JANUARY 2010
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Sunday 31
January 2010 |
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No racing
results to report today, as Hereford was abandoned, despite fleeces being
deployed.� Plumpton used their covers
to great effect and the fixture went ahead.�
The survivor of the day was definitely Philip Hide, who made a
miraculous recovery when his mount, Maximix, blundered at the third fence.� The pair went on to complete the race in
5th place.� Both of
tomorrow�s National Hunt fixtures - Kempton Park and Ludlow - have been lost
to the weather. Choc was
photographed walking the course at Cheltenham yesterday: http://topics.ocregister.com/photo/09Il5Kob3k2V2 And
there�s more! http://topics.ocregister.com/photo/0emRbCQ9Nge5M?q=robert+thornton Following
Choc�s fall, here�s Marcus Armitage�s report from last Wednesday evening: Press
releases suggest that Choc hopes to attend the Oaksey House gym in Lambourn tomorrow
to start his exercise programme with an aim to returning to race riding in a
few weeks� time.� I hope his recovery
goes well. |
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Saturday 30
January 2010 |
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I�m glad I
woke up early this morning and tuned into The Morning Line on Channel 4 � as
the lovely Choc was today�s special guest. J� It was wonderful to see him in such good
form.� And, as I�m rather a sad person,
I watched the programme again on Channel 4 plus 1 an hour later!� During the
programme, they displayed a Choc profile, listing a number of facts about my
favourite jockey, some which I didn�t know ... and evidently he hates
carrots!� I have updated my Choc fact
file page to reflect these new details: https://www.choc-thorntons-super-fan.co.uk/CHOC%20FACTS.htm Unsurprisingly,
Choc is a �Kauto Star� man, not a �Denman� man for the Gold Cup this year. Also, bookmaker
Barry Dennis asked if Choc had a brother who works as a stall-handler for
Arena Leisure � yes, he does.� Although
the team found it amusing to point out how different in stature Richard is
compared to his younger brother, and the fact that he is far more follicly-
challenged.� So, despite being
frightened by horses as a child, Richard works with them too!� The Thornton family is very horse
orientated. With the
heavy overnight frost (we also had a dusting of snow in Hertfordshire),
initial inspection reports suggested Cheltenham would be abandoned.� So when I arrived back home at 11:00 having
popped to the local supermarket, I was very surprised to discover the meeting
was on!� However, Doncaster was lost,
despite early optimism that the fixture would be okay.� Had Choc been fit, he would have been at
Doncaster today, not Cheltenham.�
Uttoxeter went ahead too. It was
reported on Racing UK that Choc had been seen at Cheltenham during the
afternoon, enjoying a rare day as a spectator.� And it turned out to be a very good day�s
racing too: �
There was a shock in the first race of the day, the Juvenile Novices�
Hurdle, when the Nigel Twiston-Davies 100-1 shot Baccalaureate beat the 8/15
Paul Nicholls runner Pistolet Noir, which ran very �green�. �
The second race, the Novices� Handicap Chase, was won by the Colin
Tizzard trained, Joe Tizzard ridden, Hey Big Spender.� I�d seen this horse win at Newbury on
Hennessy Gold Cup Day.� There were lots
of casualties during the race � 4 fallers and 1 unseated from the 11 runners. �
The Sawyer won the 2 mile 5 furlong Handicap Chase, having also won at
Ascot last Saturday. �
The training feat of the day must have been the win of Taranis in the
3 mile 1� furlong Argento Chase, the Paul Nicholls trained horse having been
off the track for 766 days following a tendon injury sustained in the 2007
King George V Chase.� A talented horse,
having won the Cheltenham Festival Ryanair Chase back in 2007.� His next target is the Cheltenham Gold
Cup.� Taranis beat Carruthers and Joe
Lively today, with the other Paul Nicholls runner Inchidaly Rock having
departed at the 9th obstacle. �
The Robin Dickin trained Restless Harry won the Novices� Hurdle. �
Wayne Hutchinson, who had originally been booked to ride at Doncaster,
returned to take the ride aboard Katchit in the 3 mile Cleeve Hurdle.� The race was won by the enigmatic Tidal
Bay, reverting to hurdles today and ridden by Brian Harding deputising for
the injured Denis O�Regan.� I�m very
pleased to report that Katchit ran extremely well to finish 3rd, and was one
