PART I
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2015
DAY ONE
FEATURING THE CHAMPION HURDLE
TUESDAY 10 MARCH 2015
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Choc is interviewed by Colin Brown as part of the pre-racing ROR Parade of Stars Day 1 of this year’s Cheltenham Festival
would be my fifth visit to the races of the 2014/2015 season, due to Choc
remaining on the sidelines. And my
seventh consecutive attendance at the event; by the end of the week I would
complete my 28th Cheltenham Festival day ... out of 28 possible days since
2009. I know that Choc doesn’t like
going to the races as a spectator but, having become an integral part of the
Dunkley and Reilly Partnership team which owns Ned Stark, The Pirate’s Queen
and the recently retired Medermit, I was very hopeful that he would be at
Cheltenham on Champion Day to see the first two run. I was therefore looking forward to
attending on the first day in particular which, usually, is my least
favourite of the four. Having decided upon a fair
weather wardrobe or even possibly a fair weather spring wardrobe a few days
ahead of Cheltenham, news came through on Sunday via the weather forecast on
Countryfile that it was to be a dry Tuesday, a wet Wednesday, an even wetter
Thursday, then a dry Friday. As a
result I put away my grey/black colour-block style coat and got out my black
faux sheepskin coat for Wednesday and my purple anorak for Thursday. My cerise jacket would remain for Tuesday
and I moved my mauve jacket to Friday. On Monday evening I tuned into
ATR to watch their Festival preview; presenter Luke Harvey was visiting
Cotswold pubs – including The Plough in Ford and The Hollow Bottom in Guiting
Power – and somewhere along the line he bumped into Choc and did a brief
interview with him. I was caught unawares
by this, and was at sixes and sevens trying to find a way to record it ... I
failed miserably as, having set everything up ahead of the Festival, none of
the equipment would respond to my requests.
But there was a photograph on twitter courtesy of ATR, which I
favourited. My aim on the first day was to
arrive in time to park in the bottom field off Swindon Lane; so I set myself
the target of leaving home at around 06:15.
This being the case I set my alarm for 04:00 or thereabouts. It proved to be very thereabouts, as it’s
an analogue alarm with numbers solely at 3, 6, 9 and 12 and very difficult to
judge. The alarm actually sounded
earlier than expected. Anyway, I showered and washed
and dried my hair, applied my make-up and ate a breakfast of Weetabix with
fruit – a banana, raisins and blueberries.
Plus two slices of buttered toast and three quarters of a cup of
tea. But, so much for leaving by
06:15; I actually left home at 06:22. Today’s outfit was three thermal
t-shirts, namely violet, pink and purple, cerise frill-edged cardigan, navy
blue skirt, navy fleece, navy fleece gillet, turquoise tights(!), cerise pink
NHS jacket, black/white horse design cowl, Per Una turquoise/navy geese scarf
and burgundy/brown/pink Next handbag; the latter because it has plenty of
room in it rather than toning with my outfit.
I wore my Fired Creations oblong pink/turquoise/bronze pendant and
almost matching earrings. I wore my
navy blue Hotter wedge-heeled shoes. I
actually bought a size larger than usual, and they initially seemed fine with
half insoles inserted. But today I
discovered they are too big after all; I will endeavour to remedy with full
insoles and heel grips too. My route took me through the
centre of St Albans, then to Hemel Hempstead and onwards to Aylesbury. On the A41 bypass I thought I’d encountered
mist, but it was actually smoke; from where I don’t know. Mind you it was a little misty in the
countryside a little further along my journey. Having reached the Buckinghamshire town, I
travelled around the northern section of their ring-road, before heading out
along the A41 once more, through Waddesdon.
I overtook a lorry on the short section of dual carriageway after
Kingswood, and arrived at Bicester at 07:30.
The next section of the journey
is invariably a bottle-neck. Today it
took me 35 minutes to travel from Bicester to the Wolvercote roundabout in
Oxford; a distance of 10 miles. The
lorry which I’d overtaken on the A41, overtook me as I headed down the
dual-carriageway towards the M40 interchange.
