PART I
DIARY – AINTREE FESTIVAL
GRAND NATIONAL THURSDAY
THURSDAY 12 APRIL 2018
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Might Bite, trained by Nicky
Henderson and ridden by Nico de Boinville, winner of the Grade 1 Bowl Chase This
year, for the first time, I decided to travel up to Merseyside on Wednesday
afternoon rather leave home at 05:30 on the Thursday morning. My route, however, was the same as usual
until I reached the Burtonwood Service station on
the M62, despite this being slightly ‘off
piste’ with regards to my hotel’s location. I
left home at 12:45; the traffic wasn’t too bad in my home city, despite it
being lunch-time. However, I do recall
a dpd Distribution lorry holding everyone up when
turning right at the Ancient Briton junction; the driver had a problem
negotiating the turn due to temporary signage narrowing the roadway. Then further on, as I approached Harpenden,
the same lorry slowed the flow of traffic in order to pull into a
lay-by. Having
reached Harpenden Common, I turned left to travel through Hatching Green and
onwards to the Redbourn bypass. I recall forgetting to indicate when
turning right at this point; my mind was elsewhere! I continued past the Friars Wash showground
and, shortly afterwards, joined the M1 at Junction 9. The motorway was busy, initially, but
traffic gradually dispersed as I headed north-westwards. At
Milton Keynes, I noticed a large, attractively coloured (shades of blue),
warehouse building; it must have been fairly new, as it had never registered
with me before. Following an extended
period of road-works to convert this section of the route into a ‘Smart’ motorway, the carriageway had
been resurfaced making for a much smoother ride! However, it became it’s old, bumpy-self once
I’d reached its junction with the M6! As
it’s nearly 200 miles to my destination, I like to take a break from motorway
driving, so I continued on the M1 to Junction 23A. The motorway conditions had been misty on
the section just before this, due to light rain. There were currently road-works at various
points along the road which travels beside the M1 to Junction 24, also at the
roundabout itself. I briefly thought
about dropping into Donnington Services to spend a
penny, but I just couldn’t be asked!
Perhaps the hot drink and mushroom soup I’d consumed before I left
home hadn’t been such a good idea after all! My
route continued along the A50. The
road bypasses Uttoxeter, where road-works were
still being carried out close to the JCB factory, as they had been last year
too. There were signs along the latter
section of the dual carriageway, warning drivers to take care as there had
been a number of serious accidents involving cars and lorries; it’s a very popular
route, travelled at speed. Having
reached a large roundabout, I turned left in order to continue towards
Stoke-on-Trent. The dual carriageway
meanders its way through built-up areas and includes an underpass too. Stoke-on-Trent consists of six towns -
Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Burslem, Tunstall, Longton and
Fenton. At the far end of the
carriageway, there is a large roundabout with traffic light signals. A right-turn at this point would have taken
me to Stoke-upon-Trent itself, but I turned left in order to merge onto
Queensway and continued ahead at a further roundabout before joining the M6
northbound carriageway at junction 15. I
continued my journey up the motorway, over the Mersey bridge, to Junction
21A. There was a 50mph speed limit in
place between Junctions 16 and 19, as this section was also being upgraded to
a ‘Smart’ motorway. I then headed westwards, towards Liverpool,
along the M62 in order to visit the Burtonwood
Services. It’s only a couple of
junctions along, a maximum addition of 4 or 5 miles, each way, to my direct
route. I went to the loo and then
visited the petrol station to top up my car’s fuel tank. I
retraced my route back towards the M6, but left at Junction 9 hoping to find
my way across country to Golborne. As it was approaching rush-hour, I had to
queue on the slip-road for a number of traffic light changes before finally
turning left at the roundabout which straddled the motorway; I also kindly
let a mini car transfer into my lane whilst I was waiting ... although it
does annoy me when people jump a queue and then expect to be allowed into the
correct lane! However,
having reached another roundabout just a short distance further on, I
couldn’t locate the road I’d seen on the map and instead ended up on a
dual-carriageway leading to Junction 22 of the M6. I thus re-joined the motorway, before
leaving again at Junction 23. I then
headed eastwards along the A580, for a short distance to reach the hotel at
Stone Cross. I arrived at 16:50. Having
booked in, it took approximately 6 trips to unload my belongings from my car;
I find it impossible to travel light!
My friend Sandra had already booked in so, after a friendly chat, we
headed to dinner at 19:30 in the adjacent restaurant. Despite Sandra having booked a table when
she’d arrived, via the hotel receptionist, we got the impression that no
table had actually been reserved for us.