of the three horses in with a chance of winning when clearing the last.� Tidal Bay having galloped on to win,
Katchit battled to the line against Time for Rupert, losing 2nd by a mere
head at the line.� I would imagine both
Alan King and Choc were thrilled with Katchit�s run. �
Arctic Magic under Tom Scudamore won the final race of the day, a 2
mile 1 furlong Handicap Hurdle. I wish I
lived nearer Cheltenham, so that I could make a last minute decision to
attend any of their fixtures. �Unfortunately, as I live 100 miles away and
it takes 2 hours to travel there, I cannot risk setting off without knowing
for definite if racing is going ahead. Both of
tomorrow�s fixtures � Hereford and Plumpton � are subject to 08:00
inspections.� If the former fixture
goes ahead, Alan King has a couple of scheduled runners, both to be ridden by
Wayne Hutchinson: 14:35 Mr
Valentino � NH Novices� Hurdle 15:05
Epidavros � Novices� Chase The
Kempton and Ludlow fixtures scheduled for Monday are both currently under
threat due to the prevailing cold weather. On the
tennis front, Serena Williams won the Australian Open Women�s singles title,
beating Justine Henin 6-4 3-6 6-2. |
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Friday 29
January 2010 |
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There�s more
news today regarding Choc�s recuperation, taken from the Racing Post website: It looks
like it�s going to take a little longer than initially expected until he�s
back in the saddle again.� Poor Choc,
he must have taken an awful kicking. L Anyway,
back to the racing, and today�s racing results are as follows: At
Newbury: Wind
Instrument was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (12 ran). At
Doncaster: Prince
Broc finished 8th in the Conditional Jockeys� Handicap Hurdle (20 ran) Gilded Age
finished 4th in the Juvenile Novices� Hurdle (16 ran) Killobee
was a non-runner and Ravethebrave finished 5th in the NH Novices� Hurdle
Qualifier (14 ran). Meanwhile
at Chepstow, Martin Keighley had 2 runners: Martin Keighley�s
Pavanne finished 11th and The Fox�s Decree finished 6th in the Novices�
Hurdle Tomorrow,
Alan King has 5 runners at Doncaster, and 1 at Cheltenham: 13:10 Sir
Harry Ormesher (Charlie Huxley) � Handicap Hurdle 14:20
Nikos Extra (Wayne Hutchinson) � 2 mile 3 furlong Handicap Chase 14:50 The
Betchworth Kid (Wayne Hutchinson) � Novices� Hurdle 15:25
Nenuphar Collonges (Wayne Hutchinson) � 3 mile Sky Bet Handicap Chase 16:30
Management (Wayne Hutchinson) � NH Flat Race Cheltenham: 15:40
Katchit (Jimmy McCarthy) � Cleeve Hurdle As Choc is
out of action this weekend, I�ll be at home viewing the racing on TV.� Tonight I�m looking forward to watching the
3rd instalment of Pop Star to Opera Star � I missed the first episode but
enjoyed last week�s edition.� I think
Marcella Detroit from Shakespeare�s Sister is really good. Tomorrow
evening I�ll tune in to Most Haunted Live on Living TV � the new series of
programmes is being broadcast live each Saturday between 21:00 and 23:00,
rather than each show being edited down to fit a one hour slot to be shown at
a later date. And I
guess I might tune into the Australian Open tennis finals this weekend
too.� The men�s final is Andy Murray
vs. Roger Federer; the women�s is Serena Williams vs. Justine Henin.� Having retired in May 2008, the former
world number one, Justine, played her first comeback match at the start of
this month and has now reached a grand slam final.� But I can�t say that I like her, her
Belgium compatriot Kim Clijsters seems a far nicer person.� Kim won the US Open title last year having
come out of retirement too.� Come to
think of it, I don�t like to either of the Williams� sisters ... so perhaps
I�ll give the women�s final a miss! I enjoyed
the new episode of Midsomer Murders which was shown last Wednesday
night.� I love identifying the
locations where the programmes are filmed, as I have visited many of them
whilst rambling in the countryside.� I
didn�t recognise Polesden Lacey which, of course, is in Surrey, but I did
identify Swyncombe Manor House in Oxfordshire despite having walked past it
on just one occasion!� It was an
extremely hot day and I remember the walk well.� The circular route started out from picturesque
Cookley Green, took us down past Swyncombe Manor and church, along part of
the Swan�s Way, then across the B480 and down to Pishill (that�s not a
mis-type!).� The walk then took my
friend Mark and I to Russell�s Water, which was where the �pond� scenes in
