CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2017
Day 1 - Tuesday 14 March
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Picture of the Day
The
Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1): The winner
returns – Buveur D’Air trained by
Nicky Henderson and ridden by Noel Fehily With everything packed, including the kitchen
sink, I set off from home at 06:35. My
journey took me via the city centre, then to Hemel Hempstead and along the
A41 to Aylesbury. I managed to stall
my car at the far end of their ring-road, whilst waiting to pull out onto a
roundabout. My car wasn’t being as
responsive as usual, due to the heavy cargo.
The driver of the vehicle behind me tooted … I gave him a rude gesture
… naughty me! I then travelled via Waddesdon
and Bicester; there was yet another new road layout
on the final stretch of the A41, leading down to junction 9 of the M40. I
didn’t encounter any holdups until the start of the A34; it was slow moving
traffic as the three lanes merged into two and also with traffic entering
from the Wendlebury turning. This cleared until approaching the Peartree Junction where vehicles slowed once more; I left
the A34 at this point. Changes have been made at the Wolvercote
roundabout, and this has freed up movement around the earlier Peartree junction.
This being the case, I was able to negotiate the latter without having
to squeeze through stationary traffic; in fact the initial stretch of the
outside lane of the dual carriageway leading down to the Wolvercote
junction was clear too. However, the
newly installed traffic signals on that roundabout do result in vehicles
blocking the lanes and thus appear to prevent free movement around it at peak
times. Once upon the A40, my journey then went smoothly
all the way to Cheltenham. As
suggested by the racecourse, I decided to park in the northern car park,
travelling via Greenway Lane, Harp Hill, Priors Road, Bouncers Lane and Prestbury. I
arrived at 09:20 and was directed to park in the area close to the pedestrian
walkway which leads through the car park to the northern entrance. At 09:50 I decided to head to the aforementioned
entrance in order to join the queue for entry; gates opened at 10:30. Having driven in from Hertfordshire, my
first task was to visit the ladies loo within the ground floor of the main
grandstand; these have been extended to include more stalls – so hopefully no
queuing at peak demand times. I then
went to buy a cup of coffee and a bottle of water before heading back towards
the main plaza where a statue of AP McCoy was about to be unveiled; the
retired jockey was in attendance.
Following this, I headed back up the hill to the steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure. Twelve horses were taking part in this year’s
Retraining of Racehorses (ROR) Parade – Beware Chalk Pit, Big Buck’s, Finian’s Rainbow, Forpadydeplasterer,
Long Run, Midnight Chase, Penzance, Punjabi, Rubi
Light, The Giant Bolster, Balthazar King and, last but not least, Denman. The first casualty of the day appeared to be a
race-goer who must have collapsed close to the rear entrance to the Princess
Royal stand. Medics and a doctor or
doctors were quickly in attendance, rushing across the Parade Ring to reach
the stricken person. Green screens
were soon mustered, as was an ambulance.
I have no idea of the outcome; but if you’ve got to go you’ve got to
go, but you’d hope it would be at the end of the Festival, not before it had
even begun. I’ve just checked, and you can have your cremated
ashes scattered at Cheltenham racecourse … what a fabulous idea! Oh wow ... and free of charge too! As usual, at noon, presenter Martin Kelly
interviewed a number of people of interest; these included Cheltenham Radio
presenter Rupert Bell, father of Oli. Also amateur jockey Jamie Codd and Brett Williams of Stan James, the sponsor of the
Champion Hurdle. It was good to see
Tom Stanley of Racing UK had been promoted to roving reporter this year; Oli Bell having been snapped up by ITV Racing. I like Tom
… and I like Oli too!!! Oli does still
appear on RUK, during the week. At around 12:45 I headed to the course-side rails
to reserve my place ahead of racing; probably at the half furlong mark. The first race was at 13:30 and, of course,
accompanied by the famous Cheltenham roar as the horses set off. The joint favourites for the Supreme Novices’
were Melon for Willie Mullins/Ruby Walsh and Ballyandy
for the Twiston-Davies’; priced at 3-1. Alan King had one representative, namely
Elgin ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. The winner turned out to be the grey Labaik, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by rising
star Jack Kennedy – the jockey’s first Cheltenham Festival triumph. The horse was priced at 25-1 … presumably
because he’d refused to start on a couple of recent occasions!
