DIARY – VISIT TO CHURN STABLES IN BLEWBURY
TO SEE EPDS RACING’S SYNDICATE HORSES
SATURDAY 05 AUGUST 2017
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Daliance schooling over a
hurdle |
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Useful Links: EPDS’ website: EPDS on twitter: https://twitter.com/EPDS_Racing EPDS on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EPDSRacingSyndicate Noel Williams Racing: http://www.noelwilliamsracing.co.uk/ Noel Williams on twitter: https://twitter.com/noelwilliams03 |
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This was my second stable yard visit during the
summer of 2017; the first being to Robin Dickin’s
yard in Warwickshire in early July.
Unfortunately I’d missed out on visiting Graeme McPherson’s
yard on 01 July having succumbed to a stomach bug the day before. The arranged time for arrival at Noel’s yard was
between 09:00 to 09:15, so I set my alarm for 05:45 with the aim of leaving
home at 7:30. I showered, washed and styled my hair before
eating a breakfast of two croissants.
I drank half a cup of tea, not wishing to be caught short at any
point; I probably wouldn’t have time to pop into the M4 motorway service
station during my outbound journey. My outfit today was a pair of dark blue M & S
jeggings, an orange Wallis gypsy-style tunic, a
navy blue M & S fleece which still had a tendency to shed fluff, a true-blue
‘leaf’ pendant necklace, a blue
lace-edged scarf, plus a light blue BHS raincoat and black M & S Footglove snow-boots.
I also took my brown M & S Footglove
ankle boots and wore a pair of moccasins to drive in. A pair of nubuck
M & S moccasins had been pressed into service this summer, for driving,
mid-brown in colour with white leather trimmings; my previous navy blue pair
having been demoted to ‘walk to work’
shoes. I tried to save time by minimising my
make-up. Having applied L’Oreal
Extraordinary Oil moisturiser, and Simple Regeneration age resisting eye
cream, I used Max Factor Colour Adapt ‘Natural’
shade foundation. My mascara was black
Lash Extension Effect Mascara, also Max Factor, and Revlon dark brown Brow
Fantasy; I like the pencil but don’t use the accompanying gel. I also hid the shadows under my eyes with
L’Oreal perfect match La Touche Magique
concealer; it’s best to apply this using a very
small, shaped sponge. Despite trying to save time, it was already 07:32
when I pulled out of my driveway; so with just under 90 minutes available to
reach my destination, I travelled to Blewbury using
my tried and tested route. I had been mulling over a change of outbound
journey, just for a change of scenery; the recommended route supplied by Googlemaps is M25, M40 to Junction 6, then via Watlington and Benson, before heading down the A4074,
over the Thames, and onto the A329 before cutting through a country lane just
before Moulsford in order to reach the A417. However I wasn’t keen on this, having
driven the latter part of the route on a homebound journey previously; I have
an aversion to the bottleneck in Watlington. My tried and tested option involves the M25 and
M4. This very familiar route meant
heading around the ring-road, before continuing via the London Colney roundabout and joining the M25 at junction
20. There were no issues on the London
orbital motorway and I’d soon reached Junction 15 where I headed down the
slip-road to join the M4 westbound carriageway. There weren’t any problems on this motorway
either, although there was still a short section just prior to Junction 10
where the speed limit was set at 50mph.
I left the motorway at Junction 12 and continued down a brief section
of the A4 before turning right to head along the A340 to Pangbourne. Having passed beneath the railway arch in
the centre of the town, the road bears left to continue along beside the
River Thames. I was held up briefly at the traffic lights
adjacent to Beale Wildlife Park; they control the flow of vehicles across the
single track bridge over the railway.
Having reached the far side thereof, there was a speed limit in place
as someone was rebuilding the wall around Basildon Park, working close to the
side of the road. I continued through
the 30mph limit at Lower Basildon village and onwards to Streatley. Once again Streatley
Hill was closed due to work being carried out on the house adjacent to the
narrow roadway. I continued ahead,
before bearing off to the left and heading past the entrance to a golf club
and then out onto the Oxfordshire Downs.
The A417 dips and rises and twists and turns, all the way to Blewbury. I saw a
stoat disappear into the long grass at the side of the road, having moments
before crossed over from right to left.
