PART II
DIARY � AINTREE FESTIVAL
GRAND OPENING DAY
THURSDAY 07 APRIL 2016
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Fittingly, the Red Rum Handicap Chase was won by the Donald McCain trained Katachenko, today ridden by Wayne
Hutchinson Click here to read my Grand Opening Day Diary Part I It was soon time
for the fourth race of the day, the Aintree Hurdle.� The odds-on favourite for this race was the reigning
Champion Hurdler Annie Power, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby
Walsh; price 4-9. As this race was
today�s feature event, having exited onto the racecourse, the runners were
paraded in front of the stands before they headed to the starting gate, which
was a third of the way along the back straight; two of the three flights of
hurdles being jumped before the far turn.��
And then they were off.� Nicholls Canyon was sent into the lead by
jockey Paul Townend; The New One tracked him in second,
followed by Annie Power, Camping Ground, My Tent Or Yours, with Court
Minstrel held up at the rear.� The
leader jumped slightly out to his right over the first flight.� The six runners continued their journey up
the back straight, crossing the sanded pathway on their way to the next.� Again the leader jumped out to his right;
on this occasion he was ungainly as he took off early and had to reach for
it.� The runners then headed into the top turn, where
in fifth position and maybe short of room, My Tent Or Yours briefly bumped
the running rail.� Nicholls Canyon,
sporting the beige and black silks of the Wylie�s, continued to lead the
small but select field as they entered the home straight on the first
occasion.� Yet again the leader jumped
out to his right as they cleared the next flight.� Annie Power, to the inside of the track,
travelled in second position, from The New One and My Tent Or Yours disputing
third, Camping Ground to the near side in fifth and Court Minstrel remaining
at the rear of the field.� The runners continued their journey down the home
straight, with the leader jumping straighter at the next.� There was a big surprise at the fifth
flight, the one in front of the main grandstands, where The New One caught
his near-fore on the flight and fell; he hampered Camping Ground, but only
marginally.� Fortunately both jockey
and horse were quickly to their feet; Sam Twiston-Davies
was able to catch his mount before he ran off. Travelling strongly, Annie Power had taken the
lead from her stable-mate as they headed down past the winning post with one
circuit now to travel.� They�d soon
entered the back straight, with the mare continuing at the head of
affairs.� Nicholls Canyon continued to
travel well in second, with My Tent Or Yours in third position; Camping
Ground was detached slightly from the main group, with Court Minstrel well
adrift at the rear.� Annie Power put in long jump at the first flight
in the back straight where, travelling in her wake, My Tent Or Yours managed
to dislodge the orange plastic protector strip.� They continued over the middle flight,
where Nicholls Canyon jumped out to his right yet again and forfeited
ground.� The runners headed across the
sanded pathway to reach the final flight in the back straight, at which Ruby�s
mount continued to lead, from My Tent Or Yours, Nichols Canyon, Camping
Ground and Court Minstrel. The leading trio were well clear of the others as
they headed around the far turn; Camping Ground was struggling by this point
and Court Minstrel had soon stayed on past him.� They entered the home straight, with Annie
Power continuing to hold a narrow advantage from Nicholls Canyon and My Tent
Or Yours.� With the mare keeping to a
straight line to the far side, Barry Geraghty
initially seemed hopeful of laying down a challenge aboard the JP McManus
runner as they cleared three out; meanwhile Nicholls Canyon began to lose
ground due to his continued waywardness when jumping the flights. However, it soon became apparent that the boys
were no match for the girl, with Ruby remaining motionless aboard the mare as
they headed towards the penultimate flight; four lengths clear of her nearest
rival as she jumped it.� Soon her
jockey glanced behind to check on their rivals, and Barry Geraghty
did the same; the latter had accepted that defeat was inevitable and wanted
to check that the runner-up�s prize was in the bag.� Annie Power jumped the last well and Ruby rode
her out to win by 18 lengths at the line.�
Meanwhile, My Tent or Yours had come to the end of his tether, and
flattened a panel in the final flight; he was trying 20 furlongs for the
first time.� However, despite being
tired, he beat Nicholls Canyon by 9 lengths.�
Having never been on terms with his rivals, Court Minstrel claimed
�11,132 for 4th place; he completed 21 lengths behind the 3rd.� The tailed-off Camping Ground came home in
his own time, 42 lengths behind the 4th to claim �5,852.����� It�s a worry that there appears to be a shortage
of star 2-mile hurdlers in the GB, apart from the novice Altior;
but will be latter be sent chasing next season?� Today was the same one, two, and three as
the Champion Hurdle. This had not been a good race for Ruby Walsh in
the past, having been �smashed up�
when falling aboard both Zarkandar and Celestial
Halo in previous renewals.
