CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2016
Tuesday 15 March to Friday 18 March
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Tuesday
15 March 2016 – Day 1 |
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Picture of the Day
Supreme
Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1): I’ve
chosen today’s picture because it shows Altior
beating Min ... and because, finally,
Ruby didn’t win the first race of the Festival! Tuesday
began well, I left home at 06:24, the journey was good, and I arrived at the
racecourse just after 09:00. In fact I then did more than a circuit of the
roads around the racecourse, before deciding to park in the northern car park
as suggested by Cheltenham as part of their new parking system. The good thing about this was that I was
able to park on hard standing as opposed to grass; I would find out about the
bad side of this decision at the end of the day! Anyway, I
didn’t have to wait long before I saw Choc ... in fact I bumped into him on
the concourse as I was heading to the ladies loo shortly after I’d entered
the grounds. I’d passed by BetBright Chairman and horse owner Rich Ricci a short
distance before; he was posing for a selfie with
racing fans! Then, as I walked up the
slope towards the back of the main stand, who should I see but Hector and
Choc; indeed my favourite jockey spotted me at the same time as I spotted
him! I greeted him with a kiss on both
cheeks, and he confirmed that he’d be at the Festival every day, carrying out
his role at the GB Team Captain for the BetBright
Cup. I then continued on my way, as I
was pretty desperate to spend a penny. Now, on to
the racing: Race 1: Supreme
Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) – 14 ran The race
was won by Altior, trained by Nicky Henderson and
ridden by Nico de Boinville;
Nicky also trained the 3rd-placed Buveur D’Air. Having seen
the horse win impressively at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, I would have
opposed the favourite with a bet on this horse, had I been a gambler. A winner for the GB Team. Alan
King’s representative, William H Bonney, finished
10th. Race 2: Arkle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) – 7 ran No
surprise that the Willie Mullins-trained, Ruby Walsh-ridden, Douvan took the prize; the Ricci’s first win of this
year’s Festival. Our best challenger, Vaniteux, blundered and unseated two out. Baltimore Rock fell two out also. This left the Irish to claim 1st, 2nd and
4th, with Fox Norton 3rd and Aso 5th and last. A winner for the Ireland Team. Race 3: Ultima Handicap Chase – 23 ran Un Temps
Pour Tout won for trainer David Pipe and jockey Tom Scudamore. Holywell,
continuing his excellent Cheltenham record, having won the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle in 2013, this race in 2014, and
finishing 4th in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, finished as runner-up
today; but he was equal top weight. A
winner for the GB Team. Race 4:
Champion Hurdle (Grade 1) – 12 ran As a late
entry for the Ricci’s and Willie Mullins team, and due to the absence of the
reigning champion Faugheen due to injury for the
same owner, the very talented mare Annie Power took her chance and beat the
boys. Typical. Thus Ruby Walsh had already ridden his
second winner of the Festival ... nothing changes, sadly. My Tent Or Yours returned from injury with
credit (his last race was 703 days ago) to claim 2nd, with Nicholls Canyon
3rd and The New One 4th. A win for the
Ireland Team. Race 5:
OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1) – 19 ran With Annie
Power taking her chance in the Champion Hurdle, this left Vroum
Vroum Mag – yet another
Ricci/Mullins representative – to take this race in style; an Irish 1-2-3 in
fact. Ruby’s third winner of the day.
