choc will be continuing his column
in the magazine this autumn/winter. |
