DIARY – ASCOT – HALLOWEEN RACEDAY
& FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR
(or should that be spooktacular!)
SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2015
|
Ned Stark in the Parade Ring ahead of his race This was my second trip to the races this season,
the first having been to Worcester in July to see the Twitterati
Syndicate’s horse, Menace, run; I am one of the 140 members of this EPDS
syndicate. I had been planning to attend the Saturday of the
Cheltenham Showcase fixture 7 days previously, which I’ve attended for the
past three years, but plans fell through when my friend Lesley was unable to
come along due to a bad back and I’d also been put off by the promise of rain
throughout the day. Having read the Alan King Stable Tour article in
the Racing Post earlier in the month, I was aware of plans to run the Dunkley
& Reilly Partnership horse, Ned Stark, at either the first NH fixture at
Ascot on 31 October or at Wincanton a week later; Choc is now employed as
their Racing Manager and also as Stud Manager for their flat racing concern
known as The Apple Tree Stud. As it turned out, it was decided to run the Alan
King-trained Ned Stark at Ascot so, with declarations published online by
Friday lunchtime, plans were put in place to go to the Berkshire track. Amazingly, and despite it being my second
nearest racecourse, I’d not been to Ascot since December 2012; nearly three
years ago. Having eaten my evening meal and watched the hour
long Strictly spin-off show, It Takes Two, I took over an hour to rummage
through my wardrobe to decide what to wear.
The weather was forecast to be sunny and unseasonably warm for the
final day of October, but I’ve been caught out at Ascot before so decided to
wear two thermal t-shirts, regardless, cerise pink and purple. I chose a black and grey pencil skirt, with
peplum, from Dorothy Perkins which, despite having possessed for a number of
years, I’d never worn! Also a purple sweater which, on Saturday morning,
was substituted by my fairly ancient black BHS frill-edged cardigan because
the sweater didn’t sit well over the peplum!
I also wore a purple fleece, grey tights and new black Hotter Danielle
‘shoe’ boots – another pair I
couldn’t resist and was sure would prove useful in autumn and spring. As the weather was due to be dry, I loaded
all of my belongings into my large black M & S canvass style bag – I
really must waterproof it with a shoe and boot spray I bought from Hotter;
evidently it’s also suitable for spraying clothes to make them waterproof ...
and hopefully handbags too. I recall trying on a number of winter coats, and
settled for the purple BHS one which I’ve had for a number of years; that’s
not my purple anorak or my purple short zip-up jacket. Okay, so I like purple very much and the
colour suits me very well too! I also
put my clompy burgundy M & S ankle boots in the
car, just in case the car park turned out to be too muddy to wear my shoe
boots, for the weather had been inclement for most of the previous week. I also wore a purple, mauve and pink scarf
purchased from M & S a few years ago.
Having chosen grey and black as part of my outfit, I decided to wear a
grey hematite ‘circles’ necklace
and matching earrings I had created. I didn’t set my alarm, but
recall waking at around 07:00. I
showered and washed and dried my hair, then applied my make-up whilst
mentally tuning in and out of Channel 4’s The Morning Line presented by Rishi
Persad from Ascot; their guests today were trainer Dan Skelton and the
currently sidelined Tom Scudamore.
Having eaten a breakfast of two croissants, I was ready to depart
between 09:15 and 09:30 as planned – the actual time as I backed out onto the
road was 09:27. I also had to change
the clock prior to departing, as it was still set at BST from the previous
weekend. As it was easier to head east
rather than west initially, I took a route via the Highfield Park area; the
roadworks of a week earlier were no longer in place, and a new puffin
crossing had materialised. Anyway, I’d
soon reached the London Colney roundabout and, luckily, had to queue at a red
light which enabled me to remove my handbag from the passenger seat and place
it in the footwell. I know it’s
extremely unlikely I’d encounter a handbag thief at any point during my
journey but thought I’d better move it to a place of safety regardless. Once travelling again, I recall that a
vehicle at the next set of lights upon the roundabout, was slow in moving
away in front of me. I drove down the dual
carriageway to join the M25’s anticlockwise carriageway at Junction 22. Traffic was moving well, until approaching
Junction 16 for the M40 when speed limit warnings appeared on the gantries
above the motorway; but it was only warnings of 50 and 60 mph, so nothing too
restrictive. I ensured I entered the
inside lane well before the M4 junction, and remained on the right-hand side
of the slip road in order to join the westbound carriageway of the motorway. Surprisingly, a couple of vehicles made a last
minute decision whilst on the sliproad to bear to the right, as opposed to
the left – don’t they know which is the eastbound and the westbound
carriageways? I drove westwards and left the
motorway at the Slough Central junction.
I don’t recall seeing the view of Windsor Castle whilst upon the M4, I
always used to. Is the view dependent
upon the season of the year, in other words leaves on trees? I really don’t know. Having turned left at the roundabout below
the M4 and headed down the dual carriageway, I also didn’t think to glance
briefly across to the left to view the Castle either! Having reached the roundabout at
the far end of the road, I set off along the B3173; I didn’t get far, as I
encountered a long tailback of vehicles from the set of traffic lights
situated at the T-junction at the end thereof. A number of presumably local drivers
undertook U-turns in order to find a less congested route. It probably took around ten minutes to
reach the far end of the road, where I turned right and headed through a
further set of lights upon the B3022 and along the road which led to a
roundabout outside Legoland. Being the
penultimate day of the half-term holiday, the majority of cars turned left
into the theme park. I continued onwards, noting a
warning sign regarding roadworks which would soon be taking place upon the
route and would result in a total road closure until 21 November; that would
throw a spanner in the works as regards to the next Ascot fixture if I were
to have plans to attend. The only
other route I’ve used is through Egham and Virginia Water which, evidently,
is shorter than my usual one; but there would always be the easy option of
driving down through Windsor Great Park instead. Having negotiated a further
roundabout, I then headed up Mounts Hill to the longabout at Woodside. I took the third turning; I recall seeing a
group of young fit male cyclists standing beside the roadway at the corner of
Sunninghill Road. I continued along
the B332 to two mini-roundabouts very close to Swinley Bottom; I turned left
at the second thereof. My route took
me under the racecourse’s straight one mile track. It was my intention to park in
Car Park Number 6, which is free to racegoers. There is a side entrance in the Winkfield
Road, but that was signed for coaches only.
