DIARY – NEWBURY – HENNESSY GOLD CUP
SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2014
PART I
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Avispa
finished 2nd in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle This would be my 7th consecutive
Hennessy Gold Cup – I’d seen Madison du Berlais win in 2008, Denman win his second
in 2009, Diamond Harry in 2010, Carruthers in 2011, Bobs Worth in 2012 and
Triolo D’Alene last year. Sadly still no Choc, who
continued to recover from the neck and back injuries he sustained at Chepstow
on 25 April 2014. And no Wayne
Hutchinson either, who had been advised to rest having strained a medial knee
ligament as a result of a fall at Southwell during October and aggrevated again
at Doncaster on 18 November. Today’s
beneficiaries of these absencies would be Richard Johnson, Denis O’Regan and Alan
King’s conditional jockey Tom Bellamy. The first two days of the
Hennessy Festival had been excellent for the Alan King yard, with three
winners and a second from four runners!
Namely Carraig Mor ridden by Noel Fehily; Ned Stark ridden by Denis
O’Regan, the jockey having an agreement to ride horses for the Dunkley &
Reilly partnership; and the JP McManus-owned Yanworth ridden by AP
McCoy. Yesterday there was just one
runner, Karazak, who finished a neck second in the Juvenile Hurdle under
Richard Johnson. I’d been on annual leave all
week, needing to use up eight days before the end of the year. But, for some reason, I’d felt apprehensive
all the time and never able to really settle.
I presume it was because I’m
not presently accustomed to going out and about on trips, the last time I’d
driven anywhere was mid-October to Cheltenham! This week I’d been obliged to visit my
brother and his family for lunch on Sunday, the weather was horrible, very
wet and included driving upon the M1.
On Wednesday I’d been to the theatre in Milton Keynes to see the
musical Calamity Jane and today, of course, a visit to Newbury races was
planned. However,
the trip to Milton Keynes to see Calamity Jane didn’t quite go to plan, time
wise. In fact we arrived ten minutes
late. I’d researched the time it would
take me to drive from my home to collect Lesley from her workplace in Watford
– two days previously Google informed me that in current traffic conditions
it would take 42 minutes if I set out at 16:45. It took me 55 minutes on the day. And I didn’t want to journey up to Milton
Keynes via the M1 in case there were any accidents to delay us, so we decided
upon the A41 to Tring, then across country via Ivinghoe and the Leighton Buzzard bypass. Unfortunately it took ages to escape from
Watford, which would have happened whether we’d gone for the A41 or M1
option, because she works on the Croxley Green side of the town. It
also didn’t help that it became foggy as we approached the Tring area; darkness and reduced visibility ... that’s all
I needed! I only have a vague
recollection of the road from Tring to Ivinghoe, dating back to when I used to go rambling with
Mark. And the road from Ivinghoe to Leighton Buzzard was completely new to me;
although I did know there was a sharp right-hand bend followed by a sharp
left-hand bend respectively before and after the hamlet of Horton. The road also passes close to the site of
the 1963 Great Train Robbery. The
Milton Keynes Theatre is to the eastern end of the shopping centre, the A5 to
the west of it. This being the case,
we decided to drive to the far end, before entering the inner road circuit
surrounding the shops. I wasn’t keen
to park in the multi-storey car park close to the theatre, instead choosing a
ground-level one but, unfortunately, there were no spaces to be found even
after 19:15! It was ridiculous; I
thought there were acres and acres of car parking space available in Milton
Keynes. So we set off around the block
once more and parked in the multi-storey after all! Having
arrived in the foyer a young man escorted us to entrance 1 of the
auditorium. We apologised for being
late as we couldn’t find anywhere to park.
“Christmas shoppers”, he said.
