PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2014
DAY TWO
FEATURING THE QUEEN MOTHER CHAMPION CHASE
WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2014
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My star of Day 2, Part 1, is Smad Place the brave runner-up in the Grade 1 RSA Chase The alarm sounded at 04:10 and I
gave myself 10 minutes to recover from a pounding heart before getting
up. Following a shower, which
included washing my hair, I blow dried it, ate a breakfast of Weetabix with
raisins, drank a cup of tea, applied make-up and dressed for the day ahead. Today’s outfit was a cream
M&S thermal vest, black long-sleeved NHS thermal vest, snakeskin print
M&S long-sleeved thermal t-shirt, black and cream horizontal striped
peplum cardigan, bright purple fleece, black gillet, purple tights, grey and
black M&S panel skirt (a recent purchase), multicoloured (mainly mauves
and blues) material scarf, burgundy ankle biker boots (in preparation for
venturing to the centre of the racecourse for the cross country event), black
and white horse design socks (as my right heel was a little bit sore from
yesterday), plus my grey and black block design BHS coat. I love my new coat, and managed to purchase
it in my size in their online sale (20% off), having seen it advertised in a
fashion article in my local newspaper!
Well that’s my excuse anyway!!!
I believe today’s pendant necklace was ‘Remnants of Rainbows’ from Chaotic
Rainbow. Having procrastinated slightly
less than yesterday, I departed at 06:18.
It was slightly misty today; my route took me up through the city
centre and down to reach the roundabout at the termination of the
ring-road. I turned left and headed up
Bluehouse Hill, the road having been recently resurfaced. Arriving at the next roundabout I was
startled by a pheasant running across the road just in front of me ...
fortunately both of us survived to tell the tale! My journey took me to Hemel
Hempstead and I joined the A41 bypass to head to Aylesbury. There was a slight delay due to temporary
traffic lights upon the road into the town; a large hole having been dug to
the side of the westbound carriageway.
Further on, the staggered mini-roundabout junction has been replaced
by traffic lights during the past few months; again causing extra delay. On the approach to the ring-road, further
mini-roundabouts have been removed, and traffic light controls installed;
less good for me turning right onto the ring-road, but better for traffic
leaving the town. I journeyed around the ring-road,
mindful to keep within the 30mph speed limit as cameras are installed in a
couple of locations along this route.
At the far end, upon reaching the A41 once more, I turned right and
headed out of town. My journey then
took me through Waddesdon and Kingswood before reaching Bicester. After yesterday’s fairly lengthy
delays, when it had taken me around 45 minutes to travel from Bicester to the
Wolvercote roundabout, I decided to take the short-cut through Wendlebury
thus bypassing any tailbacks at the busy M40 junction. Being a busy cut-through for the locals,
speed bumps have been installed to slow traffic down; today an additional
hazard was a dustcart whose driver had decided to reverse into a narrow
turning just as I arrived in the village.
Typical. Once clear, of the
dustcart and the village, the drivers of the cars ahead of me sped off at a
rate of knots, and soon left me in their wake. The perils of not knowing the road so well
as the locals I guess. After a number of sharp twists
and turns in the lane, I eventually arrived at a T-junction; after waiting
for a vehicle from the left which turned into the Wendlebury lane, I took a
right turn and joined the A34 dual carriageway almost immediately. Thus, today, I’d be one of those annoying
vehicles which caused the traffic on the main road to slow down due to the
weight of numbers merging from the left! I continued my journey as far as
the Peartree interchange, where I left via the slip-road to reach the
roundabout upon the A44. Once again
traffic was crawling around the traffic island; the only route of escape from
the slip-road being if a vehicle wanted to turn right, the traffic would give
way to let them through and it was possible to enter the middle lane if you
drove forward in their shadow! Once in
this lane I could travel down the outside lane of the short section of dual
carriageway leading between the Peartree and Wolvercote roundabouts, although
very slowly in the queue! Having turned right, I headed
across the Cotswolds via the A40.