Stoats are bigger than weasels and have a black tip to their
tails. I slowed down upon entry to the village, the
speed limit being 30mph. Boham’s Road is located at the far end of Blewbury, opposite a garden centre; I turned left and
headed up the hill towards the yard.
Not far from the yard, just before the road bears left, there was a
lady walking two dogs; she stepped onto the verge, with her pets, to allow me
to drive by. I thanked her. I turned left shortly after the
aforementioned corner in order to enter the driveway leading to Churn
Stables. A right-hand turn took me
around the one-way system, before heading down a track to the far side of the
barn and onto the grass parking area beyond.
There were four vehicles already parked and I drew up alongside; one
of the 4x4’s belonged to Noel, John from EPDS Racing had arrived too and
stood chatting to other early arrivals.
Having changed into my snow-boots, I went over to say hello. Whilst waiting for others to arrive, around 20
were expected in total, subjects discussed included the beauty of the
Oxfordshire Downs; John recommended a walk along the Ridgeway and,
especially, Waylands Smithy. Also cricket; John plays for Stonor which, of course, had its pitch and pavilion
featured in Midsomer Murders. He said, originally, the team was going to
provide extras, until the match became one between two youth teams. The episode was Death and Dreams, one of my
favourites. Although not everyone had arrived by 09:15, we
headed into the large barn in search of Noel.
The horses due to head out for the next gallop were being groomed and
saddled up; hooves were picked too.
There weren’t many horses currently in situ, it being early
August. However, there was Primo Blue,
an unnamed 4-year-old filly, also Wild Murphy, Minella
Treasure, EPDS Racing’s Daliance, Sensulano, Another Crick, Authorized Too, EPDS Racing’s Cecilator, Pattara and the
retired Friendly Society. Around the
corner were EPDS Racing’s Kincora Fort, and two
2-year-old colts – one unnamed by Sir Percy, and another named Santiago Rock. The horses heading out to the gallops were Daliance, Kincora Fort (aka
Brian), Cecilator (aka Molly), plus both of the
2-year-olds. The Sir Percy colt is
owned by the partnership which used to own Bingo D’Olivate
before he went to the sales and subsequently moved to Gemma
Anderson’s yard, and Santiago Rock will run in the Katchit
colours! Daliance
wore a special hood today, a fly mask in fact. He’s been on the sidelines since suffering
an issue with one of his eyes; treatment included eye drops and two bouts of
laser surgery. The thought is that he
damaged the eye whilst in his stable and it is understood that he has
retained around 70% vision in it; the eye is now sensitive to light and
starts off clear, early morning, but clouds over during the day. John suggested what he actually needs is a
pair of sunglasses! The horse has been unable to return to the track
until the drugs have cleared his system, hence the enforced absence. Connections are hopeful that the issue has
been solved but, if it reoccurs, the only option will be to remove the
eye. Poor old Dali, although he isn’t
the easiest of horses to handle on or off the racecourse! Kincora
Fort was on the comeback trail too, having been off the racecourse since
winning at Kempton Park in May 2015.
He injured a tendon and was on the way back last summer, before
injuring the tendon in the other foreleg.
He was still on light duties today. The horses warmed up around the box-hedge lined
track outside the barn initially, before going into the indoor school. Meanwhile Noel and his visitors headed out
to the vehicles to begin our drive to the top of the gallops. Today, I travelled in the back seat of
John’s 4x4. There was a large bird of
prey, quite low, gliding over Noel’s gallops as we drove up the hill; it was
probably a buzzard, as it was light in colour. Definitely not a very familiar red kite. Having alighted at the top of the hill, we kept a
close eye on the far end of the gallop, hoping to spot the horses as they
arrived at the bottom. After a few
minutes, four of them appeared, and Daliance led
the two colts and Cecilator up the gallop; they
passed by us on their way to the top.
A while afterwards, Kincora Fort headed up
at a steady canter; that was him done for the day. The others headed back down to the far end
to repeat the exercise. Brian headed
back to the yard, but he got excited and began play-up as the others galloped
by on their second run. Noel had
pointed out all of the racing establishments which were visible from the top
of the hill, Hughie Morrison’s yard is on the other side of the valley and
Eve Johnson-Houghton’s yard is adjacent; Noel used to occupying her reserve
yard until Eve’s string grew too big.