It hadn’t even occurred to me that this might be the case in late
November, as I’ve already completed my Christmas shopping! We were shown to our seats once the cast
had completed their first singing number – The Deadwood Stage. Luckily we were sitting at the end of a
row, four back from the stage; although this was a distinct disadvantage
during the interval when all and sundry wished to leave their seats. Anyway,
we really enjoyed the show, which starred Jodie Prenger
as Calamity Jane and Tom Lister as Wild Bill Hickok. I gather Tom spent a number of years
playing the part of Carl King in Emmerdale. Jodie won I’d Do Anything in 2008, which
gave her the opportunity to play the part of Nancy in the West End production
of Oliver. I went to see that show. Having
left the theatre at the end of the performance, we had to queue for a number
of minutes to pay our parking charge because so many others were doing the
same. I needed to drop Lesley off in
her home village and thus set off down a misty/foggy A5 once more. I was hoping to travel via the southern
section of the Leighton Buzzard bypass, rather than retrace our route around
the northern and western sections thereof.
However, upon reaching our turning, we discovered that it was closed
for repairs. This being the case, we
continued to Dunstable, only to be held up due to more road-works. Having
reached the base of Dunstable Downs I set off via my usual route through Totternhoe and Church End. The lane between there and Eaton Bray was
foggy, 20 mph the maximum speed possible.
I dropped Lesley off at 23:00; this was actually the time I’d hoped to
be home myself! I retraced my route,
it was very spooky driving back to Church End alone; I’m so glad no animals
... or ghosts ... decided to cross my path!
Having returned to Dunstable I drove through the housing estate – 20
mph and speed bumps all the way. Having
exited onto the A5 once more, the fog turned to rain and it was wet for the
remainder of my journey home. I
believe I arrived back at 23:40. By
this point I was paranoid about lateness, and worried about getting stuck in
traffic jams on my way to Newbury on Saturday. In addition, the website stated a gate
opening time of 10:30, although in previous years it has been 09:30. However, my mind was put at rest
when an email from the racecourse arrived on Friday evening setting out
information for racegoers and this confirmed the gate opening time was indeed
10:30. That being the case I aimed to
begin my journey at 08:45 as, with a clear run, it takes 90 minutes to get
there. The plan for my day was to go
racing and then visit my friend Denise on the way home; this would enable me
to drop off her Christmas card and presents too. I’d also given Lesley a Christmas card and
presents on Wednesday. And delivered Christmas
cards for Neil and his family last Sunday too! There’s nothing like being well ahead of
the game! With gate opening time
confirmed, I set my alarm clock for 06:00.
I showered, washed and dried my hair before applying make-up. I ate breakfast just after 08:00, whilst
watching the beginning of Channel 4’s The Morning Line; breakfast was two
croissants, plus two slices of buttered toast. My outfit today was three
thermal vests – plum, violet and pink.
A beige/black/red cotton knee-length M & S skirt which has been
sitting in the wardrobe for years, unworn!
40-denier black tights, burgundy M & S boots, black M & S
frill-edged cardigan, purple fleece, burgundy/brown/beige material scarf,
burgundy full length coat, again never worn!
Come to think of it, every item of my clothing was M & S,
including underwear! The only thing
that wasn’t, was my home-constructed necklace and earrings – a silver
coloured nickel-free pendant with burgundy glass pearls and amethyst facetted
rondelle glass beads. I procrastinated slightly, which
meant I left home at 08:55. I drove to
Junction 20 of the M25, via a local housing estate. Traffic was moving fine on the
anti-clockwise carriageway of the motorway, and I reached the M4 interchange
at 09:30. Again, there were no
problems on the M4 westbound carriageway, although a 50- mph limit was in
place to the west of the Maidenhead junction; continuing repairs or
replacement of a bridge I believe. I
remained in the inside lane; the road-works extended well beyond the Reading
East junction. It was a journey of three parts;
I left the motorway at the Reading West exit at 10:00. The reminder of my route took me along the
A4, through Woolhampton and Thatcham to Newbury. Having reached the Hambridge Road junction,
I turned left and headed to the new roundabout which will soon mark the
northern end of the Newbury racecourse exit road. There was a yellow information sign
directing vehicles wishing to park in car park number 4 to turn left in order
to drive through the industrial estate and golf course to reach their
destination. Coaches were directed to
turn right to proceed to the main entrance; it would have been impossible for
them to take the other option, because of a narrow tunnel under the railway line
and a sharp 45 degree right-hand turn just prior to the entry gate. Having negotiated these, I headed
up the very worn driveway towards the grandstands. A new high green wire fence has been
erected to the right-hand side of the driveway but I was still expecting that
not much of my route would have changed.