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were filmed.�
Finally it was down a steep gullied pathway and bridleway back to
Cookley Green.� |
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Thursday 28
January 2010 |
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Whilst
Choc is recuperating from his fall, and as outlined yesterday, I�ll be
following the progress of both the Alan King and Martin Keighley trained
horses: � An update on
the Alan King runners at Warwick today: Riskareas
finished a neck 2nd in the Juvenile Maiden Hurdle (11 ran). Bakbenscher
blundered and unseated Wayne Hutchinson at the 9th obstacle in the Novices�
Chase (6 ran). Meanwhile
at Ffos Las, Alan ran: Sharajan
finished 4th in the Novices� Handicap Chase (12 ran). In the NH
Flat Race Best Bette finished in 6th; Sudden Beat was 3rd; and Tsarinova was
5th (12 ran). Martin
Keighley�s runners fared as follows: Wychwoods
Legend completed in 3rd in the Mares� Novices� Chase (7 ran). Meanwhile,
the enigmatic Hareem blundered and unseated his rider at the 2nd flight in
the Handicap Hurdle (16 ran). Tomorrow
there are 3 National Hunt meetings scheduled: At
Newbury, Alan King runs: 15:50 Wind
Instrument � Handicap Chase (Charlie Huxley) And at
Doncaster he runs: 13:20
Prince Broc � Conditional Jockeys� Handicap Hurdle (Gerard Tumelty) 15:05
Gilded Age � Juvenile Novices� Hurdle (Wayne Hutchinson) 16:15
Killobee (Gerard Tumelty) and Ravethebrave (Wayne Hutchinson) in the NH
Novices� Hurdle Qualifier Meanwhile
at Chepstow, Martin Keighley has 2 runners: 13:10
Pavanne (Tom Molloy) and The Fox�s Decree (Jimmy McCarthy) � Novices� Hurdle By the
way, I forgot to mention that Cracboumwiz was fine too following Tuesday�s
fall.� When interviewed at Huntingdon
yesterday, Noel Williams (Alan King�s Assistant Trainer) said the horse had
been a little stiff the following morning but, apart from that, he was okay. |
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Wednesday 27
January 2010 |
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The very good news is that Choc has been released
from Leicester Royal Infirmary following his overnight stay.� Fortunately the back injury he�s sustained
is minor, but it�s reported that he�s very sore having sustained severe
bruising.� Choc is hoping to return to action
in 7 to 10 days� time.� Here�s
the link to today�s press report on the Attheraces website: Another
casualty today was Josh Moore, younger brother of Ryan, Jamie and Hayley, who
had to be taken to hospital for checks following a fall at Huntingdon. Alan King had
3 runners at the Huntingdon fixture today, Wayne Hutchinson ably deputising
for Choc: Mille
Chief duly hacked up against older horses in Division II of the Novices�
Hurdle and remains the favourite for the Triumph Hurdle (14 ran). Ballamusic
was tailed off and struggling when pulled up before the last in the Handicap
Hurdle (13 ran). Starburst
Diamond finished 4th in the Novices� Chase (5 ran). I�d booked
today as holiday, originally hoping to go to Huntingdon races, but have
instead spent the day in bed with an almost migraine-like headache, which
didn�t subside until gone lunchtime.� I
shouldn�t complain though, as it�s �small fry� compared to Choc�s problems. Whilst
Choc is sidelined, I�ll keep up-to-date with the progress of both the Alan
King and Martin Keighley trained runners, starting with Warwick and Ffos Las
tomorrow: At
Warwick, Alan King has 2 runners: 13:15
Riskareas � Juvenile Maiden Hurdle (Wayne Hutchinson) 14:55
Bakbenscher � Novices� Chase (Wayne Hutchinson) Whilst at
Ffos Las, Alan runs: 16:10
Sharajan � Novices� Handicap Chase (Jimmy McCarthy) 16:45 Best
Bette (Jimmy McCarthy), Sudden Beat (Charlie Huxley), Tsarinova (Gerard
Tumelty) � NH Flat Race Martin
Keighley also has a couple of runners at the Welsh course: 15:05
Wychwoods Legend � Mares� Novices� Chase (Warren Marston) 15:40
Hareem � Handicap Hurdle (Jimmy Derham) |
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Tuesday 26
January 2010 |
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Poor Choc took a horrible tumble when Cracboumwiz
fell at the third last in the Novices� Chase at Leicester today.� I didn�t
find out that he�d taken a tumble until just before I left work, when I
checked the racing results on the Attheraces site and it stated that
Cracboumwiz had taken a very heavy fall.�
At that stage I didn�t think to read the news section, so had no idea