We
chose to remain at our chosen vantage point ahead of the next race.� With so many horses taking part in the Fox
Hunters� Chase and this requiring them to enter the Parade Ring via the
walkway to the rear, the placed horses including Annie Power were led back to
the stables via the walkway which leads to the racecourse.� This provided us with another photo
opportunity as they were led by. Race 4 - 3:25pm THE DOOM BAR AINTREE
HURDLE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1)
It
was soon time for the fifth race of the day; the Fox Hunters� Chase for
amateur riders which is run over the Grand National fences.� The favourite for the event On The Fringe,
trained by Enda Bolger, hoping to win the race for
the second year running and to also complete the double-double of the
Cheltenham/Aintree Foxhunters.� Jamie Codd was riding him today, as Nina Carberry
was currently serving a whip ban. Declan Queally, who
rode Monkey Kingdom, is Tom Queally�s brother.� And Rose Loxton,
who used to look after Big Buck�s, was represented by Current Event; she
still works at the Paul Nicholls yard. The
start of the race was at the far end of the home straight, with 2 fences to
jump before The Chair; having reached the starting area, the riders took their mounts to look
at the first obstacle, before having their girths checked prior to the
race.�
It was a false start, first time � no surprise
there then!� This being the case, take
two was a standing-start, with the starter being satisfied, eventually, that
the amateur jockeys were listening to him.�
Having lined up against the inside rail, Will Biddick
aboard Pacha Du Polder was one of the first away;
On The Fringe was prominent too.� All
22 runners survived the first jump!� Doubledisdoubledat and Monkey Kingdom led the field over
the second fence; again there were no casualties, although Fort George made
an error and lost a few places as a result. The third fence in the Foxhunters is The Chair,
which they all cleared before heading over the water-jump.� Doubledisdoubledat
continued to lead the field as they headed around the bottom bend, from
Monkey Kingdom; also prominent were Pacha Du
Polder, Marasonnien, Bound For Glory, Dineur and Mendip Express.� Having crossed the Melling
Road, the leaders had soon reached the fifth fence; the field of differing
abilities had already begun to string out by this point but there were no
casualties at this obstacle. Bound For Glory had taken the lead as they headed
to the next; Marisonnien slipped and pecked on
landing over this one but survived.�
Further back in the field, Sam Cavallero hit
the fence and lost his footing on landing, and Need To Know departed
too.� Forge Valley was so badly
hampered by the incidents that it proved impossible for the jockey to remain
aboard, despite clinging on for dear life for a number of strides.����� Meanwhile the remaining nineteen headed towards
and over the open-ditch, where there were no additional departures.� Having been trailing the field by this
stage, Brodie Hampson
decided to pull up Fort George after the fence.� Bound For Glory continued to lead the
runners over the next two, which they all cleared safely; tracking him were Doubledisdoubledat, Pacha Du
Polder and Monkey Kingdom.� Clonbanan Lad made an error at the second of these.�� The following fence was Becher�s
Brook; there were no casualties at the famous fence, although Mendip Express
and Clonbanan Lad did bump each other upon
landing.� A number of the tail-enders
struggled to continue.� Eighteen
runners headed over the Fionavon fence; again
without incident.� Alex Ferguson, son
of John, riding Fredo decided to call it a day at
this point; the horse had not enjoyed his experience over the unique fences.�� Bound For Glory led the runners over the Canal
Turn but, sadly for the jockey, she lost her balance when her saddle slipped
during the subsequent turn to the left and she exited out the off-side door
as a result!� This left Doubledisdoubledat in the lead as they headed to
Valentine�s.� Having jumped the Canal
Turn, Current Exchange was pulled up.�
Towards the rear of the field, Richmond hit Valentine�s and catapulted
his jockey over his head.� The
struggling Night Alliance was pulled up after the fence.� Doubledisdoubledat
led the field over the next, from On The Fringe, Clonbanan
Lad, Dineur and Pacha Du
Polder.� Meanwhile the trailing