I turned right at the mini-roundabout at the T-junction with the High
Street and right again shortly
afterwards to enter the driveway leading to the aforementioned car park. I was directed to park on the grass to the
right; there were just two rows of cars at the present time, and I headed to
the far end of the second row of vehicles and parked three from the fence as
guided by a steward. The driver of the car to my far
side was disagreeable, moaning about not being allowed to park immediately
beside the driveway; he wanted to leave early and was afraid of being trapped
by parked vehicles. What an idiot, his
car was small and he must have been a pretty awful driver if he could not
back out and manoeurvre his transport along the space between the rows! And, as for me, I was very pleased that I
didn’t have to park anywhere near the enormous cedar tree which dominates
that area of the car park! I’m always
paranoid that a large branch will break off and hit my car whilst parked
beneath it! My memory tells me that it
was 10:25 when I arrived but, with the delay in Windsor, that seems a little
quick! I sat in my vehicle for a while,
and ate two of the cheese rolls I’d brought with me. It was then time to put on my shoe boots
and coat and scarf and head up the High Street to the east ticket
office. It’s quite a long trek but,
you know me, I love a nice walk! The
gates had opened at 10:45 but there was no-one in the queue when I arrived to
purchase a ticket. Grandstand tickets
cost £25 on the day, as opposed to £20 in advance; all premier tickets were
sold out ... but there’s no point buying one of those at Ascot anyway! However, the price did include a firework
display after racing – I hate fireworks, I didn’t even particularly like them
as a child either. It’s strange the things you
remember – I decided to pack my credit card away prior to heading out of the
ticket office and noticed a wasp crawling on the floor and also a squashed
worm! Anyway, I then headed to the
entrance turnstiles; there were three members of the security staff standing
behind tressle tables checking the contents of handbags. I apologised for the large size of my bag
and the numerous items therein for him to check. Having got the all clear, I
entered through the turnstiles and then headed across the tarmac to a kiosk
to purchase a racecard for £3.50. As I
had to wait for a while, a steward approached and took my money instead; to
save having to wait for change, I purchased another Ascot pen for 50p
too. I then headed around the sunken
Parade Ring, towards the grandstand, pausing briefly before deciding to head
inside the latter to visit the little girls room. A creature of habit with a good memory, I
knew exactly where it was along the concourse therein! Having paid a visit to the little girls’ room, I
decided to head along to the far end of the building as, despite this being
my 16th visit to the racecourse, I’d never ventured far from any of my now
very familiar haunts. I think I was
intending to find the Old Paddock but it appeared I was heading towards Car
Park No.1 instead. As it transpired, the Old Paddock area was reached by way
of steps behind the main grandstand; I thus did a U-turn, re-entered the
building and then headed out through another of the exit points and onto the
raised concourse behind the grandstand, opposite the Pre-Parade Ring. I’ve often seen ‘behind-the-scenes’ tours taking place pre-race and, according to
the Ascot website these set out from the Old Paddock Lawn, today due at
11:30. I loitered for a while but
could see no steward or group of people who looked likely to be part of a
tour. Yes, I know, I should ask at one of the information points ... but I
never do! I did, however, venture
across to the bronze statutes of a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip,
with a group of bronze race-goers and race workers situated at the edge of
the lawn. There’s also a large
galloping statue of Derby winner Motivator, close to the Pre-Parade Ring. Having been unsuccessful in my mission, I climbed
back up the steps and headed along the concourse overlooking the Unsaddling
Enclosure to reach the area between the Parade Ring and the rear of the main
grandstand. I passed another equine
statue en route, a number of race-goers were admiring it; I didn’t stop to
take a look ... but, evidently, it was Frankel! With a statue of Yeats taking pride of
place in the Parade Ring, it seems almost ‘second-class’ to locate a bronze of the great Frankel in such a
strange position outside of the entrance to ‘Core 2’, described as overlooking the Parade Ring ... but I guess
the racecourse is running out of suitable spaces! It was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm in fact
for the final day of October. There
were a few moments during the day when I felt a little too hot but I didn’t
think it was sleeveless weather like a number of women I saw! The downside to sunshine at this time of
the year was the fact that the sun is low in the sky and caused problems with
my photographs when I was standing in the area immediately behind the
grandstand. Whilst I was loitering ahead of the first race,
which had an off-time of 12:45, I saw jockey Nick Scholfield
arrive at 11:30, and trainer Chris Gordon along with his wife at noon; he had
arrived to collect two saddles ahead of saddling his runners Do We Like Him
and Noble Friend for the first race. I
also noticed what appeared to be a behind-the-scenes tour, although there
were not many people in the tour group.
Racing UK’s Olly Bell was the sole presenter
from the satellite channel at the track; their main broadcast being from Wetherby today. Anyway, the horses soon began
arriving in the Parade Ring ahead of the first race. Once the runners had begun to head out to
the track, I set off through the grandstand concourse to reach the steppings
from where I would view the race. The
access to my chosen viewing area has been extended since my previous visit,
with now four side-by-side doors; two sets of sliding doors with two sets of
normal doors in the middle. The
thoroughfare of steps leading down to the betting ring are now painted green;
the stewards were keen for spectators not to obstruct the area just outside
the doors, at the top of the steps – unless you had a pram or pushchair
evidently! However, during the
afternoon, they didn’t appear to mind if even large groups of people blocked
the actual steps themselves. Having
exited through the aforementioned doors, I was able to stand in the area I’ve
always stood in to view the races when at the Berkshire track; it’s on the
opposite side of the steps from the Owners’ and Trainers’ section over to my
left. The starting gate for the first
race was located in Swinley Bottom; this being the case, the horses cantered
down past the grandstands to reach it.
Having had the girths checked the runners formed a group, headed by
the Charlie Longsdon-trained Masterplan and the Oliver Sherwood-trained
Romulus Du Donjon; it was thus evident that one of these two was likely to
make the running. The latter was
ridden by Daryl Jacob who, when available, has presumably been contracted to
ride the Munir and Souede horses at the present time, having ridden an Alan
King-trained runner at Chepstow just recently. The favourite for this event was
Amidon, trained by Lucy Wadham and ridden by Gavin Sheehan; price 9-2. According to Olly Bell, he thought the
favourite was the ‘most interesting’
of the runners, but also mentioned that Singlefarmpayment would probably give
its backers a ‘run for their money’.
