DIARY – NEWBURY
GREATWOOD CHARITY RACEDAY
SATURDAY 02 MARCH 2013
|
Kauto Star is put through his dressage paces by new partner, Laura Collett The season was beginning to
liven up as the Cheltenham Festival approached; after a very quiet period
during late January and early February, this was the second consecutive
Saturday that I’d made a trip to the races.
When in west Berkshire I like to
visit my friend Denise on my way home but, on this occasion, she told me she
had a ‘stinking’ cold, so I
forewent that pleasure. My outfit today was a black
thermal vest, a cream long-sleeved vest, purple long-sleeved t-shirt, black
tie-front sweater, black frilly-edged cardigan, new purple fleece, burgundy
Per Una frilly-edged cardigan, black gillet, purple woollen tights, black
treggings, long black handkerchief hem skirt, and purple winter jacket. Also black engineer boots, black/white
horse design snood, and turquoise Big Bang loopy scarf. I put my Dappy hat in my handbag but, as it
turned out, l didn’t feel cold enough to wear it today. I decided to rise early, as I
had chores to complete before heading to Newbury. I showered, washed and dried my hair, ate a
breakfast of toast and croissants, and applied my make-up. I left home at 09:00, parking my car a 10-minute
walk from the City Centre, close to St Albans FC’s ground in Clarence
Park. I wanted to visit my bank to
withdraw cash in order to pay a credit card bill at an adjacent bank. I also popped across to Argos to purchase a
spindle of blank DVDs. I had aimed to go directly to
Newbury from here but in the event, and having returned to my car, I
discovered that I didn’t have a sufficient number of tissues in my handbag;
should I visit Boots, bearing in mind I’d missed this opportunity in town or
should I return home, where I had a plentiful supply – I chose the
latter. So I finally set off very
shortly after 10:00. I saw a number of magpies as I
drove to join the M25 at Junction 20.
Hopefully it would be a lucky day ... or, at least, not an unlucky
one. My journey took me along the
anticlockwise carriageway to Junction 15, where I joined the westbound
carriageway of the M4. Being a
Saturday morning, there were no delays on the motorway, apart from the
enforcement of a 50 mph limit through road-works shortly before Junction 11
... I’m sure that road-works had been carried out on this section not that
long ago. I left the motorway at Junction
12 and headed along the A4 towards Newbury.
Shortly before Padworth, I was delayed by a car travelling at a mere
45 mph in a 60 mph limit – I overtook it as soon as we reached the dual
carriageway section of the road.
However, typically, I was then held up by another slow-moving vehicle
just prior to Thatcham and they caught me up again. How annoying. Through Thatcham I was amazed to travel
behind two vehicles who were breaking the law – the first had a rear number
plate which could barely be read because it was so dirty ... and the second
one had no rear numberplate at all! Upon arriving in Newbury, I
turned left at the traffic lights to travel along the Hambridge Road to reach
the racecourse entrance. The
road-works experienced during my Hennessy fixture visits had been completed,
a new large roundabout now constructed at the entrance to the industrial
estate, rather than the previous mini-roundabout. I drove along the perimeter road
just before 11:30; a queue of early arrivees had formed outside the
Grandstand entrance waiting to enter the racecourse. The building development which was
currently taking place close to the premier parking area had resulted in
fewer parking spaces than usual; and the turf in the new centre course
parking area had not established itself yet either. Therefore the area within the free car park
closest to the grandstand entrance had been given over to premier
ticketholders. However, I didn’t
notice any special signage to this affect, apart from a ‘P’ for parking sign, so I‘d parked here before I overheard the
car park steward speaking to the car drivers in adjoining vehicles to confirm
that it was premier parking here.