A win for the Ireland Team. One of my
favourites, Bitofapuzzle, finished 17th. Race 6:
National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup (Amateur Riders’ Novices’ Chase) (Listed) –
20 ran The race
was won by Minella Rocco, trained by Jonjo O’Neill, ridden by Mr Derek O’Connor and owned by
JP McManus. A win for the GB Team,
despite the Irish connections! The
horse took time to warm to his task today, but he had shown improved form and
promise when finishing 2nd in a Grade 2 at Ascot 24-days ago. However,
there was much carnage during the race, with many failing to complete. There was a scary few minutes when Johnny Og, having fallen at the second last when tired, failed
to rise and the green screens were erected as a result. As I was standing just above the half
furlong post and watching the finish of the race, I didn’t initially realise
it was him, until I noticed Martin Keighley heading down the racecourse to
his stricken charge. Fortunately,
Johnny Og was only winded and a few minutes’ later
connections were able to lead him back up the racecourse to the stables,
unscathed. Race 7:
Novices’ Handicap Chase (Listed) – 20 ran The final
race of the day was won by one of the top weights, Ballyalton,
ridden by Brian Hughes. It was the
first Cheltenham Festival winner for trainer Ian Williams, which is
surprising. But I like to see trainers
and jockeys having their first winner at such a prestigious event ... as that
is what this game is all about! A win
for the GB Team. The scores
on the BetBright Cup doors at the end of Day 1 were now GB 4 : Ireland 3 It had
been a very bad day for equine fatalities, but more about that at the end of
this Cheltenham blog. As I was
leaving, having just popped to the loo, I passed AP McCoy on the concourse as
he walked in the opposite direction. He
knew that I’d ‘clocked him’ as
well! However, I
can barely bring myself to speak with regards to exiting the northern
car park on this day. With a 40-minute break between each race at
this Festival (5 minutes longer than previously?), the final race each day
was not run until 17:30; inevitably this made for a later departure
time. It was a pleasant walk back to
my car, but then everything turned ‘nasty’. I ate a
couple of cheese rolls and then waited for the gridlocked traffic to clear
... although, initially, I was stuck where I was because a stationary car was
waiting to exit just behind mine.
Finally the way was clear, but no-one appeared to be going
anywhere. It didn’t help that two
lines of traffic were heading out via the enclosure next door, including
horseboxes, and they were taking advantage of their priority over those in
the public parking area. It didn’t
even help much when an intervening gate was opened further up the drive to
let traffic in my own area integrate with those on the other side. Thus it
was stop start stop start stop start for what felt like hundreds of times,
before I reached the exit onto Southam Lane; during
my journey along the drive, further vehicles on a track to the left were
joining my lane too, thus pushing us even further back. Great. I was hoping
I’d be able to turn right at the end of the drive, but no, cones forced me to
turn left, which meant I was then heading to the Evesham Road. I knew the road was due to be closed
southbound for certain periods during the day ... but I was sure it would now
be open, because it was already gone 19:30!
Initially
it seemed okay but, a little further along, stewards were forcing vehicles to
drive through a bumpy, gravelly, enclosure – it was a pick-up point. Excellent, NOT. But the good news is that eventually I was
permitted to rejoin the Evesham Road and I headed down towards the town
centre, turning left along Wellington Road (signed as the suggested route to
the ‘General Hospital’) and thus
I’d soon joined my usual route via Pittville
Circus, Hewlett Road, Harp Hill and Greenway Lane – very familiar
territory. It was 20:00 by the time I
finally escaped from the town to begin my journey along the A40; not what I
wanted with three further days to attend.
However, I
did have a concern about my headlights, they didn’t
seem to be working properly; although I could see they were on. Normally I’d be able to travel at 60mph
along the A40, with dipped headlights; today I was lucky to manage 50mph at
any stage! Was it me or was it the
car? Who knows? It had been serviced and passed an MOT in
mid-February, so there shouldn’t have been any problems. Anyway, my
journey took me back to Oxford, then onto the M40, followed by the M25 and
home. But, having expected to get
home between 20:30 and 21:00 as during previous years, I actually
arrived back at 22:15; that was after the local petrol station had closed too
so, whatever I decided to do, I would need to fill up the tank before
beginning my journey the following day. I was now
on the horns of a dilemma. Did I go to
Cheltenham and worry about any headlight issues at home time on Wednesday, or
did I go to the car dealership service office and ask them to take a look at
my car? I’d already decided that I had
to attend on Day 2, because both Ardamir (Dunkley
& Reilly Partnership) and Any Currency (Martin Keighley) were
running. However, I was totally
wound-up by this stage and didn't get to bed until 00:30; I also
experienced only 2½ hours sleep for the same reason. |