And
then they were off and it was no surprise that Masterplan
led the field away, followed by the grey Romulus Du Donjon; the latter
sported a pale blue hood. Second from
the rear, the sole chestnut Looks Like Power was a little ungainly at the
first flight; the final horse was the also hooded, dark brown Tanit River. The
second flight followed shortly upon the first; all the horses cleared this without
incident and they soon entered the home turn with Masterplan
continuing to bowl along at the head of affairs. Galloping in a
well-organised group, although a number were keen to go faster, the field
headed into the straight and jumped flight number three. Masterplan continued to
lead the way, from Romulus Du Donjon, Bilbrook
Blaze, Amidon, Anthony, probably the keenest of all
the JP McManus-owned, I’dliketheoption under Barry Geraghty, then Chris Gordon stable mates Noble Friend and
Do We Like Him, Eminent Poet, the hooded Singlefarmpayment,
Charlie Cook, Looks Like Power, Kings Cross, Bekkensfirth
and Tanit River. The
runners cleared the fourth flight, headed up past the winning post, around
the top bend and out into the country once more; this section of the track
heads downhill to Swinley Bottom. Masterplan was a
little less than fluent at the next flight and this enabled the hooded grey,
Romulus Du Donjon to join him briefly at the head of affairs. The field cleared hurdle number six with, at
the rear of the field, Looks Like Power receiving a few mild reminders down
his right shoulder having jumped it, and Tanit
River having left his mark upon the panels in the centre of the flight. Heading into the turn at Swinley Bottom, Do We Like Him was being bumped along by
his jockey Tom Cannon. Masterplan continued to
lead as the runners headed into the back straight and approached the next
flight; he was closely pursued by Romulus Du Donjon and Anthony. Having cleared this and the next without
incident, a number of the runners were beginning to struggle; most notably Bekkensfirth and Charlie Cook at the rear of the field,
the latter receiving a couple of stern reminders. The
field continued to string out as the leaders headed into the final turn; Masterplan continued to lead from Bilbrook
Blaze and Romulus Du Donjon. Singlefarmpayment had made good progress against the
inside rail and soon moved into third position; just behind him were I’dliketheoption, Anthony and Amidon,
hanging on to their coat-tails was Looks Like Power. The remainder were definitely struggling,
apart from Tanit River who had begun to make
progress through the tail-enders under a strong drive from Alan Johns. Having
now entered the home straight, Aidan Coleman set sail for home upon the
long-time leader; Singlefarmpayment was switched
towards the nearside by Robert Dunne to make his challenge. The latter was almost upsides as they
cleared two out, although he did hang towards the outside rail as they headed
down to the last flight, his jockey switching his whip from his right hand to
his left hand, endeavouring to keep his mount straight. Meanwhile
Masterplan continued to gallop on, and the two
protagonists jumped the final flight in unison. Singlefarmpayment’s
jockey switched his whip back to his right hand after the last but, again,
his mount drifted away towards the stand-side rail and he had to switch it
quickly back again. Whip in left hand,
and now against those aforementioned rails, the Tom Lacey
runner stayed on at one pace and was unable to reduce the growing deficit
with Masterplan; the latter had thus won by 2
lengths at the line having made all. Bilbrook Blaze, having
been prominent throughout, finished 8 lengths away in 3rd, with Tanit River staying on to complete in 4th, a further 9
lengths away; 5th was the grey Romulus Du Donjon having been collared by a
neck close home. The favourite, Amidon, finished a disappointing 8th. One of Olly
Bell’s selections had failed to impress, but he was right about Singlefarmpayment!
All 15 completed the race, as none fell or pulled up.
Annoyingly,
I was trapped amongst spectators on the steppings
initially, as for some reason they all appeared hard of hearing when I politely
asked them to let me through so that I could return to the steppings above the Weighing Room overlooking the Parade
Ring. However, I finally extricated
myself and was in time to take photographs as the placed horses arrived
back. With
the sun shining directly into my camera lense, I
decided to relocate to the steppings on the far
side of the Parade Ring to overcome this issue. I returned over the bridge, through the
grandstand concourse, to the viewing area once the horses had set off to the
race-track ahead of the next race; on this occasion I ensured that I didn’t
get trapped within the crowd, remaining beside the green-painted steps,
although slightly lower down. The
odds-on favourite for this race was Altior, trained
by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico de Boinville; price 4-5.
There was a French-based runner in this one, namely Descartes, trained
by Guillaume Macaire and ridden by James Reveley today.
Vancouverite was a bit of a ‘tiddler’, as was Ch’Tibello
compared to their rivals. The
starting gate for this event was on the home bend, so the horses cantered
down past the grandstands to reach it; Britanio
Bello was on his toes noticeably at the start. The inexperienced horses were expressing
themselves through their twitching ears, swishing tails, and facial
expressions; they all appeared to be looking forward to the prospect of the
task ahead as they approached the starting line. The jockeys less so however, for despite
the starter indicating the commencement of the race, no-one seemed keen to
begin!
Eventually
they were off, with the flashy chestnut French representative setting off at
the head of affairs; the keen Britanio Bello was
almost upsides as the runners cleared the first flight. Star Foot landed a little awkwardly over
the obstacle, Master Burbidge was at the rear of the field and the second
chestnut, Centurius was keen having jumped it and
pulled his way through the field to travel just behind the leaders. Britanio Bello led over
the second flight, from Descartes, Centurius, Altior, Vancouverite, Chartbreaker,
Ch’Tibello, Star Foot and Master Burbidge. As they headed up past the lollipop with
one circuit to go, Centurius pulled his way into
second position; having turned the top corner, it appeared that Joshua Moore
might be fighting a losing battle against the hard-pulling leader as the
runners began their journey down the hill to flight number three. Master Burbidge, still at the rear, was
less than fluent at this obstacle. The
leader continued to tank along as the runners safely negotiated the fourth
flight, from Centurius, behind him the nose-banded
Descartes, followed by the also hard-pulling favourite Altior. Having reached Swinley
Bottom, Britanio Bello had set up a five or six
lengths advantage over his nearest rival.
The runners having jumped the next flight, both Star Foot and Master
Burbidge had begun to lose touch at the rear of the field. Joshua
had decided to take his mount wide over three out, and this enabled his
nearest challengers to make progress to his inside as he came under
pressure. In fact it was Altior which reached the rails first at the commencement
of the home turn, from Ch’Tibello, Descartes, the
weakening Centurius, then Vancouverite and Britanio Bello; hanging onto the back of this leading
group was Chartbreaker under a number of severe
reminders from Nick Scholfield. Upon
exiting the bend, a group of four began to pull away from their rivals, led
by Altior and Ch’Tibello. Having cleared two out, these two began to
put further distance between themselves, Vancouverite and Descartes. The Dan Skelton runner continued to lay
down a challenge to the favourite and they were racing neck and neck as they
approached the last. The
former put in a better jump, with Altior putting
down and flattening a panel as a result.
This handed the initiative to Ch’Tibello,
but Nico de Boinville’s
mount found extra as the jockeys drove their horses towards the winning post,
prevailing by 1¼ lengths at the line. Vancouverite
finished 20 lengths back in 3rd, with Descartes in 4th just half a length
ahead of Chartbreaker.
It was same again, following the race. I
initially headed back to the steppings above the
Weighing Room in order to take photos of the winning and placed horses as they
arrived back, before relocating once more to the far-side of the Parade
Ring. Then, once the runners had
headed out to the track, I returned through the ground floor concourse to
reach the steppings overlooking the racecourse from
which to view the race. Exitas,
with Denis O’Regan aboard, had been given special
permission to head to the start early.
The starting gate for the third race of the day was in Swinley Bottom, with the runners heading down past the
grandstands to reach it. The race
favourite was the Harry Fry-trained Voix D’Eau, ridden by amateur rider Mr M Legg. The horse which I thought was a ‘looker’ in the
Parade Ring was Anatol, trained by Paul Nichols and
ridden by Nick Scholfield; the French import hadn’t
actually run for 588 days due to injury.
