DIARY – NEWBURY – LADBROKES TROPHY HANDICAP CHASE
(FORMERLY THE HENNESSY GOLD CUP)
SATURDAY 02 DECEMBER 2017
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The winner of the Ladbrokes Trophy Total Recall trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul
Townend This would be
my second racecourse outing of the 2017/2018 season, the first having been to
Cheltenham two weeks previously. This
Newbury fixture formerly featured the Hennessy Gold Cup; their sponsorship
ended last year, with Ladbrokes taking over and rebranding the race as the
Ladbrokes Trophy. The race is less
than two months older than I am, having started in 1957; the first three
runnings took place at Cheltenham before it moved to Newbury. Mandarin was the first winner, he also won
it in 1961; the roll of honour includes Mill House (1963) and Arkle (1964 and
1965). I am very
familiar with the winners of the 1973 to 1978 races, because my mother has
six ancient table place-mats featuring them – Red Candle, Royal Marshall II,
April Seventh, Zeta’s Son, Bachelors Hall and Approaching! They are still in use and ‘Approaching’ is my favourite. Gate opening
time was 10:00, so I set my alarm clock for around 06:00 with the aim of
leaving home at 08:30. I took a
shower, washed and dried my hair and ate a breakfast of two croissants and
drank half a cup of tea. As usual, if
I’ve built into my schedule plenty of ‘wiggle
time’, I tend to procrastinate; this being the case, I didn’t leave home
until 08:40. After
a mild autumn, the weather had begun to turn colder by the time this fixture
arrived. As luck would have it, the
first day of the meeting was dry, sunny but very cold, whereas the forecast
for the Saturday was warmer but also wet intermittently. After getting soaked at Cheltenham, I was
beginning to think that things weren’t going to go my way this season,
weather-wise. Especially as 2016/2017
had been noticeably dry for every one of my racing days out. However,
despite the forecast, I decided to dress for cold rather than wet. I wore a black polo-neck thermal T-shirt, a
dark grey brushed cotton thermal T-shirt, a dark pink thermal T-shirt, a
purple thermal T-shirt, magenta ribbed polo-neck sweater, mauve BHS v-neck
cardigan, purple fleece, black fleece gillet, plum coloured jeggings with
thermal tights underneath, dark grey double frill-edged M & S skirt,
black and white horse-design socks, black ‘Cannes-style’ Hotter boots, black and white horse-print snood,
plus shades of purple (Bumbleberry) Caron Cakes snood. I
also took my grey M & S fleece-lined snood and neon pink Fab Big hat,
just in case I needed them; plus mittens.
I didn’t take my waterproof hat as it hadn’t been of much use at
Cheltenham; besides I had an umbrella. My route took me around the ring-road
and down to the London Colney roundabout.
I then drove along the bypass to join the anticlockwise carriageway of
the M25 at junction 22. There were no
travel issues on the orbital motorway and at junction 15 I took the slip-road
onto the westbound carriageway of the M4.
Road-works continued at junction 10, and these had been extended
further westwards; a 50 mph speed limit.
The same situation existed on the eastbound carriageway. I left the motorway at junction 12 and
headed down the A4; all very familiar territory and even more so the first
section, as this is part of the route I take to reach Noel Williams’ yard in
Blewbury. Further on I got stuck
behind a slow moving lorry, other vehicles did too. We headed through Woolhampton and onwards
towards Thatcham. The lorry turned
left at one of the roundabouts on the outskirts thereof. I continued through the town, fortunately
the majority of traffic lights were showing green; in fact I reached the
Northfield Road junction before being stopped by a red light. At the far end I turned left and headed
down Benham Hill, then turned left again at the second set of traffic
lights. I had to wait a little longer
than hoped here, as there wasn’t quite enough room for me to squeeze through
the gap between the pavement and the vehicle in front of me in order to take
advantage of the slip-road here. I
continued along Hambridge Road to reach the roundabout just prior to the
bridge over the railway which leads into the racecourse precinct; a car had
broken down on said roundabout. The
occupants were trying to push it out of the way; they didn’t seem to have
much impetus, so good luck with that!
I
continued over the bridge and turned right at the far side roundabout. There was a sign designating car park 5 as
‘grandstand’ so I continued upon
the roadway, bearing right and then left, but not before I’d waited for a
coach to reverse into the entrance to the Fitness Centre in order to turn
around. Upon reaching car park 4, I
asked a steward if it was okay to park there as I held a premier ticket. Yes, here or in the centre of the
racecourse. I thus pulled into car
park 4, as I certainly had no intention of parking in the alternative. Car park 4 is excellent,
it has a tarmac surface and line-marked spaces ... just like a supermarket
car park in fact. It was actually the
second time I’d parked in this particular one – I wasn’t a premier ticket
holder on that occasion, but got away with it anyway! I’d
arrived at 10:15. I’d taken 4 cheese
rolls with me, so I ate two of these before I set off for the newly constructed
eastern entrance. Whilst sitting in my
car, I noticed two paragliders floating in the sky, to the north of the town. Having
put on my coat and Caron Cakes snood, I headed to towards the new eastern
entrance. I’d also placed my
fleece-lined snood and Fab Big hat in a drawstring bag and taken them with
me, just in case temperatures got colder.