However, I wasn’t challenged, perhaps I appeared too well-dressed to
be a mere grandstand racegoer! And,
guess what? There were no didicoys in
the car park either! I ate two of the cheese
submarine rolls I’d brought with me then, having put on my gillet, burgundy cardigan,
jacket, scarves and boots, I set off to the grandstand entrance to purchase a
ticket. The price was £16 today, plus
£3 for a race-card. My handbag, being
large, was searched too. I headed to
the Dubai Duty Free grandstand in order to visit the ladies loo. However, enroute, I decided to stop at one
of the tables in order to pack my race-card and ticket away inside my
handbag. Not a good move as, whilst I
was there, a number of young girls from a nearby group headed across the
concourse and disappeared through the doorway leading to the conveniences. So, much to my annoyance, a few moments
later I discovered that they had formed a long queue which tailed out of the
door to the ladies loos. I must have
waited in line for 10 minutes before it was my turn. Damn. Afterwards I set off to the
Parade Ring to ascertain if the advertised ‘Equestrian’ activites had commenced yet. Having reached this area, I noticed that
crowds were gathering around the Pre-Parade Ring, so I headed across the
concourse to this location instead. Upon my arrival I discovered
that three Shetland ponies were being led around the ring by representatives
from the Greatwood horse rehabilitation charity. The next item on the agenda was a
demonstration by event rider Laura Collett and her Badminton horse
Rayef. Yogi Breisner, World Class Performance Manager and Chef d' Following the demonstration, representatives from
the Greatwood charity walked amongst the spectators
standing around the Pre-Parade Ring to sell raffle tickets for the prize-draw
which would take place later in the afternoon. I purchased two, blue 19 and 20. It was suggested that the purchaser’s name be
written on the ticket stub if the buyer might not be staying until later in
the afternoon; I didn’t bother, as I had no intention of departing before I’d
seen Choc enter the confines of the Weighing Room following the final race of
the day! Once this had been completed, it was time to move
across to the Parade Ring itself. I initially
decided to position myself against the rails between the Pre-Parade Ring and
the Paddock; but then changed my mind thinking ahead to the first race of the
day. I moved to the end of the steppings closest to the entrance, where the jockeys
would enter and exit during the afternoon.
And I managed to nab this spot throughout the afternoon too; it was a
very good vantage point for seeing Choc!
To give Laura the opportunity to swap from Rayef to Kauto Star, the next
item on the agenda was the parade of equestrian disciplines – dressage,
western, side-saddle, cross country/team chasing, pony club, tent-pegging, retired
racehorse and endurance. It was soon time for the arrival
of Kauto Star. Clive Smith, the
horse’s owner, was interviewed by and spoke about the horse’s change of
career. Laura put the star
ex-racehorse through his paces, mainly on the Parade Ring’s black rubber
perimeter walkway, but also diagonally across the grass and circling on it
too. Shortly afterwards, the runners
began to arrive ahead of the first race of the day, in which Choc’s mount
would be Iron Chancellor. He had 6
riding engagements today, in all bar the penultimate race. Both Racing UK and Channel 4
were represented at the track today, the former by Alex Steedman and Steve
Mellish, the latter by Nick Luck and I also saw Emma Spencer. The Philip Hobbs representative, Ballytober, was noticeably reluctant to head out through
the exit point ahead of race one; Choc glancing back to observe the commotion
as his mount was lead out along the walkway to the course. The starting gate for this race was half
way down the back straight, with two flights to jump before the first bend,
the horses heading around the top turn to reach it. Noticeably, half the field of twelve were wearing
running aids. Four horses were sporting blinkers – Kayf
Aramis, Buck Magic, Iron Chancellor and Destroyed
Deployed; the latter for the first time. Two horses were wearing cheek
pieces – Water Garden and Bygones Sovereign – the latter also for the first
time. The girths having been checked and with the
official start time approaching, the runners headed out of the holding pen
and onto the track.