Nick was riding the Champion Trainer’s runners today because Sam Twiston-Davies was at Down Royal to ride a couple of the
yard’s horses in their feature events.
Then
they were off, with the blinkered Vikekhal, holding
a slight advantage over Astigos and Anatol. The
runners headed towards the first obstacle and cleared it without incident;
bringing up the rear was Exitas. Joshua Moore continued to cut out the
running aboard Vikekhal as the horses jumped the
second fence, another plain one. The
following obstacle was the first open-ditch; towards the back of mid-field,
the favourite jumped out to his left, and Nathans Pride made an error in
rear. Mont Royale was a little awkward
when clearing the final fence in the back straight. Heading
around the bend and into the home straight, Vikekhal
held a clear advantage over Anatol which, in turn,
was a number of lengths ahead of the main body of the field. The next group consisted of Le Fin Bois,
Gun Shy and Padge, behind these Astigos,
King Alfonso, Voix D’Eau,
Mont Royale, Nathans Pride and Exitas. There were no incidents as the runners
cleared the fifth, although Barry Geraghty’s mount
jumped out to his left once more. The
nose-banded Anatol jumped the next fence upsides
the leader and, as they galloped up past the winning post, he took the
advantage. Nick Scholfield
now permitted his mount to bowl along at the head of affairs as they headed
downhill towards Swinley Bottom; both Mont Royale and
Nathans Pride were beginning to struggle at the rear of the field. Having jumped the seventh, Barry Geraghty decided to pull up Mont Royale; no harm done,
the horse was fine and his jockey trotted him back. The
runners headed over the next plain fence without incident, and then headed
towards the second open-ditch. Anatol took off miles away from the fence but, with so
much momentum, he cleared it almost without interrupting his stride. The horses continued over the final fence
before Swinley Bottom; the Paul Nicholls runner
extending his advantage to many lengths, whilst Vikekhal
was re-joined by the main group led by Padge and Voix D’Eau. Exiting
Swinley Bottom, Anatol
continued to jump for fun, pursued at a distance by the main group of runners;
Exitas made an error at the next fence. The leader reached for the following
obstacle, but again it didn’t affect his momentum; he did the same at the
final open-ditch. Continuing in
pursuit were Vikekhal, Padge,
Voix D’Eau, Astigos, King Alfonso, Le Fin Bois, Exitas,
Gun Shy and the tailed off Nathans Pride.
The
forerunners of the main group were gaining steadily upon Anatol
and, having cleared three out, they were around four lengths behind the
leader as they entered the home turn.
The margin continued to diminish as the horses approached and cleared
the penultimate fence, with Padge and Voix D’Eau now his closest
pursuers. The leaders headed down to
the last fence, Anatol to the inside, Padge centre and Voix D’Eau nearside; Padge was
marginally ahead as they took off. However,
having landed, the leader began to hang to his left, crossing the path of his
main rival, Voix D’Eau,
despite the best efforts of his jockey to keep Padge
straight; this caused what appeared to be mild interference. But Paul Moloney
had victory in the bag despite this, and went on to win by three quarters of
a length at the line, although his horse did end up on the hurdles track by
the time he was pulled up! The
exuberant Anatol finished 4 lengths back in 3rd,
with Astigos staying on to claim 4th, a further 5
lengths away. All horses completed the
course, apart from Exitas which was pulled up
before the second last, and Mont Royale which was pulled up before half
way.
It
came as no surprise that a Stewards Enquiry was announced. However, Padge
kept the race with the following official explanation: The Stewards held
an enquiry under Rule (B)11.6 into possible
interference on the run in. Having heard their evidence and viewed recordings
of the race they found that the winner, PADGE (IRE), ridden by Paul Moloney, had interfered with VOIX D’EAU (FR), placed
second, ridden by Mr M Legg, causing the rider to
have to check. They found the interference was accidental and had not
improved VOIX D’EAU (FR)’s placing in that Moloney
had switched his whip to try and prevent the gelding going left and at the
time of the interference, Moloney was a length
ahead and always appeared to be holding PADGE (IRE) on the run to the line
when beating him by three-quarters of a length. They ordered the placings to remain unaltered. I
returned to the steppings above the Weighing Room
overlooking the Parade Ring following the race. Having taken photographs of the placed
horses, I relocated to the ‘bridge’
to the western end of the paddock until the horses began to exit onto the
racecourse ahead of the next event. The
starting gate for the next race was in the back straight, with one fence to
be jumped before turning into the home straight; the horses cantered down
past the grandstands to reach it.
There were two joint favourites for this event, namely Baby Mix and
Sgt Reckless; priced 9-2. Olly Bell gave a special mention to Cold March, believing
that he’d got more to give than he’d shown on the racecourse so far. And I have a recollection of him running
well at Ascot before. Steering
wide of the open-ditch in order to line up behind the tape, the runners were
a little bit too keen, so the starter instructed them to line up for a
standing start instead.
And
then they were off; at the rear of the field Royal Regatta started slowly and
swerved to his left, bumping into Cold March as he did so. Meanwhile, at the front of the field,
Pearls Legend and Baby Mix led the runners over the first obstacle; all the
runners cleared this without incident. The
field then headed around to bend and into the home straight, with Ulck Du Lin sweeping around the outside of the runners to
take a narrow lead prior to fence number two; the Paul Nicholls
representative extended his lead as they headed to and cleared the next. The main group was led by Pearls Legend and
Baby Mix, from Sgt Reckless, Strongly Suggested, Minella
Definitely, the white faced Bullet Street, Purple ‘N Gold, Cold March,
Aintree Festival winner Surf And Turf, Bellenos and
Royal Regatta. Ulck Du Lin’s lead was cut from five
lengths to around two as they headed around the top bend; Pearls Legend was a
little awkward at the next fence, having jumped out to his left. Royal Regatta continued to bring up the rear
as the runners headed over fence number five.
The following obstacle was the first of two open-ditches, where Sgt
Reckless made an error. By the time
the runners had cleared the final fence before Swinley
Bottom, Bellenos had been relegated to last position
and was beginning to tail off. Upon
exiting the turn, the Dan Skelton representative was steered towards the
outside of the track and pulled up by his brother Harry. Ulck Du Lin had almost lost his advantage
as the field jumped the first fence in the back straight without
incident. Pearls Legend joined him as
they cleared five out; now losing touch at the rear of the runners were Surf
And Turf and Minella Definitely. The game was up for Ulck
Du Lin as they headed towards the final open-ditch, as a number of runners
swept past him. Pearls Legend led,
from Purple ‘N Gold, Baby Mix, Sgt Reckless, and the steadily improving Cold
March; Bullet Street was also staying on behind these. Both
Baby Mix and Purple ‘N Gold made errors at the final fence in the back
straight; this enabled Pearls Legend to lead Baby Mix around the home bend,
with the latter holding a five lengths advantage over Sgt Reckless. Meanwhile Cold March continued to stay on
under pressure against the rails. Pearls Legend was still a length up as he
cleared two out, Baby Mix less than a length ahead of Cold March now; a tired
Sgt Reckless blundered at this fence. Meanwhile,
the leading trio were now neck and neck as they galloped towards the final
fence. Cold March took off ahead of
his two rivals and stayed on well all the way to the line to win by 7
lengths. The gallant Pearls Legend
claimed 2nd, from Baby Mix which was 3 lengths back in 3rd. Bullet Street was a further 7 lengths away
in 4th, and Purple ‘N Gold 5th. Nick
Scholfield had eased Baby Mix at the line, feeling
that something was amiss. The grey
didn’t return to the Winners’ Enclosure, instead he was unsaddled on track
and taken away in the horse ambulance; he was reported to have sustained a
tendon injury.