After
a short delay, we were shown to a four-person table in the corner of the room
where the breakfast bar is set out each morning. The table must have been hastily cleaned,
as the cleaning product and cloth were still sat on the windowsill beside me;
the waitress later spotted these and removed them. Today I chose haddock and chips for my
evening meal, followed by a limoncello trifle. I
was quite restless during the night; I think the bed quilt made me too
warm. I’d set the alarm for 06:00 so
having showered and washed and dried my hair, I was ready to go to breakfast
with Sandra at the arranged time of 07:15.
As I was in room 111 this year, which I’ve occupied at least once
before during my previous seven visits to this hotel, it was my turn to ‘collect’ my friend who was in room
101, en route. Breakfast,
consisted of three rashers of bacon, half a fried tomato, a pork sausage,
mushrooms, and an egg omelette. Also,
two pots of yoghurt, a croissant (cold), plus a glass of fruit juice (either
cranberry or apple). The yoghurts were
‘vicious’; the foil tops had been
well-sealed. They spat at me every
day, despite trying to open them so they were facing away from me! There were a selection of yoghurt flavours,
but the peach ones proved harder to find within the selection offered, than
did the strawberry or vanilla ones. Having
returned to my room, I applied my make-up; it took me two attempts to apply
my eye make-up today, as I was experimenting with a new colour of eye-shadow
and highlighter. I also decided to use
a freebie Max Factor Lipfinity lipstick which I’d
been sent when I’d ordered a couple of their Colour Adapt foundations
recently. The one they sent me was a
nude shade, which isn’t what I’d normally wear, but it did stay put for the
entire day; in fact it was difficult to remove the product at the end of the
day when no longer needed! I
later purchased a couple of dark pink Lipfinity
shades, with blue undertones; sending me the freebies definitely had the
intended effect of making me want more!
Today’s
outfit was a blue-green thermal T-shirt, a blue-green patterned thermal
T-shirt, a grey background with black birds thermal T-shirt, a NHS cardigan
in a shade described as ‘Lake’, a
dark turquoise fleece, a turquoise check M & S skirt with side front
frill and a fishtail, a black gillet, grey tights,
plum-coloured Angelica Hotter shoes, purple Kipling Defea
handbag, and a BHS teal-coloured padded jacket. I wore a pair of multi-coloured
butterfly-wing earrings throughout the three days; they looked great with
every outfit I wore! We
set off for the racecourse at 09:50 today, in Sandra’s car; it takes 35 minutes
to get there, via the A580, the M57 and Aintree Lane. We’d already attached the parking docket to
the rear-view mirror, so were waved through quickly by the marshal patrolling
the Anchor Bridge entrance. The
Steeplechase car park is situated to the inside of the Grand National course,
adjacent to the Melling Road; we joined one of
three queues waiting to have the contents of our vehicles checked. Whilst waiting, a large police horse-box
had also arrived; we could hear the horses inside stamping their feet
noisily! Having
been cleared through security, which included a search of the boot and the
engine compartment, we were directed to continue along the driveway before
parking near the far end of the enclosure.
