DIARY – VISIT TO CHURN STABLES IN BLEWBURY
TO SEE EPDS RACING’S HOMEBRED FILLY “CHAMPAS”
SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER 2018
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“Champas” |
Drunken Pirate |
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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 third stable yard visit during the
autumn of 2018; the others being to Robin Dickin’s
and Graeme McPherson’s yards. The arranged time for arrival at Noel’s
yard was 09:15, so I set my alarm for pre-06:00, with the aim of leaving home
at 7:30. Noel had just one of EPDS Racing’s horses in his
care at the present time – a homebred, unnamed filly, out of Shilpa – her first foal.
Her pet name is “Champas” and, at the time of my visit, she was still
waiting to be named and registered officially. I have a vague recollection that she
suffered from a brief spell of hives when a foal and champagne was applied to
stop the itching, hence the pet name ... or am I just imagining the
story? She’d been broken-in and ridden
away at Mark Grant’s, before arriving at Churn Stables to begin her racing
career. Former yard inmates, EPDS Racing’s Kincora Fort had been retired, due to fragile legs. Also their youngster Cecilator
had been retired, having sustained a hole in one of her tendons; she’d failed
to impress during her career, so another ‘life’
awaited her – maybe showing, as she’s very pretty too. The previous evening I’d attended the show ‘Rip It Up the 60s’ at the local Arena;
this year’s version starred Harry Judd, Aston Merrygold
and Louis Smith. Jay McGuiness was in
the audience – Lesley and I saw him in the foyer ... and I also saw him in Wetherspoons beforehand!
Originally, I’d thought my initial sighting was a doppelganger, but
evidently not!!! Jay had performed in
‘Rip It Up the 50s’ with Louis
Smith and former Strictly professional dancer Natalie Lowe too. Jay is a previous Strictly Champion, as is
Louis Smith and Harry Judd. And
I was reliably informed by my friend Lesley that Aston’s fellow JLS band
member Marvin Humes was in the audience, along with
his wife Rochelle Wiseman from the Saturdays.
In fact they were sat just across the aisle from us, and one row
forward!!! ‘Rip It Up the 70s’ was mentioned
during the show, so I’ll have to look out for tickets, which I would imagine
will go on sale next March for performances next autumn. Friday
was a good day ... it started off with me winning a ‘Best Dressed Lady in pink’ prize, at work, to mark ‘Wear it Pink’ day in aid of various
Breast Cancer charities. The pink jeggings,
pink sweater, pink fleece, pink scarf and Percy Pig socks did the trick – in
fact I ‘out-pinked’ everyone! Anyway, back to the task in hand. I showered, washed and styled my hair
before eating one croissant for breakfast.
I’d drunk a full cup of tea, prior to taking my shower; I’d forgotten
that I usually drink just half a cup prior to going out on a long trip! My outfit today was a pair of dark blue M & S
jeggings (my current favourites), a cream and navy
fleece-lined M & S thermal T-shirt, a purple-coloured fleece and navy
blue fleece gilet.
I wore my blue and silver butterfly wing earrings, and my
burgundy/brown ‘stable visit’
jacket. I took my blue/navy/gold/white
graphic print Defea-style Kipling handbag too. I almost forgot a scarf, not realising it was
cold, only 5 degrees, until I went outside.
I chose a snood, knitted using Stylecraft ‘Candy Swirl’ in ‘Very Berry’ shade. It’s
nice, but is knitted in semi-fisherman’s rib ... it’s a nightmare if you
accidently drop a stitch, which I remember doing, and having to start all
over again! One of the things I love
about crochet is the fact it’s so easy to undo stitches, because you are only
working with one at a time! I took my snow-boots, which I wore, with my brown
Footglove ankle boots as a back-up. I drove wearing my grey Hotter Aura shoes. Having applied my make-up – foundation, eyebrow
pencil and mascara – I was ready to depart at the hoped-for time of
07:30. Having set off, I took a brief
detour via the local petrol station to fill up my car’s petrol tank. I then headed for the London Colney roundabout, before travelling down their bypass in
order to join the M25 at junction 22. There were no issues on the London orbital
motorway and I continued in an anti-clockwise direction before transferring
onto the westbound carriageway of the M4.