There was possibly a 200-metre tailback from the junction, which was
better than I expected, but the roundabout was choc-a-bloc, as was the
beginning of the A34. Initially this
is caused by three lanes of traffic merging into two, then by the locals who
have travelled via Wendlebury to bypass the motorway junction joining the A34
from the left. Eventually I reached the
Peartree interchange, where traffic was almost stationary around the
roundabout and I had to wait a number of minutes for the vehicles in front of
me to ease their way into the queue.
In the years when I first travelled to the Cheltenham Festival it was
possible to enter the roundabout with ease because traffic was flowing around
it; not now, it just does not happen any more. Fortunately today there was a white van
man, illegally talking on his mobile phone it has to be said, who let me out
into the queue ahead of him! Having entered the dual
carriageway leading down to the Wolvercote roundabout, it was stop start stop
start all the way; buses using the inside bus lane caused further delay to
traffic when they tripped the red light near the far end for all other
traffic. Having reached the traffic
island and turned right, I began my journey along the A40 at 08:05. The first part of my journey
along the A40 went by without special note.
However, upon reaching the far end of the Witney bypass, I found
myself travelling behind a car transporter which had joined the route from the
Minster Lovell turning. But, fortunately,
it had just a single car aboard which enabled it to travel faster than might
have been the case. I thus followed this vehicle
along the A40 all the way to the roundabout on the Cirencester/Stow road
where it turned left. It was noticeable
that Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire don’t or can’t afford
to spend as much money on their roads as Oxfordshire. As soon as I had entered the latter, the
roads were smooth and pothole free, unlike in the other three counties! There was a badly repaired hole on the
westbound carriageway of the A40 just prior to the Inn For All Seasons, in
Gloucestershire, which I managed to hit on Tuesday but I remembered to avoid
for the remainder of the week! You can
always tell that it is bad when the CD player misses a beat! Anyway, it was onwards and
upwards as the road ascended to the Puesdown Inn; it was fortunate that I
never travel close to the vehicle in front, because the driver thereof
suddenly decided to turn into their car park with little notice! Not long after, I was heading down the dual
carriageway towards the traffic-lit junction with the Gloucester road. After negotiating the Andoversford bypass
and descending a further hill, I drove past the Dowdeswell reservoir and entered
Charlton Kings. There was a long tailback from
the Sixways junction today; in fact it almost stretched all the way back to
the terraced road-side houses.
Eventually I reached the traffic lights, selecting the right-hand lane
in preparation to turn right at their next green phase. However, the driver of one vehicle had a
last minute change of mind and ended up obstructing the pedestrian crossing
as a result; as a regular walker, it’s so annoying when that happens! When the lights changed, I followed
the ‘numpty’ driver up Greenway
Lane and down Harp Hill. I took a
right turn at the bottom of the descent, at the longabout, into Priors
Road. There appeared to have been an
incident at the longabout between a car and a lorry; perhaps an accident,
resulting in a hold-up of some sort for those travelling from the direction
of Hales Road. At the far end of Bouncers Lane
I decided to ignore the ‘P’ for parking notices, as always. I like to stick to the tried and tested
route along New Barn Lane, rather than head off into the unknown beyond
Prestbury! I negotiated the roundabout
outside the racecourse, entered Swindon Lane before turning right shortly
afterwards to drive into the bottom field.