However, where the driveway kinks, there is a gateway through the
fence; label-holders signed to turn right to enter through the gate (the old
route), with public straight on, that’s me.
Straight on, initially, was a cinder track before newly laid tarmac
was arrived upon. Further on, two
stewards were directing the public to enter via another gated entry
point. I turned right at this location
and was instructed to park upon a grassed area, front row, one away from the
green wire fence and adjacent the home straight. Fortunately the grass was lush and green,
so no problem there. The old derelict
buildings which used to mark the boundary between the grandstand car park and
the racecourse have now been demolished. However, as always at Newbury,
and it gets on my nerves, a pair of didicoy women were acosting punters in an
attempt to sell lucky heather. I’ll
give them lucky heather ... I’d run them over if it was permitted! I’ve complained to the racecourse before
about these crooks, ever since one of them actually opened my car door whilst
I was sitting in my vehicle. I
wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. I told one of them to go away, twice. I amazed myself that I was so polite!!! Anyway, I put on my boots and
then checked my mobile phone and found a message from Denise to say that she
and her husband had felt a little unwell yesterday and asking if I still
wished to pay them a visit after racing.
I confirmed that I’d still arrive at around 17:00 to 17:30, dependent
on traffic; I’d let her know when I was leaving the racecourse to start the
journey to her house. Having eaten two of the cheese
rolls I’d brought with me, I put on my coat and scarf and set off to the main
entrance. Fortunately, walking any
distance is never an issue; right, left, right, left ... that’s not my steps
but my route around the perimeter fence!
Security guards were on hand to check bags; I offered mine anyway,
even though not asked specifically. As
always, I commiserated that my handbag contained so much to search through! It was my large black ‘polyester’ bag; great for fine days like today, but prone to
leaking in wet weather. The old turnstiles have been
removed, a tent constructed above the area which offered entrances for
owners/trainers, ticket purchasers, ticket collectors and the scanning of
pre-purchased tickets too. As I fell
within the latter category, my ticket was scanned and I was permitted to
enter the grandstand enclosure. Having
purchased a racecard for £3.00 from the nearby kiosk, I then headed to the
Dubai Duty Free grandstand in order to visit the loo. The premier enclosure appears to
have expanded slightly, with the boundary now level with the walkway into the
Parade Ring from the Weighing Room. A
tented row of retail outlets, Hennessy High Street, lined the main
concourse. At the near end was the
Racing Post bookshop, where Alistair Down, Gary Witheford and Clare Balding
would be signing their books at intervals during the day. It’s always too late for me, as I would
have purchased a required book via the internet. The first race of the day had an
off time of 12:20, so I then headed to the Parade Ring. There wasn’t that long to wait until the
first presentation of the day, at 11:30, when ATR presenter Martin Kelly
hosted a preview of the day’s racing.
His guests were ex-jockey Willie Robinson, the only jockey to ride
three winners of the Hennessy Gold Cup (Mandarin 1961, Mill House 1963 and
Man Of The West 1968). Also trainers
Philip Hobbs and Paul Nicholls, plus racing pundit Sam Turner (aka Robin
Goodfellow of the Daily Mail). Philip
followed on from Willie Robinson and they chatted briefly, before posing for
a photograph taken by an official photographer. The Premier Enclosure customers
were treated to a pre-race preview held in The Outside Chance Bar, with AP
McCoy and John Francome offering their picks for the day. I spent a few minutes at around
this point making a handful of notes in my notebook; I’d already discovered
that there were none whatsoever recorded for my Cheltenham visit in October. And that particular diary was
enormous! It was soon time for the first
race of the day, in which Alan King had a runner, namely Avispa ridden by
Richard Johnson. The race favourite
was Irish raider Carrigmoorna Rock, priced at 11-8. The
horses having left the Parade Ring, I set off to watch the race. Picnic tables had been placed upon the
concourse, beside the betting stands; this hindered the free movement of
spectators between the Parade Ring and the course-side rails, because punters
loitered around them. It was very
annoying having to dodge at speed around them. I
didn’t venture onto the narrow strip of grass close to the rails, where
further picnic tables are located. I
couldn’t actually reach the rails themselves, due to weight of spectator numbers
today. However, I wish people wouldn’t
stand upon the tables, as they obstruct the view for those behind them. The
starting gate for this event was in the home straight, close to the 2-furlong
mark, with just over one full circuit to be completed and one hurdle to be
negotiated twice during the race.