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Wednesday
16 March 2016 – Day 2 |
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Picture of the Day
The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase: I’ve
chosen today’s picture because 13-year-old Any Currency won this
race at the third attempt, following two excellent runner-up finishes, and
because it’s the Keighley’s first Cheltenham Festival winner too With the
problems I encountered on Tuesday, I missed my usual departure time in
order to visit my local car servicer; although I did fill up the petrol tank
on an earlier trip to the local supermarket forecourt. The servicer opened at 07:30 and I was the
first to arrive, explaining that I thought I had a problem with my
headlights; upon examination, they found nothing untoward. What is that about? Anyway,
that left me free to depart for Cheltenham at 07:55. But, of course, it was the start of the
rush-hour by this time and it seemed an age for me to even travel through St
Albans! Hemel Hempstead was okay, but
Aylesbury was an absolute nightmare – there was a tailback onto the last 200
metres of the A41 bypass, then all the way to the beginning of the ring-road. But I guess it is swings and roundabouts, because
there were no issues at the A41’s junction with the M40, and none at the Peartree interchange or Wolvercote
roundabout. In fact I parked up at Cheltenham at 10:50; in the western car
park today, the furthest one, with an exit point onto Swindon Lane. It had taken me almost three hours; now I
know why I always depart from home before 06:30 during Cheltenham Festival
week! There was
no sign of Choc before racing today. Now, on to
the racing: Race 1:
Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) – 11 ran The Alan
King-trained Yanworth was the hot favourite for
this race but, sadly, he could not match the effort of the Willie
Mullins-trained Yorkhill, ridden by Ruby Walsh;
besides, the JP McManus runner had made a bad error three out. Ruby’s 4th winner of this Festival. A winner for the Ireland Team ... but he is
owned by the Wylies! Race 2:
RSA Chase (Grade 1) – 8 ran A winner
for Nigel Twiston-Davies, when the small but very
feisty Blaklion out-battled his rivals to claim the
prize; he was ridden by Ryan Hatch. A
winner for the GB Team. The fancied
More Of That bled from both nostrils and could only manage 3rd place; No More
Heroes suffered a serious overreach injury. Race 3:
The Coral Cup – Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) – 26 ran The race
was won by the Gordon Elliott-trained Diamond King, ridden by Davy Russell;
the jockey’s 16th all time Festival winner.
Although
now Irish-trained, Diamond King has shown much improved form since being
transferred from Donald McCain to Gordon Elliott by the owners, the Whateley’s – “he
needed a change of scenery” said Mr Whateley,
although he added that “you always have
to be loyal to your trainers”. Umm.
However, they pay the bills, so have to do what they think is best for
their horse. I confess that
Diamond King was the pick of the paddock, and I could have put a bet on him
... if he’d been GB-trained! A winner
for the Ireland Team. Race 4:
Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) – 10 ran Sprinter Sacre returned to the scene of his greatest triumphs, by
regaining the Champion Chaser title which he’d first won in 2013. An amazing comeback considering the heart
problems the horse has experienced in the interim. I had only
watched the first two races from beside the course-side rails, due to the very
chill wind, so was standing on the steppings above
the Winners’ Enclosure when he and jockey Nico de Boinville arrived back.
Moments like this are what the Cheltenham Festival is all about, and
you have to congratulate Nicky Henderson and his team, and the vets involved,
for bringing him back from the brink.
And that’s me speaking as someone who has preferred lesser horses when
Sprinter Sacre was at the peak of his abilities ...
solely because I just cannot help loving the underdog which, previously, was
not this big bold horse. I’m not
sure what happened with the race hotpot, Un De Sceaux;
he was nothing on looks, although many of Willie Mullins’ horses look
deceptively ‘agricultural’ if
they’ve been given a trace clip! In
fact, he only just held off the renewed challenge of long-time leader Special
Tiara. Race 5:
Cross Country Chase – 16 ran It was
third time lucky for Any Currency in the Festival Cross Country race, having
finished as runner-up for the past two years.
Conditions also favoured him today, as it was a conditions race, all
runners carrying 11 stone 4 lbs, as opposed to the handicap of previous
years. It was also jockey Aidan
Coleman’s 2nd ever Cheltenham Festival winner; his first being Kayf Aramis in 2009, when he
won the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle. Following
his disappointing run in the last Cross Country race, today the horse wore no
hood, just cheek-pieces; also earplugs solely to keep him calm, but these
were removed before the start of the race.
A winner for the GB Team. Last year
and this, I’ve remained on the steppings above the
Parade Ring, instead of getting trapped in the centre of the racecourse,
hoping for Any Currency to win. So,
today, I was also rewarded for my foresight.
