PART II
DIARY – CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 2015
DAY ONE
FEATURING THE CHAMPION HURDLE
TUESDAY 10 MARCH 2015
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Connections listen intently to jockey Denis O’Regan as he debriefs them following The Pirate Queen’s 4th placed effort in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle Click here to read my Day 1 Diary Part I It was now time for the feature event of the day,
the Champion Hurdle. This being the
case, there was a pre-race parade with the horses exiting the horse-walk and
congregating upon the racecourse before being led up the home straight in
front of the main grandstands. Parade
over, they then cantered down the turf to enter the all-weather strip and
continue their journey to the starting gate which was situated at the far end
of the home straight. The favourite for this race was the Willie
Mullins-trained Faugheen, ridden by Ruby Walsh,
odds-on at 4-5! The second favourite
was the popular The New One, priced at 10-3 today. Last year’s winner Jezki
was third in the market at 6-1 and veteran Hurricane Fly, winner of this race
in 2011 and 2013, and also having clocked up 22 Grade 1 victories, was 8-1
today. Arctic Fire was the next best
in the betting at 20-1. Having been circling within the enclosure to the
inside of the bend, the jockeys were asked to exit onto the track, initially
heading away the starting gate in order to stay within the new guidelines of
nothing faster than a rising trot; Faugheen led the
way out, Ruby’s intentions were clear.
In
the event they actually walked towards the tape, the starter released it and
then they were off ... with Faugheen at the head of
affairs. Behind him raced the hooded Jezki and The New One, from Vaniteux,
Hurricane Fly and Kitten Rock line across the course; in rear the also hooded
Arctic Fire and 100-1 outsider Bertimont. (I like
races like this, when I know all the runners’ silks without referring to the
race-card!) The
horses headed over the first; Hurricane Fly possibly not quite as fluent as
the others. Faugheen
continued to lead the way, with no change to the order within the vanguard; Jezki, under AP McCoy had taken a keen hold. The New One just flicked through the top of
the second flight. The field then
headed away from the main grandstands, up the hill and out into the country
for the one and only time; Faugheen, like his
rivals, changed legs to lead with his near-fore around the left-hand
bends. They
set off down the back straight, Ruby dictating the pace, with Faugheen changing back to his off-fore as the slope
levelled out; not all his rivals did.
The New One, travelling to the outside of the field, jumped out to his
right as is his habit; this was particularly noticeable at Haydock Park earlier in the season. The runners cleared
flight number four, with Arctic Fire’s jumping taking him forward to join Vaniteux, Hurricane Fly and Kitten Rock. Danny Mullins took a pull and eased back
again prior to the dog-leg turn. Ruby
continued to dictate the pace in front, and it was a sensible one as none of
his rivals had been dropped. All eight
cleared the flight near the top of the hill without incident. The horses swung left-handed and headed
down the hill; Faugheen still ahead but his
advantage diminished by the time they reached three out. Jezki
was now at the leader’s girth, with The New One to his outside; Hurricane Fly
and Arctic Fire were close on their heels, with Kitten Rock, Vaniteux and Bertimont outpaced
in rear. Jumping
the second last, Faugheen held the smallest of
leads, although he was less than fluent at the flight. But, with the advantage of the rail
position, Ruby was always able to maintain this as the leaders entered the
home straight. Hurricane Fly was able
to slip up the inside too as Jezki, the New One and
Arctic Fire were forced to go wider on the bend. Ruby
had set his mount alight and he charged up the home straight to the final
flight; Hurricane Fly and Jezki were initially his
nearest pursuers, with Arctic Fire heading through a gap between them as they
approached the last. Jezki was the least fluent of the four at the last
hurdle, which enabled the three Willie Mullins representatives to fight it
out for the major honours. Arctic
Fire stayed on the best, but was unable to catch Faugheen;
the latter won by 1½ lengths. Ruby
standing in his irons and saluting with his whip as he crossed the line. Hurricane Fly completed in 3rd, 5 lengths
away; age and the ground against him today.