The runners began to approach the tape, hopeful
that they’d get away first time, but Buck Magic wasn’t ready so his rivals
were recalled. They returned to the start, the tape was stretched
across the track once more, released again and then they were off at the
second attempt. The field was extended wide across the course
heading for the first flight; Kayf Aramis marginally the first to rise from Bygones
Sovereign. Also close to the pace were Destroyer Deployed, The Romford
Pele and Buck Magic to the inside. Iron Chancellor was also to the inside, in
Choc’s preferred position, travelling immediately
behind the latter. Ballytober hit the
top of flight two. Heading into the first bend, Kayf
Aramis had a 2½ lengths advantage over Bygones
Sovereign, Destroyer Deployed matching strides to the inside of Dream Again Boys,
then Ballytober, The Romford Pele, Buck Magic, Iron
Chancellor to the inside of Water Garden; Off the Ground, Monetary Fund and
Cuban Piece brought up the rear. Turning into the home straight on the first
occasion, Sam Twiston-Davies’ mount still led the
field, the first four runners holding a three length lead over the remaining
competitors as they straightened up to approach the next flight. No noticeable errors over this obstacle, but
Dream Again Boys trailed his hind-legs through the next. Crossing flight five, Bygones Sovereign took
over the lead. Iron Chancellor now taking closer order on the inside;
Off The Ground and Cuban Piece still bringing up the rear. Dream Again Boys, sandwiched between Destroyer
Deployed and The Romford Pele, was already being ridden along. Entering
the back straight, Richie McLernon’s mount quickly began
to drop back through the field. Bygones Sovereign continued to cut out the pace,
from Kayf Aramis; the
runners soon becoming strung out in their wake. Ballytober
was a little slow jumping the 7th flight. By the 8th flight Dream Again
Boys had dropped to the rear of the field. Kayf Aramis and Bygones Sovereign cleared the last flight in
the back straight in unison; The Romford Pele and Ballytober
close behind. Heading into the final bend, Cuban Piece, Off The Ground
and Dream Again Boys were tailing off; soon to be pulled up. Water
Garden, the grey, was making noticeable progress around the outside of the
field. Destroyer Deployed coming under pressure at the rear of the main
group but responding. Bygones Sovereign led the field into the final
straight and jumped three out in advance of Ballytober,
Kayf Aramis, Water Garden
and Iron Chancellor. Heading up beside the standside
rail, Buck Magic had progressed to take the lead before two out, in his wake Water
Garden, Ballytober, Monetary Fund and Iron
Chancellor. Ballytober capsized
upon landing over this flight, Bygones Sovereign side-stepping the fallen
horse. Buck Magic continued to lead; he jumped the last and was driven
out to victory, the winning distance was 3¼ lengths. Water Garden kept
on under pressure to finish 2nd, with Monetary Fund claiming 3rd.
Destroyer Deployed finished in 4th, ahead of Iron Chancellor.
Ballytober was fine
following his mishap, having got up and trotted away, as was his jockey, 7lbs
claimer Chris Davies.
Having finished
5th, Choc returned to the Parade Ring to unsaddle his mount and speak with
connections before returning to the Weighing Room. Choc’s
mount in the second event was Mortimers Cross. In his next Horse and Hound column, Choc
mentioned that the horse’s trainer, John Needham, had given my favourite
jockey his first ever Cheltenham Festival ride, way back in 1996. It was in the Kim Muir and Choc was 17 at
the time; he’d finished in mid-field but will never forget his first
experience of the flagship event. The
starting gate for the second race was at the beginning of the back straight,
it also being that of the Hennessy Gold Cup.
Then they were off. Fortification was urged
into the lead. Behind him, Mortimers Cross
was on the inside, Desperate Dex to his outer, Tartak, wider still, then Sona Sasta. Behind Tartak was
Posh Bird, to her inner Michel Le Bon sporting first-time blinkers, against
the rail Hey Big Spender; in rear the almost white Idarah.