There was currently a 50mph limit section after the A404(M)
junction, but traffic was clear all the way to my departure point, junction
12 Reading west. I continued down a
brief section of the A4 before turning right to head along the A340 to Pangbourne. I was
held up by a cyclist, briefly, on the approach to the town. Having passed beneath the railway arch in
the centre thereof, the road bears left to continue along beside the River
Thames. The traffic lights adjacent to Beale Wildlife
Park, which control the flow of vehicles across the single track bridge over
the railway, changed to green as I slowed down on the approach. Having reached the far side thereof, I
noticed that there was a newly constructed wall to the left, surrounding
Basildon Park. I continued through the
30mph limit at Lower Basildon village and onwards to Streatley. I continued ahead at the cross-roads, where I’d
waited briefly at a red light, before bearing left to continue past a golf
course adjacent to the A417 and out onto the Oxfordshire downs. Annoyingly, at this point, I encountered
two cyclists on their racing bikes ... it took quite some time before I was
able to get a clear view of the road ahead in order to overtake them, due to
the meanderings of the route and also the undulations. Having reached Blewbury,
I slowed down upon entry; the speed limit being 30mph. Boham’s Road is
located at the far end of the village, opposite a garden centre; I turned
left and headed up the hill towards the yard.
Further along my route I encountered dog-walkers, thanking them for
moving off the roadway as I drove by.
The lane bears left further along, with the driveway leading to the
yard situated on the left shortly afterwards.
The roadway, close to this entrance, was now potholed. Having followed the one-way system, I parked up
alongside a number of vehicles upon the grass beyond the barn; it was
09:05. Everyone left their vehicles at
09:15, including EPDS’ John Powell, and we headed into the barn aisle which
housed the majority of Noel’s horses. Five horses were being prepared for second lot – Champas, Pure Country, Percy Prosecco,
the giant Drunken Pirate and Drift.
Our group loitered, waiting as the horses were led out and mounted
before they headed to the indoor school to warm up. Katie was riding Champas;
Noel said she really liked the filly and got on well with her. Shilpa’s daughter
has a few quirks, being only a youngster; the trainer is happy that the filly
is building up a rapport with someone who rides out for him. He said some horses can be ridden by anyone
and will perform well regardless, whereas some suit certain riders better
than others. Noel mentioned that the
filly has a habit of ‘painting’ the
walls of her stable with poo! The yard’s nickname for her is ‘Pumbaa’! We headed over to the indoor school to see the
five horses warming up, before returning via the barn and continuing through
to the parking area to collect vehicles in order to drive up the hill to the
top of the gallops. Four 4-wheel drive
vehicles were required to carry the group; I rode in the front seat of Noel’s
4x4. He
apologised for the state of the interior ... I really don’t mind ... I’d
rather sit in a ‘horsey’ vehicle
than on any form of public transport!!!
Noel’s wife Clare accompanied us; she brought a camera in order to
take pictures of the string. On the journey up the hill, Noel pointed out tyre
tracks across the neighbouring ploughed field – evidently they have a problem
with hare coursing in the area; it’s illegal in this country. Once we’d arrived at the top of the hill,
everyone parked their vehicles and alighted, waiting for the horses to
appear. It was a bright sunny morning,
and fairly still; this would have accounted for the slightly misty conditions
across the distant downs. Pure Country led the string, followed by Percy Prosecco, Drunken Pirate, Drift and, finally, Champas. Having
reached the top, the horses headed back down upon the grass adjacent to the
vehicle track-way to reach the beginning once more, before doing it all over
again. Having arrived at the top for a
second time, Noel requested the riders to circle close to the vehicles so
that we could take a closer look at them, and especially Champas. She’s gradually becoming fitter, only
running a little bit out of puff towards the top of the second gallop. The horses began their walk back to the yard,
whilst we got back into the vehicles and followed them down the hill before
overtaking the string further along the track. Having reached the yard, we alighted and
headed into the barn for refreshments.
Our hosts provided croissants and pain au chocolat;
I ate two of the latter, passing on the tea or coffee as I didn’t want to be
caught short on the way home.
Meanwhile, Noel hurried off to book a jockey for Pure Country which
had, to his surprise, made the cut to run in a Novice Stakes at Kempton Park
the following Monday; it was John who had pointed this out to Noel whilst we
were still on the gallops! Noel booked Rossa Ryan,
who’d ridden Authorized Too for him at Haydock Park
the previous day; Pure Country subsequently finished 3rd of 13 at Kempton, at
a price of 66-1! I spent time chatting to Philippa;
she’d also attended the recent visits to the Robin Dickin
and Graeme McPherson yards. Many of
Noel’s boxes were now empty, their occupants having been put on the walker to
warm down following their visit to the gallops. Third lot also went out to the
gallops. Noel currently had three ‘store’ horses for sale – including an American bred one by Gio Ponti named Gino Wotimean. He had
intended to run the horse recently, but wasn’t permitted to do so because the
horse had no import licence. Noel was
surprised to learn this, as the horse came via Ireland ... and the previous
owner didn’t have an import licence for there either! Anyway, this is now sorted so, presumably,
he will run soon ... or was he the one which Noel said had ended up in a
ditch recently, sustaining a longish cut to a hind-leg? Briery
Express, niece of Briery Queen, is an inmate of the
yard; she bites, so the grill in her stable door was locked! She ran in a Mares’ bumper at Aintree, on
Sunday 28 October ... and won! Anyway, Noel said he would be visiting a Horses
in Training sale within the next few weeks; he had one definite order and one
‘let me know if you see something nice’
order! I’m sure John would love to
have more horses with Noel, but it’s difficult to sell syndicate shares or
racing club memberships when there are so many other racing clubs around for
people to choose from. It’s just
unfortunate that Menace, Daliance, Kincora Fort and Cecilator have
all succumbed to injuries which curtained their careers. It’s not until you become closely involved
as a syndicate member that you realise just how many injuries NH horses sustain
during the course of their careers.