Jezki claimed 4th, with The New One a
disappointing 5th.
Thus
we were treated to yet another chant of Rubeeeeeeeey,
Rubeeeeeeeeey, Rubeeeeeeeey as he headed back along the horse-walk
having completed his interview with a member of the Channel 4 racing
team. My own personal chant would be Borrrrrrrring, Borrrrrrrring, Borrrrrrrrring! Having
finished a disappointing 5th, it was later revealed that The New One would
not run again this season whilst he rested to recover from a back problem; it
was revealed that he suffers from a kissing spine. Race 4 - 3:20pm. THE STAN JAMES CHAMPION
HURDLE CHALLENGE TROPHY (CLASS 1) (Grade 1) No
Stewards Enquiry. Sam
Twiston-Davies, the rider of THE NEW ONE (IRE),
placed fifth, reported that the gelding hung left in the
home straight when under pressure. The Stewards ordered THE NEW ONE (IRE) to
be routine tested. Having
remained beside the course-side rails until after the winner had passed by, I
then set off to return through the tunnel to reach the main concourse. However, unlike the majority of people in
my vicinity, I had no intention whatsoever of trying to find a space above
the Winners’ Enclosure in order to see Faugheen
arrive therein. Instead I skirted the
area and headed to the Pre-Parade Ring! I
was thus rewarded with another sighting of Choc, who was standing amongst the
owners as both L’Unique and The Pirate’s Queen were
saddled. Once he’d set off to join the
throngs within the Parade Ring, I walked back across to the steppings above the Winners’ Enclosure. Connections view the races upon the large
screen to the far side of the Parade Ring; this being the case, Choc remained
therein whilst the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle was in progress. Having
found Choc again, I wasn’t about to desert my position, so I stayed on the steppings above the Winners’ Enclosure to view the
race. There
was no surprise that Annie Power was the odds-on favourite, priced 1-2. The race having been won by the now retired
Quevega for the past six years, it was time for a
new name on the scroll of honour; but, again, little chance of it being
wrestled away from the Willie Mullins yard; the first and second favourite,
Glens Melody, representing the yard.
Annie Power was taking the seemingly easier route of a race against
her own sex, having suffered a set-back earlier in the season which meant
she’d not run for 311 days. Glens
Melody was last year’s runner-up; her retirement to stud having been
postponed for one more season with the hope of winning this race. As
mentioned earlier, Alan King had two representatives in this race, L’Unique and The Pirate’s Queen. And, also in the race, was one of my
personal favourites, Bitofapuzzle, representing the
Harry Fry yard. RUK’s Stewart Machin described Bitofapuzzle
as plain, although he did say she has scope ... I think she’s lovely; she’s
very game, I love a flashy bay, so I beg to differ! All three of my personal runners of
interest were outsiders, L’Unique 16-1, Bitofapuzzle also 16-1 and The Pirate’s Queen 25-1. Having
left the Parade Ring and headed along the horse-walk, the runners exited
straight onto the course, heading across the turf to canter up around the top
bend upon the all-weather strip to reach the mid-course chute. Because
the race distance was two and a half miles, this meant it didn’t commence at
the beginning of the chute, but slightly further along. This being the case, the mares circled out
on the track. In the pack amongst the
others, it was noticeable that The Pirate’s Queen was one of the ‘tiddlers’!