The veterans all jumped the first well. Tartak
rose slightly ahead over the 4th, Fortification now in 2nd followed by Sona Sasta and Mortimers Cross. Fortification regained a narrow advantage heading
around the first bend; the Venetia Williams trained Idarah
still bringing up the rear. The horses splayed out approaching the
cross fence, every jockey wishing their horse to get a clear view of this
tricky fence. Tartak joined
Fortification once more at the head of affairs as they cleared the first in
the home straight. All the runners jumped the next, an open-ditch,
well; apart from Hey Big Spender who hit it and pecked on landing. Choc
urged Mortimers Cross along between the next two
fences. Tartak led over the next, where
Fortification made a slight error. Nick Scholfield
switched his mount to the outside as they approached the water-jump, mindful
that Tartak was demonstrating a preference to jump
to his left. Heading around the top turn the order was Tartak,
from Fortification, Sona Sasta
with Desperate Dex, Mortimers
Cross, Hey Big Spender, Michel Le Bon, and Posh Bird, with Idarah still in rear. Fortification was ‘bumped’ along to keep tabs on the leader as they approached the
first fence in the back straight; Hey Big Spender was a little slow at the
fence, with Mortimers Cross beginning to struggle
and dropping back through the field. Travelling down the back straight, Tartak continued to lead, from the ridden along
Fortification, Hey Big Spender now improved into third, with Michel Le Bon
close up to his outside. Having dropped back into 4th position,
Fortification received a couple of reminders as they reached the far corner
of the track. Heading into the final turn the order was Tartak, Hey Big Spender, Michel Le Bon, Fortification,
Posh Bird, Sona Sasta, Mortimers Cross, Idarah and
Desperate Dex. Nick Scholfield’s
mount hit the cross fence. Tartak and Hey Big
Spender disputed the lead heading around the final turn, with Michel Le Bon
being ridden along to keep in touch with them, then travelled Posh Bird, with
Mortimers Cross having improved again into 5th
position. Hey Big Spender jumped into the lead four out;
Michel Le Bon then challenged the leader jumping the open-ditch, three from
home. The two leaders bumped on landing over this fence. Tartak was now in third position. The Colin Tizzard runner still held a narrow advantage clearing two
out but he stood off too far and almost banked the fence. This handed the initiative to Michel Le Bon, who
overtook him and had established a clear lead jumping the last; he extended
this to 9 lengths at the line. Hey Big Spender completed in 2nd, with Posh
Bird 3rd; the long-time leader, Tartak, completed
in 4th. Mortimers Cross
finished 7th, ahead of Idarah; Fortification was
pulled up.
Once again Choc returned to the Parade Ring to
unsaddle his mount and speak with connections before returning to the
Weighing Room. Having ‘reserved’
the same Parade Ring spectator pitch during the racing interludes today ...
because I walk faster than almost everyone else, despite the fact that I was suffering
from a nerve-type twinge in my left hip joint on every other step I took at
this particular juncture (I sustained the problem when I scrambled across my
bed to pull the curtains – damn the creakiness of old age) ... I was able to
get a very good view of Choc as he entered and left the Parade Ring, on this
occasion signing autographs for young racing fans and having his photograph
taken with them too. The race-day presenter interviewed Nigel Bunter,
owner of the Barbury Castle Estate, regarding his
support for the Greatwood Charity and also about this
summer’s Barbury Horse Trials. He revealed that two new cross country
fences had been installed, having successfully applied to the London Olympics
to give a couple of their obstacles a new home! Choc’s
mount in the next race was Turn Over Sivola for his
retaining yard. Once the horses had
left the Parade Ring, I headed down to the course-side rails. Unfortunately, on this occasion, a drunk
decided to stand beside me; he was mumbling on about A Bridge Too Far, he’d
bet on the horse and it had caught his eye because it was the name of a film
... you don’t say! I recall my late
father and my younger brother taking a trip to the local cinema to see it
when it was released way back in 1977.
The starting gate for this race was in the home
straight, with one flight to jump before heading out on one complete circuit.
All The Aces appeared none too keen to
move from the holding pen onto the racecourse and initially had to be led
towards the enclosure exit point.
Then
they were off. Meganisi
and Tango De Juilley jumped the first flight in
unison, prominent to the nearside was the flashy bay Sporting Boy (and I love
a flashy bay, Mortimers Cross being one too), far
side was Princely Player. Choc took a
mid to inner line aboard Turn Over Sivola, four
from rear; the Denis O’Regan ridden Cry Of Freedom
was at the back of the field. Heading
up around the top bend the order was Tango De Juilley,
Meganisi, Princely Player to the inside, Sporting
Boy around the outside, from A Bridge Too Far, Knight In Purple, the grey
Meetings Man, All The Aces to the inside of Turn Over Sivola,
then flashy chestnut The Pier, The Betchworth Kid
(ex-Alan King and now trained by Michael Bell), Cry Of Freedom and Zafranagar. Into
the back straight, The Pier blundered at the first flight therein. Sporting Boy soon coming to dispute the
lead with Tango De Juilley, with Meganisi in third.