Swallows Delight fell here and badly hampered Major Malarkey, which unseated
Steven Clements as a result.� However,
heading to the next, Jody Sole pulled Clonbanan Lad
to the outside of the course and quickly dismounted.������ Meanwhile the chestnut continued to lead over
four out, from On The Fringe, Dineur, Pacha Du Polder, Mendip Express, Current Event, Ockey De Neulliac and Monkey
Kingdom; also continuing were Marasonnien and Daymar Bay.� Doubledisdoubledat blundered at the next, but survived;
but it was not what you wanted to happen at this stage of the race.� There were eight runners in with a chance heading
back across the Melling Road; Patrick Mullins
decided to call it day and pulled up Marasonnien at
this point, and the tailed off Daymar Bay was also
pulled up before two out.� Doubledisdoubledat had begun to tire by the time they
reached the penultimate fence, which allowed Dineur
and On The Fringe to take the lead, with Mendip Express now taking third
position.� Dineur,
trained by Peter Bowen�s son Mickey, held a narrow advantage as they jumped
the last but it was no surprise that On The Fringe was still travelling
sweetly and had yet to play his cards.�
At the rear of the field Ockey De Neilliac blundered very badly and almost came to a
standstill upon landing but the partnership somehow remained intact. Meanwhile Jamie Codd
had pressed the button aboard the favourite, and with the horse�s tongue
hanging out, he surged into the lead and continued to extend his advantage
over his rivals all the way to the line to win impressively by 8
lengths.� The ex-Alan King-trained Dineur gallantly fought off the challenge of Mendip
Express to take the runner-up prize by 1� lengths, with Current Event coming home 16 lengths back in
4th.� Doubledisdoubledat
finished 5th, Pacha Du Polder 6th, Monkey Kingdom
7th and coming home in his own time following his final last fence blunder
was Ockey De Neulliac.�� There were two sad postscripts to the race, with
both Clonbanan Lad and Marasonnien
losing their lives having been pulled up during the race.� It was clear to us, waiting by the main
gate, that there may be a serious problem with both, as their jockeys
returned without their horses but carrying their saddles.�
And
those which did not finish:
Once
again we chose to remain in our vantage point beside the exit walkway. Race 5 - 4:05pm THE CRABBIE'S FOX
HUNTERS' STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 2)
The favourite for the next race was Minella Present, trained by Neil Mulholland and ridden by
Noel Fehily; price 4-1.� One of my favourites, Pearls Legend, was
running in this race.� The JP McManus-owned Fayette County, trained by
Tim Vaughan, was particularly unruly heading to the start; the almost
unfortunate jockey being the retained Barry Geraghty.� He had jogged out of the walkway onto the
racecourse, the jockey not the horse that is, with the trainer and lad
attempting to retain control of their charge.�
Barry having been legged aboard at the bottom bend,
but without his feet in the irons, the lad had tried to lead the reluctant
participant onto the all-weather track so that the partnership could canter
to the start.� However, the horse
planted himself before rearing up and falling over backwards; he collided
with the plastic rails on the way down but, fortunately, Barry was thrown
clear.� This left Tim to grab the
horse�s reins whilst also offering to help Barry to his feet.� The Vaughan team was not put off by these antics
and the lad led the horse along the all-weather track, followed at a safe
distance by the trainer and jockey.�
After jogging along behind the horse, Barry was soon legged-up by Tim
and the horse and pilot cantered off to join the other 11 who were waiting
patiently at the start.� Once more
settled, Barry put his feet back into the irons and had soon trotted onto the
racecourse proper; he also took the opportunity to take a look at the final
fence in the back straight, briefly doubling back to do so and adjusting the
length of his irons also.� He then
cantered his mount to one of the Starter�s Assistants in order to have the
girth checked, before trotting to the top bend to join the others. The starting gate for this event was in the far
corner of the track; the cross fence being the first obstacle.�
And finally they were off, first time.� Pearls Legend led the runners to the cross