Then
they were off. There was no surprise
when Bitofapuzzle led them away, with the first-time
blinkered (blue ones) Carole’s Spirit to her outside. The leader wrapped the top of the
flight. The two Alan King
representatives travelled close to the rear of the field, The Pirate’s Queen
to the inside of L’Unique; the backmarkers were
Hidden Identity and Sureness. The
field crossed over the Old Course before jumping the second flight; Carole’s
Spirit jumping out to her right over this one. The horses headed downhill to the far bend
before turning into the home straight and jumping flight number three. They then began the long journey towards
the next; Bitofapuzzle led from Carole’s Spirit, Centasia, Emily Gray, Annie Power, Polly Peacham, Glens Melody, The Pirate’s Queen, Pass The Time,
Mischievous Milly, L’Unique,
Swing Bowler, Hidden Identity, Dark Spirit and Sureness. Again,
having reached flight number four, Carole’s Spirit jumped out to her
right. The field then headed away from
the main grandstands, up the hill and into the back straight; Sureness was
now beginning to lose touch at the rear of the field. At flight number five, travelling to the
outside of the field, Carole’s Spirit took a narrow advantage; in mid-field
Pass The Time made a slight error here. The
runners headed towards the next; once more the leader gave away a little
ground as she jumped out to her right.
They then negotiated the dog-leg turn and galloped to flight number
seven; Ruby Walsh continued to bide his time, travelling in fifth position aboard
the favourite. Having jumped the
hurdle, they headed to the far turn before beginning their journey down the
hill; Carole’s Spirit currently held a length and a half’s advantage over the
field. They
jumped three out without incident; Carole’s Spirit and Emily Gray ahead of
Annie Power, Bitofapuzzle and Glens Melody; the two
Willie Mullins runners travelling the best of all. The Pirate’s Queen and L’Unique
were on the inside, in around 8th and 9th places at this point. Ruby sent his mount on, into the lead, just
prior to the penultimate flight, Glen’s Melody followed him through; although
the latter did clip the hurdle with her hind feet. Carole’s Spirit, Emily Gray and Bitofapuzzle were under pressure to keep their places,
whilst Polly Peacham and The Pirate’s Queen
improved behind them. Annie
Power cruised into the home straight, closely pursued by Glens Melody. Denis O’Regan got
a good run up the inside around the bend and was now almost on terms with the
third, Bitofapuzzle; Polly Peacham
and L’Unique were also keeping on behind
these. I think the punters were
already counting their winnings, especially those who’d bet on Willie and
Ruby winning the Supreme, the Arkle, the Champion
Hurdle and this race too, and the bookies were holding their breath as Annie
Power charged down to the final flight; just that between them and
victory. I
know that colleagues joke that I have an invisible ‘voodoo doll’ to hand and, on this occasion, I was willing the
four-timer not to materialise for the Irish team but, even so, the
unimaginable happened. Annie Power
took off too early at the final flight, caught her forelegs on the hurdle and
crumpled to the ground; game over.
This left stable-mate Glens Melody in the lead. Ruby’s mount wasn’t the sole faller at the
flight, for L’Unique also fell independently. The
Pirate Queen’s safely negotiated the prostrate Annie Power and joined battle
with Polly Peachum and the rallying Bitofapuzzle as they headed towards the line. Both of the latter mares began to close on
Glens Melody as they approached the winning post; Alan King’s runner, now
with no more to give, had to settle for 4th.
On first viewing, I was convinced that Polly Peacham
had just got up to win under Barry Geraghty. But then the result was announced, Glens
Melody had won by a head; it must have been on the nod; the very game Bitofapuzzle was only a neck away in 3rd. Damn, a Willie Mullins runner had won the
race anyway. Fortunately
Annie Power had quickly risen to her feet and, rider-less, pursued her rivals
to the line. She had been unlucky but
also lucky; because she could so easily have broken her neck due to the
nature of the fall, having almost ploughed a furrow with her head due to her
momentum. Later there was speculation
that she’d misjudged the take-off point due to the shadow cast in front of
the hurdle by the bright afternoon sunshine.
But we shall never know the answer to that.
Not only were the bookies
pleased with Annie Power’s departure at the final hurdle, so was I, as it
meant that The Pirate’s Queen made it into the Winners’ Enclosure having
filled 4th place. And, of course, Choc
would thus be heading into the Winners’ Enclosure, imminently. It was time for me to reposition myself on
the steppings, so I headed around to the area to stand close to the 3rd and
4th place markers. Having fallen at the last,
L’Unique was down for a few minutes but, to much applause, she eventually
rose and was led back in; no harm done.
