DIARY – STRATFORD UPON AVON
– TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2009
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As I had lots of holiday leave still to take before the end of
the year, I decided to take a day off to go racing to Stratford. Choc was scheduled to have 3 rides, two of
these being for his boss, Alan King.
Fortunately Choc was none the worse from having been stood down
following a fall at Uttoxeter two days previously. My first task of the day was to visit the petrol station to fill
my Fiesta’s tank, and also to visit the nearby Next store to collect an item
I’d ordered a few weeks ago and which was now ready for collection. I also
paid a brief visit to the neighbouring Marks and Sparks store – I can never
resist having a look around, but I was very good as I didn’t purchase
anything! I set off for Stratford at 10:25. My route took me via Hemel Hempstead,
Aylesbury, and Bicester. Then northwards up the M40 as far as
Banbury, after which I took the A422 to Stratford, arriving at around
12:25. As I’d taken my lunch with me,
I sat in my car to eat it before going in.
Unusually I was parked near the horse-box area today, so noticed a
number of jockeys arrive too. Grand
National winning jockey Liam Treadwell sped in at 12.30 – he is sponsored and
his name is emblazoned on his car. I
presume I also saw AP arrive, as surely it could only have been his car with
that particular personalised registration plate! Anyway, having eaten lunch I made my way to the turnstiles to
gain entry and to purchase a race-card.
I was then waylaid by a representative from the O2 tent, who was
trying to persuade people to enter their prize draw. Having excused myself from the invitation,
I headed for the area between the Parade Ring and the course-side rails to
await the horses entered in the first event.
I noticed Alex Quinn was doing the race day presentation for Attheraces today. Choc’s
first mount, Aohna, is owned by the Jenny and Mark
Pitman Racing Club syndicate, so a large group of owners was in
attendance. Jenny and Mark were not at
Stratford today, however Alan King was, and a group photograph was taken by
official photographer Les Hurley before Choc arrived in the Parade Ring. Having appeared and received his riding
instructions, Choc walked across to my side of the parade ring to be legged
up. Aohna is
a tiny filly, especially when compared to a number of today’s other
competitors. She was on her toes and
jig-jogged along the path with Choc aboard.
Upon exiting onto the course, the runners went to take a look at
the final flight before cantering to the start which was over in the far
corner of the track. Aohna was pulling hard as she went to join the other
horses.
Then
they were off. AP aboard Mumbles Pier
led them off. Alfies
Express and Jim Tango were also prominent, with the Irish runner Two Left
Boots last but one, Choc holding up the hard pulling Aohna
at the very back of the field. Today
the 2nd flight in the back straight was positioned before the mound, which
meant a long run before the first flight in the straight. Having
jumped the 5th flight slightly awkwardly, Choc gave the filly a mild reminder
down her shoulder. Initially Choc
tried to sneak up the inside of the field, his preferred position, but Aohna lost her pitch.
Alfies Express was the first to tail off,
and was pulled up. As they went into
the final turn, Aohna improved from 5th to 3rd
position, although she did swing a little wide on the bend as they entered
the home straight. Mumbles Pier still
led, but Aohna was closing and jumped the last the
better. However, although it looked
like Choc would be able to collar the long time leader as they galloped up to
the winning post, Mumbles Pier held on by a neck at the line.
I
walked around to the Winners’ Enclosure to see Choc return. He pointed towards the second place spot,
as the handlers seemed a little unsure as to the location of the unsaddling
position for the 2nd placed horse!
Having unsaddled the filly, Choc and Alan headed for the group of
syndicate members to provide a de-brief regarding
the race. Choc then returned to the
Weighing Room. It
was now time for the second race of the day, a Novices’ Chase. The fancied Seven is my Number was running
in this event, having been withdrawn from a similar opportunity at Uttoxeter two days previously. The ex-Alan King trained Ruff Diamond was
also a competitor. He’s only a 4 year
old but seems to have filled out now, I remember the horse being very leggy
and appearing indecisive when he approached his obstacles when hurdling. The start of this race was at the top of
the home straight. Irish raider,
Mustang Man, seemed a little reluctant and had to be led in at the start.
Then
they were off. The grey Oscar Royal
under jockey Liam Treadwell was keen and led them off. Having his first outing over the larger
obstacles, Ruff Diamond made an error at the second. By the 5th obstacle, Oscar Royal had been
headed by Matuhi with Noel Fehily
aboard, although the former remained prominent. Race favourite, the Tim Vaughan trained Shanballa, was not fluent early on. Mustang Man was at the rear of the field as
they galloped up the straight, Graham Lee giving his mount an audible crack
with the whip as they approached the fence after the water! However,
having jumped well throughout the race, Matuhi
blundered badly at the final open ditch three from home, catapulting Noel Fehily onto the turf.