fence, with Katachenko close up to his inside; in
third was the grey Viconte Du Noyer
sporting the well-known silks of Ann and Alan Potts, with Aye Well in
fourth.� There were no bad errors at
this fence, although Minella Present was a little
slow.� Bright New Dawn brought up the
rear. Having entered the home straight on the first
occasion, Pearls Legend disputed the lead with Katachenko
heading over the next.� Croco Bay now travelled in third, from Viconte Du Noyer, and Going
Concern; behind these were Aye Well to the outside of Dandridge, then Fayette
County, last year�s winner Surf And Turf, Workbench, Minella
Present and Bright New Dawn.� The
following fence was an open-ditch, which they all cleared safely. The runners then headed across the Grand National
track to reach the fourth fence; it was quite a long run and the Donald
McCain representative Katachenko soon held a one
length advantage.� There were no
problems encountered as they cleared this obstacle and headed down past the
winning post, one circuit now to travel.�
Katachenko,
with Wayne Hutchinson aboard, continued to hold the advantage as the runners
headed around the bottom bend and into the back straight; they all safely
negotiated the first fence therein.�
Pearls Legend continued to press the leader as they travelled to the
next, with Dandridge having now improved into third to the outside of the
runners; Aye Well had drifted noticeably back through the field by this point
and would soon be in rear. The following fence was an open-ditch, which Katachenko cleared particularly well.� The runners then headed across the sanded
pathway which leads to the steeplechase car park, before reaching the final
fence in the back straight.� They all
cleared this without problem, with Aye Well now well detached in rear.� The leader was travelling well as they entered
the far bend; Pearls Legend slightly less so, with his jockey Nico de Boinville more
animated, Dandridge was less than a length away in third.� All twelve cleared the sometimes tricky
cross fence without incident.� Katachenko was travelling well within himself as they
entered the home straight, and he was three lengths clear of the admirable
Pearls Legend, with Dandridge the same away in third, and Croco
Bay at his girth in fourth. The runners fanned out across the track as they
headed to three out; nearer last than first, the favourite Minella Present made a mistake at the fence.� Meanwhile the long-time leader continued at
a pace, towards the final open-ditch, with Dandridge beginning his challenge
to the outside of Pearls Legend; behind these was the grey Viconte Du Noyer.� Having cleared the fence without problem, the
leaders began the long journey to the final obstacle.� At this point, Katachenko
began to demonstrate the first signs of tiredness as he began to wander
about; Dandridge had closed to within a couple of lengths, with Pearls Legend
gamely battling on in third, and Viconte Du Noyer hanging on to their coattails.� The remaining runners were unable to bridge
the gap to join this leading group.� The two Irish raiders continued to close upon
their quarry as they approached the last, with Viconte
Du Noyer soon appearing the main danger.� It didn�t help when the leader hit the last
but Jonathan Burke had decided to make his challenge against the rail and
this proved to be his undoing.� This
was because Katachenko drifted to his left under a
strong drive and he had no option but to snatch up his mount to avoid a
collision.� Meanwhile, Dandridge was
renewing his challenge to the outside of the leader and it was neck and neck
to the line.� However, Katachenko proved the strongest and gamest and held on to
win by half a length at the post.�
Unable to renew his run, Viconte Du Noyer finished 1� lengths away
in 3rd.� Pearls Legend completed 7
lengths back in 4th. It came as no surprise that there was a stewards�
enquiry, but the result stood.� I
gather that was because it was the third-placed horse which had been
disadvantaged, not the second, so Viconte Du Noyer would never have been declared the winner
anyway.� In his post-race interview, Wayne Hutchinson
eluded to the fact that his mount had a tendency to hang to his left; it
probably didn�t help that there was a brief cut-away of the running rail
following the fence, which also would have given Jonathan Burke the idea that