Fortunately
Balthazar King was okay, having unseated Richard Johnson at the second of the
cheese-wedges; he also severely hampered the runner-up Josies
Orders as a result ... tough luck for the Irish! Why has the Philip Hobbs-trained runner not
been retired following the horrific injury he sustained in last season’s
Grand National, for he owes nothing to anyone? But I guess that same thing could have been
said of Sprinter Sacre, initially. I did,
however, flit across to the Pre-Parade Ring, between Any Currency arriving
back and the trophies being presented, hoping to catch a glimpse of
Choc. And I was thus rewarded with a
sight of my main man too. J Race 6:
Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) – 22 ran This race
was won by Diego Du Charmil, trained by Paul
Nicholls and ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies; the
French-bred horse was making his British debut today. However, he was also
the race favourite; although, would the result have been different if both
Ruby Walsh’s and Barry Geraghty’s mounts had stood
up at last? But, jumping is the name
of the game, so it was a winner for the GB Team! Paul Nicholls also trained the
runner-up. Alan King
had three runners in this race; disappointingly Ardamir
was pulled up, as was Paddys Runner, with Messire Des Obeaux finishing in
7th position. Race 7:
Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) – 23 ran The race
was won by Ballyandy, a second winner on the day
for local trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies and, on this
occasion, ridden by son Sam Twiston-Davies. It was no surprise that Willie Mullins’
runners filled 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 12th, and 15th ... but we won; a
winner for the GB Team. Alan King
had a runner in this race, Criq Rock, and he
finished 14th. At the end
of Day 2, the BetBright
Cup score was GB 9 : Ireland 5 I still
wasn’t convinced my headlights were working okay, so I left before the final
race (the bumper) and decided to park up in Pittville
Circus Road before calling the RAC.
He, Ben, arrived in good time and also couldn’t find anything wrong,
or at least not with the headlights, but he did suggest switching them on ‘auto’ rather than the ‘manual’ which I always use. However,
when giving the car the once over, he found that the engine coolant was below
the minimum level ... what is that all about?
Did my servicer forget to check and fill it during the service or had
I got a leak? The service cost me over
£800 and included the fixing of some sort of a ‘leak’. I’m not happy. Anyway Ben filled the coolant container, at
a cost of £5, and I continued to check it for the remainder of the week, just
in case it was a leak ... but it seems okay.
I’ve since checked the service record they gave me – and the tick box
shows they checked it. Umm. Anyway, I still
wasn’t particularly happy with the headlights, although they were definitely
working. So it was another slow
journey and, by the time I'd reached Oxford I was on the verge of dozing off
to sleep at the wheel. Although probably not sensible, I continued until
Beaconsfield on the M40, at which point I stopped off at the services for 25
minutes. It helped a little, but not a lot. Having
finally reached home, at around 21:50, I decided Thursday was a
non-runner. I love having the opportunity to see Choc but, if
I kill myself on the road due to tiredness, missing one opportunity
is just a small price to pay for hopefully many
future opportunities. So, the highlight of
Day 2 is in fact 3 highlights. Firstly, Sprinter Sacre returning to win the Champion Chase after 3 years,
having overcome heart problems. Secondly, Any Currency
claiming victory in the Cross Country Chase; giving the Keighley’s a very
well deserved first ever Cheltenham Festival winner. And, finally, seeing
Choc again ... this time in his role as Racing Manager for the Dunkley and
Reilly Partnership and their horse Ardamir. Again, my lowlight was
the nightmare journey home! |
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Thursday
17 March 2016 – Day 3 |
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Picture of the Day
What can I
say? I wasn’t there
... but I do have this photograph of Choc and Hector being interview on RUK by
Alex Steedman! As you may
have already guessed, I didn’t make it to Cheltenham today, despite having
pre-bought a ticket. I felt like a
zombie by the time I arrived home on Wednesday night, so made the decision to
miss today, hoping to recoup a little bit of energy for Gold Cup Day. I watched
the action on Racing UK, from 09:30 until the live broadcast ended at
18:30. I saw Choc and Hector too
(above). Having been frozen on
Wednesday, due to the fierce breeze, I even knitted another hat – to my own
design, using ideas from a pattern I’d already got – and I wore it on
Friday. I even
booked three nights’ hotel accommodation, near Witney, for 2017’s
Festival. It’s difficult to find cheap
and cheerful rooms available in the Gloucestershire area during the Festival
but, at least, I know my way to Witney in the dark without a satnav! Besides,
that’s usually where the exhaustion sets in, just west of Oxford. I’ve finally surrendered to the fact that
I’m too old to drive 800 miles in 4 days.