There was no space available, as around a quarter of the area had been
put aside for a drop off/pick up point. I was instructed to enter the top field and park to the left of the
driveway. It was 09:13 when I switched
off the car engine. This gave me the
opportunity to change the contact lense in my right eye; it had been uncomfortable almost
since my journey began. I don’t wear
them often and they rarely cause a problem, but on the last two occasions
I’ve had to swap out the right lense for a new
one. It may be because, for the past
three or four years, I’ve suffered from night-time dry-eye syndrome in that
eye. Anyway, this being the case, I
decided that for the remainder of the week I’d wear my glasses to drive to
Cheltenham and then insert them once I’d arrived. This remedied the situation and I was able
to continue wearing them until I got home each evening too, apart from Friday
when I decided to change back into glasses anyway. Having consumed two cheese rolls, put
on my coat, scarf and navy blue shoes, I set off to join the queue outside
the portable turnstiles situated between the Centaur building and entrance to
the Best Mate enclosure. I was some
way down the queue but did wave to the Taunton guy I see each year; perhaps
I’d see him and his companion to have a chat on Friday. The gates were opened at 10:30 as
advertised and, having had my bag checked by security, I entered the
grounds. I purchased a race-card from
the kiosk opposite, before walking down the concourse to visit the loo within
the ground floor of the main grandstand, close to the Parade Ring area. Being a person of habit, I use these loos
now that the ones beside the concourse have been closed as a result of the
redevelopment work. Evidently there
are some new, super-duper loos at the racecourse … but I’ve yet to find
those! My next port of call was the area
beside the Parade Ring, opposite the Weighing Room. And guess who I noticed was standing on the
steps outside the building? It was
none other than Choc himself. Yeeeeeeeees! He
was accompanied by his girlfriend Jennie and they chatted to friends and
colleagues, including his valet Phil Taylor, Channel 4’s Alice Plunkett and
RUK’s Oli Bell. Choc was wearing his natural
coloured tweed coat, camel-coloured trousers and a burgundy-coloured sweater.
Jennie was smartly dressed head to toe in beige, including her handbag and
stiletto shoes. She is very petite,
even more petite than I’d ever expected. Anyway, they soon set off up the
steps to the left-hand side of the Weighing Room, their route taking them out
onto the concourse above the Winners’ Enclosure. I wandered around in that
direction to say hello. Besides, I can never ever pass up the opportunity to
kiss Choc on the cheek; the standard greeting these last twice is a kiss on
each cheek! I also introduced myself
to Jenny. After a brief conversation, in which
Choc eluded to the fact that he would also attend the following day and
possibly on Friday too, I took my leave; but not before wishing them an
enjoyable day at the races. Since the redevelopment, the area above
the Winners’ Enclosure has been opened up, to provide easy access to the
Pre-Parade Ring. I also passed by the
trophy cabinet where, today, the huge Champion Hurdle challenge trophy was
displayed, along with all of today’s other trophies. The winners’ names are displayed on plaques
around its base; sadly that of 2008 was not visible, it was facing towards
the back of the display area. For the
record, there are 23 open boxes and 8 closed boxes in the Cheltenham
Pre-Parade ring. The pre-race presentation, by Martin
Kelly as per recent Festivals, included Rory Jiwani
of Stan James (sponsors of the Champion Hurdle), Jessica Harrington trainer
of last year’s winning horse Jezki, and amateur
rider Jamie Codd about his hopes for later in the
day when he would partner Cause Of Causes in the 4-mile National Hunt Chase. However, the main part of the
presentation was the Retraining of Racehorses Parade of Stars – there were 10
horses parading today, namely Denman (Team Chasing), Comply Or Die
(Dressage), Grand Crus (Showjumping),
Sentry Duty (Hunting), Miko de Beauchene
(Hunting), Blazing Bailey (Hunting), Jack The Giant (Showing), Big Buck’s
(Hunting), Kauto Star (Dressage), and Ortolan (Eventing). Regular ROR presenter Colin Brown,
probably best known as having partnered Desert Orchid during his riding
career, was on hand to interview the riders and one or two connections. Andy Stewart, owner of Big Buck’s was
interviewed, as was Choc in connection with his role as Blazing Bailey’s
jockey over the years. Upon
retirement, the horse was given to Sarah Welford who had looked after him