Outside the entrance, a member of the security staff checked my bags;
the woman waiting behind me said it had been bitterly cold at Newbury
yesterday. No wonder RUK’s Rishi
Persad had worn a beanie hat and a scarf when carrying out his interviewing
tasks on Friday. I was also instructed
to walk past a spaniel sniffer dog! I
headed in through the new building, where my ticket was scanned; I also had a
premier enclosure badge attached to my handbag. I was using my ‘monkey-design Gabbie-style’ Kipling handbag again today. I might have been pushing my luck somewhat
as, at Cheltenham, the contents of my bag had become rather soggy; I thought
the bags would be waterproof ... but, come to think of it, I didn’t get wet
at the races last season so had no previous experience of using Kipling bags
during wet weather! Opposite
the entrance was a kiosk selling race-cards; the young lady therein refused
to take the £10 note I offered – “It’s
an old one” she said. So
what? It had been given to me by my
bank earlier in the week, so it must have still been legal tender ... and
would be so until 01 March 2018. I had
to rummage in my bag for a fiver instead.
Race-cards cost £3.50. Firstly
I headed to the ladies loo within the Dubai Duty Free stand, before heading
over to the Parade Ring. Members of
the ITV Racing team were making preparations ahead of their afternoon
broadcast. Martin
Kelly was race-day presenter and he interviewed Richie McLernon about his
mount in the big race, Regal Encore. Standing
upon the steppings offers an opportunity to listen in to other people’s
conversations. One couple were
berating the talents of Barry Geraghty, saying how poor his ride had been
aboard Yanworth the previous day.
Personally I’ve lost faith in Barry’s judgement ever since the fatal
injury to Laissez Dire at Plumpton last January. It
was now time for the first race of the day, off time 12:10. The odds-on favourite for this event was the
Fergal O’Brien-trained Cap Soleil, ridden by Paddy Brennan; price 2-5. Also taking part was Dame Rose, winner of
the Mares’ Grade 2 Bumper at the Aintree Festival back in April; on her
previous outing this season she’d been beaten by today’s favourite. I wanted to call her ‘Day-m Rose’ not ‘Dam Rose’
or even ‘Darm Rose’ but, as she’s a
French-bred, I guess it should be Dame as in Notre Dame … which I actually
pronounce ‘Darm’ not ‘Dam’! Once the horses had left the Parade Ring, I headed along the concourse
between the Dubai Duty Free and Berkshire stands, then turned right to enter
the Premier Enclosure. There were
spaces to be had beside the rails so I headed for one of these. 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.
Having led the runners out of the holding pen,
alongside the Di Walters-owned runner, it was Dame Rose who set off at the
head of affairs too, closely followed by Angels Antics. These were followed by Cap Soleil and Monar
Rose with, bringing up the rear, Banjo Girl and All Currencies. Banjo Girl was the least fluent at the
first but it didn’t affect her momentum. The six runners headed up past the grandstands,
with Richard Johnson allowing the leader to stride on into a five or six
lengths advantage as they continued around the top bend. Having entered the back straight, the
favourite was a little clumsy at the first therein. Dame Rose jumped the third slightly more
slowly than the others, which allowed the field to reduce the deficit. The six competitors continued on their
journey over the next flight; the field now close of the leader’s heels. Dame Rose remained ahead however as they headed
to, and over, the final flight in the back straight; her lead over Angel’s
Antics was just one length now and four lengths covered the entire
field. Having reached the end of the
back straight and taking advantage of the descent into the bottom bend,
Richard Johnson permitted his mount to stride on once more. She was travelling smoothly as she entered
the home straight, whereas the jockeys aboard her rivals were now becoming
animated. Dame Rose flew over the third last with a four or
five lengths advantage over Angels Antics; the favourite was a further length
away. Heading down to the three
furlongs post, both the hooded Banjo Girl and Monar Rose received stern
reminders as their jockeys endeavoured to keep in touch with the main group
comprising of Angels Antics, Cap Soleil and All Currencies; Monar Rose
dropped away, leaving the other four to pursue the long-time leader. Cap Soleil jumped to her right over the
penultimate flight and, subsequently, drifted towards the stand-side rail;
Paddy Brennan gave her a reminder to straighten her out again. Richard Johnson’s mount came under a little
bit of pressure as they approached the final flight, but the partnership was
still travelling better than any of their rivals. Dame Rose jumped it well; in contrast both
Angels Antics and Cap Soleil put in clumsy, tired leaps. Having been more fluent, All Currencies
moved into runner-up position at this point. However, the bird had flown and Dame Rose
galloped up the run-in to win by 9 lengths at the line. There ensured a battle for the runner-up
position, with Cap Soleil drifting back towards the far side of the track and
triumphing over All Currencies by three quarters of a length. Angels Antics, who is a strapping filly,
completed less than two lengths further away in 4th. Banjo Girl and Monar Rose completed in 5th
and 6th respectively. Winning trainer Richard Hobson later reported
that two weeks prior to her previous race she’d knocked a hind fetlock joint
so had missed some of the preparation for that one; thus she was fitter
today.
I set off on a route
march back to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the horses arrive back. The favourite for the second race was the Anthony
Honeyball-trained Fountains Windfall, ridden by Aidan Coleman; price
7-4. The horse had also been a winner
at this year’s Aintree Festival, over hurdles. Also taking part in this race was Black
Corton, a prolific winner this season, ridden again by Bryony Frost. Fountains Windfall was taken back to the saddling
boxes before reappearing again; presumably a tack adjustment had been
needed. With the horses having exited onto the
racecourse, I headed into the Premier Enclosure once more. Again there was room for me to stand beside
the course-side rails. The starting gate for race two
was part way down the back straight, with two fences to negotiate prior to
the far turn and then one full circuit of the course having passed the
grandstands.
And then they were off, with Elegant Escape
disputing the lead to the inside of Fountains Windfall. The latter dived over the first slightly,
but got to the other side safely. Sir
Ivan and Black Corton tracked the leading duo, and Wait For Me brought up the
rear. The latter skewed in the air
slightly as he landed over the second.