Race 5 - 4:00pm. THE OLBG MARES' HURDLE
RACE (CLASS 1) (Registered as The David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle Race) (Grade
1) No Stewards Enquiry. Having
waited until Choc and Jennie had disappeared from sight through the walkway
exit at the far end of the Parade Ring, I remained until the horses had begun
to exit onto the racecourse ahead of race 6. I then headed back to my
favoured position close to the half furlong post. This is the longest race at the
Festival, over a distance of 4 miles. Alan King had a representative in the
race, namely Sego Success ridden by Mr Sam Waley-Cohen; the trainer had won
last year’s event with Midnight Prayer, the latter now on the sidelines
having run just once in the Hennessy Gold Cup this season. Today’s race favourite was Very
Wood, trained by Noel Meade and ridden by Ms Nina Carberry; price 7-2. Sego
Success was the second favourite at 9-2.
This year’s race was named in
honour of retired trainer Toby Balding, uncle of Clare Balding, who had
passed away the previous September aged 78.
I didn’t know that his real name was Gerald Barnard Balding. The starting gate for this event
was in the mid-course chute; this being the case the horses cantered across
the home straight when they exited the horse-walk, before heading up around
the all-weather strip to reach it.
The
hood-wearing Theatre Queen was led around at the start, trotting away from
the other horses; she had shown a bit of temperament before her races, and
had refused to run at Taunton in December.
Then
they were off. However, despite the
team’s best efforts, she was very slowly away; losing many lengths as she
initially refused to set off behind the others. Meanwhile, the other sixteen horses headed
to the first; The Job Is Right, blinkered, was the first to land over
it. There were no casualties here or
at the second obstacle; The Job Is Right leading the way, along with Vivaldi Collonges, Return Spring and Perfect Candidate. Having cleared the third fence, I Need Gold
took up the running and led them into the home straight on the first
occasion. Sego Success travelled
mid-pack. The
runners cleared fences four and five without incident, and continued their
journey up the home straight to join the Old Course prior to fence number
six; Theatre Queen was still in the contest and she was much closer to the
main pack now. I Need Gold led over
the next, from Return Spring, Perfect Gentleman and The Job Is Right. Then, just when it appeared the reluctant
mare had finally caught up with her rivals, she took a crashing fall at the
fence in front of the stands. Return
Spring and I Need Gold disputed the lead as the remaining runners galloped up
the hill and over fence number eight; the former taking the clear advantage
turning into the back straight. Near
the back of the field, Top Totti jumped the next
obstacle slowly; the runners then headed over the water-jump, where none made
an error. Meanwhile
concern was rising for Theatre Queen who had failed to rise following her
fall; green screens had been erected around her and arrow markers placed
along the top of the fence to instruct the jockeys not to jump it the next
time around. The
race continued along the back straight; the runners now heading over the
first open-ditch, with Return Spring, Perfect Candidate and Perfect Gentleman
at the head of affairs. Top Totti was again a little slow at the back of the
field. The horses cleared a plain
fence before negotiating the dog-leg turn and heading to another open-ditch
near the top of the hill; Royal Palladium made an error here. Perfect
Candidate held the narrow advantage as they turned the far corner and began
their journey down the hill; Return Spring and Perfect Gentleman took up the
running having cleared the next fence.
The field entered the home straight, jumped the first fence therein
without incident and were waived around the following obstacle where the
prostrate Theatre Queen still lay on the landing side of the fence. The
runners then headed up the hill for the final time, just one circuit to go;
there was little change at the head of affairs as they jumped the uphill
fence, with Perfect Gentleman, Return Spring and Perfect Candidate still
disputing the lead. Having entered the
back straight, the horses headed over what was now fence number seventeen;
Perfect Gentleman had a clear lead jumping the water. The
horses then jumped the penultimate open-ditch, where Top Totti
was very slow at the back of the field; she and Royal Palladium were
beginning to lose touch with the main body of the field as they jumped the
next plain fence. The runners
negotiated the dog-leg turn before clearing the final open-ditch; near the
back of the field, Broadway Buffalo made an error here. Having
reached the far turn, there were now just two fences to jump, as the final
fence remained out of action. Heading
down the hill, Doing Fine joined Perfect Gentleman at the head of affairs as
Perfect Candidate began to tire and lose his place. The Job Is Right was in third position at
this stage, with Cogry, Sego Success and Cause Of
Causes behind him; the latter was travelling noticeably well. Having
entered the home straight, Perfect Gentleman was marginally ahead of The Job
Is Right as they cleared their final fence.