We saw a number of her horses heading up the gallops today too. Mick Channon’s
gallops, at West Ilsley, could be seen on the
horizon. There was another yard over
to the left, but I can’t remember who he said it was! Beeswax Estates, aka James Dyson, owns
Churn Stables and Noel’s and Hughie’s gallops too. Noel is
still in process of clearing molehills from the diagonal grass gallops to the
east of his all-weather one, and he hopes to use them soon. Daliance
and his companions then circled around at the top of the gallops whilst we
stood nearby; many of our group took further photographs, including me. After that, the horses began their walk
back to the yard. However, Dali’s work
session wasn’t finished for the day, as he stopped off beside a line of
hurdles and fences situated on the grass, beside the track, on the level
ground at the bottom of the hill. The
vehicles pulled up alongside and we headed out onto the grass beside the
fences. Meanwhile, Noel put a pair of
protective boots on Daliance’s forelegs and, of
course, removed the horse’s mask so that he could see better ahead of his
task. The rider then took him over the
three flights of hurdles before repeating the process. He rapped two or three but, on the whole,
jumped very well. We then
returned in the 4x4’s to the yard; during the drive back, I noticed horses
being exercised on the gallops at the bottom of the valley. There was a kiddie-lock on the rear door of
John’s 4x4 so he had to let me out each time we alighted! When someone asked about the mare Theatregoer,
which is owned by Noel, he confirmed that she is now in foal to
Scorpion. Having entered the
right-hand entrance to the barn, I headed along the line of loose boxes,
stroking those horses which appeared keen for me to do so. I think my favourite was Another Crick; I
also liked the mare Sensulano and Wild Murphy. Authorized Too was quite friendly also;
he’s won on the flat twice recently, and was runner-up at Stratford earlier
in the week. It seems that, according
to his name label, the retired Friendly Society is still looking for his
forever home. Noel explained that Wild Murphy had been quite a
sick horse, returning to the track at Stratford also; the horse suffers from
allergic reactions and is now on a special and unique diet within the
yard. The trainer was very pleased
with his 6th place, considering the circumstances. Also, Minella
Treasure had been transferred from Alan King’s yard, because his former boss
was finding it impossible to keep David Sewell’s horse sound behind. Another Crick, as the name might suggest,
is also owned by David. The horses which had been on the gallops spent
some time on the horse-walker before being brought back to their
stables. I spent some time with Cecilator too; she’s sweet. By the time I went around the corner to see
Kincora Fort, he was more interested in his
lunch! Noel’s wife Clare also came to
see Brian, and fed him a number of polos; these
were courtesy of Authorized Too’s owner who had
sent them following her horse’s excellent recent results. At this point, the heavens opened. Thank goodness we are inside the barn and
not out on the gallops when the very heavy shower arrived. It was extremely noisy though, as the rain
came down in stair-rods and was bouncing off the roof. Latterly, Noel fetched the unnamed 4-year-old
filly for everyone to see; he’s hoping to call her ‘Drift’. She originated
from a west-country breeder who recently passed away and, although she has
been broken-in, the process will be recapped due to everything being put on
hold due to her breeder’s illness and subsequent death. She could be an EPDS horse at a later date,
if enough people were to show an interest in her. She’s by With The Flow, out of Lady
Exe. I paid a visit to see Daliance
too, but he snapped at me … yep, that’s Dali for you! At the time of the visit, the plan for both
Daliance and Cecilator
was to take them to run at Les Landes in Jersey on
Sunday 13 August. Earlier, Noel had mentioned that Briery Queen will be coming back for just one more season
before heading off to stud; however, the owner/breeders will be sending him a
half-sister as a replacement. Although
Noel did say the replacement doesn’t have the best disposition evidently! He also likes to leave a bit of work to do when
running bumper horses and, when pressed, he said his best one is Bally
Martine, which he owns and hasn’t run under rules yet; he had to withdraw the
horse from its intended debut in the spring because of ground issues. He has no objection to starting horses off
and will gladly sell Bally Martine, to run for another yard if necessary, if
he displays the hoped-for talent. Anyway, as it neared mid-day, it was time for me
to depart. I thanked Noel before
leaving, and headed out to my car. It
was no longer raining, although I did hear a faint rumble of thunder. I left the yard at around 11:55, following
a 4x4 out of the parking area. However
my car being just a little Fiesta, the front bumper stone protector (is that
what it’s called?) scraped on the ground as I headed down the grassy slope
onto the driveway because there wasn’t quite enough clearance. Oops.