Elegant Escape held a narrow advantage as the
runners headed into the far turn, with the hooded Wait For Me travelling
three of four lengths detached from the main group. The next obstacle was the cross-fence,
where Fountains Windfall was less fluent than his rivals having put in a
short-stride before take-off. Having turned into the home straight on the first
of two occasions, the runners faced a line of five fences, the second was an
open-ditch, the final one the water-jump.
Sir Ivan made a jumping error at the first of these. All five competitors cleared the open-ditch
in their stride, with Wait For Me continuing detached from the others; a
fitting name evidently! The runners continued over the next two plain
fences, there were no noticeable jumping errors at these, before heading to
the water-jump. Fountains Windfall
jumped this one whilst upsides Elegant Escape and then took a narrow lead as
they continued around the top bend and into the back straight once more. All five runners cleared the first fence
therein stylishly. The following fence
was another open-ditch. There were no issues at this one, with Black
Corton moving up on the outside of the field to take closer order. Fountains Windfall spearheaded the runners
as they headed over the next fence, after which Elegant Escape joined the
leader as they continued over the following obstacle. Seeing a good stride, Harry Cobden rode the
Colin Tizzard-trained runner in towards the final fence within the back
straight and cleared it well. In
contrast, at the rear of the field, Wait For Me hit it; he survived. Entering the far turn, Sir Ivan received a slap
down his neck but began to lose touch with the leading three. Once again, Fountains Windfall got a little
close to the cross-fence but he was still almost matching strides as the
runners headed into the home straight with just four further obstacles now to
negotiate. Both Sir Ivan and Wait For Me had rallied by this
point and weren’t far behind the leaders as they all successfully cleared
four out, before heading towards the final open-ditch. However, having appeared to jump it okay,
if a little too big, Fountains Windfall’s legs buckled on landing and he was
out of the race; jockey Aidan Coleman was thrown clear. This left Black Corton to lay down his challenge
to Elegant Escape as they headed towards the penultimate fence; he was
upsides as they cleared it. The other
two continued but were of no danger to the leading duo. Bryony Frost’s mount had gained a very
slight advantage as they duelled on their way towards the final fence but,
whereas Elegant Escape jumped it big and hold, Black Corton got too close and
hit it; this stemmed his momentum, allowing Harry Cobden’s mount to take the
lead once more. Both horses were driven to the line by their
young jockeys, but Elegant Escape was able to retain his advantage and won by
three quarters of a length. These two
had pulled away from their tired rivals, with Sir Ivan holding off Wait For
Me to claim 3rd; he finished 13 lengths behind the runner-up and 2¼ lengths ahead
of the 4th.
I
returned to the steppings above the Parade Ring to see the horses arrive
back. The favourite for this event was the Caroline
Bailey-trained Crosspark, ridden by Richard Johnson; price 9-2. Warriors Tale was bred by Alan King,
although he is trained by Paul Nicholls.
Bouvreuil’s pilot was sporting the racing silks of the late Sir Peter
O’Sullevan; they had been bequeathed to owner JP McManus. It was strange to see Bouvreuil without a
hood … I had no idea he had a blaze!
Wayne Hutchinson was riding Different Gravey for trainer Polly Gundry
and owners Mr & Mrs Kelvin-Hughes.
As I’d done for the previous two races and would
do for all bar the final race of the day, once the horses had exited the Parade
Ring, I headed into the Premier Enclosure to view the event from beside the
course-side rails. As the Peter O’Sullevan Trust supports the
retraining of racehorses, former Hennessy Gold Cup winners Bobs Worth and
Carruthers, along with talented ex-racehorse Rocky Creek, paraded on the
course ahead of this race. Bobs Worth is now 12 years old and lives at the
Hillwood Stud with Charlie and Tracy Vigors and family. He helps educate the young horses, goes
hunting and enjoys hacking with the children and their ponies. Charlie rode him in today’s parade. Carruthers is 14 and has remained with the
Bradstock family; he goes drag hunting, point-to-pointing and aims to take
part in team chasing too for their daughter Lily. I think there was also mention that he
might do some show-jumping with son Alfie.
Carruthers is known as ‘The Boss’,
as he does pretty much what he wants to do.
Lily rode him today. Rocky Creek is 11 and was runner-up in the 2013
Hennessy Gold Cup. Owners, the Johnson
and Stewart families, gifted him to his work rider Camilla Orttewell; she
works for his former trainer Paul Nicholls.
He’s been hunting and Camilla, who was riding him today, hopes to
compete in some ROR competitions during the summer of 2018. 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.