Despite having made this trip on numerous occasions, I never get bored
of this section of my journey through this beautiful countryside. Today I gained time between Bicester and
Oxford but lost a few minutes upon reaching Cheltenham because it was still
rush-hour. As always the case these days, I
travelled up Greenway Lane to avoid traffic queuing to enter the town centre;
my journey then taking me down Harp Hill, along Priors Road and into Bouncers
Lane, across the double mini-roundabouts at the end of Prestbury’s Deep
Street and into Tatchley Lane. Having
reached the far end of New Barn Lane, negotiating the roundabout outside the
main entrance to the racecourse, I entered Swindon Lane and took a right turn
to enter the lower field of the car park. It was 08:50 and today I was
parked where the slope of the field was quite shallow. With tentative plans in place for the
following day, this was my opportunity to walk to town to visit the local
branch of my employer. They have
become accustomed to my visits over the years, and were offended when, one
year, I didn’t bother to walk to town!
I had no intention of wearing my
boots for the trek, instead I chose to wear my driving mocassins. The route
is downhill for the first section, passing the Pittville Pump Room, the road
then heading through Pittville Park.
By this time, and having had a cup of tea before leaving home, I was
desperate to go to the loo. However, I
thought it rude to burst into the branch demanding to use their facilities
without a by-your-leave ... so I popped into M&S instead. And, you know me, I couldn’t
resist having a quick look around too ... and I found two thermal t-shirts in
colours which I didn’t own – turquoise and dark pink. Purchases made, I then visited the branch
just two doors away. There was just
time for half a cup of coffee and a quick chat, as the Manager, Samantha, had
a client visit at 10:00. Oh well, and
as she had parked her car in the car park adjacent to my route back, I
accompanied her along the road for a short distance. Having paid my annual visit to
the branch, I then set off back up the hill to the racecourse. I returned to my car in order to put on
further layers of clothing and change into my burgundy biker boots too. I then set off to the entrance; it was
10:30 by this time, the gates possibly having opened slightly early as all
the queues were gone. However, with the first flux of punters having been ‘processed’, bag searches for
latecomers were now in operation. This
was the one and only time this year that my handbag was searched prior to
entry. Having purchased a race-card
from the kiosk situated opposite the turnstiles, I walked down the concourse
with no requirement to visit the on-course loos this morning; instead I headed
straight to the Parade Ring. I was
shortly rewarded with my first glimpse of Choc, he was wandering around
outside the Weighing Room, having a cigarette break. Choc’s mum was there too. Today he was wearing a long camel-coloured
coat, with similar coloured trousers; the ones which are a little too long
for him, because they wrinkle around his ankles! Bless his cotton socks! I relocated to the steps above
the Winners’ Enclosure once Choc had disappeared into the confines of the
Weighing Room. I felt a little colder
today, perhaps I’d got hot and slightly sweaty ... sorry glowing ...
following my walk to and from town. At 12:15 it was time for the
Day’s Preview with Martin Kelly ... it had been a long wait for anything to
happen and, I must say, I find this current preview format rather
boring. Anyway, today’s guests were
Tom Scudamore, Paul Carberry, Charlie McCann of BetVictor, Cheltenham
Ambassador Rachel Wyse (evidently also a Sky presenter), Irish journalist
Niall Cronin, and three rugby referees who had been involved in the Six
Nations tournament. Whilst standing upon the
steppings above the Winners’ Enclosure, I also noticed the Duchess of
Cornwall cross the Parade Ring, accompanied by members of the police and her
security escort. After the misty start to the
day, sunshine appeared at 12:45, although hazy. As I’d done the previous day, I set off to
reserve my preferred vantage point beside the course-side rails before the
steppings became too crowded for me to make my escape. There was plenty of space, just above the
half furlong post as usual. The first race today was the
Grade 1 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle. There was no ride in this event for Choc,
as Alan King had no representatives in this race. However, Martin Keighley did have a runner,
Creepy ridden by stable jockey Ian Popham.
The favourite for this race was Faugheen, trained by Willie Mullins
and ridden by Ruby Walsh, price 6-4. Having spent time being led
around the Parade Ring, Faugheen was taken back to the Pre-Parade Ring in
order to sort out a bridle problem.