he�d got plenty of room to sneak up the inside of the Donald McCain runner. It was fitting that Donald had won the race named
in honour of the great Red Rum, trained by his father �Ginger�.� Also a fillip
following the removal of over 50 horses from his yard in October 2015; horses
owned by Paul and Clare Rooney.�
Today�s winner was owned by Aintree stalwart, Trevor Hemmings, owner of Grand National winners Many Clouds
(2015), Hedgehunter (2005) and Ballabriggs
(2011).� Despite this major setback,
Donald still managed to train over 50 winners during this, the 2015 / 2016
season.� http://www.ownerbreeder.co.uk/2015/12/the-fightback-starts-now/
On
this occasion, we chose to return to the steppings
above the Winners� Enclosure to see the runners return.�
THE BETFRED RED RUM
HANDICAP STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 3)
The favourite for the Mares� bumper was Augusta
Kate, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; price 15-8.� The mare is part-owned by golfer Lee
Westwood (also Ant and Dec, and Alan Shearer I gather).
And then they were off, with a number of the
mares and fillies keen to get on with the race.� Kayf Grace was
keen to the inside, but Nico de Boinville
eased her back as they headed along the top of the racecourse.� Beyond Measure and Lastbutnotleast
had settled at the head of affairs as they rounded the first turn and they
led the tightly packed field between the empty wings of the first
hurdle.� Just behind the leaders were
Little Miss Poet, Augusta Kate, La Bague Au Roi and Kayf Grace; bringing up
the rear was Alan King�s second-string, Cajun Fiddle. The seventeen runners continued their journey
down the home straight in front of the packed grandstands, passing through
two further sets of empty wings.� Ruby
Walsh had reined back Augusta Kate by the time they reached the winning post
with one circuit still to travel; his mount was now to the fore of
midfield.� Alan King�s other runner, My
Khaleesi, travelled to the outside of the runners,
close to the rear of the field.�
Heading around the bottom bend, Miss Spent was travelling at the rear
of the field. Beyond Measure and Lastbutnotleast
continued at the head of affairs as they entered the back straight; Kayf Grace and Little Miss Poet disputed third position,
with La Bague Au Roi
behind these and the Waley-Cohen mare Theatre
Territory soon improving its position to the outside of the runners.� There were no significant changes in the order as
they continued their journey along the back straight; the field remained
tightly packed. The first to crack was the hooded long-time leader Beyondmeasure; as they entered the far turn she was swallowed
up and quickly dropped back through the pack.�
This left Lastbutnotleast to now dispute the
lead with La Bague Au Roi
and Little Miss Poet.� Soon the three
runners at the back of the field, namely Lilian,
Storm Patrol and Bells On Sunday, were being pushed along in an attempt to
keep up with their rivals. Lastbutnotleast
had relinquished her share of the lead prior to the horses entering the home
straight.� This left La Baque Au Roi and Little Miss
Poet to spearhead the runners as they headed down through the first set of
empty hurdle wings.� Ruby Walsh was in
hot pursuit and closing them down aboard Augusta Kate, with Kayf Grace also unleashing her challenge.� Also not far behind were Gigginstown�s Shattered Love, the grey Snow Leopardess
and Copper Kay.� Heading down through the penultimate set of empty
wings, Augusta Kate and Kayf Grace joined battle as
they took up the running, with Shattered Love staying on behind them as
firstly La Bague Au Roi
and then Little Miss Poet succumbed to fatigue. �The leading duo continued to fight for
supremacy as they headed between the final set of wings and commenced the
final furlong of the race.� However, despite Ruby�s determination aboard
Augusta Kate, his mount could not repel the prolonged challenge from the
Nicky Henderson-trained mare, and Kayf Grace
triumphed by half a length at the line.�
Shattered Love finished a further 5 lengths away in 3rd, with Copper
Kay plugging on for 4th a further 7 lengths away. Cajun Fiddle finished 10th and My Khaleesi an extremely disappointing 16th; Alan King�s
runners had not been firing this Spring.�
Kayf
Grace was a winner for the owner/breeders James and Jean Potter.� According to Channel 4�s Emma
Spencer, the winner is from the family of Denman.