And then they were off, with Gold Present coming
through the dispute the lead with Different Gravey as the runners cleared the
first fence. All twelve partnerships
remained intact as the runners continued into the far turn led by the Nicky
Henderson representative. Different
Gravey wasn’t particularly fluent at the sometimes tricky cross-fence. Subsequently, Gold Present held the advantage as
the runners headed into the home straight, from Different Gravey, Gentleman
Jon, No Buts, Junction Fourteen, Crosspark, Potters Cross, Little Jon,
Bouvreuil, Warriors Tale, O Maonlai and On Tour. There are five fences in the home straight,
and they all cleared the first of these well. The fourth fence was the first open-ditch and the
leader jumped noticeably out to his right as he cleared it; On Tour continued
to bring up the rear. The runners
headed to the next where, once again, there were no noticeable jumping
errors. The following fence was the
one before the water, with Gold Present continuing to lead over it from
Different Gravey, Junction Fourteen and Gentleman Jon. It was noticeable that the favourite,
Crosspark, had lost his place. The runners headed to the water-jump next, with
Potters Cross getting a little close to it and landing awkwardly. The twelve-strong field then headed around
the top turn and into the back straight once more. There were no departures at the first fence
therein but, having been relegated to last place just before jumping it and
subsequently making a mistake, Richard Johnson decided to pull up Crosspark;
the favourite was out of the race. The following fence was an open-ditch, with Gold
Present still travelling in advance of his rivals and On Tour continuing to
chase the field. Jumping the middle
fence in the back straight, Gentleman Jon had advanced to chase the long-time
leader. Potters Cross now struggled
and had been relegated to last place as the runners headed over the eleventh
fence; he jumped the next, after which his jockey Adam Wedge called it a day. The remaining ten competitors headed into the far
turn, with Gentleman Jon sneaking up the inside of Gold Present and taking
the lead at this point. They were
pursued by No Buts, who is always easy to identify due to one very long white
stocking on his near-fore, then Little Jon, Different Gravey, Bouvreuil,
Warriors Tale, Junction Fourteen, On Tour and last year’s winner O
Maonlai. The next obstacle was the cross-fence; Wayne
Hutchinson aboard Different Gravey saw a stride, but his mount said no thanks
and got too close. The horse landed
safely but the jockey lost his balance and was hanging onto the reins for
dear life. It looked briefly like
Harry Cobden might push Wayne back into the saddle … he gave the jockey a
nudge … whether it be to help or just to get him out of the way. It failed
and Wayne landed unceremoniously on the ground with a thud. Meanwhile Paddy Brennan’s mount continued to lead
as they rounded the bend and entered the home straight, he was ahead of Gold
Present, Warriors Tale, Little Jon and the improving On Tour; there were just
four further fences to negotiate.
However, On Tour took off too early and dragged his hind-legs through
the fence as they jumped four out; this resulted in young Mitchell Bastyn
becoming unbalanced before being unseated a number of strides after it. It was an almost identical landing to that
of Wayne at the previous fence; Mitchell was lucky that O Maonlai didn’t kick
him. However, last year’s winner was pulled
up after the fence. The third last was the final open-ditch, with
Gentleman Jon to the far side, jumping it slightly in advance of Gold Present
to the near-side and Warriors Tale in the centre; Little Jon was in fourth
position. The three leading
protagonists continued to battle as they headed down towards the second last;
it was still all to play for.
Meanwhile, in behind, there was a separate battle being fought, with
Junction Fourteen staying on to overtake the Twiston-Davies-trained runner. Having successfully negotiated the final fence,
the prize was still up for grabs between the leading three, although at this
point, Gold Present seemed the most unlikely winner. The loose On Tour, who had bypassed the
final fence having jumped the previous two, now decided to drift back across
to join them. As the runners met the
elbow, all three were again racing stride for stride; the rider-less On Tour
just ahead of them. To the inside,
Gentleman Jon was the first beaten, which left Warriors Tale and Gold Present
neck and neck. Unfortunately the loose
horse seemed to hamper Bryony’s mount, very briefly, but it was enough for
Nico de Boinville to claim an unlikely win by a neck at the line. When interviewed, the winning jockey Nico de
Boinville said he’d not intended to lead but didn’t want to disappoint the
horse. He thought he’d win, although
did admit the loose horse may have helped; he said he was able to get a
breather into Gold Present with the aim of getting a second wind, which he
did to great success.
I
returned to the steppings above the Parade Ring to see the horses arrive
back. The
joint-favourites for the next race were Old Guard trained by Paul Nicholls
and ridden by Bryony Frost, and Air Horse One trained by Harry Fry and ridden
by Noel Fehily; price 7-2. Alan
King had two runners in the event, firstly Coeur De Lion ridden by Kevin
Dowling and also Dino Velvet ridden by Brendan Powell; both were year-olds
and stepping up in trip today.
Conditional stable jockey Kevin Dowling was able to claim 10 lbs off
the former, whose original weight would have been 11 stone 5 lbs. Dino Velvet was on 10 stone, so had to be
ridden by one of the jockeys who could do the minimum weight! As
I was heading down to the course-side rails, there was a broadcast
announcement asking Alan King to report to the Weighing Room ... I surmised,
correctly it later transpired, that Wayne Hutchinson wouldn’t be riding for
the reminder of the afternoon following his unseating from Different
Gravey. Alan now needed to find
replacement jockeys for Cosmeapolitan in the Intermediate Hurdle and Label
Des Obeaux in the feature race. The
starting gate for this race was located at the far corner of the track, with
one and a half circuits to travel during the race.
And then they were off, with the outsider Vicenzo
Mio leading the way from Doesyourdogbite and Old Guard. The runners had soon entered the home
straight, with David Noonan’s mount now setting up a clear lead, over the
Jonjo O’Neill and Paul Nicholls runners.
They were followed by Remiluc to the outside of the grey Jabulani and
the also grey Air Horse One. Dino
Velvet was in the next rank, to the inside of Coeur De Lion and Maestro
Royal. The final three were Jaleo, the
third grey Master Dancer and, finally, Court Minstrel; the latter was ridden
by Mitchell Bastyn, the jockey having been unharmed following the mishap in
the previous race. The gallop wasn’t strong and all twelve runners
cleared the first flight without incident.
The horses continued up the home straight, where Jabulani landed
slightly awkwardly when he jumped the next.