A section of the area where vehicles would normally be parked was
cordoned off; perhaps it had become boggy due to the persistent rain in
recent weeks. With the car locked,
coats and scarves now worn, we headed back up the driveway, passing a cluster
of portable toilet cabins en route. Having
walked to the entrance, we were asked to join the back of a stationary queue
whilst workers were checked-in. I
thought the gates would open at 10:30 ... but they didn’t let us in until
11:20! It was breezy today, but
fortunately it wasn’t raining, otherwise we’d have been soaked by this
time. One of the guys in the group
ahead of us gave his jacket to one of his female companions, for her to wear;
her outfit wasn’t designed to be standing around on a day like today! Presumably they’d been sitting inside one
of the stands once settled. Having
been cleared through the second security check – this time it was handbag
contents, a body scan and ticket scan too, we headed across the Melling Road and racecourse, before travelling aboard an
Arriva bus to the drop-off point opposite the grandstands. We
walked across the home straight, currently protected by a green carpet,
before heading to the main concourse behind the grandstands in our endeavour
to track down someone selling race-cards; we eventually located a small
stand, having already missed finding it when heading in the opposite
direction! Our
first mission completed, we then purchased bottles of water from a stall
beside the Earl Of Derby stand, prior to visiting the little girls’ room
located to the rear of the aforementioned stand. It was then time to head to the steppings below the Weighing Room; we like standing
there, before racing, just watching the world go by ... provided it’s not
raining. Today
we saw, amongst others, AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh, presenter Nick Luck, the Daily
Mirror’s Newsboy Dave Yates, RUK pundit Jonathan Neesom,
the lovely Tom Stanley who was RUK’s roving reporter today, RUK pundit Dave Nevison, the BHA’s Nick Rust, jockey Tom Scudamore with his two daughters, ex-jockey and now TV
presenter Luke Harvey, Paul Nicholls’ Assistant Trainer Harry Derham, commentator Derek Thompson, ITV Racing’s Oli Bell, trainer Oliver Sherwood, BBC racing journalist
Cornelius Lysaght, trainer Alan King, amateur
jockey and amputee Captain Guy Disney, and RUK’s Gordon Brown. At one point, injury-sidelined Ruby took
off at great speed, despite having to use crutches and wear a protective boot
on his damaged leg. Unusually
this year, past Grand National winners were paraded on each of the three days. With many of the past winners having passed
away in recent years, or being unable to travel due to infirmity, there were
only five parading today – Bindaree (2002), Mon Mome (2009), Neptune Collonges
(2012), Pineau De Re (2014) and Rule The World (2016);
Silver Birch (2007) missed today’s parade as he’d already done a stint on the
concourse when opening the new Silver Birch Bar! For
the first time, there was an Opening Ceremony too. The Red Devils dropped in, eventually; the
cloud base was low and it had delayed the parachutists as a result. In fact the horses taking part in the first
race were already at the starting gate by the time they glided in to
land! A singer named Laura Wright
performed too. Accepting
the new Grand National trophy, on course from the Red Devils, was Kenny Dalglish; that made Sandra’s day as he is one of her
sporting heroes! Kenny was also
interviewed by ITV Racing’s Oli Bell ... cwe overheard colleague Ed Chamberlain jokingly ask his
colleague if he’d understood a word of what the former footballer/manager had
said, so strong was his Glaswegian accent! The
off-time of the first race of the day was 13:45. The favourite was Cyrname,
trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sean Bowen; price 2-1. There were no greys in this race. Having exited onto the racecourse, the runners
headed to the starting gate, which was at the beginning of the back
straight.
And
then they were off, with Calino D’Airy,
Rene’s Girl and the hooded Cyrname leading the
runners to the first fence. Finian’s Oscar travelled behind these, whilst Modus and
Brain Power brought up the rear; Modus wasn’t fluent at this one. Cyrname went into a
clear lead as the horses continued to the second fence; they all jumped this
well, with Brain Power in last place.
The third fence was the first open-ditch; again no casualties here and
with Modus now relegated to the back of the field as they headed over the
sanded track-way on their journey to the fourth obstacle. All
six runners cleared this well and Cyrname led the
runners into the far turn, followed by Rene’s Girl, Finian’s
Oscar, Calino D’Airy,
Modus and Brain Power. The fifth was
the sometimes tricky cross-fence, along the side of the racecourse. The leader momentarily wanted to bear off
to his left on the approach to it, along the Grand National route, but then
he spied the fence and flew over it; there were no noticeable errors at this
one. Sean
Bowen’s mount led the sextet into the home straight on the first occasion,
from Rene’s Girl, Calino D’Airy,
Finian’s Oscar, Modus and Brain Power. The horses cleared the next okay, although
the Nicky Henderson-runner got a little close to it. The following fence was the second
open-ditch; again they all jumped this okay. Cyrname then led them
on the route across the Grand National course to reach the eighth fence. Five of the runners jumped this well;
whereas Brain Power hit the top, landed steeply and capsized as a
result. Both horse and jockey were
quickly on their feet, with the former continuing after the others as they
headed down past the grandstands and winning post; one circuit now to
travel. The
field was well strung out as they headed around the bottom bend; Cyrname four or five lengths ahead of the mare which, in
turn, was three lengths clear of Calino D’Airy. Finian’s Oscar tracked him, with Modus at the rear of the
field. Once again the leader’s
head-carriage was momentarily awkward as they turned into the back straight,
but he soon straightened up having seen the first fence therein. The
leader flew over the fence; the others cleared it okay, apart from Finian’s Oscar who was a little awkward and subsequently
urged away from it by jockey Robbie Power.