Barry Geraghty’s mount, All The Aces, hit
the top of the 4th flight and sprawled on landing, his jockey falling off
backwards as he tried to regain his balance.
Zafranagar, still in rear, received a
reminder having cleared the next. Entering
the far bend, Aidan Coleman’s mount still led; Turn Over Sivola
held 7th position, next to the rails.
All the runners were still in contact with the leader turning into the
home straight, apart from the now struggling Zafranagar. Tango
De Juilley led over the third last, Meganisi laying down a challenge to the near side. Behind these, spanning the breadth of the
track, were Princely Player, A Bridge Too Far, Sporting Boy and Turn Over Sivola. Having
cleared two out, Meganisi challenged and was soon
upsides the long-time leader; Cry Of Freedom driven through runners to close
too. Turn Over Sivola
had now dropped back to 8th. Meganisi led over the last, ears pricked and with the
lead narrowing between himself and the strongly driven Denis O’Regan mount.
However, he clung on to win by a length. Tango De Juilley
completed in 3rd, with The Pier 4th. The
beaten Turn Over Sivola was eased and finished 10th. Having expected a big run from his charge,
Alan King was very disappointed and reported in his Weekender column that the
horse was a little distressed after the race.
He thinks there are ‘issues’
with the animal, who underwent later checks.
Yet again Choc returned to the Parade Ring to
unsaddle his mount, brief connections before returning to the Weighing Room. It was soon time for Choc’s
4th ride of the day, aboard the Alan King trained Midnight Sail. The horse had won a handicap chase at
Kempton Park the previous Saturday. The starting gate for this race was in the far
corner of the track, the first obstacle being the cross-fence.
The horses came out onto the track.
Initially heading away from the tape in order to kill time before the off, as
it wasn’t yet 15:50. They circled briefly and then they were away. Mr Gardner was the first to rise over the
cross-fence, from Pacha Du Polder, Midnight Sail
and Big Fella Thanks. Micheal
Flips jumped slightly to his right; Mahogany Blaze was in rear. Turning into the straight on the first occasion,
Mr Gardner and Pacha Du Polder disputed the lead,
from Big Fella Thanks, Midnight Sail, Garynella, Saved By John, Micheal
Flips, Pepite Rose, Tony Star, The Knoxs and Mahogany Blaze. The latter blundered at
the second fence, sending Sam Twiston-Davies into
orbit, the horse’s reins now flailing about the horse’s head. Saved By John made an error at the third, the
open-ditch, and Big Fella Thanks hit the next and
lost a few places. Pacha Du Polder out-jumped
Mr Gardner at the 5th and took a clear advantage over the field. Ryan Mahon’s mount was less fluent at the
water-jump, which allowed Mr Gardner to re-join him heading into the top
bend. Midnight Sail was on the outside of Garynella,
from The Knoxs and Big Fella
Thanks, Pepite Rose, Saved By John, Micheal Flips and Tony Star. Into the back straight, Pacha
Du Polder and Mr Gardner had gained a four length advantage over Midnight
Sail; the loose Mahogany Blaze managed to fall at the first in the line of
five obstacles. The next was an open-ditch, where Micheal
Flips fell; jockey Nick Scholfield was slow to
rise. The field closed up as they headed over the next
two obstacles. Out of the back straight the order was Pacha Du Polder, Mr Gardner, Midnight Sail, Garynella, The Knoxs, Saved By
John, Pepite Rose, Big Fella
Thanks and Tony Star. Saved By John made an error at the cross-fence,
he was low and skewed, and was pushed along having cleared it. Pacha Du Polder
still held the advantage heading towards four out; the other runners, all
still in contention, splayed out approaching the fence. However, the
runners having cleared it, Midnight Sail found himself in last
position. The open-ditch claimed the improving Pepite
Rose, and she hampered the gaining Tony Star, the weakening Garynella and Saved By John. The Knoxs also blundered here. This left Big Fella Thanks to launch a one-horse challenge upon the
long-time leader. Pacha Du Polder
continued to gallop on relentlessly over the final two obstacles, extending
his lead over Big Fella Thanks and Tony Star; they
held an even greater advantage over Mr Gardner, The Knoxs
and Garynella. The Paul Nicholls 18-1 second string went on to
win by 5 lengths at the line. Big Fella
Thanks took 2nd by a neck from Tony Star, with Mr Gardner 6 lengths back in
4th. Having
fallen out of contention, Choc had pulled up Midnight Sail before two
out. Mahogany Blaze, Micheal Flips and Pepite Rose were all fine following their falls. Nick Scholfield,
having been trodden on when Micheal Flips fell,
missed his later rides and was on the sidelines for a few days.