that Choc had been taken to hospital with a suspected back injury.� However, my first task when I reached home
was to watch the video, when of course I saw the medics attending to Choc and
discovered the very bad news that he needed to be taken to hospital to check
his injuries. Reports
about the accident are best summarised by the press reports, so here are a
number of links relating to Choc�s accident: And I hope
Geoff Lester will post an update about Choc�s condition on Alan King�s
website sooner rather than later: http://www.alankingracing.co.uk/ And here�s
a later update from the Racing Post: And the
day had started very promisingly, with Choc recording his 50th winner of the season aboard Little George in the Novices� Hurdle, only for him to then be
brought down to earth in the worst possible way.L And Martin
Keighley�s Ponchatrain won the Conditional
Jockeys� Handicap Chase too. Martin�s 22nd
winner of the
current campaign. My very best wishes go to Choc for a full and
speedy recovery.� |
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Monday 25
January 2010 |
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Choc rode
at Fontwell Park this afternoon ... and recorded two more successes!� J J Chamirey won the Novices�
Hurdle (7 ran), giving Choc his 48th
winner of the
season. Pouvoir
finished 4th in the Beginners� Chase (5 ran). Head to
Kerry finished 9th in the Novices� Handicap Hurdle (11 ran). Over Sixty won the Novices�
Chase, giving Choc his 49th winner of the season.� Alan King also ran Penn Da Benn in this
race, ridden by Jack Doyle, and they finished 2nd!� (5 ran) Meanwhile
at Lingfield Park: The Alan
King-trained Stolen Moments was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (10 ran). Tomorrow
Choc will be at Leicester, where he has 2 rides scheduled: 13:40
Little George � Novices� Hurdle (Alan King). 15:10
Cracboumwiz � Novices� Chase (Alan King).�
This horse is owned by John Hales, whose company manufactured the
Teletubbies toys. Cracboumwiz sounds like the noise a toy might make. John
also owned the famous steeplechaser, the grey One Man. Martin
Keighley also has a runner at Leicester: 14:10
Ponchatrain � Conditional Jockeys� Handicap Chase, to be ridden by Gerard
Tumelty I�m
looking forward to viewing the video of today�s races this evening. |
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Sunday 24
January 2010 |
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Choc wasn�t
in action today, as Kassuta was withdrawn at Market Rasen. Martin
Keighley�s horses ran at Towcester and this is how they fared: Badly
Bruised was pulled up in the Novices� Hurdle (13 ran). Heezagrey
ran well for a long way and finished 7th in the Amateur Riders� Handicap
Hurdle (15 ran). Tomorrow
Choc is scheduled to ride at Fontwell Park: 13:05
Chamirey � Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) 13:35
Pouvoir � Beginners� Chase (Alan King) 14:10 Head
to Kerry � Novices� Handicap Hurdle (Dominic Ffrench Davis) 14:45 Over
Sixty � Novices� Chase (Alan King) Meanwhile
at Lingfield Park tomorrow: The Alan
King-trained Stolen Moments runs in the 15:45 Handicap Chase, ridden by Wayne
Hutchinson. After Medermit�s
good win at Haydock yesterday, a number of his possible rivals for the
Champion Hurdle have been running in the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown
this afternoon.�� The race was won by
Solwit, Sublimity was 3rd and Celestial Halo finished a disappointing 4th. Also
following on from yesterday, Bensalem has been confirmed as fine following
his fall; and Oh Crick�s next target is the Flying Scotsman Handicap Chase at
Doncaster on Saturday 06 February. Anyway,
check out all the current news on Alan King�s website: http://www.alankingracing.co.uk/ |
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Saturday 23
January 2010 |
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Choc rode
at Haydock Park this afternoon, and this is how he fared: Bensalem took
off too early and fell at the third last (open-ditch) in the Novices� Chase
(4 ran).� It looked a very nasty fall,
but fortunately Choc was fine and it was reported that he jogged back to the
weighing room.� Bensalem was okay too,
apart from a small swelling on his off-fore knee � but Alan King said the
vets thought this was just superficial. Having lost what appeared to have
been his main rival, Diamond Harry won the race very easily. Medermit beat the reigning
Champion Hurdler Punjabi to win the Champion Hurdle Trial, giving Choc his 47th winner of the season (4 ran). J The David