since he joined the Alan King yard as a 3-year-old. Sarah now runs a stud farm where Blazing
Bailey leads the youngsters on the gallops; she is Gerard Tumelty’s partner. In order to claim a front row
pitch beside the course-side rails ahead of the first race, I set off through
the tunnel between the old and new grandstands, showing my badge to one of
the stewards in order to gain entry to the area and the members’ lawn beyond. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I struck
up conversations with the steward overseeing the course-side rails at the
half furlong point. There were
actually two young women stewards I spoke with on Tuesday, as they took
shifts to ‘police’ the area. It was a very pleasant day, the
sun was shining and the breeze was not keen as can often be the case. Fixture Note: The Water Jump was omitted in race
seven, due to it being damaged in an earlier race. Here are details of
today’s Non-Runner: Race
- Horse and Trainer - Penalty - Reason 4:00
THE GOVANESS, trained by Fergal O'Brien. Waived Self Cert (Bruised Foot) It was soon time for the first
race. The favourite was the Willie
Mullins-trained Douvan, ridden by Ruby Walsh and
carrying to familiar pink and green Ricci colours; his price 2-1. Seven of the twelve runners represented
Ireland. Whilst waiting for the horses to
exit the Parade Ring, the ROR horses galloped up the entire length of the
horse-walk, having started at the far end of the home straight. Due to his exciteable nature, Grands Crus
was the last one in the procession. Seedling arrived late in the
Parade Ring and wore a hood until exiting onto the racecourse; he headed to
the start, early. Unlike many of the
Willie Mullins runners, Douvan was not wearing ear-plugs. The starting gate for this event
was at the far end of the home straight, with that and one complete circuit
to travel. This being the case, the
horses cantered up all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before
heading down the turf and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their
journey to the gate. I’m not too keen on the new
sweep of the horse-walk, as it makes it more difficult to see which horses
and jockeys are exiting on the course next.
The equine ROR stars had waited
in the area behind the screen at the top of the racecourse until the runners
for the first race had completed their journey to the start. They then
followed the runners down the turf, at a safe distance, before also entering
the horse-walk to canter back from wence they came. Grand Crus and rider again followed the
others, and at the slowest pace possible in order to remain under control. With the start time approaching,
the twelve runners were called out onto the track. However, unlike in previous years and due
to the new starting procedures, they were sent away from the tapes before
jogging back towards the starter.
There was a subdued roar from the expectant crowd as they turned ...
the runners approached the gate in an orderly manner, although Bentelimar was
jogging in sideways-on, head over the rails.
Then
they were off; the spectators roared loudly as the horses headed away from
the gate. Leading the way to the first
hurdle was the Tom George-trained Some Plan, to the wide
outside in second position was Sizing John.
In third Shaneshill, then Bentelimar, Tell Us More, Douvan,
Seedling, Velvet Maker, Jollyallan, L’Ami Serge, the grey Alvisio
Ville and, finally, Qewy. As
they headed up the home straight towards flight number two, Douvan appeared keen in mid-field, buried amongst the
runners. The horses jumped the
obstacle without incident before bearing off to the left to head up the hill
in front of the Best Mate enclosure.
One circuit now to go. Some
Plan was a couple of lengths clear upon entering the back straight. Heading
down to flight number three, the leader had now stretched his advantage to
four lengths. All twelve skipped over
the hurdle without incident. They
continued to the next, the main vanguard being led by Sizing Jon to the
outside of Bentelimar. The fourth flight produced a casualty, with
Seedling stepping at the flight; his nose touched the turf and his tail was
in the air as he struggled to keep his feet; jockey Gavin Sheehan was
unceremoniously catapulted out of the saddle.
L’Ami Serge, with Barry Geraghty
aboard, had been travelling in his wake and was seriously hampered as a
result. Some
Plan continued at the head of affairs as they climbed the hill towards flight
number five, negotiating the dog-leg turn in the process. The Nicky Henderson runner was now at the
back of the field and, although still in touch, was being pushed along.