I headed out via the right-hand arm of the
one-way system and back along the driveway to Boham’s
Road, negotiating a number of speed bumps along the way. Having turned right upon reaching said
road, I followed two vehicles back down the hill to Blewbury. A car heading in the opposite direction had
to wait for us to pass, just before the descent. As I nearly always do when returning from a yard
visit, I decided to take the scenic route home; however, today, it proved to
be even more scenic than usual! Having reached the main road which heads through Blewbury, the A417, I turned left. I headed through Upton but instead of
turning left as on all previous occasions in order to join the A34 southbound
carriageway at Chilton, I continued in a westerly direction towards Rowstock. There
were road-works en route, just prior to the bridge over the A34; evidently a
new road link to Didcot was being constructed. When I reached Rowstock,
I turned right at a roundabout and headed northwards hoping to join the A34
northbound carriageway. However, as I approached the traffic-light
controlled roundabout below the dual carriageways, I noticed that traffic was
almost stationary thereon. Oh well,
that was my planned route eliminated.
My only option was to head into Didcot,
although I hadn’t a clue where I was going!
Because I was in the left-most lane having expected to head up the
slip-road onto the A34, I thought I’d stick to that lane around the
roundabout so as not to annoy too many fellow drivers! As a result, I soon found myself in the
industrial area of Milton Park. I continued along the main through-road, Park
Drive evidently, before encountering road-works at a roundabout. It appeared the only option available was
to turn right once the temporary traffic-lights turned to green. It was a bit weird heading anti-clockwise
at said roundabout, before exiting down a road-entry point designed for
traffic heading in a clockwise direction! I was now travelling down Milton Road, with a
railway line to my right, and the Didcot cooling
towers to the left; there are only three towers remaining, the three nearest
the road having been demolished. At
the far end, following a further roundabout, I continued upon the A4130 as it
headed around the perimeter of a housing estate; there were a number of
additional roundabouts thereon. At the
far end I turned right, heading down Abingdon Road and onto Hadden Hill; I was following signposts to Wallingford. The road passes to the north of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell before
arriving at a roundabout; there was an option to turn right, which would have
taken me around the Wallingford southern bypass, but I continued straight
ahead, into the town. Traffic taking
this route was slowed by speed-bumps.
I arrived at cross-roads, mid High Street, and had to wait for the
lights to turn green. A right-hand
turn would have taken me to the Market Place; Wallingford is Midsomer Murder’s Causton. A left-hand turn would have allowed me to
head along Castle Street and cross the Thames at Shillingford
... but I didn’t know that at the time! Anyway, I continued straight ahead, the road
narrows for a short while and then, just ahead of the bridge over the Thames,
there are further traffic lights to control the single-flow of vehicles over
the narrow bridge. The village on the
other side of said bridge is Crowmarsh Gifford, so
I drove through it and subsequently reached a roundabout upon the A4074; I
then turned left. However, unlike the previous time when I’d
travelled back from Noel’s via this road, on this occasion I decided not to
enter Benson and travel back via Watlington;
instead I continued to Shillingford and turned
right at the roundabout to drive through Warborough. Warborough is
another village which features heavily in Midsomer
Murders, especially The Six Bells pub; although it’s not visible from the
main road, but sits beside the green behind the church. And, yes, I’ve been for a ramble through Warborough! I was now on the A329, and I continued around a
tight left-hand turn and through Newington; Newington House featured in an
episode of Middie Murders too. Upon reaching Stadhampton,
I waited quite a while to turn right onto the Thame
Road; it didn’t help that, when there was a break in the traffic, vehicles
from a petrol station forecourt pulled out to fill the space before I could
exit the junction. Damn. Anyway, having finally negotiated the T-junction,
I headed through the Stadhampton Recreation Ground
and took the road signposted for Little Milton; I drove by the Lamb Inn …