Pipe trained Our Vic won the Peter Marsh Chase under Danny Cook. A couple
of Alan�s runners, Bormo at Ascot and Itea Du Fau at Wincanton, were withdrawn
as their blood analysis tests were unsatisfactory.� When interviewed by Lydia Hislop for Racing
UK, Alan King said that having got over the �enzyme� problem a number of his
horses are now suffering from snotty noses and coughs.� Anyway, at
Ascot: As Bormo
didn�t run, Wayne Hutchinson switched to Call
Me A Legend in the
Novices� Handicap Chase and duly won!� (7 ran) Ebiayn
finished 7th in the Juvenile Novices� Hurdle (8 ran). Oh Crick
finished 3rd in the Grade 1 Victor Chandler Chase, 13 lengths behind winner
Twist Magic, but only 1 length behind runner-up Petit Robin (7 ran). Swansbrook won the final race of the day, the NH Novices�
Hurdle (12 ran). And at
Wincanton: The Hairy
Lemon finished as runner-up in the Handicap Hurdle (12 ran). Trigger The
Light was pulled up in the Handicap Chase (15 ran but only 5 finished). Forzy
Origny finished 7th in the Handicap Hurdle (16 ran). All in
all, it was a good day for the Alan King yard, with 3 winners and a 3rd place
in the Victor Chandler Chase amongst the notables! Tomorrow
Choc is due to be at Market Rasen, where he has one ride: 16:15
Kassuta � Handicap Hurdle (RMH Cowell) Meanwhile
at Towcester, Martin Keighley is due to run 2 horses: 13:50
Badly Bruised ridden by Warren Marston � Novices� Hurdle 16:25
Heezagrey ridden by Danny Hiskett - Amateur Riders� Handicap Hurdle |
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Friday 22
January 2010 |
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Alan King
has runners at all 3 of tomorrow�s fixtures, so Choc is going to Haydock
Park: 14:20
Bensalem � Novices� Chase 14:55 Medermit
� Champion Hurdle Trial Meanwhile
at Ascot: 12:55
Bormo (Wayne Hutchinson) and Call Me A Legend (Charlie Huxley) � Novices�
Handicap Chase 13:30
Ebiayn (Wayne Hutchinson) � Juvenile Novices� Hurdle 14:40 Oh
Crick (Wayne Hutchinson) � Victor Chandler Chase (Grade 1) 16:20
Swansbrook (Wayne Hutchinson) � NH Novices� Hurdle And at
Wincanton: 13:20 Itea
Du Fau (Gerard Tumelty) and The Hairy Lemon (Mr DT Stratton) � Handicap
Hurdle 13:55
Trigger The Light (Christian Williams) � Handicap Chase 14:30 Forzy
Origny (Christian Williams) � Handicap Hurdle No
excursions to the races for me, so another quiet weekend. |
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Thursday 21
January 2010 |
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Ludlow was
abandoned today due to snow, and tomorrow�s meeting at Chepstow has been called
off because the course is frozen due to snow.�
So Choc will have another day off from race riding - in his Horse and
Hound column this week Choc mentions the boredom and money issues involved
when the jockeys can�t ride.� At Taunton
this afternoon, Choc finished 6th aboard Stormhoek in the NH Novices� Hurdle
(13 ran). The Alan
King trained Way Back When finished 3rd of 14 under Sam Waley-Cohen in the
Mares� NH Flat Race.� Sam�s mount beat
a Neil Mulholland trained horse named Big Knickers and another called Hot
Tottie ... I wonder if the jockeys pull each other�s leg about the names of
their mounts! After much
speculation regarding numbers, Timmy
Murphy
officially rode his 1,000th British National Hunt winner aboard Wizard of Edge
at Taunton this afternoon. Congratulations to Timmy on this career milestone. Unfortunately,
as winners have been slightly hard to come by in recent months, Choc won�t
reach his 1,000th career winner for a while yet � I think he�s currently on
922 (and apologies to Choc if I�ve got that wrong!).� |
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Wednesday 20
January 2010 |
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Well, it
snowed in Berkshire and Newbury was abandoned!� There�s no sign of any snow in St Albans,
but it has been very dull and overcast today, and is considerably colder this
evening.� Choc is
scheduled for one ride at Taunton tomorrow: 14:30
Stormhoek � NH Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) Mr Sam
Waley-Cohen (claiming 5lbs) is booked to ride the Alan King trained Way Back
When in the Mares� NH Flat Race at 16:00. If Ludlow
gets the go-ahead tomorrow (an inspection is due to be carried out at 07:30),
Martin Keighley has two scheduled runners: Heezagrey
in the Novices� Handicap Chase at 15:10 � Wayne Hutchinson taking the ride,
as the horse is due to carry the minimum weight of 10 stone. Danny Hiskett