Choc
returned once more to the Parade Ring to unsaddle his mount and speak with
connections before returning to the Weighing Room. It
was soon time for the Greatwood winning raffle
tickets to be drawn. The first one
pulled out of the ‘hat’ was ticket
19 ... yes ... pink ... no! Right
number, wrong colour – my ticket 19 was blue!
In fact, the majority of winning tickets were pink. During
the interval between races, the race day presenter interviewed Paralympian dressage competitor, Deborah Criddle. It
was then time for the next race, in which Choc would be riding the James Eustace trained Go Set Go.
The starting gate for this race was in the far corner of the track,
the horses cantering down past the grandstands to reach it.
Again,
having exited from the holding pen onto the course, the horses headed away
from the tape whilst waiting for the start time to arrive. Then they were off. The field was led away by Wychwoods Brook, from Willow’s Saviour, Ray Diamond,
Bradbury, Go Set Go to the outside, wider still Den Of Iniquity, Hatters
River to the inside, Johnny Red, Gay Sloane, I Know The Code, Life Of A Luso, Arctic Wings, Valid Point and Psi. Having
cleared the first flight, Daryl Jacob steered his mount to the inside,
pulling him up and dismounting. The
favourite was out of the race. Ears
pricked, Wychwoods Brook continued to hold the
advantage as the runners headed up the home straight on the first
occasion. Psi continued to bring up
the rear. Heading
into the back straight, Tom Scudamore’s mount led
by three lengths from Willow’s Saviour; Choc aboard Go Set Go travelled on
the outside of the field in 4th position at this stage. Ray Diamond, in midfield, was the first to
send out distress signals; by the far turn he’d dropped to the rear of the
field and was receiving reminders. Turning
into the home straight on the final occasion, Wychwoods
Brook still led from Go Set Go, Willow’s Saviour and Den Of Iniquity. A number of runners laid down a challenge
to the long-time leader approaching two out, noticeably Arctic Wings, Hatters
River and the rallying Willow’s Saviour.
It
was Arctic Wings, against the stand-side rail, who now took the lead, Hatters
River, Willow’s Saviour and Valid Point all continuing to challenge to his
far side. Den Of Iniquity blundered
and unseated two out, hampering Bradbury.
Hatters River made an error at the last, leaving Willow’s Saviour to
become Arctic Wings’ sole remaining challenger and they battled it out to the
line, the latter prevailing by half a length. Hatters
River finished 3rd, with Valid Point 4th.
Go Set Go faded into 10th. A
winner for the in-form trainer, Tony Carroll, who stated in a post-race interview
that his charge had a preference for running on left-handed courses. It was the yard’s 7th winner of the week!
Choc
returned to the Parade Ring to unsaddle his mount and to brief connections
before returning to the Parade Ring. No
ride for Choc in the next race, the penultimate event. The starting gate for
this race was at the far end of the home straight.