Then
they were off, at a very slow pace towards the first flight. Ardnahoe led the
way, with Taniokey pulling hard for her head in
second position; Avispa brought up the rear. Taniokey jumped
into the lead at the hurdle, but was quickly reined back to the outside of
the field. Meanwhile Ardnahoe and A Doll In Milan disputed the lead as they
headed up past the grandstands and out into the country for the one and only
time. Into
the back straight they galloped, A Doll In Milan with the slight advantage to
the inside of Ardnahoe; close on their heels Taniokey and Carrigmoorna Rock.
Behind these Broxbourne and Midnight Jazz, followed by Avispa,
who was also fairly keen. A Doll In
Milan cleared the second flight better than Ardnahoe
and thus had a clear advantage. They
headed towards flight number three; Noel Fehily’s
mount regaining ground, only to lose it with a less fluent jump at this
obstacle. There
was no change at the head of affairs as they cleared flight number four, Taniokey was slow here.
The runners cleared flight number five without incident and headed
into the far bend. A Doll In Milan
continued to lead, from Ardnahoe, Carrigmoorna Rock, Taniokey,
Midnight Jazz upsides Broxbourne, and Avispa half a
length down between them. Entering
the home straight, Broxbourne appeared to be the first in trouble having
dropped to the rear of the field; although they were still closely
bunched. A Doll In Milan continued to
lead as they cleared three out. Carrigmoorna Rock disputing second with Ardnahoe; Avispa poking her
nose through the gap between them.
There wasn’t much room as the runners headed towards the penultimate
flight; Avispa in danger of becoming the meat in
the sandwich as Midnight Jazz loomed up on the outside and Ardnahoe was squeezed out. However,
it was Carrigmoorna Rock and Avispa
who took up the running as they closed in upon the hurdle. The Irish raider was slightly the more
fluent at the jump and AP’s mount cruised into the lead. But Avispa
continued to pursue her as they headed towards the final flight. A Doll In Milan held third position at this
stage, with Midnight Jazz behind her and Broxbourne running on behind these. Carrigmoorna Rock was two
lengths up at the last, and she continued to draw away from her rivals as she
approached the line. The winning
distance was 6 lengths. Avispa completed in second, with Broxbourne staying on
into third just 2¾ lengths behind. The
long time leader A Doll In Milan finished 4th, 7 lengths away.
I set off on a route
march back to the Winners Enclosure to see the horses arrive back. Alan King’s representative in
the second race was Turn Over Sivola, ridden by Denis O’Regan; the horse
remains a novice this season, having won just once over the larger obstacles,
in May after season-end. The race
favourite was the Philip Hobbs-trained Royal Regatta, priced at 11-4. This was the race won last year by Valdez;
the horse had been sidelined for the remainder of 2014/2015 season due to a
tendon injury picked up a couple of weeks after his seasonal reappearance at
Chepstow when he’d fallen two out when looking like the winner that day. Once the horses had left the
Parade Ring I headed to the edge of the tarmaced area, three or four metres
from the course-side rails. The starting gate for this event
was part way down the home straight, with two fences to jump prior to
water-jump and then one full circuit of the course.