Shanahan’s Turn did the same; the problem unspecified. The starting gate for this race
was in the mid-course chute. This
being the case, the horses cantered across the course having exited the
horsewalk, then up around the top bend upon the all weather strip. At the end of this they cross the track and
head to the in-field in order to have their girths checked prior to the race.
Then
they were off, first time. The field
was led away by the confirmed front-runner Cole Harden, from first-time hooded
Creepy; the former veering across to his left as he cleared the first
flight. The leading duo was followed
by Shanahan’s Turn, Faugheen, Lieutenant Colonel,
and to the inside Fennell Bay.
Bringing up the rear were Midnight Thunder and Twelve Roses. The runners cleared the second flight
without incident, crossed the Old Course and headed towards the far
bend. There was no flight situated
just prior to the bend as there had been yesterday. Heading
downhill around the far turn, Cole Harden held a clear advantage over Creepy,
who in turn travelled three lengths ahead of Shanahan’s Turn and Faugheen. These
were followed by Fennel Bay, Lieutenant Colonel, Cocktails At Dawn, Rathvinden to the wide outside,
Cup Final, Red Sherlock, Ballyalton, Knock House, Killala Quay, Twelve Roses and Midnight Thunder. Entering
the home straight, the runners crossed flight three; Knock House had now
dropped back to share last place with Twelve Roses and Midnight Thunder. The horses galloped up towards the grandstands
and joined the Old Course before reaching flight number four; Creepy
travelling to the wide outside of the field as they did so. They cleared this hurdle without problem
and set off up the hill; there was no change at the head of affairs as they
did so. The
leading duo held a clear advantage over the field as they turned into the
back straight and headed towards flight number five; Creepy wasn’t fluent at
this flight and Shanahan’s Turn continued to race keenly whilst matching
strides with Faugheen. The competitors continued to the next, the
runners beginning to bunch up as they did so.
Having cleared this flight, AP McCoy’s mount Cup Final was last but
one and Midnight Thunder had now lost touch with the others. The
horses negotiated the dog-leg turn and galloped towards the next
obstacle. Cole Harden hit this one, as
did Faugheen who was now travelling in second
position; in the latter’s wake, Ballyalton
flattened the flight. By the time
they’d reached the far turn, Creepy had dropped back to twelfth
position. The Warren Greatrex runner led them down the hill; Faugheen now a close second, with Red Sherlock
third. Faugheen jumped into the
lead at the third last flight, although it was an untidy leap having
flattened a panel and initially this allowed both Cole Harden to his inside
and Red Sherlock to his outside to draw alongside once more. But Ruby gave his mount his head and he
cruised into a narrow lead once more.
The runners jumped two out; where there was another untidy leap from Faugheen. Red
Sherlock was upsides the leader until just before the home turn when he came
under pressure; in behind were Ballyalton,
Lieutenant Colonel, Cole Harden and Rathvinden. Faugheen led the field
into the home straight, pursued by Ballyalton, Rathvinden and Lieutenant Colonel. Rathvinden’s
jockey Paul Townend wanted to mount a challenge to
the outside of Ballyalton, but the horse drifted
across in front of him. This resulted
in a barging match with Lieutenant Colonel, thus the fading Red Sherlock soon
became the meat in the sandwich; Paul switched to the inside instead. Meanwhile
Faugheen was putting serious daylight between
himself and the others as they approached the last. He cleared it and Ruby drove him out to the
line; the horse must have wandered a little as he galloped up the hill,
because Ruby switched his whip from left to right hand, glancing under his
right arm to check for any danger as he did so. He won by 4˝ lengths and Ruby was able to
celebrate as he passed the winning post; he stood up in his stirrups and
waved his whip too. Ballyalton and Rathvinden had a close fought battle all the way to the
line for second place, with the former prevailing by half a length. Killala Quay
claimed 4th position. Twelve Roses finished
5th, never nearer. Creepy was placed
14th. As
the runners pulled up, Will Kennedy rider of Ballyalton
greeted Ruby with a ‘low five’; and
he was also congratulated by Tom Scudamore and
Andrew Lynch; Tom patted the winning horse too.