The quintet continued on their journey to the tenth fence; the pace
unrelenting. The leader was well clear
of his rivals as they cleared it and there were no noticeable errors here. The
following obstacle was an open-ditch; the leader cleared it well, although he
did have a slight tendency to jump out to his right. Both Modus and Finian’s
Oscar were less fluent than their three rivals, with the latter was ridden
away from it. The runners headed
across the sanded track-way on their way to five out; the main body of the
field had closed upon the leader now. Finian’s Oscar put in a
sticky jump at this one and was pushed away from the obstacle by Robbie Power
having dropped to last place. Cyname’s rivals were snapping at his heels as they
continued to the cross-fence; Renee’s Girl took the advantage shortly
afterwards. Sean Bowen’s mount fought
back as they turned into the home straight, drawing alongside the mare as
they approached three out. Renee’s
Girl and Cyrname jumped this in unison, from Calino D’Airy, Modus who made
an error, and Robbie Power riding furiously aboard Finian’s
Oscar at the rear. Two out was the
final open-ditch and the Dan Skelton-runner landed narrowly ahead over this
one; all the field cleared it well.
The mare was being ridden as they headed across the route of the Grand
National course; Cyrname continued to be her nearest
pursuer, from Calino D’Airy,
the improving Finian’s Oscar followed by Modus. As
the fence approached, Finian’s Oscar suddenly
rallied and he jumped the fence upsides Calino D’Airy and Cyrname; Renee’s
Girl was just a couple of lengths ahead of this trio. The Colin Tizzard-runner
was now in full flight and, despite making a number of jumping errors earlier
in the race, he stayed on past Renee’s Girl to lead within the final 75
yards, winning by 2 lengths at the line.
Calino D’Airy
claimed 3rd place, with Cyrname fading into 4th and
Modus 5th. Having
pulled up, the winning jockey endeavoured to replace his silk cap, it having
slipped off during the early stages of the race. I have to say that Robbie Power is a
brilliant jockey as, for most of the race, his mount looked the least likely
to win; respect!
We decided not to return to the steppings
above the Winners’ Enclosure following the race. Sadly,
during the following summer, Finian’s Oscar passed away
as a result of complications after a bout of the dreaded colic: The ‘Manifesto’, which is named after a horse which ran in the Grand
National 8 times between 1895 and 1904 winning it twice along with placed
efforts too, was first run in 2009.
It’s not been lucky for a couple of recent winners, with the 2016
victor Arzal passing away not long after his
triumph due to an infection. Report from the
Stewards’ Room regarding this race: Race
1 - 1:45pm THE
MANIFESTO NOVICES' STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) The Stable Inspecting Officer reported that the
representative of Dan Skelton, the trainer of RENE’S GIRL (IRE), NUBE NEGRA
(SPA) and SAVELLO (IRE), had brought an unlabelled substance into the
racecourse stables. Dan Skelton, the trainer’s travelling Head Groom, the
Stable Inspecting Officer and the Anti-Doping Manager were interviewed. Being
satisfied that the horses had received only normal food and water by mouth on
the day of racing, the Stewards allowed RENE’S GIRL (IRE), NUBE NEGRA (SPA)
and SAVELLO (IRE) to run and ordered that some of the horses be routine
tested. They further confiscated the substance, ordered that it be tested,
and referred the matter to the Head Office of the British Horseracing
Authority. The favourite for the second race was Apple’s Shakira, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty; price 13-8.
She was endeavouring to redeem herself, having finished a
disappointing 4th in the Triumph Hurdle the previous month. There
was one grey in this race, namely Gumball, and there were three fillies –
Apple’s Shakira, Cristal Icon and Malaya. We Have A Dream represented owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede; as did
French-raider Beau Gosse who sported their French silks. The starting gate for this race was at the far corner of the track, the
horses initially heading along a short stretch of the course before turning
into the home straight with that and one full circuit to travel. The runners circled to the inside of the
track, having had their girths checked.