Then
they were off. Seventh Sky led the
runners over the first fence; to the outside The Clock Leary jumped out to
his right, slightly hampering in his wake Jumps Road. Turn Over Sivola
travelled to the inside of the field; the grey Keltus
was a little awkward, with jockey Sam Twiston-Davies’
right hand briefly losing grip of the reins as he cleared the obstacle. The
horses headed to the second fence; Daryl Jacob steering Jumps Road to the
inside of the Venetia Willams runner to avoid further
problems at this jump. Bringing up the
rear was Royal Regatta. Heading over
the water for the one and only time, the order was Seventh Sky, from The
Clock Leary, Jumps Road, Tara Road, Keltus, Turn
Over Sivola and Royal Regatta; Tara Road was a
little slow here. The
field headed up around the top bend and into the back straight. All the runners took the first fence in
this line of five in their stride; the next fence was the first of two
open-ditches. It was another story
here; the leader took off too far away from the jump, ploughed through the
top of it, lost a lot of momentum although he survived. Jumps Road was also a little awkward
here. Seventh Sky’s error permitted
The Clock Leary to take the lead to the outside of the field. There
were no problems at the middle fence in the back straight, with Jumps Road
now joining the leaders; they raced ahead of Tara Road and Keltus, followed by Turn Over Sivola
and Royal Regatta. The Clock Leary
made an error at the next; there were no incidents at the final fence in the
back straight. Tara Road was probably
travelling the least well as they headed into the far turn, Barry Geraghty pushing his mount along for a few strides. The
Clock Leary led the runners to the cross-fence, but he gave away ground by
jumping out to his right; this enabled Jumps Road to join him as they headed
into the home straight. Keltus had improved into third by this stage, with the
tiring Seventh Sky in fourth; however the latter was soon relegated to last as
the remaining runners improved their positions. Jumps
Road led over the fourth last, from Keltus, Turn
Over Sivola and The Clock Leary; although the
latter’s jumping had become very wayward as he wandered out to his right over
every fence. Having cleared the fence,
Gavin Sheehan pulled up Seventh Sky.
The runners headed to the final open-ditch; Keltus
had assumed a narrow lead by this point, from Jumps Road, Turn Over Sivola and The Clock Leary. The favourite, Royal Regatta was making
stealthy progress up the inside. The
field headed to two out, where Keltus still led by
a length from Jumps Road, with Royal Regatta close behind, upsides Turn Over Sivola. Jumps Road
pecked on landing having hit the fence and soon dropped back to fourth. This left the other two to pursue the grey
down to the final obstacle. Sam Twiston-Davies’ mount still held a length’s advantage
over Royal Regatta to his inside as they jumped the fence, but as they
approached the elbow the latter drew alongside and then pulled away to win by
2 lengths at the line. Turn
Over Sivola had begun to get tire on the run-in but
still held on to third position, finishing 6th lengths behind Keltus. Tara Road
had stayed on to claim fourth place, 2¼ lengths back. Jumps Road completed in 5th, with The Clock
Leary last of the finishers.
Another placed effort from the Alan King
runner. He must be so frustrating to
own, as he always finds one or two better than himself. In his next Weekender column Alan reported
that the ground was too soft for the horse this day and he would have a
mid-season break before returning for one run ahead of possibly being aimed
at one of the big handicaps in the spring.
Once again I did a route march back to the
Winners’ Enclosure to see the placed horses arrive back. The favourite for the next race was Irish raider Dushrembrandt, ridden by Ruby Walsh, priced at 11-4. Alan King’s representative was Midnight
Appeal ridden by his stable conditional jockey, Tom Bellamy. The starting gate for this race was in the back
straight, with one fence to negotiate before the far bend; equating to approximately
one and three quarters circuits.
Then
they were off. Midnight Appeal had a
marginal advantage as they cleared the first fence. Close up to his inside were Dushrembrandt, On Trend, Count Salazar and Bobcatbilly; to his outside Listen Boy. Bertie Boru wasn’t particularly fluent in rear. Tom Bellamy then took a pull aboard his
mount, and this permitted On Trend to take a clear lead as they headed into
the far turn to approach the cross fence.