I remained beside the course-side rails ahead of
the second race of the day. When interviewed, Willie Mullins thought the
horse would probably go chasing next season in the hope it would make him
travel less keenly and also pay more respect to the obstacles. Also, when asked to compare yesterday’s
Supreme Novices’ winner Vautour with Faugheen, Willie thought the former was a different
level. I’m not so sure ... but what do
I know! We shall no doubt find out in
time. NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM FOLLOWING
THE RACE:
It was now time for Choc’s
first ride of the day, aboard the Alan King-trained grey Smad
Place; he shared favouritism at the off with another of the greys, the Willie
Mullins-trained Ballycasey ridden by Ruby
Walsh. Their price was 13-2. There were four greys in the race, the other
two being Corrin Wood and Gevrey
Chambertin.
Martin Keighley also had a runner in the race, the winner of the
Boxing Day Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at
Kempton Park, namely Annacotty. The starting gate for the second race of the day
was located between the two fences nearest the stands; meaning that the first
fence jumped is also the 10th fence and the final fence too. This being the case, the horses cantered up
the all-weather strip in front of the stands before heading back down the
turf and re-entering the all-weather strip for a short distance before
exiting onto the racecourse once more to reach the starting gate.
Then
they were off and heading to the first fence.
Corrin Wood and Annacotty
rose in unison over this, with Sam Winner to their inside just half a length
behind. To the inside at the rear of
the field, AP’s mount Carlingford Lough was less
than fluent at this fence. The
runners headed up the hill towards fence number two; Corrin
Wood and Annacotty forcing the pace at the head of
affairs and Sam Winner leading the chasing group six lengths off this leading
duo. There
were no mishaps at the second fence and the runners travelled around the bend
and entered the back straight on the first occasion. All the runners cleared the next fence
without problem and headed towards the water-jump; at the rear of the field
was Samingarry.
Corrin Wood, with Richard Johnson aboard
replacing the injured Jason Maguire, wasn’t particularly fluent at this the
smallest obstacle on the course, but he continued to lead the way from Annacotty. Le Bec disputed third position with Sam Winner, then Black
Thunder and Ballycasey behind these; close behind,
mid-pack was Smad Place. Carlingford Loch
made an error at the first open-ditch. The
horses headed to fence number six, where there were no problems in the
jumping department. Having negotiated
the dog-leg turn, the horses arrived at the second open-ditch; Corrin Wood was enjoying himself lobbing along at the
head of affairs, ears pricked. Don
Cossack jumped this ditch a little awkwardly, having taken off slightly too
soon and reached for the fence. The
runners turned the corner and headed downhill. Corrin Wood was clear of
the field at this point; Annacotty now headed the
main group, with Sam Winner close up to his inside. Le Bec followed
these, from Black Thunder, Morning Assembly, Ballycasey,
Smad Place, O’Faolains
Boy, Don Cossack, Many Clouds, Carlingford Lough,
Just A Par, Gevrey Chambertin
and Samingarry.
The latter was already struggling at the rear of the field and made a
mistake at the next obstacle. The
main body of the field had closed upon the leader as they headed into the
home straight. On the outside of
mid-field, Don Cossack nodded on landing over the next. Carlingford Lough
still hadn’t warmed to his task, and was less than fluent over the following
fence. The horses headed up past the
grandstands and up the hill once more, Corrin Wood
still led the field from Annacotty; Samingarry was now tailed off. At
the rear of the main group, Gevrey Chambertin was a little slow when jumping the uphill
fence. The horses headed into the back
straight; Black Thunder was the first casualty when he fell at the first
therein. Fortunately he was travelling
to the inside close to the back of the field, Many Clouds only slightly
hampered by the departure, as was Tom Scudamore’s
mount too. Samingarry
had been pulled up before the fence.