Cause Of Causes had improved into third, with Broadway Buffalo next,
having appeared from nowhere; Sego Success was in fifth position at this
point. There was a little bit of
bumping as the leading group of ten horses had to manoeuvre to the outside of
the omitted fence in order to bypass it; Broadway Buffalo the one losing out
the most, as he’d been to the inside of the track when he jumped the final
fence. Cause
Of Causes was the first one through the gap between the fence wing and the
almost adjacent hurdle, and he managed to maintain his advantage to the line,
winning by 1½ lengths from Broadway Buffalo;
although he was a little free with his whip, which the stewards did pick up
upon later. These two pulled five
lengths clear of The Job Is Right, with Perfect Gentleman a further 6 lengths
away in 4th. Sego Success crossed the
line in 5th; his reward a prize of £1,802, but not a place in the Winners’
Enclosure. Thunder
And Roses unseated his jockey at the final fence; with Royal Palladium
unseating two out. The
JP McManus-owned Cause Of Causes had certainly chosen a good day to have his
first win over fences; and it was JP’s birthday today too. The horse had previously won the valuable
2012 Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot and claimed runner-up spot in last year’s Kim
Muir. A fifth Festival winner for
trainer Gordon Elliott.
Theatre
Queen remained down and was, eventually, collected by the horse ambulance to
be taken back to the veterinary facilities for assessment. Sadly she had to be put to sleep having
sustained a serious back injury.
Jockey Mark Wall, who was also her trainer, was distraught at the turn
of events; he was consoled by a friend as he headed off the course and back
to the weighing room. There was
no reason to return to the Winners’ Enclosure following this race, so I
remained beside the course-side rails. Race 6 - 4:40pm. THE TOBY BALDING NATIONAL HUNT STEEPLE CHASE (AMATEUR RIDERS'
NOVICES' STEEPLE CHASE) (CLASS 1) (Listed Race) The
Stewards held an enquiry following a report from the Veterinary Officer that
the winner, CAUSE OF CAUSES
(USA), ridden by Mr J.J. Codd, had been wealed as a result of the rider’s use of the whip. They interviewed
the rider and the Veterinary Officer. Having heard their evidence and viewed
recordings of the race, the Stewards found the rider in breach of Schedule
(B)6 Part 2 in that he had used his whip above the permitted level and in a
manner that caused his horse to be wealed. The
Stewards suspended Mr Codd for 10 days as follows:
Thursday 26, Friday 27, Sunday 29 and Tuesday 31 March, Wednesday 1, Thursday
2, Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Thursday 9 and Saturday 11 April 2015. Under Rule
(B)54 the Stewards
also fined the rider £400. It
was now time for the final race of the day.
The favourite for this event was Thomas Crapper, trained by Robin Dickin and ridden by Charlie Poste;
starting price 6-1. The
starting gate for this race was in the mid-course chute, with the horses
heading across the home straight and up around the all-weather strip to reach
it. With Theatre Queen on her way to
be assessed, the course was now clear and all 16 fences would be jumped in
this contest ... apart from the water-jump which had been damaged during the
previous race!
Then
they were off or rather they weren’t; the first false start of the day. The Starter raised the tape to prevent
injury to jockeys, as both Horizontal Speed and Dromnea
cantered forward before being turned and trotted back to rejoin the other
runners. Take Two. Having
experienced a false start, it was now time for the competitors to undertake a
standing start; Dromnea and Cold March were a
little fractious as they lined up.