Initially the rider-less Seedling followed them ... until he realised he
could do as he wished and peeled away to come back in his own time! There
were no problems at the flight and, having reached the top of the hill, they
headed around the far bend before beginning the descent towards three
out. Some Plan still held a two
lengths advantage from Sizing Jon, Bentelimar, Tell
Us More, Shaneshill, Douvan
and Jollyallan; at the rear were Velvet Maker, Alvisio Ville, Qewy and L’Ami Serge. The
long-time leader still held a narrow advantage at the flight. However,
having jumped it, the game was up for Some Plan as the Irish contingent
swamped him; Sizing Jon now held a slight lead from Tell Us More. Both Douvan and Shaneshill were close on their heels. The field approached and cleared the
penultimate flight and these four had put distance between themselves and the
remainder as they turned into the home straight. Despite lack of fortune in running and
appearing not to be travelling at any point today, L’Ami
Serge was now the nearest home team representative. The
leaders began their journey up the hill to the last. Tell Us More was the first to drop out,
with Sizing Jon initially holding sway, but Douvan
swooped on the wide outside to take the lead well before the flight and
continued to gallop away from his rivals as he headed to the line. He won by 4½ lengths from Shaneshill; the latter having got the better of Sizing
Jon in the final half furlong. L’Ami Serge completed in 4th; the latter was 8 lengths
clear of Qewy.
First
blood to the Irish, in the shape of Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh. We would thus be treated to the Rubeeeeeeeey, Rubeeeeeeeey, Rubeeeeeeeey chant as Douvan returned along the horse-walk in front of the
grandstands. If the silks had been
pink with yellow spots perhaps the chant would have been Blobby, Blobby, Blobby! I
remained beside the course-side rails in the interval between race one and
two. Race 1 - 1:30pm. THE SKY BET SUPREME NOVICES' HURDLE RACE (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No
Stewards Enquiry. The
Veterinary Officer reported that JOLLYALLAN, unplaced, trained by Harry Fry,
was found to be suffering
from heat exhaustion post-race, and had lost a left fore
shoe. Barry Geraghty, the rider of L'AMI SERGE
(IRE), placed fourth, reported that the gelding was never travelling. The
Veterinary Officer reported that a post-race examination of the gelding
during routine testing failed to reveal any abnormalities. It
was now time for the second race of the day, the Arkle
Challenge Trophy Chase. The odds-on
favourite was Un De Sceaux, again trained by Willie
Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh; price 4-6. As had been the case for the
first race, the starting gate for this event was at the far end of the home
straight, with that and one complete circuit to travel. This being the case, the horses cantered up
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands before heading down the turf
and re-entering the all-weather strip to complete their journey to the
gate. Again,
having exited onto the course at race time, the runners were sent away from
the tape before turning and jogging in; the slightly lighter grey Smashing
was getting a little bit excited and was bounding along as he approached the
gate.
Then
they were off. Leading the way, to the
inside, was Un De Sceaux; to the wide outside
Smashing. The latter jumped the first
fence a little too big and was swallowed up by rivals, whereas Ruby sent his
mount into a clear lead until they reached the second fence. At which point Dunraven
Storm and Sail By The Sea joined him; the latter was then reined back before
the next. Un
De Sceaux took a narrow advantage again as they
jumped the third but Richard Johnson’s mount was just ahead clearing the
fourth. With the benefit of the inside
berth, Ruby’s mount held a one length lead over Dunraven
Storm as they began their journey up the hill in front of the Best Mate
stand. Vibrato Valtat
was in third position, with Josses Hill, Three Kingdoms and Sail By The Sea
disputing fourth. Smashing was a
couple of lengths off these, followed by God’s Own, Clarcam,
Court Minstrel and Sgt Reckless. Clearing
the uphill fence, Smashing jumped out to his right, taking Clarcam with him.
The runners entered the back straight and headed down towards the
sixth fence; Un De Sceaux leading the way by 3 to 4
lengths now. In rear, Sgt Reckless
wasn’t fluent here and was a number of lengths adrift of his rivals. The field had closed upon the leader as
they cleared the water-jump, Sail By The Sea now in second position. The
eighth fence is the first open-ditch; Sail By The Sea made a mistake here
and, back in the field, Court Minstrel wasn’t fluent either. Clarcam hit fence
number nine with a jolt and lost ground.