Ears pricked, the nose-banded Vicenzo Mio remained at the head of
affairs as they headed to, and over, flight number three. There were seven more flights of hurdles to
jump as the competitors headed past the winning post, around the top bend and
out into the country for the one and only time. The pace was quite steady and a number of
the jockeys had to restrain their mounts. Having reached the first flight in the back straight,
Doesyourdogbite was noticeably slower than his rivals when jumping it. At the rear of the field, Court Minstrel
dislodged the protective strip having clattered his hind-legs through the
top. There was no change at the head
of the field as the runners jumped the fifth flight; Master Dancer and Court
Minstrel continued to bring up the rear, three lengths detached. Ears still pricked, Vicenzo Mio led over
the next too. The runners had soon reached the final flight in
the back straight, with Old Guard in second, followed by Air Horse One,
Remiluc, Coeur De Lion, Dino Velvet, Jabulani, Doesyourdogbite, Maestro
Royal, Jaleo, Master Dancer and Court Minstrel. Having cleared this one, the horses headed
into the far turn and had soon completed a circuit. The field was still united as they entered
the home straight, but jockey David Noonan aboard the long-time leader had
begun to push his mount along. Vicenzo Mio held a half-length advantage as the
runners jumped three out, from Old Guard, Remiluc, Air Horse One, Jabulani
and Coeur De Lion; Doesyourdogbite was now detached in rear. The horses galloped down to the second
last, with Remiluc and Old Guard now disputing the lead; Master Dancer had
made rapid progress to the inside of runners, joining those in behind, namely
Air Horse One, Dino Velvet, Jabulani, Jaleo, Coeur De Lion and the fading
Vicenzo Mio. Old Guard and Remiluc continued to spearhead the
field as they headed to the final flight; Coeur De Lion’s challenge now began
to falter, as did that of Jaleo.
Maestro Royal was already beaten, and Court Minstrel was unable to get
on terms. The leading duo were still
neck and neck as they jumped the last, with Old Guard finally getting the
better of and pulling away from his rival as they headed to the line; the
winning distance was 2¾ lengths. Air Horse One had kept on after the last and
closed to within a head of Remiluc to claim 3rd. Master Dancer completed in 4th, a further
1¼ lengths away. Dino Velvet was a
good 5th, with Coeur De Lion fading into 11th place. Finally
a victory for Bryony Frost, after two runner-up spots today. Old Guard runs in the same colours as Black
Corton; Jeremy Kyle being a part-owner.
Old Guard is known as Ollie within the yard.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure once more to see the horses arrive
back. The next race was the Intermediate Hurdle, a
limited handicap; the listed race is registered as the Gerry Feilden
Hurdle. The favourite for this race
was High Bridge, trained by Ben Pauling and ridden by Mr Alex Ferguson,
claiming 7 lbs; price 9-4. Alan King had a runner in this race, namely
Cosmeapolitan; Barbury Castle Stud bred the horse, his dam is Cosmea … I
remember her! Choc rode her three
times, during the 2008/2009 season, winning twice! Anyway, Tom Bellamy replaced Wayne
Hutchinson, the latter having been stood-down for the day. 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.
Amour De Nuit was shaking his head as he was
ridden across the course to the starting gate, and the favourite’s tongue was
hanging out of the left-hand side of his mouth! And then they were off, or rather they weren’t
for the first few seconds, with no-one appearing keen to make it. Alex Ferguson then decided that he’d lead
them away and onwards towards the first flight. Just behind him travelled Amour De Nuit and
the Hemmings-owned runner Mount Mews.
After these were Cosmeapolitan and the mare Poppy Kay; in rear were
Master Of Irony and the JP McManus-owned Charli Parcs. The leader stuttered into the flight
slightly, in order to clear it safely. Amour De Nuit was very keen as they headed up
past the winning post and entered the top bend. High Bridge, Amour De Nuit and Mount Mews
had soon set up a lead of five or six lengths, but this had been closed down
by the time they entered the back straight.
The leader was striding on as they approached the
next; as a result he hit this one. The
Alan King runner nodded slightly on landing but it didn’t cost him any
ground. The order remained the same as
they continued their journey down the back straight, successfully negotiating
the third flight as they did so. Ears
pricked, High Bridge remained at the head of affairs as they cleared the
next; Cosmeapolitan jumped this a little more slowly than his rivals. Moving on, Alex Ferguson’s mount continued to
lead; Amour De Nuit remained keen whilst disputing second position to the
outside of Mount Mews. Heading into
the far turn, Master Of Irony had become detached from the field by around
two or three lengths. High Bridge led
them into the home straight, with half a mile still to travel and just three
more hurdles to negotiate. Having
jumped the third last, the runners were queuing up behind the favourite,
waiting to launch their challenges. Alex was niggling at his mount slightly but he
retained a narrow advantage as the runners neared two out; Charli Parcs, to
the inside, was almost upsides as they jumped it. However, with a few slaps and one back
hander, High Bridge continued to find more and remained ahead. The favourite was still half a length up as
he cleared the final flight, from Charli Parcs, Amour De Nuit, Cosmeapolitan
and Poppy Kay; Amour De Nuit jumped it awkwardly and dislodged the orange
protective strip. Alex Ferguson got serious with his mount after
the last, administering encouragement with the whip held in his right hand,
although High Bridge still drifted to his right. However, it was enough to hold off the
challenge from the JP McManus runner and he won by 1¼ lengths
at the line. Poppy Kay came through to
claim 3rd place, just three quarters of a length further back. Having initially looked booked for 4th,
Cosmeapolitan faded close home and finished last, although 4 lengths covered
the entire field at the line! In
contrast, Master Of Irony flew home and claimed 4th position, just a neck
behind Poppy Kay. The winner is owned by the jockey’s grandmother,
Margaret. High Bridge had been
transferred from Godolphin to Bloomfields and had won bumpers whilst trained
by Alex’s father John; he also finished 6th to Ballyandy in the Cheltenham
Festival bumper. High Bridge also won
his first three starts over hurdles, beating Alan King’s Top Tug and Azzerti
respectively in two of them. He also
finished 9th in last season’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and 3rd to Elgin at
Ascot in October. No wonder he was the
race favourite today!