So then there were thirteen. Corrin Wood continued
to lead, although there was a splash at the water-jump as he put his off-fore
in the water as he landed. There was a
further departure at the next, an open-ditch, when Don Cossack fell; he was
travelling behind Smad Place at the time, he
slightly hampered Carlingford Lough but brought
down Many Clouds. Corrin
Wood, with his rivals close on his heels, clouted the next fence but
survived. Annacotty,
who was beginning to struggle at this point, also hit the fence and quickly
dropped back through the field.
Another to make an error here was Gevrey Chambertin; he had already lost touch with the others by
this stage. The
remaining eleven negotiated the dog-leg turn and headed towards the next
fence, the final open-ditch. Le Bec, who had been travelling in fifth position, got too
close to the fence and fell; Annacotty was hampered
whilst retreating. Corrin
Wood had been joined by Sam Winner to his inside and Ballycasey
to his outside as they reached the far turn; Smad
Place was going well just behind these leaders. As
they headed downhill, Corrin Wood surrendered his
lead, with Sam Winner and Ballycasey going on,
closely pursued by Smad Place. The other horses still in contention and
not far behind as they reached three out were Just A Par, O’Faolains
Boy, Morning Assembly and Carlingford Lough; Corrin Wood soon in rear of these. Ballycasey and Smad Place jumped the fence in unison and disputed the
lead as they headed towards the final turn.
The horse which came out of the pack to challenge them was O’Faolains Boy with Barry Geraghty
aboard. They
entered the home straight, with Smad Place just
half a length up as they jumped the penultimate fence; Ballycasey
now in third and under pressure from Ruby Walsh. Meanwhile, O’Faolains
Boy had drawn alongside Smad Place as they headed
to the last; Barry Geraghty giving his mount a
couple of backhanders, whilst Choc was not being quite so vigorous at this
stage; possibly because the duo were very close together and he had his whip
in his right hand, his rival being on his right-hand side too. There
was nothing between them as they jumped the last. They diverged slightly before converging
again, both jockeys going for everything on the run to the line. But, as it approached, Barry’s mount just
got the upper-hand over the grey and he won by a neck. Morning Assembly completed in 3rd, with Ballycasey 4th and Annacotty
8th. Choc
shook hands with Barry as they pulled up at the top of the racecourse,
although he was gutted to have lost ... and I was gutted that he had lost
too. After
the race it was discovered that the winner had lost a hind-shoe and also
twisted a front-shoe during the race.
All the horses and jockeys were fine following their mishaps.
With
Choc having finished 2nd in the race, I returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to
see my very disappointed jockey arrive back. L WHY THEY RAN BADLY: Ian
Popham, the rider of ANNACOTTY (IRE), unplaced,
reported that the gelding was hampered by a faller. Alan
King had two runners in the next race, last year’s runner-up Meister Eckhart
to be ridden by Choc today, and the grey Vendor ridden by Jack Doyle. The former was a 16-1 chance today, the
latter an 11-1 joint-second favourite.
The favourite was the David Pipe-trained, Tom Scudamore
ridden, Dell’ Arca. I
had returned to the course-side rails prior to the horses arriving in the
Parade Ring for, despite Choc having a ride and his arrival in the paddock
imminent, with so many runners it would be impossible to get a clear view of
him amongst all their connections. The
starting gate for this event was in the mid-course chute; upon exiting the
horse walkway, the runners cantered across the home straight and headed up
the all-weather track around the top bend.
They then crossed the racecourse to enter the chute; with two flights
to negotiate before the far turn at the off.
Then
they were off; first time. The runners
were led away by Son Of Flicka to the inside,
Cotton Mill to the outside and Clondaw Kaempfer between them; extremely wide on the course was Foxcub, and Vendor brought up the rear. Meister Eckhart travelled in the centre of
the pack in mid-field; Calculated Risk made an error at the second flight, as
did Oscars Well. The
horses then headed over the New Course junction and downhill around the far
bend before heading into the home straight on the first occasion. Son Of Flicka
continued at the head of affairs, from Clondaw Kaempfer, Yesyoucan ridden by
Wayne Hutchinson, Cotton Mill, Whisper and Foxcub;
the latter jumped out violently to his right at the third flight, interfering
with both Far West and Magnifique Etoile as he did so.