is due to ride Wychwoods Kaddy in the �Hands and Heels� NH Flat Race for
Amateur/Conditional jockeys at 16:10. Barry
Geraghty has been booked to ride Diamond Harry on his chasing debut at
Haydock Park on Saturday, as both his regular pilot Timmy Murphy and stable
jockey Daryl Jacob are due to ride at Ascot.�
This booking suggests that Nicky Henderson�s Punchestowns will be a
non-runner in the race. |
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Tuesday 19
January 2010 |
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Choc was
at Southwell today, and this is how he fared: Rustarix finished
6th in the Handicap Chase (13 ran). Mister
Stickler finished 7th in the Novices� Hurdle Div I (14 ran). Sitwell
completed in 13th position in the Novices� Hurdle Div II.� Alan King�s other runner, Kauto The Roc,
finished 4th (14 ran). Long Hop
was pulled up in the 3-mile Handicap Hurdle (14 ran). Mount
Helicon finished 7th in the 2�-mile Handicap Hurdle.� Alan�s other runner, Parlesotho, completed
in 10th place (14 ran). Tomorrow
Choc is due to ride at Newbury: 13:00
Devil to Pay � Juvenile Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) 14:05
Little George � Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) 15:50 Over
Sixty � Mares� Novices� Chase (Alan King).�
Wayne Hutchinson rides Alan�s other runner, Call Me A Legend. Will there
be snow showers tomorrow?� Evidently
these are most likely in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire! Riding
plans for next Saturday have become clearer - Wayne Hutchinson has been
booked to ride the Alan King trained Oh Crick in the Victor Chandler Chase at
Ascot, with Choc booked to ride Bensalem in the Novices� Chase at Haydock
Park. |
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Monday 18
January 2010 |
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One ride
at Plumpton today, and a win! Salden Licht won the Novices�
Hurdle, giving Choc his 46th winner of the season (13
ran). J Tomorrow Choc
will be at Southwell, where he has 5 rides scheduled, all for Alan King: 13:00
Rustarix � Handicap Chase 14:00
Mister Stickler � Novices� Hurdle Div I 14:30
Sitwell � Novices� Hurdle Div II.�
Wayne Hutchinson rides Alan�s other runner Kauto The Roc. 15:00 Long
Hop � Handicap Hurdle (extended 3 miles) 15:30
Mount Helicon � Handicap Hurdle (extended 2� miles).� Gerard Tumelty rides Alan�s other runner
Parlesotho. As
Bensalem has entries for Saturday at Haydock Park, and Alan King mentioned on
ATR that Medermit might run in the Champion Hurdle trial at the course too,
my current feeling is that Choc will be riding at the Merseyside track on
Saturday ... so no Ascot trip for me L The Lester
nominees were announced today: http://www.thepja.co.uk/Documents/Lesters%20nominees%20press%20release.pdf Choc has
been nominated for the Jump Jockey of the Year award alongside AP McCoy, Noel
Fehily and Paddy Brennan.� I expect
AP will win the Jump Ride of the Year for his ride aboard Wichita Lineman at
last season�s Cheltenham Festival.�
However, I think Choc should at least have received a nomination in
this category for his winning ride aboard Busy Isit in a Handicap Chase at
Sandown Park on 06 March last year.�
Amazingly the horse failed to decant Choc upon the turf despite a
number of bad jumping errors! |
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Sunday 17
January 2010 |
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Choc rode at
Ffos Las this afternoon, and this is how he fared: Blazing
Bailey seemed to enjoy his first public outing over the larger obstacles,
jumping well, and finishing a neck 2nd in the Beginners� Chase (6 ran).� Alan King was interviewed by Matt Chapman
of ATR during the morning slot and suggested Blazing Bailey would be retired
if he showed a lack of form today � presumably his retirement has now been
postponed following his good showing.��
Pennek finished 5th in this race. Ellen
Tilley, returning from injury, finished 7th in the 2� mile Handicap Hurdle
(14 ran) Silver
Spinner, under Mr J Banks, ran well to finish 3rd in the 3 mile Handicap
Hurdle (15 ran) Tomorrow,
just one ride for Choc at Plumpton: 13:40
Salden Licht � Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) The long
range weather forecast is for further snow on Wednesday ... the novelty has
worn off and it�s getting boring ... |
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Saturday 16
January 2010 |
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Huntingdon