Listen
Boy crashed out at this obstacle, having been travelling in second position;
he badly hampered Phone Home who had been travelling behind him in
mid-field. Farbreaga
also made a jumping error here. The
loose horse was fine following his mishap and galloped after the field;
jockey Sam Twiston-Davies was soon on his feet
too. On
Trend led the field into the home straight.
The remaining eleven jumped the third fence without incident; although
Noel Fehily aboard Farbreaga,
who was now in rear, was already more animated than the others. There were no mishaps at the first of the
open-ditches; but Noel gave his mount a couple of backhanders as they headed
away from the fence. The
loose horse, which had continued jockey-less over the fences, had joined On
Trend, Dushrembrandt and Midnight Appeal at the
head of affairs as they headed to the next obstacle. There were no fallers at this fence or the
next, and the runners then galloped to the water-jump for the one and only
time. Ruby Walsh’s mount held a slight
advantage as they landed over this fence, from On Trend, Midnight Appeal,
Phone Home, Count Salazar, Bobcatbilly, Baby Shine,
Noble Legend, Bertie Boru,
Tolkeins Tango and Farbreaga.
The
loose horse had declined the opportunity to jump the water and now travelled
close to the runners on the other side of the rails to the inside of the
track. He negotiated a small obstacle
lying on the grass at the apex of the bend but luckily failed to cause havoc
when he took a diagonal route across the racecourse just in front of the
leader in order to avoid jumping the next obstacle. On
Trend now had a four length advantage as he headed over the first in the back
straight, from Midnight Appeal and Dushrembrandt;
at the rear of the field Farbreaga made an error
here. The next fence is an
open-ditch. There were no jumping
problems here, although the favourite had begun to drop back through the
field and now travelled in sixth position.
On
Trend continued to lead over the next, from Phone Home; Bobcatbilly,
Count Salazar and Midnight Appeal disputed third place at this point. Baby Shine and Tolkeins
Tango had joined Dushrembrandt three lengths behind
these, closely followed by Bertie Boru. Ruby’s mount
continued to lose ground upon the leaders as they negotiated the next, solely
the trailing Noble Legend and Farbreaga in his
wake. There
were no mishaps at the final fence in the back straight, and a closely packed
field of eight headed into the far turn, led by On Trend and Phone Home. Near the rear of this group, the mare Baby
Shine was receiving slaps down her neck from her jockey Leighton Aspell as they approached the cross fence. Phone Home jumped out to his right over this
one but still took the lead. Tolkeins Tango was a little bit shabby at the back of the
group. The three trailers, Dushrembrant, Noble Legend and Farbreaga
were pulled up at this point. Phone
Home led over four out, from Bobcatbilly and
Midnight Appeal; at the back of the group both Bertie
Boru and Tolkeins Tango
made errors here. The field headed
down towards the final open-ditch, which they all cleared successfully; Baby
Shine had progressed through the field and was now challenging for second
position, although she was under pressure, as was Bobcatbilly
to her inside and Midnight Appeal to her outside. The
runners cleared two out. The first to
weaken was Bobcatbilly, and he’d soon lost fourth
place to the staying on Bertie Boru;
despite the latter having jumped less than fluently throughout the race. Phone Home was four or five lengths clear
as he jumped the last and appeared to have the race in his pocket. However, Richard Johnson aboard Bertie Boru had other ideas,
despite still having three rivals ahead of him. Having
been in front for a long time, Phone Home’s legs seemed to turn to jelly on
the run to the line. Bertie Boru was driven up to
the inside of Baby Shine, soon drawing alongside Tom Scudamore’s
mount; and although the latter did rally once his rival had joined him, it
was too late and Bertie Boru
had triumphed by a head at the line.
Baby Shine finished 2¾ lengths behind, easing down, with Midnight
Appeal 8 lengths back in 4th.
I
set off once more to the Winners’ Enclosure; this time standing upon the steppings across from the 3rd and 4th place markers in
order to see Midnight Appeal arrive back.
That’s
it for part one of my diary, please click the link below to read part two. Click here to read Part 2 of my diary |
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