Having
exited from the holding pen onto the racecourse, the runners headed away from
the starting gate before turning back towards it and then they were off. The
field was led away by Padleyourowncanoe, who’d
finished 4th in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham, from We Have A Dream and Les Arceaux; bringing up the rear were Cristal Icon and Nube Negra. Shortly afterwards they entered the home
straight to approach their first obstacle; all ten runners cleared it safely. The
Colin Tizzard-runner continued to lead the way as
they headed towards and over the second flight; We Have A Dream was a close
second, from Beau Gosse, Les Arceaux, Malaya,
Gumball, Et Moi Alors,
Apple’s Shakira, the Spanish-bred Nube Negra and, finally,
Cristal Icon. It was a longer run
between the second and third flights than the previous two; the leader got a
little bit close to this one and Gumball wasn’t particularly fluent here
either. The
runners continued down past the main grandstands and winning post with one
circuit now to travel. They
subsequently swept around the bottom bend and into the back straight with the
back-marker Cristal Icon slightly detached in rear. All of the runners took the fourth flight
in their stride. The pace being set
was quite strong and, as a result, the field was beginning to string out at
they headed towards the next. We
Have A Dream jumped the flight upsides Padleyourowncanoe. The Gigginstown-runner
Les Arceaux was dropping swiftly back through the
field and also made an error here. Padleyourowncanoe and We Have A Dream disputed the lead
as the runners continued across the sanded track-way on their journey to four
out. Daryl Jacob’s mount led here and
Les Arceaux, having been relegated to the back of
the field, was being pushed along and losing ground with every stride. There
was no change at the head of affairs as the runners headed along the side of
the course; Beau Gosse disputed second position with Padleyourowncanoe,
Malaya followed these, from Gumball, Et Moi Alors, Apple’s Shakira, Nube Negra, Cristal Icon and
the tailed off Les Arceaux. The latter was pulled up before three out. The
leader was pressing on as they headed into the home straight, with just three
flights to negotiate. He travelled to
the far side, with Padleyourowncanoe taking a
centre line and Beau Gosse preferring the near-side. We Have A Dream cleared the flight well; in
contrast the Colin Tizzard-runner blundered here
and soon lost his place; Beau Gosse was weakening by this stage too. It was now left to Gumball, Apple’s Shakira and Nube Negra to set off in pursuit of the leader. Meanwhile,
We Have A Dream had reached two out and flew over the hurdle; Apple’s Shakira over-jumped it slightly, but there were no major
errors from any of the runners, even from those which were tiring. The leader continued to travel strongly as
the field headed to the final flight, with Gumball the sole rival within any
kind of striking distance. We
Have A Dream jumped the last well, as did Richard Johnson’s mount, but the
latter was no match for the Nicky Henderson-trained runner as he ran on
strongly, against the far rail, all the way to the line; the winning distance
was 7 lengths. Apple’s Shakira came home in 3rd place, 10 lengths behind the
runner-up. Nube
Negra, who had bunny-hopped the last, was caught
close home by Cristal Icon for 4th place. Et
Moi Alors finished 6th,
Beau Gosse 7th, Malaya 8th and early pace-setter Padleyourowncanoe
9th and last. The
winner had missed the Cheltenham Festival because he had a temperature, but
he had won the Grade 1 Future Champions Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow
earlier in the season.
We
didn’t return to the Winners’ Enclosure following the race, choosing instead
to remain in position close to the horse-walk exit point. Report from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race: Race 2 - 2:20pm THE DOOM BAR ANNIVERSARY 4-Y-O
JUVENILE HURDLE RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) NUBE NEGRA (SPA) wore earplugs which were removed
at the start. The favourite for the third race was
Might Bite, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Nico
de Boinville; price 4-5. He’d finished as runner-up to Native River
in this season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup; the first two in the race had put the
remainder of the field to the sword, with the Colin Tizzard
runner prevailing due to his stamina on the rain-softened ground. There was one grey in this race, namely Bristol
De Mai. The
starting gate for this race was at the far end of the home straight, with
that and two full circuits to travel.
The horses circled out on the track whilst girths were checked then,
as the start time approached, the horses were ridden away from the starting
gate before turning and walking in.
And
then they were off, with Bristol De Mai and Definitly
Red leading narrowly as the runners headed to the first fence. The eight very experienced chasers cleared
this well, although Sub Lieutenant was slower than his rivals. The competitors continued to the second
fence; the first of the open-ditches.
The grey was now leading from Might Bite, Definitly
Red, Double Shuffle, Clan Des Obeaux, Sub
Lieutenant, Tea For Two and Sizing Codelco. The
leader put in a mighty leap at this one; with the others all jumping it well
too. Bristol De Mai then led the
runners on their route across the Grand National course on their way to the
third obstacle. Definitly
Red departed here; he got too close to the fence and dived over it as a
result. The horse remained on his
feet, but jockey Danny Cook became unbalanced and ended up with both of his
legs over the near-side of his mount and subsequently lost his battle with
gravity; unseated. Fortunately no-one
was hampered as a result of this incident.