passed two inspections this morning, the latter because of fears that the local
brook might overflow to flood the course.��
Racing having got the go ahead, this is how Choc fared: Prince
Buster pulled hard and finished 5th in the �NH� Novices� Hurdle (15 ran) Kassuta
was a non-runner in the Mares� Novices� Handicap Hurdle Mister
Chancer finished 2nd in the NH Flat Race (7 ran) Tomorrow
Choc will be riding at Ffos Las: 14:10
Blazing Bailey � Beginners� Chase (Alan King).� Wayne
Hutchinson rides Alan�s other runner in this race, Pennek. 14:50
Ellen Tilley � Handicap Hurdle (Alan King) Alan King
runs Silver Spinner in the 15:55 Handicap Hurdle � ridden by Mr J Banks
claiming 7lbs off the top weight. |
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Friday 15
January 2010 |
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There has
been a mega-thaw over the past couple of days and, hopefully, there will be some
National Hunt racing tomorrow.� The
�major� meeting is the Kempton Park fixture, with AP, Barry Geraghty and Ruby
Walsh all in action.� Tomorrow�s
fixtures at Wetherby and Warwick have been lost, but Huntingdon which was
abandoned today, has now been held over until tomorrow (subject to an 08:00
inspection): Choc is
scheduled to ride at Huntingdon: 13:55
Prince Buster � �NH� Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) 15:35
Kassuta � Mares� Novices� Handicap Hurdle (RMH Cowell) 16:05
Mister Chancer � Standard Open NH Flat Race (Alan King) Mister
Chancer showed talent when staying on to finish 5th at Ascot on his first
appearance in a bumper, so hopefully will give a good account of himself
tomorrow too. I�m not
venturing out to the races this weekend but, hopefully, will get the
opportunity to go to Ascot a week tomorrow.�
And, whilst I�m in the Berkshire area, I must drop in to see my friend
Denise, as I still have her Christmas presents to deliver! |
|
Wednesday 13
January 2010 |
|
Choc made
it to Southwell today: Woolfall
Hawk finished 11th in the Junior Standard NH Flat Race (12 ran). Unfortunately
Martin Keighley�s horses had to be withdrawn, due to heavy snowfalls in the
Cotswolds area causing travel difficulties.�
Nicky Henderson
and stable jockey Barry Geraghty had a successful day, with three winners. No
National Hunt racing tomorrow, as the big freeze continues. Evidently
Kempton Park will hold an all-weather NH flat race card on Saturday, if the
scheduled jumps card is lost to the weather.�
A number of high profile horses have been given provisional entries to
the events. As
expected, it did snow in Hertfordshire starting in the early hours of this
morning and continuing into the rush hour, causing probably the worst road
conditions experienced during the freeze so far, and with many train and bus
services being cancelled too. |
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Tuesday 12
January 2010 |
|
To help
combat the lack of National Hunt racing, Southwell in holding a 7-race bumper
card tomorrow and Choc is scheduled for one ride: 13:30
Woolfall Hawk � Junior Standard NH Flat Race (GG Margarson) Martin
Keighley also runs De Forgotten Man in the 12:30 Maiden Open event; and
Wychwoods Kaddy in the 13:30.� I�m
seriously missing writing my blog and I miss watching Choc on TV too.� A slight
thaw has commenced in my local area, but the forecast for tomorrow seems to
suggest we might get more snow in the early hours of the morning as the
weather front travels up from the west country ... oh no, not more snow.� My
Wellington boots, purchased in September 2008, have been so useful during the
snowy conditions last winter and this.�
And useful for walking the course at Cheltenham with Choc in December
2008 too!�� On Saturday morning I
decided to take a shopping trip to Next, M & S and Sainburys � at London
Colney � and I walked there and back ... a round trip of 6 miles ... but I
enjoyed every minute of my snowy walk!��
|
|
Tuesday 05
January 2010 |
|
It is
19:45 and we�ve received our first dusting of snow, with lots more forecast
for overnight!� Evidently there could
be up to 12 inches of snow falling in parts of Buckinghamshire (my
neighbouring county to the west).� But,
regardless, I know who will make it into work tomorrow ... me!!!� That�s the trouble with living just a 20
minute walk away. Obviously
there�s no hope on the horizon for any National Hunt racing to go ahead if
the current freeze continues ... so my blog is going to be very quiet
(non-existent) for the next few days! And,