The warm favourite for the Arkle
was the Nicky Henderson-trained Altior, ridden by Nico de Boinville; price 1-4. Altior duly won, but the Kim
Bailey-trained Charbel gave him a run for his money
until capsizing two out; the jockey of that one, David Bass, was distraught,
believing he would have run the winner very close.
The favourite for the third race, a competitive
handicap chase, was Singlefarmpayment, trained by
Tom George and ridden by Adrian Heskin; price
5-1. Alan King had two
representatives, Annacotty ridden by Ian Popham and Label Des Obeaux
ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. The finish was a tight-fought affair, with last
year’s winner and top weight today, Un Temps Pour Tout prevailing over the
favourite by a short-head. A winner for David Pipe and jockey Tom Scudamore.
Being the feature race of the day, there was a
pre-race parade ahead of the Champion Hurdle.
There was no Faugheen or Annie Power,
winners in 2015 and 2016, both being on the injury sidelines. The favourite for the event was the Alan
King-trained Yanworth, ridden by Mark Walsh; price
2-1. The trainer also ran Sceau Royal ridden by Daryl Jacob. But it was the Champion Hurdle master trainer
Nicky Henderson who claimed a record 6th victory in the race when Buveur D’Air won today; the
previous being See You Then (x3), Punjabi and Binocular. And a 6th win also for owner JP McManus. The winning jockey today was Noel Fehily. And My
Tent Or Yours finished 2nd in the race yet again. The winner had been a late-comer to the party,
initially being tried out over fences before switching back to hurdles again;
he’d finished 3rd to Altior in last year’s Supreme
Novices’ Hurdle. Sceau Royal finished 6th,
with Yanworth a very disappointing 7th. The latter had been very poorly treated by
his owning connections, he’s not a two-miler, and he’d been usurped by Unowhatimeanharry, also owned by JP McManus, for the Stayers’ Hurdle. What next for Yanworth? Perhaps the Aintree Hurdle over 2 miles 4
furlongs at the Grand National Festival, if he comes out of this race okay.
Or even the Liverpool Hurdle over an extended 3 miles at same? News reports have since confirmed the Aintree
Hurdle to be a distinct possibility for Yanworth.
The race favourite for the next event was Limini, trained by Willie Mullins and the choice of
jockey Ruby Walsh over last year’s winner Vroum Vroum Mag. Noel Williams was represented by Briery Queen, ridden by Richard Johnson; Alan King by two
runners, Midnight Tour and Miss Crick, ridden by Tom Cannon and Wayne
Hutchinson respectively. But it was the Gordon Elliott-trained Apple’s
Jade, runner-up in last year’s Triumph Hurdle when trained by Willie Mullins,
who fought off the duo to claim today’s race. Briery Queen finished a very
creditable 5th which, although not enough for entry to the Winners’
Enclosure, claimed an owner’s prize of £2,442; the first eight places
received a prize in this one, rather than the usual six, with Midnight Tour
claiming a prize too for 6th place. There had been a pile-up at the third last, when Jer’s Girl fell and brought down both Hidden Identity and
Pass The Time; fortunately there were no reports of injuries relating to this
incident.
The favourite for the marathon event of the
Festival was A Genie In Abottle representing
trainer Noel Meade and ridden by Mr Jamie Codd;
price 4-1. This year the race was named in honour of the
late JT McNamara; the amateur jockey had passed away last July following an
infection. He’d been paralysed from
the neck down since suffering a fall during the Cheltenham Festival’s Kim
Muir chase in 2013. Alan King had a representative in this race,
namely Kerrow ridden by Mr Joshua Newman. The race was won by Tiger Roll, a former
Cheltenham Festival winner, ridden by Ms Lisa O’Neill. A winner for Gordon Elliott and owners the Gigginstown Stud. There was a sting in the tail for 6th-placed Kerrow – Joshua Newman received a 5-day ban for careless
riding, having switched his horse and interfered with Arbre
De Vie, which clipped heels and unseated Katie Walsh. Oops! Having run well and still occupying second
position after the last, although held, Edwulf was
pulled-up on the run in having faltered. The experienced amateur Derek
O’Connor hopped off his mount, which appeared very agitated before it
collapsed; the green screens were erected and the horse ambulance soon
arrived. A second runner, which I believe to be Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Ballycross
which finished 10th, also suffered the staggers following the race; he
remained on his feet and was treated with buckets of water whilst standing
close to the horse-walk exit point.
