DIARY – HUNTINGDON – WEDNESDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2008
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Now that the season is in full swing, it’s more
difficult to plan ahead for visits to the races. Riding engagements may appear late the
evening before, or involve trawling through the race-cards on the At The Races
website to discover where Choc is riding.
This being the case, I only decided that a visit to Huntingdon races
on 05 November was certain at around 16:00 on Tuesday, just in time for me to
confirm that my provisionally booked day off was going to be a definite day
off. As I have a number of days leave to use before
year end, I go through the racing diary at the start of each month and
provisionally book individual days on my office wall-chart; sometimes these
come to fruition, sometimes not. Because
of the dark evenings and the fact I will have to attend alone, I usually only
consider fixtures at nearby courses, such as Kempton Park, Ascot, Sandown
Park, Huntingdon and Towcester. Anyway, having decided a trip to Huntingdon was
definitely on, due to Choc having 4 rides booked, I left home at 10:30, my
route taking me via the petrol station as I only had a quarter of a tank
remaining. The petrol cost £29.22 – my car being a lowly Fiesta, plus two
Snickers duo bars – Choc’s current favourite
chocolate. My journey took me onto the A1M just south of the
Hatfield tunnel, and up the A1 to Huntingdon. I’m beginning to know the
journey quite well now, this trip being my 6th visit to the course. And, of course, I’ve also been to Market Rasen a couple of times, which takes me past Huntingdon
too. The first major landmark, come to think of it, the only major landmark
(if you can call a roundabout a landmark) is the Black Cat roundabout. South of the roundabout is home territory,
the other side is foreign territory! The journey went very smoothly with no holdups
whatsoever and I arrived at the course around 11:40. Having driven down the
rutted roadway to park in the field, I decided to eat a Snickers bar before
going in, as I’d only eaten 2 Weetabix and 2 Babybel cheeses (another addiction) so far this day. Entry is £15 and, using up my loose change, I
counted out 20p’s, 10p’s and 5p’s at the kiosk for the £2.50 race-card. One or two horses had already appeared in
the Parade Ring, so I walked around to the corner to watch from the pathway which
runs alongside the Tote building. I
couldn’t sit on any of the benches today as they were damp! Whilst I was standing there and reading the
race-card, I noticed both Brendan Powell and Bob Champion walk by. The first race was a hurdle event for Amateur
Riders and Conditional Jockeys. It was one of the hands and heels series
whereby jockeys were allowed to carry a whip but were only permitted to use
it in extreme circumstances. Eventually all the horses came into the ring,
were saddled, mounted and exited out onto the course. I went around to the grandstand to watch,
choosing a fairly high up viewpoint. Whilst I was waiting for the race to begin, my
mobile phone started to ring, or I should say play – Any Dream Will Do – to
alert me to an incoming call. I ignored it, but it played again. Then a Voicemail message arrived. It was at this point that I decided to
check to see who it was, as I thought perhaps it was an emergency or similar. I checked the missed calls list and my
heart skipped a beat – I recognised the dialling code as that of
Worcester. It was time to exit the
stands and to venture to a quieter spot to call the number back (only it
wasn’t quieter as Derek Thompson was commentating on the race by this time). It transpired that my silent bid in the Wayne
Burton Fund auction for tickets and lunch for 2 at Cheltenham racecourse on
Sunday 16 November 2008 had been successful.