I also
checked my car's manual and reset the level of dip on the headlights - it was
on 4 and should have been 0 according to load! Despite my
state of tiredness, at 08:00 I popped down to the local supermarket to
purchase a copy of the Racing Post. Anyway, on
to the racing ... Race 1:
JLT Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) – 9 ran The race
was won by the Willie Mullins-trained Black Hercules, ridden by Ruby Walsh,
and owned by the Wylie’s. Bristol De
Mai finished 2nd and L’Ami Serge 3rd. The BetBright Cup
score was now GB 9 : Ireland 6 There was
an incident at the start, when Davy Russell was unseated from Zabana, the horse having turned sideways at the wrong
moment from a standing start. But, had
the jockeys not been too keen when attempting the initial ‘rolling’ start, then it would not have
happened; I have no sympathy. Notably,
Black Hercules was Ruby Walsh’s 50th ... yes, 50th Cheltenham Festival
winner. Race 2: Pertemps Network Final (Listed Handicap Hurdle) – 24 ran Another
win for the Irish, when the Patrick G Kelly trained Mall Dini
won the race under Davy Russell. GB 9 : Ireland 7. Race 3: Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) – 15 ran Having
garnered a big field due to connections believing it would be a wide-open
event this year, everyone was surprised and many very annoyed to discover
that Vautour had been declared to run in this race
instead of the Gold Cup. Umm. The excuse was that the horse had not been
himself since running in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day and it had
been touch and go as to whether he’d even run at the Festival at all. However, Vautour ran and he won; yet another winner for Willie
Mullins, Ruby Walsh and the Ricci’s. GB 9 : Ireland 8. Annacotty represented Alan King; he completed in 11th
place. Race 4:
World Hurdle (Grade 1) – 12 ran Finally GB
had something to cheer about, when Thistlecrack won
the race very impressively; the winning trainer was Colin Tizzard,
the jockey Tom Scudamore. He beat Irish runner Alpha Des Obeaux, with Bobs Worth in 3rd place! Last year’s winner, Cole Harden, finished
4th. GB 10: Ireland 8 Race 5:
Plate (Handicap Chase) – 22 ran Another
win for the Irish, with Empire Of Dirt (what sort of name is that for a
horse?) triumphed for trainer Colm Murphy, jockey
Bryan Cooper and owner Gigginstown Stud (in order
words, the O’Leary’s). GB 10: Ireland 9 Race 6:
Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) – 16 ran This event
was new this year. And it was the
fifth Irish winner of the day, with Limini winning
for Willie Mullins, Ruby Walsh and the Ricci’s. Boring ... The best
of the GB runners was Dusky Legend for Alan King and Wayne Hutchinson who
finished as runner-up. Alan also ran
Awesome Rosie, but she completed in 15th. GB 10 :
Ireland 10 Race 7: Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge
Cup (Amateur Riders) – 22 ran The race
was won by Cause Of Causes, ridden by Mr Jamie Codd
and trained by Gordon Elliott. The JP
McManus-owned horse had won the National Hunt Chase at last year’s Festival,
also ridden by Jamie. As a
non-punter I’m a partisan as regards to GB runners winning. However, I don’t mind if JP wins, as he
provides livelihoods for many in both the UK and Ireland. At the end
of Day 3, the score in the BetBright Cup was GB 10 : Ireland
11. L Oh dear. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised
though, for it was St Patrick’s Day! The highlight of Day 3
was Thistlecrack’s win for the Tizzards
in the World Hurdle. Two lowlights. Firstly the fact that I was too exhausted
to attend today and, secondly, the fact that Irish-trained horses won 6 of
the 7 races; Thistlecrack being the sole GB
winner. |
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Friday
18 March 2016 – Day 4 |
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Picture of the Day
Cheltenham
Gold Cup (Grade 1): The
winner, Don Cossack trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden
by Bryan Cooper I left
home at 06:20, stopping off to fill my car’s petrol tank en route. There was
definitely dampness in the air, as I had to keep my windscreen wipers on the
intermittent option. There were no
unexpected delays; two cars had suffered a minor prang on the road out of
Aylesbury, there was no delay at the M40 junction, and cars were moving
freely around the Peartree Interchange too. There was fog from the far end of the
Witney bypass all the way to Cheltenham and, despite the fact I parked in the