The runners headed around the dog-leg turn and towards the final
open-ditch. Un De Sceaux
still held a clear lead, from Vibrato Valtat, Sail
By The Sea, second-year novice God’s Own, Three Kingdoms, Josses Hill,
Smashing, Court Minstrel, Dunraven Storm, Clarcam and Sgt Reckless.
The
leader continued to travel and jump well, piling the pressure on his
rivals. Dunraven
Storm blundered at the open-ditch and lost his place; he was now last. The field turned the far bend and headed
downhill towards the third last. Apart
from the leader, the only other runners to be travelling okay at this point
were Vibrato Valtat and God’s Own; yet they were
still four lengths behind the favourite.
Having
jumped three out, God’s Own took second place. As they approached the final bend you still
got the distinct impression that Ruby was toying with his rivals and that Un
Des Sceaux hadn’t been called upon to make use of
all his gears quite yet. Having flown
two out and with God’s Own looming up to his outside, Ruby did get a little
more animated. However the challenger
jumped out to his right at the last, whereas Un De Sceaux
put in a bold leap at the final obstacle and the game was up as the Willie
Mullins runner stormed up the run-in to win by 6 lengths at the line. God’s
Own finished 2nd, with Josses Hill two lengths away in 3rd and Vibrato Valtat a further 5 lengths away in 4th. Nine finished; Dunraven
Storm and Sail By The Sea were pulled up before two out. 2-0
to the Irish; 2-0 to Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh in fact. Damn.
Once again I remained beside the course-side
rails. I could have returned to the
Pre-Parade Ring and Parade Ring at this point, as Ned Stark was competing in race
3 and I would expect to have been able to see Choc again at this point in
proceedings. Race 2 - 2:05pm. THE RACING POST ARKLE CHALLENGE TROPHY STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1)
(Grade 1) No
Stewards Enquiry. The favourite for race 3 was the Alan King-trained
Ned Stark ridden by Denis O’Regan, although still a
novice; his price today 6-1. Having
won his first two novices’ limited handicap chases at Huntingdon and Newbury,
the Dunkley and Reilly Partnership runner had then finished 4th in the Grade
2 Dipper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day; following that he
won at Wetherby.
There was a second runner of interest in this
race, namely Annacotty trained by Martin Keighley
and ridden by Gavin Sheehan. Having exited the horse-walk and cantered up the
all-weather strip in front of the grandstands, Grand Jesture
was not at all keen to follow the others to the starting gate, which was
part-way down the home straight. As a
result he was initially led down the course, before the jockey was legged up
to complete the journey. This race had been extended by half a furlong in
distance this year and thus included an extra fence too; this was to provide
additional room to enable the runners to approach the tape in an orderly
fashion.
Initially,
the lad led Grand Jesture in towards the tape until
the horse was able to settle amongst the others. They jogged in and then they were off,
first time. The runners headed towards
the first fence, with What A Warrior the first to rise to the inside of the
track; towards the outside, almost upsides, was Annacotty. The grey Gevrey Chambertin, who was already near the back of the field,
jumped the first a little too big and now found himself plum-last. In mid-field, The Druids Nephew was a
little awkward at the second. Ned
Stark travelled in mid-field, one off the rail. Having
safely negotiated the first two fences, the runners headed away from the main
stands and up the hill towards the third.
Azure Fly and Annacotty now disputed the
lead, with What A Warrior in third; towards the rear of the field were Mendip
Express, Lost Legend, Monbeg Dude, Dursey Sound, Gallant Oscar and Gevrey
Chambertin.