Then they were off. Red Rouble led them
away, from Miss Tenacious, Marie Des Anges, then Prolinx to the inside and Border Station to the
outside. The second is the open-ditch, the leader jumped it slightly
big and landed a little steeply but it didn’t affect his momentum; Border
Station put in an awkward jump here too. Once more at the third, the
latter jumped out to his right. The leading horses closed up as they approached
the water, Miss Tenacious jumping into the lead over this one. By dint
of taking the inside line around the top bend, Red Rouble went on again as
they travelled around it. Miss Tenacious jumped into the lead once more
at the next obstacle. All the horses were fencing well, apart from
Border Station who lacked fluency at most of those in the back straight and
remained in rear. The runners grouped up on the flat as they headed
towards the cross-fence, where Marie Des Anges was
the least fluent. Red Rouble and Miss Tenacious continued to lead
as the field turned into the home straight; the latter making an error four
from home and losing ground on her rivals. The other mare quickly
travelled up to challenge the leader. Prolinx,
to the inside, hit the open-ditch. Marie Des Anges had
assumed the lead over two out, and her jockey pushed her out to extend the
lead over Red Rouble, Miss Tenacious, Prolinx and
the outpaced Border Station. The leader stuttered into the last, which
gave her rivals a glimpse of a chance, especially Red Rouble, but the
diminutive mare wanted to win and she galloped on to the line, triumphing by
1¼ lengths from the Sam Twiston-Davies mount, the
staying on Prolinx was a further 1¼ lengths back in
3rd. Miss Tenacious completed in 4th, with Border Station trailing home
last.
I returned to the viewing area beside the Winners’ Enclosure to
see the placed horses arrive back. The
winning jockey was Charlie ‘Jockey Style’ Huxley ... and don’t forget to view the outtakes version. Alan King was nowhere to be seen ahead of the
final race, with Assistant Trainer Noel Williams doing to honours of saddling
up the horse, meeting up with connections and legging up Choc. Once the bell had sounded to signal to the
jockeys to mount, Choc began to head towards the usual spot, immediately
beside the Winners’ Enclosure. However, Noel called across, suggesting
they go to the Parade Ring exit point to meet up with Simply A Legend; as the
newcomer would probably be calmer if they waited until the last possible
moment before Choc was legged aboard. Being a ‘junior’ bumper for 4-year-olds,
the race was run over a shorter than usual distance, in this case 1 mile and
4½ furlongs; the starting gate is situated at the beginning of the back
straight (the Hennessy starting gate in fact) with the competitors in this
race racing over slightly less than one complete circuit of the course.
I know that Newbury has one of the longest circuits in the country … which
was why I chose to undertake my second course walk with Choc at this
particular venue (I’m not as daft as I look!)
A number of the inexperienced horses were nervous
at the start, Major Martin lashing out at his rivals as they circled at the
start; fortunately he didn’t make contact. The excitable Seedling was
kept away from the others and was walking around to the far side of the rails
near the start. The filly, Seedcracker,
wasn’t at all keen and initially was led around at the start. However she did consent to join the rear of
the main pack as they approached the tape but, when they set off, she lashed
out with her hind-legs and refused to jump off with the others.
Seedling was in rear of the main group, slightly detached. The field was led away by Stereotypical, from
Amore Alato, Major Martin, Zayfire
Aramis, Willpower, Java Rose and Ifits A Fiddle. Before the runners had even reached
the far corner, the Nicky Henderson trained runner, Act Alone, was being
pushed along by Barry Geraghty. Into the far bend, the blue jacket and yellow
stars of Simply A Legend were visible on the inside of the field, nearer last
than first. Heading around this turn, Stereotypical led, from Zayfire Aramis, Amore Alato, Ifits A Fiddle, Major
Martin, Green King, Bay Fortuna, Java Rose and Agincourt Reef; Willpower was
now at the rear of the field, receiving strong reminders from his jockey,
David Bass before tailing off. The Mark Johnstone
charge has been a slow developer, but this was a definite step backwards from
his second placed effort at Wetherby just eleven
days ago when ridden by Choc. Simply A Legend had closed up to the leaders and
was visible to the inside, almost first rank, as the runners spread out wide
across the course to make their challenges. Barry Geraghty
had given his horse a backhander heading out of the turn, the horse
responded, but his jockey was still forced to apply non-stop pressure in order
to hold his position. Stereotypical still held a very narrow advantage
as the runners travelled between the wings of the absent second last
flight. Having been held up in rear for the early part of the race,
Dubai Kiss came through strongly to take up the running a furlong and a half
from home; Seedling, who’d set off in rear of the others, had now taken 2nd
position, the earlier driven along Act Alone was in 3rd, and long-time leader
Stereotypical still battled on in 4th spot. And this was the order they finished in too, the
official winning distance 5 lengths at the line … but it looked more than
this to me! A 50-1 winner for, unknown to me, trainer Harry
Whittington. Anyway, Simply A Legend acquitted himself well and
finished 7th, having been outpaced in the closing stages. Alan King expected a lot of improvement
from the horse next time out.