Then they were off. The field
was led away by Stellar Notion; this being his preferred style of racing,
from the front. There was one casualty
at the first, namely Golden Hoof who had been anchored at the back of the
field; he appeared to have fallen as a result of being unsighted or barged
into by Gorsky Island. The
horses headed over the second fence where, back in the field, Killala Quay was less fluent than his rivals. The runners then made their way across the
intersection with the Old Course before jumping fence number three;
Horizontal Speed was now leading from Little Jon, the latter made an error
here. The novices travelled downhill
and around the far bend before entering the home straight. There
was no change at the head of affairs as they began their journey up towards
the crowded stands; the Nigel Twiston-Davies runner
was less than fluent at the fourth fence, with Monkey Kingdom even less
so. Horizontal Speed continued to hold
a clear lead from Stellar Notion and Little Jon as they headed over the next
before joining the main racecourse; they were followed by Knock House, Dromnea, Cold March and Leap Dearg. The latter belted the next fence, his nose
almost touched the turf as he regained his balance; near the rear of the
field, Gorsky Island made an error too. Also towards the back of the field, Bold
Henry hit the fence in front of the stands.
With
all bar one of the runners still standing, the horses headed up the hill towards
fence number eight. Having jumped this
fence, Rum And Butter was pulled up by Richie McLernon
because he’d already lost touch with his rivals. Monkey Kingdom, who had been jumping poorly
and struggling in rear, was pulled up after clearing the first fence in the
back straight. A
steward was on-hand to wave a chequered flag to remind jockeys to bypass the
damaged water-jump. Their next fence
was now the first of two open-ditches; all the runners cleared this without
problem. Horizontal Speed continued to
lead the field, and he reached for the next fence, a plain one. They then negotiated the dog-leg turn
before heading to the final open-ditch where, in mid-field, Gores Island made
an error. Having
reached the far turn, the runners headed down the hill to the third
last. Horizontal Speed continued to
lead, from Little Jon, Dromnea, Knock House,
Generous Ransom, Leap Dearg and the improving
Thomas Crapper. Stellar Notion had
dropped away by this point and, trailing in rear, Killala
Quay was pulled up. Richard
Johnson’s mount led the runners into the home straight, pursued by Little
Jon, Thomas Crapper, Knock House, Dromnea, Generous
Ransom and Leap Dearg. They cleared two out and still Horizontal
Speed proved a tough nut to crack as he held them all at bay, narrowly. The leaders headed over the final fence,
where Little Jon stumbled on landing and lost his place. This left Thomas Crapper as the nearest
pursuer, but he hung left, as did Generous Ransom under a right-hand
drive. The
way was now clear for the roan (or grey) Irish Cavalier to storm up the
outside under Paul Townend to claim the prize as
Horizontal Speed faltered on the run to the line. Thomas Crapper overtook the long-time
leader too, as did Generous Ransom.
The winning distances 2½ lengths, ½ a length and a neck. A second winner for Paul Townend today and, for trainer Rebecca Curtis, the fourth
consecutive year she’d had a winner at the Festival too; the previous being TeaforThree, At Fishers Cross and O’Faolains
Boy. The
light grey, Keltus, ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies fell at the second last when
weakening. Bold Henry and Cold March
pulled up before the same fence.
Race 7 - 5:15pm. THE CHAPS RESTAURANTS
BARBADOS NOVICES' HANDICAP STEEPLE CHASE (CLASS 1) (Listed Race) No Stewards Enquiry. Non-Race Related Incidents Race 7:
Following a false start in this race, the Starters reviewed the video footage
and were satisfied that no rider had breached the Starting
Procedures.