I
headed back to the Parade Ring area to see the horses return. This was formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup. The race favourite was Total Recall, winner
of Limerick’s Munster National the previous month and trained by Willie
Mullins; he was ridden by Paul Townend, as Ruby Walsh was currently on the
injury side-lines. The favourite’s
price was 9-2. The Harry Fry-trained
American was very popular in the betting too; he was the early
favourite. Alan King had a runner in this event, namely Label
Des Obeaux. Pleasant Company having
been withdrawn with a vet’s certificate, Alan engaged his Grand National
winning jockey David Mullins, nephew of Willie, to replace the stood-down
Wayne Hutchinson. This year, it felt like the race
hadn’t attracted many ‘class’
horses, apart from Coneygree and Whisper; they headed the weights. Bearing in mind that, this being my tenth
consecutive attendance, I’d seen the race won by Madison Du Berlais, Denman,
Diamond Harry, Carruthers, Bobs Worth, Triolo D’Alene, Many Clouds, Smad
Place and Native River. There was a parade ahead of the race, led by a
couple of mounted huntsmen. However,
the hooded and keen Singlefarmpayment, led by two handlers, preceded
them. The runners having completed the
parade and cantered back towards the starting gate situated at the beginning
of the back straight, the race was delayed by Present Man; he’d lost a shoe
and, whilst standing upon the in-field, had to have his off-fore hoof
re-shod. He was Bryony Frost’s mount. Meanwhile, the other 19 runners we milling around
in a group and, once re-shod, Bryony re-joined Present Man to the front of
them, up against the outside rail. It
would have been a first-time rolling start but for the fact that Double Ross
decided to plunge forward, twice, taking him out of line and too close to the
tape. As a result everyone was soon in
a muddle, with the majority deciding to take a turn.
And then they were off, at the second attempt; it
wasn’t quite a standing start for most.
The runners were led away by Coneygree, Double Ross and Cogry. Also prominent were Carole’s Destrier,
Braqueur D’Or and, to the outside, Southfield Royale. The runners cleared the first fence without
incident and Singlefarmpayment brought up the rear. The second fence was an open-ditch; again there
were no departures, although Pilgrims Bay was untidy when travelling one from
the rear. Settling down, Coneygree
spearheaded the field as they jumped the third, Double Ross was almost
upsides, closely followed by Present Man, Potters Legend, Cogry and Braqueur
D’Or and Southfield Royale. Label Des
Obeaux wasn’t travelling particularly well for his new rider David Mullins
and was relegated to the back of the field as they jumped the fourth. Coneygree was being pressed by Double Ross and
Present Man as they continued their journey to the final fence in the back
straight, where Southfield Royale made an error. All twenty runners remained as the Mark
Bradstock runner led them into the far turn, closely pursued by Double Ross
and Present Man. Potters Legend,
Cogry, Braqueur D’Or and Southfield Royale continued in a group behind these,
followed by Royal Vacation, American, Whisper and Total Recall. The runners cleared the sometimes tricky
cross-fence without incident before heading into the home straight on the
first occasion. Coneygree continued to
hold a very narrow advantage as the competitors cleared the next; the
following fence was the second open-ditch.
This posed no threat to the experienced chasers and they all jumped it
well. The Alan King runner was now
being pushed along to the rear of the field.
Coneygree continued to lead as they headed
towards the grandstands, with Present Man his nearest pursuer as they cleared
the ninth fence. Having jumped this
one, Royal Vacation dropped back through the field and received
reminders. Present Man jumped through
to join the long-time leader as they all negotiated the next
successfully. The following fence was
the water-jump, where American made an error and lost a few places as a
result. The 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner had regained
the lead as they entered the back straight; his nearest pursuers being
Present Man, Missed Approach, Potters Legend, Braqueur D’Or and Cogry. Having jumped the next fence, Missed
Approach took the lead. The following
fence was another open-ditch and Cogry didn’t jump it particularly well,
after which he was pushed along for a few strides. Missed Approach continued to lead as the horses
headed over the next, from Potters Legend and Coneygree. Once again, Cogry had to be pushed along
having jumped it. Now at the back of
the field, Royal Vacation was pulled up by Paddy Brennan before the next. Blinkered for the first time and with the
assistance of the Champion Jockey Richard Johnson, Missed Approach continued
to lead as they jumped the fifteenth. Coneygree was beating a fast retreat as the
remaining 19 runners headed towards the final fence in the back
straight. Although still in the race,
Label Des Obeaux trailed the field. Missed
Approach led over it, from Potters Legend, Braqueur D’Or, Present Man,
Whisper, Total Recall, American and Double Ross. American began to drop back through the
field as they headed into the far turn.