Fourth
race over, I headed back to the steppings above the
Weighing Room, overlooking the Parade Ring in order to take photographs as
the placed horses arrived back. At one
point during the afternoon, someone threw a lit cigar onto the roof of the
Weighing Room; it fell from one of the upper floors of the grandstand and
smouldered for a while. Whilst
standing on the steppings, I noticed AP McCoy
speaking with Jeremy Kyle and David Stevens from Coral. Again I headed back to the ‘bridge’ over the walkway to view the
horses ahead of the next race. Once
they’d begun to head out to the racecourse, I went back through the
grandstand concourse to reach the steppings
overlooking the racecourse. The
starting gate for the feature hurdle race was at the far end of the home
straight, the runners passing in front of the grandstand to reach it. The race favourite was Nabucco,
trained by John Ferguson and ridden by Aidan Coleman; price 7-2. The partnership had paired up during the
summer, following AP McCoy’s retirement, experiencing much success, with
Aidan currently lying a clear second in the jockey’s championship to Richard
Johnson although, due to the background of John’s horses, they would be
expected to prefer summer jump racing conditions in the main. Thus the early season success. It
appears that I do know what I’m talking about when interviewed regarding AP’s
retirement by local radio when I was at the Cheltenham Festival. I said that I wanted Richard to win this
season’s Jump Jockeys’ Championship, and mentioned two other names as future
threats – namely Aidan Coleman and Sam Twiston-Davies. I expect the latter to make a bolder
showing once Paul Nicholls’ horses begin their winter campaigns. Also
in today’s event was Sign Of A Victory, last year’s winner of this race; he
was fresh and well in the Parade Ring.
However, as top weight, he was carrying 15 pounds more than number
two, Jolly’s Cracked It. I
personally liked the latter, a nice big ‘stamp’
of a horse; fortunately he was calmer than the last time I’d seen him, on
Ladies’ Day at Aintree when he took part in Cyrus Darius’ race but
disappointed. On that occasion he was
so fresh, that he had to be led out through the ‘tunnel’ without a rider, for Noel Fehily
to mount once on the racecourse! He
was on his toes today, but not scarily so!
He was also Olly’s ‘value’ horse today! With
race time approaching, the vast majority of riders took an extra turn to head
away from the gate; they ‘picked up’
Aerlite Supreme and Closest Friend on their sedate
walk back, although the former was a bit jig joggy.
And
then they were off, led by the sole mare Favorite
Girl with, almost upside to the nearside Aerlite
Supreme and, in between, the white-blazed Wilberdragon. Near the rear of the field, Sign Of A
Victory was very keen; the runners cleared the first without incident. Favourite Girl led the runners towards the
second, ears pricked in anticipation of the fence; Unanimite
jumped it in last position. The
pace was steady as the horses headed up past the winning post with one
circuit to go. The mare continued to
lead, from Aerlite Supreme, Wilberdragon,
Satanic Beat, Closest Friend, Jolly’s Cracked It, to the inside Nabucco, behind these the hard pulling Sign Of A Victory,
and bringing up the rear were Cloonacol, My Manekineko and Unanimite. Having
negotiated the top bend, the runners began the journey down the hill towards Swinley Bottom; Aerlite Supreme
was almost upsides Favorite Girl as they cleared
flight number three, all without incident.
Travelling at speed, the Evan Williams runner flattened a panel in the
next obstacle; Jolly’s Cracked It had now joined Unanimite
at the rear of the field, having been restrained. There
was no change at the head of affairs as the closely grouped runners entered
the long sweeping bend at Swinley Bottom. Having cleared the first hurdle in the back
straight, Aerlite Supreme began to drift back
through the field. Two from the rear, Cloonacool blundered badly at the third last. Heading towards the home turn, Favorite Girl still led, from Wilberdragon,
Closest Friend, Nabucco to the inside, Satanic
Beat, Sign Of A Victory, My Manekineko, and Jolly’s
Cracked It to the outside. Behind
these were Aerlite Supreme, Unanimite
and Cloonacool.
Entering
the final bend, Aerlite Supreme was clinging on to
the coat-tails of the field and My Manekineko was
receiving stern reminders just ahead of him.
As the runners entered the home straight, many runners were lining up
to swamp Favorite Girl. Nabucco got a
good run up the inside as they headed towards the penultimate flight, Wilberdragon, Closest Friend and Sign Of A Victory all
laying down their challenges as they cleared it; however Closest Friend was
less than fluent and soon lost his place.
Nabucco appeared to
have got first run as they sped down towards the final flight, Sign Of A
Victory to the stand-side his closest pursuer from the fast finishing Unanimite to the inside; meanwhile Jolly’s Cracked It was
being galvanised in behind the Nicky Henderson runner. However, Daryl Jacob’s mount flattened the
last, which did stem some of his momentum.
With
Nabucco still ahead, but the gap reducing,
initially it appeared that Sign Of A Victory might have his measure but, as
the line approached and under top weight, his chance of winning then receded
as he weakened on the run in, leaving Jolly’s Cracked It and Unanimite to land the final blows. But the winning line arrived in time and Nabucco held on to win by three quarters of the length,
from Unanimite who just pipped
the Harry Fry runner for 3rd place by a nose.
Sign Of A Victory claimed 4th from the never nearer Cloonacool. Nabucco had the
advantage of race fitness, having run three times already this season,
winning the last two having raced just 18 days ago. He had been a smart flat racer, winning a
Listed race when trained by John Gosden; definitely
no mug! With this victory, jockey
Aidan Coleman had ridden a treble today.