finally, I�m going to wish myself a Happy Birthday for today. |
|
Sunday 03
January 2010 |
|
Amazingly,
Plumpton was on today, course covers having saved the day! � Choc was
thus rewarded with a winner on his only ride of the day, aboard Stoney�s Treasure, in the NH Novices� Hurdle (11 ran), giving Choc
his 45th winner of the season.� And I was rewarded with a lovely post-race
interview with Choc, by Luke Harvey on Attheraces. J Franchoek,
ridden by AP McCoy, finished 4th of 5 in the Novices� Chase; Grand National
winning jockey, Liam Treadwell (who celebrated his 24th birthday today) won
this race, having survived a bad slithering stumble two out, and passing the
post with a foot out of the stirrup too! The Sussex
National was won by Master Overseer, trained by David Pipe and ridden by
Johnny Farrelly. No
National Hunt racing tomorrow, with both Lingfield Park and Wetherby having
been lost to the frost.� Tuesday�s
meeting at Taunton has already been abandoned, and I wouldn�t imagine Leicester
has much hope of surviving either, if the present weather forecast is
anything to go by. My local
5-day weather forecast, for Hertfordshire, is minus 5 and fog tonight; sunny
but zero tomorrow; light snow and 1 degree on Tuesday (my birthday); sunny
and zero on Wednesday; and light snow showers and zero on Thursday!� Lovely ... |
|
Saturday 02
January 2010 |
|
It was
d�j� vu at Sandown Park today � exactly the same thing happened last year, when
the fixture was abandoned mid-morning after there seemed a possibility that
racing would be on.� The position of
the grandstand is often a big problem at Sandown, as it casts a giant shadow
over the home straight at this time of the year. There is a
meeting scheduled for Plumpton in East Sussex tomorrow and, if it goes ahead,
Choc has just one riding engagement: 13:50
Stoney�s Treasure � NH Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) Alan King
is also due to run Franchoek, ridden by AP McCoy, in the Novices� Chase at
13:20. |
|
Friday 01
January 2010 |
|
After a
number of course inspections, including one after the first race (where Choc was
part of the inspection team), the Cheltenham fixture went ahead and the card
was completed.� However, due to a
number of withdrawals, the expected Choccie Fest� became 4 rides, and this is
how he fared: Paddy Live
was pulled up in the �NH� Novices� Handicap Hurdle (10 ran). Nenuphar
Collonges was withdrawn from the Handicap Chase. Bensalem
was withdrawn from the Novices� Chase.�
Punchestowns and Knockara Beau were also withdrawn; leaving a 2 runner
race in which Seven Is My Number beat Pigeon Island. Hold Em
was brought down four fences out in the Handicap Chase (12 ran).� There was a sad postscript to this race, as
Hold Em had to be put down having suffered a broken knee (or fetlock) during
the incident. Trenchant
was also withdrawn from the Handicap Hurdle. Katchit
ran with enthusiasm in the Freedom Hurdle to finish runner-up to Sentry Duty
(3 ran). Romulus
D�Artaix finished 2nd in the Junior NH Flat Race (15 ran).� Alan King�s other runner, The Laodicean,
finished 8th in this race. Choc was
wearing a mask whilst racing today, presumably as protection against the
kick-back � just like some jockeys wear when racing on the all-weather. And this
is how Martin Keighley�s runners fared at Cheltenham today: King Ozzy
finished 6th in the �NH� Novices� Handicap Hurdle Any
Currency was withdrawn from the Handicap Chase due to concerns about the
ground. However, 7
runners took part in the 14:45, and Wolf
Moon was
victorious!� Martin�s 21st winner of the season, and his 3rd success at Cheltenham
this season too!� Congratulations to
Martin and his team. Despite
withdrawing Punchestowns from the Novices� Chase, Nicky Henderson and his
jockey Barry Geraghty had a treble today. Exeter and
Fakenham were lost to the weather today, and Folkestone has been lost for
tomorrow.� However, if Sandown passes
its morning inspection, Choc has 4 riding engagements: 13:00
Easter Legend � Mares� Hurdle (Emma Lavelle) 13:30
Riskareas � Juvenile Novices� Hurdle (Alan King) 14:35 Oh
Crick � Handicap Chase � 2 miles (Alan King) 15:10
Salden Licht � Tolworth Hurdle (Alan King) Martin
Keighley�s Any Currency holds an entry in the 14:05, the 3 miles � a furlong
Handicap Chase. I think
it�s going to be very risky attempting to go to Sandown Park tomorrow � even though
I�d love to � especially as the weather forecast promises heavy overnight
frost. L |
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