Southfield Royale hadn’t been particularly fluent when jumping the
previous two fences and was soon pulled up; as was Label Des Obeaux. Cogry was pulled up at the 17th too. The remaining runners negotiated the cross-fence
without issue; both Coneygree and American were pulled up having jumped
it. This left Missed Approach to lead
the runners into the home straight, from Potters Legend, Whisper, Braqueur
D’Or, Present Man, Total Recall, Double Ross, Carole’s Destrier, Regal
Encore, Pilgrims Bay, Singlefarmpayment, A Genie In Abottle, the sole grey
Vyta Du Roc and, finally, Bigbadjohn. Heading towards four out, creeping towards the
leading duo and travelling well, were Whisper and Total Recall; also gaining
was Regal Encore, along with Singlefarmpayment. All of the remaining fourteen runners negotiated
this fence safely. The competitors
continued to the final open-ditch, with Total Recall probably travelling the
best at this point. It was Whisper who landed ahead over this one,
from Total Recall, Missed Approach and Potters Legend. However, just behind them and with pilot
Adrian Heskin riding his horse into the fence one-two-three up,
Singlefarmpayment dived at it and capsized on landing. Present Man and Double Ross were hampered
by this departure; the latter was pulled up as a result. Meanwhile, Davy Russell and Whisper had got the
lead as they headed towards the penultimate fence; Total Recall was tucked in
behind him as they jumped it. Regal
Encore had passed tiring horses and was now in third position, ahead of
Braqueur D’Or. Paul Townend gave Total
Recall two or three backhanders as they galloped towards the final obstacle
but Whisper remained two lengths to the good as they cleared it. Heading for the elbow, the advantage began to
close; Whisper was carrying 11 stone 8 lbs as opposed to the 10 stone 8 lbs
of his rival. Thus despite Davy
Russell’s efforts, and with the far rail to help him, Total Recall closed the
gap and got his head in front to pip Whisper by a neck at the line. Damn.
An Irish-based winner of the race for the first time since Bright
Highway in 1980 … although Be My Royal won the race in 2002 only to be
disqualified due to traces of a banned substance! Be My Royal was trained by Willie Mullins
too. The first two had drawn well away from the third,
Regal Encore; he finished 9 lengths behind.
Braqueur D’Or claimed 4th, a further 3¾ lengths away. Pilgrims Bay was 5th, Missed Approach 6th,
Potters Legend 7th, Carole Destrier 8th, A Genie In Abottle 9th, Bigbadjohn
10th, Vyta Du Roc 11th and Present Man last of those who completed.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the winning horse arrive back. Having been beaten by a neck, Whisper’s trainer
Nicky Henderson regretted the fact that his charge had picked up a 4 lb
penalty for winning a 2-horse Kempton Park Graduation Chase early in
November. The favourite for the final race of the day was
the Nicky Henderson-trained Theinval, ridden by Nico de Boinville today; his
regular pilot Jeremiah McGrath had been injured in a fall from the same horse
two weeks previously, at Cheltenham.
Theinval’s price was 3-1. There
was one grey in this race, the pretty Greybougg. With the crowds now dispersed, I couldn’t be
asked to walk into the Premier Enclosure; I headed down to the rails within
the Grandstand enclosure instead. The
starting gate for this event was half way down the home straight, with that
and one full circuit to travel.
Having exited the holding-pen and taken a turn,
Festive Affair was a little too keen to get on with it and breasted the
tape. The horses regrouped and it was
turn and turn again, before they ambled in at a walk
and were off. Greybougg led the runners to the first, from Duke
Of Navan, Rock On Rocky and Festive Affair; bringing up the rear were
Overtown Express and Dream Bolt. All
of the runners cleared this fence in their stride. Not so at the second, where Duke Of Navan
took a tumbling fall, hampering Just Cameron and Baby King in the process. This left the grey with a lead of three or
four lengths over Festive Affair as they headed to the water-jump for the one
and only time; the remaining runners jumped this without incident. Meanwhile, Duke Of Navan was soon on his
feet and had followed the field; jockey Davy Russell walked away
unharmed. Greybougg continued to lead as they headed into
the top turn, from Festive Affair; Just Cameron disputed third position with
the hooded Marracudja and Rock On Rocky.
Behind these travelled Theinval, Overtown Express, Baby King, Dream
Bolt and the loose horse. The runners
continued their journey and had soon entered the back straight. Having reached the first fence therein,
Greybougg jumped it well; Festive Affair in contrast almost walked through
it, but survived. The next fence was the first of two open-ditches
and posed no problems. The nine
remaining competitors continued to the next, which they all cleared well;
although Baby King was briefly pushed along as they headed away from it. The leader got a little bit close to the
seventh fence but still held a clear advantage over his nearest rivals on
their journey towards the final fence in the back straight. Having cleared this one without incident, the
grey was four lengths clear of the main field, led by Marracudja, as they
entered the far bend. Just Cameron and
Rock On Rocky disputed third, from Theinval, Baby King, Festive Affair, Dream
Bolt and Overtown Express. The loose
horse continued to shadow the field, travelling beside the outside rail and
out of harm’s way. Greybougg’s lead was greatly reduced by the time
they jumped the cross-fence.
Marracudja got close to this one and Harry Cobden had to urge him
along having landed over it. Meanwhile
to the outside of the field, Overtown Express had begun to make noticeable
progress; in fact he was in third position as they entered the home
straight. And he was travelling so
well, that he jumped into the lead at the fourth last. The next fence was the final open-ditch and Noel
Fehily’s mount held a half-length advantage over Rock On Rocky as they jumped
it; Greybougg was in third position presently. Having cleared the fence, Jamie Bargary
switched his mount to the nearside of the leader. Overtown Express, ears pricked suggesting
he’d still got plenty left in the locker, jumped two out and began to draw
smoothly away from his rivals. He
popped over the last, whilst Rock On Rocky and Theinval continued their
battle for the runner-up position. Having been well in command since the third last,
Noel Fehily had only to ride him out to the line to win by 10 lengths. Rock On Rocky got the better of Theinval to
claim 2nd by 3¼ lengths, with Dream Bolt claiming 4th spot a further 2
lengths behind the Nicky Henderson runner.