After
the race I headed back to the steppings above the
Weighing Room initially, in order to take photographs of the placed horses. I
recall watching Grumeti’s Hurdle race from Wetherby on the large screen overlooking the Parade Ring
earlier in the afternoon, but have little recollection of the Charlie Hall
Chase which took place in this time-slot, won this year by Cue Card ...
probably because I was excited at the prospect (hopefully) of seeing Choc
again! Especially as I’d not seen him
in the flesh since Grand National Day in early April. He’d also officially retired from race
riding; the decision having been forced upon him for medical reasons that he
was unable to overcome. Whilst
I was standing on the steppings, I noticed Alan
King and two companions arrive to collect jockey Denis O’Regan’s
saddle. It was now time for me to make
tracks to the Pre-Parade Ring to see if I could spot Choc! My route took me along the walkway behind the
main grandstand, passing in front of the Frankel statue, before heading down
the second flight of steps I encountered, to my left. This took me to ground level, and I headed
up the pathway between the lawns, passing the royal statues I’d seen earlier.
By this point my heart rate had increased in anticipation of seeing Choc
again; it still happens! Having
arrived at my destination, I climbed up one of the metal temporary steppings to view the proceedings; I soon spotted Choc,
waiting with connections under the canopy of trees in the centre of the
Pre-Parade Ring. He was dressed in a
smart black suit, with white shirt and red tie. Ned Stark was still being led around the
perimeter when I arrived, but was soon taken into one of the open stalls
along the far side to be saddled by his trainer; I recognised the blonde lady
‘connection’ in attendance
too. Meanwhile
Choc headed over in that direction, with the other members of his owners
group. He was smoking too ... no
change there then, despite having given up riding with no longer a need to
keep a check on his weight. Trainer
Paul Webber said hello to my favourite former jockey as he walked by; his
race representative being the JP McManus-owned Cantlow,
who Choc has piloted in the past. Ned
Stark stood very patiently whilst he was saddled by his trainer; ears
pricked. He has unusual markings on
his face; a large star and what looks like a stroke with a large paintbrush
upon his nose, far more than a snip!
I’d only recently found out that ‘Ned
Stark’ is a character from Game of Thrones, played by Sean Bean. Meanwhile Choc loitered behind an L-shaped
shrub feature, which sported a number of standard ‘Red Robin’ Photinias. These shrubs are
everywhere these days, usually styled into a hedge. Once
ready to go, the stable lad led his charge out of the box to complete almost
one further clockwise circuit of the Pre-Parade Ring before heading along the
walkway, under the ‘bridge’ and
into the Parade Ring. Choc and Ned
Stark’s connections followed. Meanwhile
I set off across the lawn to reach the steps leading up to the concourse, the
same ones as I’d used just a few minutes earlier. I
reached my viewpoint upon the bridge shortly afterwards and was in time to
see Choc and his companions head across to the centre of the Parade Ring to
await the arrival of their jockey shortly afterwards. Having issued instructions to the rider,
Alan and Denis headed off to locate their charge; the former legging up the
latter shortly afterwards. It
was now time for everyone to seek a suitable place from which to view the
race. Choc and his group headed
through the gap between the hedges, adjacent to the Winners’ Enclosure; one
of his companions, who I presume is Paul Dunkley, pointed out the route they
should follow. It was quite endearing
really, seeing Choc look a little bit lost as a spectator rather than a
jockey! Anyway, they climbed the steps
which lead out of the Parade Ring and headed across the concourse to enter
one of the nearby doors at the rear of the grandstand. Their
route crossed mine, so I held back in order not to bump into him ...
otherwise it might have looked like I’d done it accidently on purpose! His group was heading to the Owners’ and
Trainers’ viewing area, whilst I headed back along the outside of the
concourse and through my usual door into the grandstand and out the other
side onto the steppings. This time I ensured that I remained
immediately adjacent to the ‘clearway’
area at the top of the steps down to the betting ring. I glanced across to my left and caught a
glimpse of Choc within his viewing area before he disappeared into the
crowd. The
favourite for this race was the Charlie Longsdon-trained
Pendra, owned by JP McManus and ridden by Barry Geraghty; price 11-2.
Last year’s winner, What A Warrior, was a 13-2 shot; Ned Stark with
the Dunkley & Reilly Partnership’s contracted jockey Denis O’Regan aboard was priced at 7-1. Despite
being the feature chase of the day, it was not deemed necessary for the
horses to parade in front of the stands before heading to the starting gate
which was located at the beginning of the side straight. It was the sole race today where the horses
didn’t canter down past the grandstand on their way to the start. Having
had their girths checked, the group of runners jogged away from the starting
gate, heading back into the home straight before turning and approaching the
tapes; Ned Stark was slightly ahead of the group before Denis O’Regan reined him back between runners.
And
then they were off. The runners were
led down to the first fence by What A Warrior; three made errors here, namely
Virak, Double Ross and Houblon
Des Obeaux.
Last year’s winner continued to lead over the next from Lost Legend; close
behind these were Fox Appeal, Pendra and Bennys Mist. The
following fence was the first of the open-ditches, which they all cleared
without incident. Bringing up the rear
were No Buts, Cantlow, Le Rev and Leo Luna. Having
jumped the fourth fence, the runners headed into Swinley
Bottom for the first time. Entering
the back straight, Lost Legend began to match strides with the leader. Travelling at a sensible 3-mile pace, the
runners were well grouped as they jumped the next two fences with no problem. Fence number seven was the second
open-ditch and, again, all fifteen runners were foot perfect. The field continued to the next, where to
the rear of the group No Buts shifted to his left as he jumped it and bumped
into Cantlow.
The
runners then travelled around the bend and into the home straight on the
first occasion; still led by What A Warrior and Lost Legend. Following these were Fox Appeal, Pendra, Ned Stark, Bennys Mist,
Virak, Royal Player, Double Ross, Houblon Des Obeaux, Present
View, Cantlow, No Buts, Le Reve
and, finally, Leo Luna. No Buts hit
the next fence. There were no
departures at the fence which would be the final one on the next circuit,
although Double Ross did make a mistake here.
Still
fifteen strong, the field continued up the home straight and past the winning
post led narrowly by Lost Legend travelling to the outside of What A
Warrior. Having turned the top bend,
and through their point of departure, the runners headed to fence number
eleven; again this was cleared without incident. The joint-leaders pressed on down the hill,
now two or three lengths clear of their nearest rival; near the rear of the
field, Houblon Des Obeaux
made an error at the next. What
A Warrior and Lost Legend continued to stretch their lead over their nearest
pursuer, Pendra, as they headed to fence number
thirteen, an open-ditch; there were no casualties here. In fourth place at this stage was Fox
Appeal, from Ned Stark, Royal Player, Virak, Double
Ross, Bennys Mist, No Buts, Cantlow,
Present View, Le Reve, Houblon
Des Obeaux and Leo Luna. Having
jumped the final fence in the line of four, What A Warrior led Lost Legend by
a length, with a four or five lengths advantage over the main group led by Pendra. The others
had closed the gap by the time they headed out of Swinley
Bottom, wary of letting the pace setters give them the slip. Double Ross made a slight error at the
first fence in the back straight, six out. The runners headed over the next, again
without incident before approaching the final open-ditch, clearing this
too. Although
there had been little change in the order, the field began to string out as
the runners near the rear of the field came under pressure and began to
struggle. And still What A Warrior
held the lead, from Lost Legend, Fox Appeal, Pendra,
Ned Stark, Virak and Double Ross. They jumped three out and headed into the
final turn, at which point Lost Legend was overtaken by both Fox Appeal and Pendra. Ned Stark
was a couple of lengths away in fifth, with Virak
and Double Ross four lengths behind the Alan King runner. The only other one improving from the rear
was Cantlow under a strong drive from Paul Moloney. Pendra joined What A
Warrior as they jumped two out, with Fox Appeal on their heels. Denis pulled Ned Stark wide, around the
weakening Lost Legend, in order to get a good view of the fence. Time was up for last year’s winner as they
headed down to the final fence, as Barry Geraghty
drove his mount into a clear advantage.