As
on every Festival Day at this time, the nearside lane of the road was choc-a-bloc with vehicles heading towards Cheltenham
town. I weaved my way through and
across the road when nothing was heading out of town in the other
direction. I climbed the tarmac drive
opposite and had soon reached my car in the top field. I’d
normally wait a while before I leave, consuming my two remaining cheese rolls
but, as the queued traffic wasn’t particular bad at this point in time
(17:50), I started the engine and drove to join the queue. A car soon permitted me to filter into the
main queue upon the drive. It was then
that my problems began, and it didn’t help that the pickup and drop off point
was now located in the bottom field and this added to the congestion. Unbelievably
it took 40 minutes for me to travel from my space in the top car park to the
exit gate, 200 or 300 yards maybe. I
even had time to eat those two cheese rolls and didn’t have to move my car
once during the time I consumed them!
And what is it that makes the traffic police always seem to stop me as
the first car in the queue that they won’t let out to follow those
ahead? They obviously think a mature
woman is a push-over ... they obviously don’t know how angry I can get when
my patience is tried ... grrrrrrhhhhh! Anyway,
having finally exited onto Swindon Lane at 18:30, right-turn only, I was
directed down Tommy Taylors Lane.
Fortunately the long delay inside the car park meant that the tailback
of traffic at the far end was fairly short and I was soon able to turn left
onto St Paul’s Road. Having reached
the traffic lights at the Evesham Road crossing, there were altercations
between one of the cars in the queue ahead of me and pedestrians who were
ignoring the fact that vehicles now had the right of way along Clarence
Road. I
turned left at the far end and headed up Prestbury
Road to the next roundabout, where a right turn took me around Pittville Circus and into Pittville
Circus Road. I continued to the end
thereof to reach Hewlett Road. A
further left turn meant I’d soon arrived at the longabout,
where a left and right permitted me to drive up Harp Hill and take a right
into Greenway Lane. I arrived at the Sixways junction at 18:50. My fears about traffic jams along my escape
route had been unfounded but, due to the hold-up within the car park, it had
taken 60 minutes to travel around 3 or 4 miles. Once
the lights had changed I headed eastwards along the A40. There were no long hold-ups on the journey
to Oxford, although I recall a little confusion seeing lights in the darkness
to the side of the road between the dual carriageway and the Puesdown Inn.
Workmen I think, but confusing after dark none the less. There was also a queue of traffic
encountered just after the Burford roundabout; this
transpired to be the aftermath of an accident on the opposite side of the
carriageway just this side of the Witney bypass roundabout. I’m
never too tired to return via the M40 / M25 option early on during Festival
week so, having reached the Wolvercote roundabout,
I travelled around the Oxford bypass to join the former motorway at Junction
8. The motorway seems to rise in
stepped phases as it approaches the Chiltern escarpment, prior to entering a
deep cutting to reach the top thereof.
Motorway lighting begins shortly afterwards. Upon
sighting the low flying aircraft warning sign, relating to nearby Booker
Airport, I knew it would soon be time to move into the middle lane prior to
the High Wycombe central junction where the inside lane filters off the
motorway. Darkness falls again
following the junction and the motorway gradually descends to the viaduct
over the valley just prior to Junction 3 at Loudwater. The
motorway expands to 4 lanes just beyond, where it’s lit once more; then
there’s just one more junction, Beaconsfield, before it joins the M25. Driving upon the M25 can actually be
described as a pleasure when it’s past rush-hour! Having travelled clockwise, I departed the
motorway at Junction 22 and headed up the dual carriageway to the London Colney roundabout, then into St Albans and home. I
arrived back at 20:55. Following a
supper of penne mozzarella I logged onto my laptop to upload the day’s
photographs for safe-keeping and to save a number of links in preparation for
writing my Cheltenham blogs. And I
knew that I shouldn’t have worn my navy blue fleece with my cerise pink
cardigan ... because lots of fluffy bits transfer from the inside of the
former onto the latter; it’s happened before! I
turned in at 22:45. One
day down, three to go. Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Parade of Stars & Choc Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Races 1 & 2 Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Races 3 & 4 (Champion
Hurdle) Photos - Cheltenham Festival Day 1 – Race 5 (OLBG Mares’ Hurdle)
& Choc |
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