Annacotty made an error at the first fence
in the back straight. The
horses now headed towards the water jump, which they all cleared in their
stride. This was followed by the first
open-ditch, then a plain fence prior to the dog-leg turn. Annacotty now
held the clear advantage, from Azure Fly, What A Warrior, Grand Jesture and Barrakilla; the
David Pipe runner continued to bring up the rear. Ned Stark remained in mid-field; he now
travelled against the rails, taking the shortest route. There
were no casualties at the second of the open-ditches and the field continued
to the far turn before heading downhill to fence number nine. All twenty-four runners cleared the
obstacle safely; Monbeg Dude had now been relegated
to last position. One circuit
completed, the horses headed up the home straight once more. Having cleared the next, Annacotty was joined at the head of affairs by Grand Jesture. Azure Fly
and Barrakilla disputed third; behind these were
What A Warrior, Smart Freddy and Shangani. Near the rear of the field, Lamb Or Cod
continued to jump less fluently than his rivals. The
runners jumped the next safely before heading out onto their final circuit; Annacotty with a clear advantage once more. Having cleared the fence in front of the
Best Mate stand, the field headed into the back straight; bringing up the
rear were Gevrey Chambertin,
Lamb Or Cod and Monbeg Dude. Azure Fly made an error at the next fence;
the Martin Keighley representative continued to lead, from Shangani, Grand Jesture and Barrakilla. Ned
Stark wasn’t travelling particularly well at the rear of mid-field. The
runners cleared the water-jump before heading to the penultimate open-ditch;
they all cleared this without mishap and the next plain fence too. The horses near the back of the field were
beginning to get strung out now. Annacotty and Grand Jesture led
them around the dog-leg turn and towards the final open-ditch. Azure Fly, who had by this stage dropped
back into mid-field, blundered at the fence.
As
they negotiated the far turn, Annacotty and Grand Jesture led; the latter travelling slightly the better at
this stage. The runners headed down
the hill towards the third last; Pendra, Smart
Freddy, The Druids Nephew and Barrakilla travelling
just behind the two leaders. Grand Jesture jumped into the lead over this fence, with The
Druids Nephew soon his nearest challenger as Annacotty
dropped away, his race now run. Barry
Geraghty’s mount drew alongside his white-faced
rival as they headed to the final turn.
Having entered the home straight, the latter was now being ridden
along; not far behind were Pendra, Indian Castle
and Gallant Oscar. The leader flew the
penultimate fence, Grand Jesture still his closest
pursuer; Pendra, in third, pecked on landing. Another
fine leap at the last strengthened the leader’s advantage and Barry Geraghty rode him out to win by 3¾ lengths at the
line. Grand Jesture
held off his nearest pursuers to complete in 2nd. Pendra, tiredness
becoming an issue, edged to his right as he climbed the hill; this initially
disadvantaged Indian Castle, possibly Gallant Oscar too. The latter claimed 3rd place on the line by
a head from Indian Castle. Pendra completed in 5th,
with Lost Legend 6th, Black Thunder 7th and Ned Stark never nearer in
8th. There
were no fallers, or unseats, and 21 runners completed. Pulled up were
Azure Fly before 3 out, Lamb Or Cod before 2 out and Shangani
before the last.
It
was trainer Neil Mulholland’s first Cheltenham Festival winner; and he still
had the fancied The Young Master to run in the following day’s RSA Novices’
Chase. As
Ned Stark had finished unplaced, I remained beside the course-side rails
ahead of the feature race, the Champion Hurdle. Race 3 - 2:40pm. THE ULTIMA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS HANDICAP STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1)
(Grade 3) The
Stewards noted that PENDRA (IRE), placed fifth, had jinked quickly right handed
after the last fence interfering
with INDIAN CASTLE (IRE), placed fourth, who in turn interfered with GALLANT
OSCAR (IRE), placed third, but after viewing a recording of the race they
were satisfied that it did not involve a riding offence. The Veterinary
Officer reported that BLACK THUNDER (FR), unplaced, trained by Paul Nicholls,
had bled from the nose. The Veterinary Officer reported that MENDIP EXPRESS
(IRE), unplaced, trained by Harry Fry, suffered heat exhaustion post-race.
Click here to read my Day 1 Diary Part II |
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