Having looked like being in with a chance, Ned Stark’s challenge
petered out as he stayed on at one pace.
However,
to the wide outside, Ryan Hatch had galvanised Double Ross into action, and
he had taken second position by the time he’d jumped the last. Meanwhile, Pendra
had flown and, despite closing slightly on the run-in, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ charge had to settle for runner-up
position, beaten 3¼ lengths at the line.
Fox Appeal finished a further 3 lengths away in 3rd, with the gallant
What A Warrior claiming 4th. Cantlow collared Ned
Stark on the line for 5th, beating Alan King’s runner by a nose. Virak completed
in 7th, Lost Legend 8th and the final horse to complete was Houblon Des Obeaux. The remaining six runners were all pulled
up before the last fence. It
was a good day for trainer Charlie Longsdon with an
across the cards treble at Ascot and Wetherby. Although, sadly, his yard lost Boogie In
The Barn at Wetherby; the horse had been returning
from an absence of 564 days.
With
the completion of the final jumps race of the day, notably there wasn’t a
single faller or unseat throughout the afternoon! Ned
Stark having completed in 6th, I knew that he would be unsaddled in the Enclosure
which is situated to the right-hand side of the horse-walk which leads back
to the Winners’ Enclosure, just behind the grandstand. In my keenness to get there, I got ahead of
Choc and his group so, instead of continuing on my chosen route, I diverted
briefly to the bridge instead. Having
waited a while, I then headed down the steps close to the Frankel statue;
Choc, Alan and the owners had already reached their destination to the far
side of the horse-walk and I was also in time to take a photograph of the
winning horse and jockey, Pendra and Barry Geraghty as they were led by. At
this point I decided that I felt like a stalker, so I climbed back up the
steps to reach the main concourse, viewing the unsaddling enclosure from a
safe distance ... but still feeling like to stalker! Oh dear ... this is far more difficult than
when following him as a jockey!
Anyway, debrief complete, and with the horse being led back to the stables,
Choc and his companions headed back up the walkway towards the Pre-Parade
Ring. I
loitered at the top of the ramp which leads up from the Owners’ and Trainers’
bar for a few minutes, hoping that I might be lucky enough to see Choc again,
if he and his connections hadn’t departed already. From this viewpoint I was able to see the
horses in the Pre-Parade Ring ahead of the final race. Trainer Chris Gordon was nearby; he shouted
down to a lady on the walkway, saying that he was having a bad day and needed
some ‘love’ or words to that
affect! He later joined trainer Jamie
Snowden and companion (wife?) for a chat at a table on the lawn in front of
the Owners’ and Trainers’ bar. The
odds-on favourite for the final race of the day was Cultivator, trained by
Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty;
priced 10-11. The starting gate was
situated on the home bend and the horses cantered down past the grandstand to
reach it. The
start of this race was a little behind schedule, with the dark grey He’s A
Charmer kept slightly away from his main group of rivals as they jogged away from
the starting gate ahead of turning back to the tapes; Face To Face, sporting
the familiar black, white and yellow colours of owner Malcolm Denmark,
arrived at the start late. The horse
is trained by Mark Pitman, son of Jenny and Richard, who had recently
returned to the training ranks. Face
To Face joined the other seven as they headed towards the tape, led by He’s A
Charmer; the former soon jogged up to join the grey.
And
then they were off. Denis O’Regan sent Face To Face into the lead as the runners began
their gallop up the home straight; he was followed by He’s A Charmer, the
white faced Henrybrowneyes, Bolister,
Brandenburg Gate, The Poodle Faker, the very keen Cultivator sporting the
Bobs Worth colours and, finally, Opechee. Continuing
up the home straight, Face To Face soon set up an advantage of three to four
lengths over the second; He’s A Charmer, in turn, held more or less the same
advantage over the main group of runners.
Heading around the top turn, Brandenburg Gate pulled his way into third
position. The leader was setting a
decent pace as they galloped down the hill towards Swinley
Bottom, the Mark Pitman runner continuing to lead the way, ears pricked. The
leader’s advantage had been closed-down by the time they entered the sweeping
bend beyond the reservoir. Having left
Swinley Bottom behind, the runners began the climb
up the back straight; Face To Face still led, from He’s A Charmer,
Brandenburg Gate, Henrybrowneyes, Cultivator, The
Poodle Faker, Bolister and Opechee. As they entered the home turn, Barry Geraghty allowed the well-travelling favourite to move
through into third position, ready to make a challenge when the time was
right. Meanwhile, having pulled too
hard early in the race, Brandenburg Gate came under pressure and began to
drop back through the field. Having
entered the home straight, He’s A Charmer had taken the lead as the runners
headed between the empty wings of the penultimate hurdle. However, Cultivator was cruising in his
wake. Then, as they galloped between
the final set of wings, Barry Geraghty’s mount went
upsides the leader and was then driven out to the line to win by 2¼
lengths. Completing
in 3rd place was The Poodle Faker which, although ridden along from two
furlongs out, kept on to finish 1½ lengths behind
the 2nd. Henrybrowneyes
was a further length away in 4th; the long time leader Face To Face finished
in 5th. It
was a double on the card for both trainer Nicky Henderson and jockey Barry
Geraghty.
Because
I was still in ‘Choc spotting’
mode, I didn’t go to the grandstand steppings to
view the final race. Whilst I was
loitering on the ‘bridge’ and the
horses were at the starting gate for race 7, The Red Arrows flew over; they were
heading along the line of the grandstand, in a westerly direction, and I can
only presume they’d flown over Twickenham ahead of the Rugby Union World Cup
Final which was due to begin at 16:00.