northern car park again (a glutton for punishment), I couldn’t see Cleeve Hill because of it. I arrived shortly after 09:00. Whilst I
was waiting outside the North Entrance for the gates to open, I saw Choc,
Hector and the BetBright entourage walk past
within the grounds. I also saw him on
the Weighing terrace late morning but, having been interviewed by a member of
the Gloucestershire Echo press team, he’d then disappeared when I wasn’t
looking! But he did reappear some time
later on, only to check out of my vision once more as he headed in the
direction of the Guinness Village, accompanied by a male companion (not Hector)! I met up
with fellow Choc fan Sally Meek for a chat; it’s always good to see someone I
know, especially when we can talk about Choc to our hearts’ content. She was accompanied by her husband again
this year. We said our farewells prior
to the start of racing, saying that we’d probably meet up again when the BetBright Cup was presented at some point during the
afternoon. Anyway, on
to today’s racing ... Race 1:
JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1 for Juveniles) – 15 ran This race
was won by Ivanovich Gorbatov,
trained by Joseph O’Brien in all but name (he’s not finished his trainer
courses yet, so father Aidan is listed as the trainer), ridden by Barry Geraghty and owned by JP McManus. It was now Team GB 10 :
Team Ireland 12 in the BetBright Cup. Alan King
had three runners in this race and, on the face of it,
they should have all had claims.
However, Who Dares Wins finished 14th, Sceau
Royal 12th and Gibralfaro 9th. Prior to
the race commencing, I spotted Choc and Alan King’s Assistant Ollie Wardle
standing out on the racecourse; they were preparing to view the action
close-up. Sally also spotted him, at
closer quarters, so that made her day.
Race 2:
Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) – 26 ran The result
of this race provided a first for both the trainer and the jockey. Superb Story won, for trainer Dan Skelton
and jockey Harry Skelton; a family affair.
A victory for Team GB, the score now GB 11 :
Ireland 12. Alan
King’s Montbazon had got into the race at the
bottom of the handicap but unseated Wayne Hutchinson at the second
flight. Wayne took a pasting too and
was still down, with green screens erected, as the horses headed up the home
straight to the winning line. He did,
however, walk back to the Weighing Room unaided, although he did look a
little sore. Race 3:
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) – 19 ran Another
first time Cheltenham Festival winner, this time for trainer Harry Fry, with Unowhatimeanharry; although he had played a major part in
Rock On Ruby’s Champion Hurdle victory when he was working for Paul
Nicholls. This was a third Festival
success for jockey Noel Fehily. The BetBright Cup
score was now GB12 : Ireland 12. Barters
Hill finished a creditable 4th and will revert to 2½ miles before beginning a
chase career next season. Race 4:
Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1) – 9 ran The race
was won by Don Cossack, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by Bryan Cooper.
He is a beautiful horse, I've always thought him striking ... it's just
a shame he's owned by that ghastly Michael O'Leary! Team Ireland had gained another victory and
the score now stood at GB 12 : Ireland 13. It was a
shame Cue Card fell three out, as we will never know if he could have won; a
reversal of the Don Cossack situation at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
But, of course, it was a great relief that the Colin Tizzard
runner appeared to be fine. It is
reported that he will now head to Aintree, presumably for the Bowl. Alan
King’s runner, Smad Place, finished 6th and won
£6,440 for his troubles. Race 5:
Foxhunter Steeplechase Challenge Cup – 24 ran There was
no surprise that the focus was firmly on Victoria Pendleton, rather than upon
On The Fringe’s attempt to win the race for the second year running, both
times ridden by Nina Carberry. In the event, On The Fringe won again, for
trainer Enda Bolger and owner JP McManus. However, in order to claim the prize, Nina
overused her whip and received a 7-day whip ban as a result. The win also meant Ireland had reached a
total of 14 winners, so GB had to win the final two races to force a draw. Amazingly,
Victoria actually stayed on board, hunting around at the back and staying on
the finish 5th! Good old Pacha Du Polder!