I’ve had a drink in that pub when Mark and I were rambling in the area. It turned out to be a bit of a nightmare in
the end, as it was a walk which I planned using an ordnance survey map and,
as usual, I’d made it a bit longer in distance than it should have been! The section of the walk pre-Lamb Inn had been
fine, starting out at Garsington and taking in
Denton House, which had also featured in Midsomer
Murders. We visited Great Milton,
Great and Little Haseley too. However, there were supposed to be stepping
stones across the River Thame and it turned out
that these had been washed away and not replaced! Mark was actually going to wade across … I
don’t think so; he also suggested we take our boots off and walk across the
river at a ford further upstream … not on your life! In the end, and although we were walking blind so
to speak because it went ‘off map’,
we ended up in Stadhampton and then walked along
the main B480 towards Oxford before finding the lane to Garsington
in order to collect the car. As I
mentioned before, I was a terror when it came to planning my own walks,
rather than using ones which had been published in books! Anyway, back to today, I continued along the
A329, passing by the windmill near Great Haseley;
it’s now got sails, which it hasn’t had during the years when I’ve known of
it. The road soon passes over the M40,
with access to the motorway, but I continued ahead towards Thame; I also drove past a golf club … I’ve rambled
through there too; it may have been the one which started out from Waterperry Gardens.
The road bypasses Thame
and latterly Haddenham; Midsomer
Murders uses both of these on a regular basis, also Long Crendon. They’ve filmed in nearby Shabbington, Chearsley, Cuddington, Westlington and
Nether Winchendon too. I continued
past Dinton Castle; the folly is now being restored
and, as such, is cordoned off by metal-grid barriers. I continued through Stone, past Hartwell House
Hotel and entered Aylesbury. My
journey then took me around the southern section of their ring-road, which
meant driving past their notable Council offices building and the Waterside
Theatre, before heading off of town upon the A41. Road-works were still being carried out
near the Holiday Inn; they are long-term and it appears that traffic lights
will soon be installed at the junction. I continued to the roundabout at the beginning of
the A41 bypass and headed along the dual carriageway thereof; eventually I
decided to overtake the car in front of me because I’d got fed up with its
speed varying between 65mph and 50mph.
The road bypasses Tring and Berkhamsted, and I exited at the Hemel Hempstead
junction. I headed down the hill and through the traffic
lights, they were on green; I’d entered Two Waters Road and subsequently
negotiated the ‘Magic Roundabout’
before heading up the steep hill, and continuing in the direction of the M1
motorway. At the traffic island at the
end of Maylands Avenue, I turned right and headed
through Leverstock Green and back to St
Albans. I travelled around the
ring-road and home; I arrived back at 14:00; I also drove by two ‘Smiley SIDs’. One of them scowled, but only for a second
… I wasn’t speeding, perhaps it was the car behind me. It had taken me less than 90 minutes to get to Blewbury, but just over two hours to drive back home via
my scenic route. Annoyingly, my car could no longer be described
as clean, although I’d washed it the previous Sunday. I don’t know why I bother sometimes. It had been splashed with dirty water, from
the puddles which I’d driven through, mainly on the section of the route
between the bridge over the M40 and Aylesbury. There was also sand stuck to the front
bumper stone protector, as I’m referring to it, as a result of my driving off
the grass at Noel’s without the required clearance! It was time for a late lunch; I’d not eaten since
07:00, apart from a large chocolate-chip cookie I’d chosen from the offerings
available whilst at the yard, before settling down for the evening to watch
the World Athletics Championship taking place at the London Stadium ... I
also began to draft this diary! * *
* * *
* * As hoped for, both Cecilator
and Daliance made the trip to Jersey and were both
rewarded with third places in their respective races. Daliance’s race
was over hurdles and Cecilator’s was on the flat;
Will Featherstone rode the chestnut and a local jockey rode the filly. Dali also won the prize as best turned-out ahead
of his event! |
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PHOTOS – Visit to Churn Stables at Blewbury (Index) |