I
returned to the Parade Ring area to see Choc unsaddle his mount and debrief
connections before he headed back to the Weighing Room for the final time
today. A
disappointing day with regards to Choc finishing in the first four in none of
the races but, having had 6 riding engagements, I’d seen Choc for, when added
together, many minutes today! It
was now time for me to leave. I set
off along the concourse and out through the Grandstand entrance. Many vehicles had already left or were in
the process of leaving; I crossed between queued vehicles in order to reach
the area where my car was parked. It
was stood almost alone in that section of the car park. Having
taken off my coat and boots, I sat in my car and ate the two remaining cheese
rolls. It was just gone 18:00 when I
left. I decided to take the exit route
via the golf course; the lane between the gate and the beginning of the
industrial was severely pot-holed, deteriorating with every visit – no wonder
it cost over £700 to have my car serviced recently ... and that was including
my service plan discount! Mega-ouch. The
road now rises up to join the new roundabout on the Hambridge
Road. There appeared to be a dead-end
exit to my left, so presumably this is in preparation for a road to join up
with a planned bridge which will span the railway and lead to a new Newbury
racecourse entrance. Having checked on
the map, it would also provide immediate access to the health centre and golf
club house opposite. I
turned right at this roundabout and drove up to join the A4; waiting in a
queue at the traffic lights before turning in an easterly direction. My route took me back through Thatcham, where I got caught by almost all of the traffic
lights on red, on through Woolhampton, to
eventually join the M4 at Junction 12.
There was also a 50 mph limit in place on this carriageway just east
of Reading Central, mirroring the one on the other side of the motorway. It
was dark by this time, the motorway being lit between Junction 12 and
Junction 10 Reading East. The next
section has no lighting, but I was able to follow a lorry which had 4 lights
and a luminous orange border around its rear door. The lighting reappears before Slough, and I
continued along the motorway to join the M25 clockwise carriageway. With
no need to fill up my car’s petrol tank this week, upon leaving the M25 at
Junction 20, I drove straight home, arriving at 19:40. As
I’d done last week, I ate a ready-meal of Penne Mozzarella, followed this
week by cherry crumble with cream. And
an end crust from a tiger loaf ... I love bread crusts! I
uploaded my photographs onto my laptop, made a note of which ones I’d use on
my website and wrote my blog before turning in at 23:00. I felt more tired than I had the previous
Saturday following my day out at Kempton Park. The
next day I formatted a number of DVDs, transferring RUK’s Newbury coverage to
disk in preparation for writing this diary.
I also did my pre-Festival washing ... to freshen up all those skirts,
jumpers and fleeces which I’d maybe worn a couple of times without throwing
them in the washing bin afterwards!
And I formatted and uploaded the aforementioned photographs; also began
drafting this diary. Post racing, there’s
no rest for the wicked! But,
little did I know, Choc would be injured two days later, when suffering a
heavy fall which brought down another runner at Southwell. Initially it was thought that he was merely
badly bruised, but later x-rays revealed that he’d broken his upper right arm
again and sustained minor spinal damage too.
So it meant no Cheltenham Festival or Aintree Festival participation
this season. The
broken bone in his arm had not been displaced due to the metal plate which
was inserted in December 2011 holding it in place. At the time of writing, Choc was due to
consult a specialist on Tuesday 12 March (the first day of the 2013 Festival)
to discover whether an operation would be necessary; but he remained hopeful
that this could be avoided. Oh
dear, that’s twice now he’s been back from serious injury for a year and a
handful of days, only to be hurt once more.
Click here for photos – Kauto Star, Rayef, etc. Click here for photos - Races 1 & 2 Click here for photos - Race 3 |