The fallen jockey walked off the course, but was subsequently attended
to. Meanwhile
his seven rivals continued on the journey down past the grandstands and
winning post, with two circuits to travel.
Bristol De Mai led the way around the bottom bend, from Might Bite,
Clan Des Obeaux alongside Double Shuffle, the loose
horse, Tea For Two with Sub Lieutenant and, finally, Sizing Codelco. The
septet entered the back straight, heading for the fourth fence; at the rear
of the field, Sizing Codelco made an error here and
he was the least fluent at the fifth fence too. The following obstacle was the second
open-ditch; the favourite almost joined the leader as they cleared it. The runners subsequently galloped across
the sanded track-way on their way to the seventh fence. The
whole field cleared this one okay and headed into the far turn still led by
Bristol De Mai; the loose horse continued with them. Daryl Jacob’s mount stretched ahead as they
travelled along the side of the racecourse, on their way to the cross-fence. They all jumped this well, apart from
Sizing Codelco who was slow and subsequently lost
ground upon this rivals. The
runners headed into the home straight, with Clan Des Obeaux
being hampered against the inside rail by the loose horse as they did
so. The leader got a little close to
the first fence therein, thus allowing Might Bite to almost draw alongside
him; Double Shuffle also got a little bit close to it. The
leading duo were being followed closely by the loose horse as they continued
to the open-ditch; the favourite out-jumped his rival yet again and took a
half-length advantage as they began travelling across the route of the Grand
National course on their way to fence number eleven; this would be the last
fence the next time around. The grey had regained the lead by the time they
jumped it. Thus
the runners headed down past the main grandstands once more, led by Bristol
De Mai, from Might Bite, the loose horse, Clan Des Obeaux,
Double Shuffle, Tea For Two, Sub Lieutenant and Sizing Codelco. Eight to ten lengths covered the field as
they entered the back straight for the final time; Double Shuffle and Sizing Codelco made errors at the first fence therein. The
runners moved on to the next, another plain fence; there were no noticeable
errors at this one. The following
obstacle was the penultimate open-ditch, with no mishaps taking place and
both Double Shuffle and Sizing Codelco subsequently
being pushed along. The runners
continued over the sanded track-way to reach the next, with the favourite
out-jumping the grey and Sub Lieutenant now relegated to last position. The
leading duo almost matched strides as they headed into the far turn and
subsequently travelled along the side of the racecourse on the approach to
the cross-fence. It was Might’s Bite
turn to make an error, having previously out-jumped the grey throughout the
race. This allowed Bristol De Mai to
gain a length as they headed away from the fence. Clan Des Obeaux continued to travel in third position, preceded by
the loose horse. Tea For Two travelled
next, from Double Shuffle, Sizing Codelco and,
finally, Sub Lieutenant. Bristol
De Mai led the field into the home straight, from Might Bite; once again the
loose horse had hampered Clan Des Obeaux on the
turn. The grey was narrowly ahead as
they jumped three out whilst, further back in the field, Sizing Codelco jumped into fourth position over this one,
relegating Tea For Two to fifth position.
Might
Bite hit the front just before the final open-ditch, clearing it well and
extending his advantage as they continued across the Grand National course on
their journey to the last fence. The
leader soared over the obstacle and stayed on well as he was pushed out to
the line, tracked by the loose horse, to triumph by 7 lengths. Bristol
De Mai completed in 2nd, 3¼ lengths ahead of Clan Des Obeaux,
with Sizing Codelco 4th, Sub Lieutenant had plugged
on to claim 5th, with Tea For Two 6th and Double Shuffle last. They all got a prize, with the 8th-placed
monies going to the winner too. Nico de Boinville
said the ground was a little bit softer than would be preferred for Might
Bite, but he handled it well today; with this win, the horse returned to
favouritism for the 2019 Gold Cup, replacing Cheltenham Festival winning
novice Presenting Percy at the top of the betting.
We decided to remain beside the horse-walkway following the race. Report from the Stewards’ Room regarding this race: Race 3 - 2:50pm THE BETWAY BOWL STEEPLE
CHASE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) BRISTOL DE MAI (FR) wore earplugs and SUB
LIEUTENANT (IRE) and TEA FOR TWO both wore earplugs which were removed at the
start. That’s
it for Part One of my Grand National Thursday diary ... Click here to read my Grand National Thursday Diary Part II |
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