Once
again we chose to return to the steppings above the
Winners� Enclosure to see the runners return.�
Race 7 - 5:15pm THE GOFFS NICKEL COIN
MARES' STANDARD OPEN NATIONAL HUNT FLAT RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 2) No Stewards Enquiry. The Stewards noted that
LA BAGUE AU ROI (FR), trained by Warren Greatrex,
would wear earplugs which would be removed at the start. Towards
the end of the afternoon we�d seen Alice Plunkett and her young daughters;
from the conversation we gathered that grandma had been given the task of
looking after them whilst their mum was working for Channel 4.�� It
had been a very similar day to the first day at the Cheltenham Festival, with
GB just ahead of Ireland in terms of winners; in other words, 4-3.� Sandra
had reserved a table at the pub adjacent to our hotel for 19:30, but we
overstayed our time at the racecourse itself, having remained to watch the
beginning of the Goffs HIT (Horses in Training)
sale.� Notably, Sam Waley-Cohen�s
father Robert, along with three friends, decided to purchase the Paul
Nicholls-trained Black Thunder; the horse had an entry in the Grand National
and would thus provide conveyance for Sam in this year�s event.� Another horse, a youngster, was sold for
more than �200,000!����� When
we arrived at the racecourse crossing, on our way back to the Steeplechase
car park, we had to wait a few minutes while one of the green carpets was
rolled up.� We took a ride on the
shuttle bus back to the Melling Road entrance,
before walking down the driveway to the field where our cars were
parked.� Sandra was quicker �out of the blocks� than me and reached
Aintree Lane first.� I took my usual
route to the hotel, via the M57 and A580; Sandra went via the M58 and M6 and
arrived some time before me.� She waved
from her hotel window as I pulled into the rear car park.�� As
mentioned, I was running late, so wasn�t quite ready to go to the pub at
19:30.� It didn�t help that I made two
or three additional trips back to my car to collect my belongings!� Kitchen-sink springs to mind!� With the recent back problems I�d been
experiencing, I took the lift to the first floor with my main suitcase on this
occasion, instead of using the stairs.�
The
rooms at the Premier Inn had been refurbished since my last visit; including
new bathroom suites and installation of large wall-mounted TVs.� I was assigned to room 33, which is one of
the slightly larger ones, south-facing and the same room I stayed in during
the 2014 Festival!� Sandra was staying
in room 28.� I
set off for the pub at 17:40, stopping at the bar to enquire which table
Sandra was sitting at; I was shown to a table close to the large bay window
and overlooking the front car park.� I
ordered macaroni cheese with cauliflower and asparagus; although it wasn�t as
good as Marks and Sparks� macaroni cheese!�
Dessert was an After Eight Mint Sundae; I had one of those last
year.� It was a little bit messy
though, the ice cream had a habit of dripping down the side of the tall
sundae glass and onto the table.� We turned in before 22:00.� And there was no repeat of last year�s
incident when I left the key in the door of my hotel room, only for the night
manager to take it back to reception following his/her security check.� Keys have been replaced by credit
card-sized swipe cards; these also permitted the occupier to switch on the
lights within the room.� It saves on
electricity as, when removed from the �socket�
upon exiting the room, the lights then switch themselves off!� I recall switching on the TV to watch
the Really channel; Thursday is their paranormal night!� But I did doze off to sleep, only to wake
up in the early hours of the morning; I switched off the TV at that
point.� Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
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PHOTOS � Aintree Festival
Day 1 |
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Race 7 (Mares� Standard Open NH
Flat Race [Grade 2]) & Goffs HIT (Horses in
Training) Sale |
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