Feeling unwell, the horse refused to move initially; he was stroked
and talked to by one of the handlers at this point. Eventually he recovered
and was led back up the racecourse to the stables.
The final race of the day was delayed slightly,
as Edwulf continued to be treated on track. Ropes were fetched and the prostrate horse
was dragged onto the New Course, to enable treatment to continue and the
Handicap Chase to be run. The favourite for the race was Foxtail Hill,
trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by son
Willy; price 6-1. However, he fell at the 8th fence, the uphill one
located in front of the Best Mate enclosure.
Green screens were erected, not for the horse but for the jockey. Curiously Foxtail Hill, which initially
rose and galloped after the field, turned back and came to have a look at
Willy! The jockey did eventually get
to his feet and walked to the ambulance.
However, it was later reported that he’d fractured his T8 and T9
vertebrae and had cracked a few ribs too. Ouch. Poor Willy has always been injury prone, which is
why he switched to flat racing for a while before returning to the National
Hunt code this season, having begun to suffer from weight issues. Get well soon Willy. Anyway, it was left to the Alan Fleming-trained
Tully East, ridden by Denis O’Regan, to win the
race. Alan Fleming was responsible for
training the talented grey Starluck when he had a
training operation in the UK. He now
trains for owner Barry Connell in Ireland.
So, despite the absence of the Willie Mullins
stars, with the trainer not having had a winner today either, Ireland were
one ahead of the GB at the end of play today.
The veterinary team having persevered with Edwulf, and with the assistance of helpers fetching
numerous buckets of water, it was later reported that the horse had recovered
from what was described as a seizure.
Social media later stated Edwulf had eaten
up well the following morning and the outlook was positive. Attending the races alone can sometimes be a
lonely place but, today whilst standing beside the course-side rails, I’d had
a chat with a retired gentleman who was also going to attend Aintree like
myself and then, later, with a middle-aged guy who was going to put his money
on Debdebdeb in the Mares’ race because his
daughter’s name is Deborah. Exiting the car park was a nightmare. I began my drive at 18:10 and it took ages
to even exit onto the driveway which leads to Southam
Lane; this was due to the fact that 4 queues of traffic had to merge at
points along the driveway. I ensured
that I changed to the right-hand lane to enable me to travel out via Prestbury, as the Evesham Road was closed to traffic
until 19:30. I did have a slight issue exiting onto the Southam
Road; even second gear proved almost too high to cope with the weight of my
luggage! I didn’t get very far however, before
encountering a further traffic jam – movement was barely discernible through Prestbury High Street.
It transpired that this was caused by police directing traffic at the
double-roundabout junction with Tatchley Lane; no
surprise there then! Having negotiated
this junction, it was then a clear run all the way along Priors Road to the
Harp Hill turning; the traffic lights at the Sainburys
supermarket turning were out of action.
I managed to get plenty of impetus before
climbing up the steep incline which is Harp Hill and then turning into
Greenway Lane. I’d soon reached the
Six Ways junction – it had taken me 75 minutes to escape from Cheltenham …
ridiculous! So much for the new and
improved traffic measures which have been implemented during the Festival
since last year!!! I was pleased to discover that my night vision
was okay this year, as I headed up the Cotswolds escarpment upon the
A40. My night driving confidence was
thus restored, having taken a battering last year during the Festival. I continued along the A-road as far as the
beginning of the Witney bypass, at which point I took a left turn and headed
towards the town. My accommodation, at Eynsham
Hall, was situated to the northeast thereof. Due to the delays, I didn’t
arrive until well after 20:00. Having
checked-in, I was given directions to The Cottage within the grounds. As my car was heavily laden, I decided to
drive around to the Lodge car park, it being nearest to my accommodation. It
transpired I was situated on the second floor; it took me a second trip to
the car to unload and I still had to relay my belongings up four short
flights of stairs. Although it would have been possible to have a
meal at the main Hall, I’d brought three chicken and mushroom Pot Noodle tubs
with me – one for each evening of my stay.
They had cost just pence, whereas a meal would have been upwards of
£28.00, evidently! Besides, breakfast
was nearly £13 a day too … and I’m not made of money, especially with the
additional cost of accommodation this year! |
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