Marracudja was 5th and Greybougg 6th. When interviewed, Noel said his mount appreciated
the ground and probably jumped the fences better than he’d ever done, getting
from A to B quickly; it was Overtown Express’ first run of the season. He’d previously disappointed in Warwick’s
Kingmaker Chase early in the year when not ‘right’ that day.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure for the final time today in order to see
the horses arrive back. Post-race presentations made, it was time for me
to head back to the car park to collect my car. I popped to the loo within the Dubai Duty
Free stand prior to departing; no queue, excellent, before heading out
through the door to the rear of the grandstand. As I was parked in car park 4, I headed out
through the newly constructed eastern ticket hall; it was deserted. I crossed the roadway via a pedestrian
crossing, there was a buggy waiting to take people back to vehicles parked
some distance away. I continued along the pathway which runs to the
back of the apartment blocks, before turning left to enter the car park in
order to return to my car. The majority
of the apartments are now occupied, but there was still a large crane in situ
so, presumably, the block nearest the bridge had not yet been completed;
there are five blocks in this area.
Having changed out of my damp coat, I hung it over the back of the
passenger seat to dry off. I laid
other damp items along the back seat and placed my Hotter boots in a Really
Useful box; they were less muddy than expected. I even removed my skirt ... I hasten to add
that I was wearing jeggings beneath it!
I also removed my disposable contact lenses. I’d wear my sight-vision glasses, along
with my night vision ones for my drive home. Not far away from my own vehicle, there was a
group of three blokes enjoying a picnic; they’d even brought folding
deckchairs with them! It wasn’t
particularly cold, but it continued to drizzle with rain – not my idea of
ideal picnicking weather. Meanwhile I
settled down to eat the two remaining cheese rolls. Despite there being plenty of empty spaces
in the car park, another vehicle arrived and parked directly beside me;
strange. There appeared to be no traffic queuing to leave
the immediate area, so it was now time for me to begin my journey home; it
was 16:20. I reversed out of my
parking space and turned right having exited the car park. I headed towards the Fitness Centre, the
road bears right at this point and then left at the exit point of car park 5;
I joined the back of the queue here.
It didn’t take long to reach the initial roundabout; I turned left at
this point to drive slowly over the bridge, within the queue, and had soon
reached the next roundabout at the junction with the Hambridge Road. I subsequently headed over the River Kennet
and onwards towards the traffic lights upon the A4. I had to wait in a long queue for the lights to
change; I wanted to turn right. In
hindsight it may have been quicker to carry on, straight ahead, into Fir Tree
Lane. Once upon the A4, I continued to
a large roundabout where I turned right to head through Thatcham. I got caught by one or two sets of traffic
lights along this stretch of the road but was soon on my way past the
industrial area and onwards to Woolhampton.
There’s a 30 mph limit through the village, before I continued to the
roundabout close to Aldermaston, and along a section of dual carriageway
prior to the turning to Ufton Nervet; I believe Menace lives at Ufton Nervet. I continued upon the A4, navigating another two
roundabouts to arrive at Junction 12 of the M4; at this point I joined the
eastbound carriageway thereof. This
section of the M4 is lit, so there were no night vision issues. There are no lights between junctions 10
and 8/9 and for a short section before they recommence on the approach to
Slough West, junction 7. I continued
past the Slough Central and Langley junctions, and pulled over to the new
inside lane which is created by the entry slip-road at Junction 5. There was a queue of traffic at this point, as
vehicles waited to join the M25. I subsequently joined the clockwise
carriageway and continued around to Junction 21A. Once again, in hindsight, I should have
continued to Junction 22 like I usually do.
But traffic suddenly slowed on the approach to the earlier junction so
I wondered if there was an additional problem on the motorway; there had been
warning signs of a 30-minute delay between junctions 23 and 25. It transpired that the issue was weight of
traffic on the North Orbital Road between Watford and St Albans, so it was a
slip-road issue, not a motorway issue.
Too late ... and I’d been thinking that I would be home by 18:00. It took around 10 minutes to travel the
short-distance from the motorway to the roundabout upon the North Orbital; I
turned left and headed into St Albans.
I decided upon a route along Watford Road, around the perimeter of
Verulamium Park and along the ring-road to reach home. On the plus side I saw Smiley SID, but on
the minus side there were two sets of temporary traffic lights to negotiate;
these were due to road-works. I
arrived home at 18:20. I was in time
to see the quarter-finals of Strictly Come Dancing and also had time to
upload my photographs – I’d taken over 400 despite the weather being against
me! I had hoped to write a blog before
turning in but, at around 22:30, I was overcome by tiredness so went to bed,
eventually! Once my head turns ‘muzzy’ there is no hope of getting any
writing done. It
was reported that attendee numbers were down this year, Hennessy having ended
its sponsorship of the big race. In
hindsight it did seem fairly quiet on the steppings and concourses, and I
always managed to find a spot beside the course-side rails too; although this
was the first time I’d purchased a premier ticket rather than a grandstand
one. My thought, this season, was that
the Winners’ Enclosure might have been repositioned by the time this fixture
arrived; it hadn’t but must be imminent.
From viewing graphics of the new Parade Ring, it’s due to move towards
the Premier Enclosure side, rather than the Grandstand side, hence my
decision to purchase a more expensive ticket on this occasion. It
did seem quiet within the ground floor of the Dubai Duty Free grandstand,
following racing, and there was no queue for the ladies loo either! Earlier in the day, there were adverts for
available restaurant places and the Ladbrokes VIP pavilion was opened to the
general public quite early in the afternoon – presumably due to lack of
trade! I hated the very intrusive
Ladbrokes signage; it was everywhere, even stuck to every railing around the
Parade Ring. You just couldn’t miss
it; very tacky. Admittedly,
it didn’t help my mood that Willie Mullins trained the winner of the feature
race!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... |
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PHOTOS – Ladbrokes Trophy Day (Index) |
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