Fortunately Mrs Prowting’s
Drunken Pirate had been returned to his box prior to my leaving. Myself, and two others, made a fuss of him
before returning to our vehicles.
Everyone loves “Big Sam”; in
fact both Philippa and I had mentioned that we were
looking forward to seeing the gentle giant again, when we chatted during our
visit to Graeme McPherson’s yard the previous week! I left Churn Stables at 11:40 and headed back
from whence I came; same route. There
were a couple of ladies hacking their horses down the driveway leading out
from Churn Stables; once out on the lane, they hopped onto the verge and I
drove slowly by, thanking them as I did so.
Further along the lane I encountered a walker, then
a 4x4 heading in the opposite direction; the latter turned into the driveway
of nearby houses just before I reached the point where I’d have needed to
squeeze through on this narrow thoroughfare. Having returned to Blewbury
itself, I turned right at the t-junction opposite the garden centre and
headed back through the village at the prescribed 30mph. I continued out across the downs, where the
road undulates and winds through the countryside; there were no ‘obstacles’, unlike during my inbound
journey along this stretch! Having reached the Wallingford Road, I turned
right at the T-junction. I continued
through the village of Streatley, and onwards to Pangbourne. The
traffic lights en route, at the narrow railway line crossing, changed almost
immediately to green; there were three cars travelling ahead of me. The A329 travels alongside the River
Thames, before bearing right to head under a railway arch. Just beyond the aforementioned, there is a
speed limit of 20mph; I drove over the pedestrian crossing before taking a
right at the mini-roundabout just beyond. Having negotiated the narrow ‘chicane’ which denotes the corner of a old white brick and timbered cottage, I continued along
the A340 Tidmarsh Road. The speed limit soon increases to 30mph,
then 40mph, before decreasing to 30mph once more when driving through the
village of Tidmarsh. Beyond said village it increases to 50mph,
and the road heads through a couple of bends before travelling over the M4
and continuing in a straight line to join the A4. I subsequently took the dual carriageway which
leads up to the motorway, before turning right and heading down the slip-road
to join the eastbound carriageway.
Despite it now being gone midday, traffic was flowing freely upon the
M4. However, being October with the
sun low in the sky, I found it very annoying and difficult to drive with the
strong rays streaming in through the driver’s window of my car. I wish I had brought my sunglasses; I did
have my anti-glare night-driving pair in the glove compartment, but I only
use those after dark ... not least because they aren’t actually ‘cool’ ... besides it was too late to
retrieve them once I was already on the motorway. The temperature recorded in my car was 17
degrees at lunch-time today. I was feeling quite tired too and lost my
concentration on two or three occasions too ... oops, dangerous! Following the Langley junction, the
motorway becomes four lanes, so I moved into the nearside lane in preparation
for transferring onto the M25. There
was a long queue, prior to the junction, so this delayed me for a few
minutes. The driver of a coach, which
had been speeding along towards London, jumped the queue by making a last
minute manoeuvre to enter the slip-road at the point it diverged ... why
can’t everyone wait their turn? I continued along the slip-road and onto the
clockwise carriageway of the M25.
Initially the traffic was slow moving, but it soon cleared and I was
able to transfer into the second lane in good time so as to travel past the
M40 junction where the inside lane leads down the slip-road thereof. There were no subsequent delays on the London
orbital motorway and I continued to retrace my journey, leaving at junction
22 in order to continue up the London Colney bypass
and back into St Albans and home. I
arrived back at 13:15, my return journey having taken 1 hour and 35
minutes. This autumn, it appeared that
I wasn’t in the mood for taking the scenic routes home following my yard
visit outings! Mind you, I wish I’d
taken my cushion to sit on today, as my pelvis was slightly achy by the time
I’d reached home. L Once
home I’d switched on the TV; I’d missed the first race from Ascot on
Champions Day – which was Stradivarius winning the long-distance race - but I
did see the other races, along with coverage from Stratford and Market Rasen
on RUK. |
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PHOTOS – Visit to Churn Stables at Blewbury (Index) |
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