The
field continued its run up the home straight towards flight number four,
where Meister Eckhart wasn’t particularly fluent. Having passed in front of the grandstands
the runners headed out into the country with Son Of Flicka
continuing to lead from Clondaw Kaempfer
to his outside. Vendor was no longer
at the back of the field, Party Rock now held that honour and was already
beginning to lose touch; he would be pulled up after the next flight, which
all of the runners had safely cleared. The
horses then headed to, and over the sixth flight, one of its panels flattened
on the ground in the wake of the field; Saddlers Risk was now last. Having negotiated the dog-leg turn, the
runners faced up to flight number seven; Son Of Flicka
still led as they jumped it, from Clondaw Kaempfer and Cotton Mill.
The horses then travelled around the far corner and descended the hill
to reach the third last. The long-time
leader was being pushed along by this stage but remained ahead; just. Fox
Cub was just beginning to lose his place on the outside of the field when he
made a bad error at the flight; to his outside an even worse one was made by
the improving Kaylif Aramis,
who fell as a result. The former
dropped out quickly as he was hampered too.
Meanwhile, up front, Clondaw Kaempfer now led narrowly, from Cotton Mill and Son Of Flicka; Dell’ Arca travelled
just behind these, as did Whisper.
Also in close contention were Sametegal to
the inside, Edgardo Sol and Meister Eckhart, with Magnifique Etoile to the
outside; plus the first time cheek-pieced Get Me Out Here ridden by AP
McCoy. Meister
Eckhart began to lose ground on the leaders on the run to two out. Clondaw Kaempfer wasn’t fluent here, which enabled Whisper and
Dell’ Arca to his outside to take a narrow
advantage. In fact there appeared to
be many still in with a chance as the runners rounded the final bend and
entered the home straight. The leaders
straightened up and headed for the final flight; Whisper held the advantage. But
snapping at his heels were Dell’ Arca, Get Me Out
Of Here, Smashing, Clondaw Kaempfer,
Son Of Flicka, Sametegal
and Bayan, line across the track from outside to
inner. And behind these Edgardo Sol, Noble Prince and Timesremembered. Nico de Boinville’s mount jumped the last in the lead, Dell’ Arca still in second until AP galvanised his mount to
close upon Whisper as they headed to the line. It was neck and neck. Photograph.
The
result was announced, Whisper had won by a short-head. Recompense for the
jockey following yesterday’s runner-up position aboard Ma Filleule. The 5-pound claim had done the trick. In fact Nicky Henderson had stopped Nico from riding the previous week in order to preserve
his claim for the Festival. Finishing
3rd was Bayan and 4th was the grey Smashing; the
latter sired by Smadoun, as is Smad
Place. Vendor completed in 10th, with
Meister Eckhart 13th.
There
was no need for me to return to the Winners’ Enclosure, so I remained beside the
course-side rails ahead of the feature race of the day. Having
jumped badly, Dunguib had been pulled up before 3
out due to lameness; his career dogged by injury, the horse’s retirement
would soon be announced. Kaylif Aramis was fine
following his fall; as was jockey Sam Twiston-Davies. Sadly the horse would suffer a fatal injury
before the end of April as a result of a freak accident during training. Cotton Mill passed away whilst competing in
the Scottish Champion Hurdle in April.
Well,
that was a bit of a nightmare describing the race ... 28 runners, in bright
sunshine, on the Old Course and therefore furthest away from the camera
vehicle and with the New Course obstacles to sometimes obscure the view too! NEWS FROM THE STEWARDS’ ROOM
FOLLOWING THE RACE: The
Stewards held an enquiry into the use of the whip by Shane Shortall, the rider of OSCARS WELL (IRE), unplaced, from
the second last flight. Having heard his evidence and viewed recordings of
the race, they found him in breach of Schedule (B)6
Part 2 in that he had used his whip when out of contention. The Stewards
suspended Shortall for 5 days as follows: Wednesday
26, Thursday 27, Friday 28, Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March 2014. WHY THEY RAN BADLY: That’s
it for the first half of the diary, please ... |
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