This departure left Seven is my Number in the lead. Shanballa was
being ridden along to chase the leaders when disaster struck having cleared
the 2nd last. The horse stumbled
having sustained a serious leg injury, Richard Johnson pulling up his
stricken mount as quickly as he was able.
The
leaders were preceded up the home straight by the rider-less Matuhi. Seven is
my Number went on to win by 2Ľ lengths from Oscar Royal and Postmaster. Green screens were erected around the
unfortunate Shanballa, and the horse ambulance sent
to remove him from the course.
As Choc had not been riding in the Novices’ Chase
I remained in the area between the course-side rails and the Parade Ring in
preparation for the next race. Choc’s
mount in this event was the David Gandolfo trained filly Broadway Allstar. As his
mount was due to carry a mere 10 stone 5 pounds, Choc was using his ‘tiny’
saddle for this event. (As a filly, Aohna had also carried 10 stone 5 pounds in the earlier
race.) The start of this race was at
the beginning of the home straight and was just over 2 circuits in
length. Once the runners had left the
Parade Ring, I decided I’d move down the rails towards the final flight so as
to take an action shot or two.
Then
they were off. Evens favourite, the
mare Honours Graduate, led them off.
On the inside, Choc’s mount was keen and
prominent, as were Arctic Watch and Ehowee. The fancied Baily
Storm was just behind them on the rails. Choc
pulled his mount to the outside as they galloped down the back straight,
first time around. He was still
prominent just behind Honours Graduate as they passed the winning post with
one circuit to go. However, as they
headed down the back straight for the final time Broadway Allstar
began to weaken, dropping back to 5th.
Baily Storm was now stalking the leader. Honours
Graduate lead until after 2 out, when Tim Vaughan’s Baily
Storm took over despite landing a little awkwardly over that flight, and the last for that matter too. Baily Storm ran
on to win by 7 lengths. Broadway Allstar finished in 6th place.
Having
been unplaced, Choc returned to the Parade Ring to unsaddle, giving a long
debrief to the horse’s connections before returning to the Weighing Room. Having
split the next race into two divisions due to the number of entries,
disappointingly 4 horses were withdrawn from this event, including Choc’s intended mount Sadler’s Star. Noel Fehily,
having been unseated during the second race of the day and presumably stood
down by the doctor, was replaced by Richard Johnson aboard Wheelavit. The
start of this race was over in the far corner of the track.
The
recent Worcester winner, Olympian Boy, again with Tom Scudamore
aboard led them off. Prominent were Wheelavit, So Determined and Priest Field. Tom’s mount held a clear lead by the time
they reached the 3rd flight, but was headed 3 out by Wheelavit. Kickahead was
cruising just behind the leader as they turned in, with Oliver Greenall holding up the horse for as long as possible
before delivering a challenge to win by 3˝ lengths.
It
was then time for the second division of the Handicap Hurdle. Alex Quinn, who was today’s Attheraces presenter, was in the Parade Ring to interview
Carl Llewellyn about the chances of Weather Front. There were no absentees from this race. Orpen Wide wore red blinkers to match the colour of his
silks. The Jimmy Lambe
trained Galiana played up as soon as she exited
onto the course. Eventually AP
dismounted and was legged up once she was going forward again to canter down
to the start, initially with his feet out of the irons.
Then
they were off. The field was led away
by Irish raider, Arondo. Prominent were Orpen
Wide, Weather Front, and So Brash. Galiana brought up the rear. Weather Front improved to chase the leader
after the 5th flight. Orpen Wide began to weaken as they
travelled down the back straight for the final time, tailing off and being pulled
up before 2 out. Weather Front took
the lead before 2 out, keeping on well to win by 9 lengths. Initially outpaced, Peaceful Means improved
after 2 out, running on to take 2nd place on the flat. Long time leader Arondo
held on for 3rd despite jumping the last two flights in a tired fashion. I’d
seen Weather Front win at Huntingdon on Bank Holiday Monday, Peaceful Means
win at Worcester on 6th September, and also earlier winner Seven is my Number
win at Worcester that day too! I’m
becoming quite a regular on the National Hunt circuit these days!
As
Choc had finished for the day, at this point I have to confess I decided it
was time to set off for home too.
Being a weekday, I was concerned that I’d get caught up in rush-hour
traffic, and I also wanted to beat the queue to leave the car park! However,
I will give details and the results of Race 6:
And
Race 7:
Having
experienced nightmare traffic queues this summer when trying to reach the
M40’s nearest junction, once again I decided to drive to Banbury via the
A422. Unfortunately it was after 17:00
by the time I reached the town, so I was delayed a little by people leaving
work. I then drove across country,
heading for Milton Keynes, via Buckingham.
However, on this occasion I managed to miss the A5 turning signposted
Dunstable ... well, all the roundabouts in Milton Keynes look the same don’t
they? So I headed eastwards to join
the M1 southbound instead. I left the
motorway at Junction 10 Luton, and drove down through Harpenden to reach home
not long after 19:00. |