But it was rather ‘off’ that
it was permitted for her to return via the Winners’ Enclosure when they had
finished outside the first four, thus turning it into a media circus ... but
what else should we have expected? And
was Victoria really was paid £200,000 by Betfair
for her efforts since taking up the challenge? No wonder she doesn’t need to get a proper
job! Race 6:
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle – 24 ran Team GB
pulled back another winner, with Ibis Du Rheu
winning for Paul Nicholls, owner John Hales and conditional jockey Jack
Sherwood (son of Simon and nephew of Oliver).
The score now stood at Team GB 13 : Team
Ireland 14. Alan
King’s runner, Label Des Obeaux, finished 12th. As
his final runner of the Festival, this meant that Alan King had failed to get
his name on the winners’ roster this Festival. Race 7:
Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup (Grade 3) – 24 ran With all
to play for, Paul Nicholls came to the rescue once again, training Solar
Impulse to win the final race of the Festival. It was the trainer’s third winner this
Festival, and jockey Sam Twiston-Davies’ third
winner too. Another winner for the Wylies too, but this time GB trained. Paul
admitted to a last minute decision to apply first-time blinkers to his
charge, hoping to gain an improvement from Solar Impulse which had
disappointed twice on heavy ground this season. So, with
all races having been run, the BetBright Cup was a
14-all draw! Or, as I prefer to think
of it, we retained it because, as the holders, the Irish needed 15 winners
to wrestle it away from us (like the Ryder Cup). I saw the cup being
presented - and videoed it on my camera too - the light is so poor and
difficult to photograph at the end of each day. I also tracked
Choc down, a few minutes later, to say hello. I asked if he would
be at Aintree ... and sadly for us (Sandra and I) he won't be there this
year, but he will be going skiing with William instead (school holidays),
so I can be happy for him about that. Sally confirmed
that she’d also stayed for the BetBright Cup
presentation at the end of the day. Surprisingly,
I didn’t get trapped in a queue to exit the car park; in fact I began my
journey earlier than usual, at 18:50.
I was able to select my route out of Cheltenham, so turned right at
the exit to head through Southam and then Prestbury. I then
turned left into Priors Road, although I did encounter a traffic jam where
Bouncers Lane leads off to the left. I
probably should have continued down Prestbury Road,
to travel via Pittville Circus as usual and avoid
this congestion. But relief was at
hand because soon I was able to drive up Harp Hill, instead of continuing in
the traffic queue which stretched along Hales Road! However,
there was a longer queue than usual at the far end of Greenway Lane, tailing
back from the Sixways Junction. And at least one coach was in the queue ...
how on earth do coach and lorry drivers manage to negotiate Harp Hill and the
lanes, including two traffic calming chicanes, to reach this point. No wonder the road surface has seen far
better days; there should be a weight limit for vehicles here. In future I might consider Mill Lane too,
if that is a throughway, because it would avoid having to wait at the Sixways junction. But,
regardless, I was soon on my way back to Oxford, with the headlights
providing the vision I’d usually expect, finally! And, at some point, I also put on my night
vision glasses to help with the excessive glare from oncoming traffic. However, by the time I’d reached the far
end of the Witney bypass, exhaustion had set in once more. If I’d been feeling up to it, I would have
continued to the M40, then M25 and home.
But, hoping to keep myself awake, I headed up the A34 to Bicester instead, thus retracing my outward journey, via
Aylesbury and Hemel Hempstead. I
arrived home at 21:40. Ridiculous
as it may seem, I then stayed up until 01:30 in the morning! What’s that about? However, I had been hoping to sleep in
late, and would have done had I not been woken by a sales or scam call at
08:30. So thanks a lot whoever you
were. The highlight of Day 4
was seeing and speaking with Choc of course!