For the record, the New Zealand All Blacks beat Australia. My
hopes were raised when I saw the blonde lady from the Dunkley and Reilly
Partnership group and her companion appear at the top of the ramp leading
from the Owners’ and Trainers’ bar area prior to them leaving via the main
gate. Shortly afterwards, Alan King
headed up the slope and across the bridge heading towards the main
grandstand. I sat upon a wooden bench
with clear sight of the area and, a few minutes after that, Choc and the guy
who I presume to be Paul Dunkley, appeared; they were on their way to the
main gate to depart. Now
was my opportunity to briefly say hello and to make my day at the races
complete. I’m still tongue-tied after all these years, and don’t say much,
but it’s always a pleasure to see him and to get the opportunity to kiss him
on the cheek! I
did take a photograph of the bumper winning horse in the Winners’ Enclosure,
although I’m not sure whether it was before I saw Choc or afterwards! Anyway,
racing over and my goal of saying hello to Choc attained, it was time to head
home. I exited via the main gateway;
stewards were scanning the tickets of those who wished to return for the
fireworks display which was due to begin in a couple of hours’ time. Prior to that there would be a parade for
children who’d turned up in Halloween outfits. I
walked down Ascot High Street in an easterly direction, not quite my usual
route march, but I still overtook a number of pedestrians! Having reached the car park, I noticed the
front of the field was now in use for vehicles, those which had arrived after
I had. This was also the parking area
organised for those solely attending the fireworks display; there were quite
a few spaces, a number of race-goers having already departed. The final race of the day had taken place
at 15:55 and the sun was still shining, so darkness would not fall too early
this evening although clocks had been on GMT since the previous Sunday. Despite
the fact that my car was no longer located on the second row, I found it
immediately; it’s just a dark blue Fiesta, but I’d noticed there was a house
for sale on the opposite side of the Winkfield Road
and its location in relation to my vehicle.
Having taken off my coat and shoe boots, I sat in the car for a few
minutes and ate one of the two remaining cheese rolls before setting off for
home at 16:25. Having
turned left upon exiting the gate into the High Street, I turned left again
at the mini-roundabout to head along the aforementioned Winkfield
Road, through the racecourse underpass and onwards to Swinley
Bottom. Along this stretch of the
road, someone had lit a large bonfire in their garden and the smoke drifted
across the road, and the smell drifted in through the air vents of my car
too. Having
reached the double mini-roundabouts beside Swinley Bottom
I turned right and headed back to the longabout at
Woodside. I then returned along the
B383 and B3022, drove past Legoland once more to
join a queue of traffic tailing back from the first set of traffic lights on
the outskirts of Windsor. It wasn’t
too long a delay, as the end of the queue only stretched back to the first of
the houses on the right-hand side of the road. I’d
soon negotiated the two sets of lights before heading along the B3173,
Imperial Road. When I arrived at the
large roundabout at the far end, I was on the front row of the grid ready to
head up the A322 dual carriageway once the lights had turned to green. Mind you, the cars heading in from the
right certainly had an extended amount of time to negotiate the traffic
island. The
route between Swinley Bottom and the slip-road
which heads off to the left of the dual carriageway and into Slough is so
familiar to me, for I worked in Bracknell during my university work placement
year and headed to and from work via these roads during the 15 months I was
there; it doesn’t seem possible it was over 20 years ago, back in
1993-1994. In those days I used to
avoid the M4 and M25 as much as possible, by travelling via Slough, Stokes Poges, Gerrards Cross, Denham
and Maple Cross before usually re-joining the M25 as Junction 17; although,
sometimes I’d continue through Rickmansworth and Watford to reach home. One
journey I remember was a snowy day in early January 1994, when I left work at
17:45 and didn’t arrive home until 23:10.
I recall one fast travelling idiot who was moving so fast approaching
Denham from a northerly direction that he splashed slushy snow all over my
windscreen so that I couldn’t see where I was going. I then got stuck in Rickmansworth; on their
bypass, on the hill after the railway bridge, because lorries ahead of me
couldn’t gain traction up the incline!
That was a Thursday and, needless to say, I didn’t go into work the
following day. I
also remember the time when I was driving along beside Ascot racecourse and a
woodpigeon fell out from one of the trees, hitting my passenger wing mirror
in the process and dislodging it; it was hanging by a stalk. I subsequently held it in place with a
strong elastic band until it was fixed. Anyway,
back to today’s journey. Once upon the
dual carriageway, I had to slow down for vehicles which had just begun to
move again having been stopped at the traffic lights where the Windsor
slip-road merges from the left.
However, I had plenty of time to move into the outside lane in
preparation for turning right at the large traffic-light controlled
roundabout beneath the M4. I did get
stopped by the lights whilst on the roundabout, but was soon on my way up the
slip-road to join the eastbound carriageway.
There
were no problems on the motorway, although traffic was moving a little slowly
on the M25 between Junctions 15 and 16 and, as a result, it took me slightly
longer than usual to find a space in lane two so that I could move out prior
to the latter junction where the inside lane veers off to join the M40’s
westbound carriageway. There was one
slightly annoying car travelling directly in front of me, which travelled at
erratic speeds whilst remaining in lane two.
I wanted to go faster, but I wasn’t going to overtake or
undertake. The problem is that I know
the road too well; this includes avoiding the inside lane at the Chorleywood
turning, where vehicles negotiate a sharp bend to join the motorway, often
following each other very closely at quite a low speed. Further
on, at the Kings Langley junction, the inside lane leaves the motorway so,
once again, there’s no point being in that lane if you wish to remain on the
M25. Having reached the far end of the viaduct over
the Gade Valley, I noticed the infrastructure was
still visible through cracks in the road surface of the inside lane; I’d
noticed that on a previous drive along the motorway and was surprised this
had not been repaired yet. The
motorway is once more four lanes wide between Kings Langley and the M1
turning, so I remained in lane two so as to continue past that junction and
the first St Albans turning at Junction 21A too. To the east of the interchange the motorway
becomes four lanes yet again, so shortly afterwards I moved into the inside
lane in preparation for exiting at Junction 22. This
junction is very ‘un-grand’, the
slip-road doesn’t incline or decline, it just passes by the exit to a
drive-in McDonalds before reaching a large roundabout. I took the second turning and headed up the
dual carriageway which bypasses the village of London Colney
to reach the outskirts of St Albans and took the ring-road home. I pulled onto the driveway outside my home
at 17:30; this meant that I was in plenty of time to eat a meal of spaghetti
on toast before settling down for the evening to watch Strictly Come
Dancing’s Halloween Special. I’m
loving professional dancers Pasha Kovalev and Gleb Savchenko this series, and
celebrity Jay McGuiness, from The Wanted, who is a very good dancer and very
cute too! * * *
* * *
* In
Alan King’s first Weekender column of the new season, published on 11
November, he mentioned Choc’s retirement and said
that he’s still in contact with the retired jockey two or three times a week,
as Choc manages the Paul Dunkley and Danny Reilly horses and, of course, sees
him at the races when they run too.
Alan also mentioned that there was a surprise retirement party for
Choc a week last Saturday evening (31 October), which was the day I saw him
at Ascot; Alan said it was quite emotional ... and I know Choc will have been
emotional too, being a sensitive Cancerian! Click here for photos – Races 1, 2 & 3 Click here for photos – Races 4, 5 & 7 Click here for photos – Race 6 (Ned Stark’s event) |
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