J Was there any racing??? I think the lowlight has to be, for the third
time running, the journey home ... |
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Festival
Round-Up 2016 |
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I can only
presume that I had a punishing schedule on my run up to this year’s
Cheltenham Festival. I’m only a year older, but it felt like at least
10! I’ve been unable to replenish my
energy for a number of weeks, so I guess it should have come as no surprise
that I couldn’t make it to Gloucestershire on one of the four days. In fact it’s a minor miracle that I made it
on three!!! I'm a
partisan as regards to who wins the big races, but I guess that's
because I'm not a punter. You cannot afford to be if you bet! I
don't mind JP McManus-owned horses winning, although I do prefer them to be
British trained. He's got many horses, spread throughout the UK and
Ireland, so is providing livelihoods to many. And he's not so
dominant that he ruins the sport. The same cannot be said of
Rich Ricci; although he is paying Choc's bills
by employing him as the BetBright GB Team
Captain! Also, there were Irish winners which
were British-owned - by the Wylie’s and the Whateley’s!
The Whateleys' Diamond King was the pick of the
paddock for the Coral Cup but I couldn't have bet on an Irish horse on
principal - my principals prove costly! Having ‘delete’ as the default option is less
than useless ... it should give one the option to ‘view’ as the default, then ‘restore’,
and finally ‘delete’, otherwise any
mistake means the recording is gone, forever, before you know what’s
happening. Evidently I had to restore them, before pressing the select to
find out exactly what they were, as the description banner is never specific
enough to know without viewing. Anyway,
I’ve got the highlights from Day 1 and 3, also the entire programme from Day
2 – which I need to edit, as it also contains Bangor’s coverage. I had to
delete the full programme from Day 3 in order to free up space for Friday ...
I shouldn’t have bothered because all of Friday’s failed, due to what
appeared to be lack of space – what’s that about? I recorded Day 4’s highlights manually when
I arrived home, hence the very late bedtime.
The option to delete items manually has now been selected, removing
the HD box’s choice to intervene – I’d rather it be my mistake, than the box
possibly making very annoying decisions on my behalf. |
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Fatalities |
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Sadly
there were a total of 7 fatalities during the 4-day Festival. This is totally unacceptable, even to me as
a lifelong National Hunt fan, and there is to be an official enquiry. Day 1: Three deaths 7-year-old
The Govaness
died when she fell at the last flight during the Mares’ Hurdle; she was
trained by Dr Richard Newland and would have made a lovely broodmare one day,
her owner was her breeder. Before the screens were raised, I have a
recollection that she raised her head off the ground briefly before she died;
one of her forelegs could be seen swinging without life – awful. Willie
Mullins lost 8-year-old Pont Alexandre during the long-distance National Hunt
Novices’ Chase for Amateur Riders. His son Patrick was riding, but the horse
broke a hind-leg on the flat. Pont Alexandre had
been injury plagued, and only returned from a long absence back in November;
he was Ricci-owned. Finally,
5-year-old Rezorbi
appeared to die instantly, from a broken neck, when falling two out in the
final race of the day, the Novices’ Handicap Chase. An expensive loss, as purchased for 140k euros from France last November; trained by Jonjo O’Neill. The
horse had fallen on his previous run, also at Cheltenham. Day 2: One death There
appeared to be no fatalities this day, but it later transpired that the very
promising Gigginstown horse, 7-year-old No More Heroes, had to be put to
sleep having struck into a tendon, badly, during the RSA Chase. Trained by Gordon Elliott. Day 3: One death The fifth
fatality of the Festival was 10-year-old Niceonefrankie, trained by
Venetia Williams, who lost his life as a result of a fall during The Plate, a
handicap chase. It was horrible; not
only did he fall, but he was then trampled by at least one of the runners
behind him. Did the fall result in the fatal injuries or the fact he
was kicked by other horses whilst down? Day 4: Two deaths
What about
the ground conditions? The Old Course
was ‘good to soft’ on Tuesday; ‘good’ on Wednesday. The New Course ‘good’ on both days. Not
unusual for the Festival, but better ground than encountered for a number of
months – the ability to ‘speed’
kills, in all walks of life. Added together with the adrenalin rush of the
occasion for those taking part. Also,
there seems to be a problem with the second last fence on the old course –
the one which was relocated due to the number of issues it used to
cause. Is it too close to the home
turn? Could they move both this fence,
and the last, further up the home straight and nearer to the line – do they
have enough room available before the uphill stretch of the circuit
begins? And would it allow enough
space to bypass a hurdle or fence if required? Maybe they just have to get rid of the fence
all together – it is still temporary in nature and is removed when the new
course is in use. |
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League Tables: |