But, better still, part of the prize was to walk the course with none
other than Choc Thornton!!! Yippee, I
can’t believe it! The caller, who was
Jenny, the Hospitality Manager at Worcester, said I probably knew that Choc
was suspended that day (no, I had missed that enquiry), but he had agreed to
carry out his promise or I could perhaps have a substitute jockey instead or
do the walk on a different day. No, no, no!!! I told her I was a big fan of Choc’s and no-one else would suffice! She said he was appealing against the ban,
so perhaps would be riding anyway. I
don’t mind that he’s not riding, as he won’t be so pressed for time, and I
won’t have to worry about rushing lunch either. If he were riding I’d have to
be paddock and racecourse side throughout the day. Anyway, I promised to send off my cheque to
her on Thursday, which I subsequently did by guaranteed next day delivery. My next course of action was to find
someone to come with me to Cheltenham, so I texted Lesley, who agreed that
she’d like to come along. I then
texted Den (who ran Andre Agassi’s unofficial fan club) to tell her the news,
and promised to phone her when I got home to tell her all about the auction
and my website too. Anyway, back to the races at
Huntingdon ... Having missed the first race it was now time for the entries
for the second race, a Handicap Steeplechase, to enter the paddock. Choc wasn’t riding in this race, but once
the horses started going out onto the course, I proceeded
to the trackside rails to watch the horses canter down to the start, which
was in the home straight. King Coal,
who I recall Choc had ridden at Newton Abbot in the summer, started off in
the lead, but came to grief at the 2nd fence, the open-ditch in front of the
stands. Horse and jockey were
okay. Liam Treadwell’s mount also
fell. The race was won by College Ace
ridden by Sam Jones. It was then time for Choc’s first ride of the day – Cosmea
in a Juvenile Fillies’ Only Novices’ Hurdle.
Having watched the horses parade in the ring,
and the jockeys appear and mount, once they started out down the walkway to
the course I walked through to the trackside rails to watch as Choc cantered
down to the start, which was at the end of the back straight. Then they were off. Choc positioned Cosmea
on the outside of the field, and was in around 9th place as they came into
the home straight first time around.
She took closer order as they came past the stands, and had moved up
into 3rd place as they reached the end of the back straight. Choc was disputing the lead as they jumped
the second last flight, and then went on as they approached the last,
galloping on to win by 5 lengths at odds of 2-7. Choc’s 48th
winner of the season. As always I proceeded to the Winners’
Enclosure to see Choc return aboard his winning mount. The fourth race was another
Steeplechase, run in memory of Macer Gifford, Josh
Gifford’s late brother. Nick Luck from
Racing UK interviewed Josh, whose son Nick had a runner in the race, in the
paddock. Alan King is the owner and
trainer of participant King Troy, which was ridden by Jack Doyle, who has a
3lbs allowance. Big Rob had won the
race for the past 2 years. The race this
year was won by Master Medic ridden by Robert Walford. The Macer Gifford
Challenge Trophy was presented to connections after the race. Choc’s
second ride of the day was on Divali Princess in a
Mares’ Only Novices’ Hurdle. Having
seen Choc come into the paddock and mount, he headed out first onto the
course, as is often the case. I
watched him canter to the start which, again, was at the end of the back
straight. When the race commenced, he took up a
position in 3rd place on the rails. However,
by the time they had completed a circuit he had fallen back a little in the
field, but then he pushed her on and was up into 2nd place by the time they
entered the final straight. Circus
Rose ridden by Sean Quinlan was in the lead and looked strong, but she came
to grief at the second last flight, leaving Divali
Princess clear. Choc’s
mount ran around a little as she approached the last, but ran on to win by 4
lengths, as the 6-4 favourite. As Choc
slowed to a walk at the top of the straight, the loose Circus Rose stopped
alongside them and Choc caught hold of her reins to lead her back. Choc returned to the Winners’
Enclosure on his second winner of the day.
He had his third ride of the day in the next race, a Novices’
Steeplechase, on Tarotino. Nick Luck and Jonathan Neesom
agreed that Choc’s mount was the most impressive
looking horse in the field. When the
race started Tarotino was positioned on the
inside. The unfortunate outsider of
the field fell at the first open-ditch, and it appeared to suffer a fatal
injury, as screens were erected and the fence omitted on the next
circuit. Graham Lee’s mount, The
Vicar, fell at the second last fence. Tartak, trained by Tom George and ridden by Denis O’Regan won, with Choc staying on to take second place. I strode over to the Winners’
Enclosure to see Choc and Tarotino return, 2nd spot
providing the best view for me as I prefer to position myself by that section
of the Parade Ring. It was then time
for the final race of the day, a NH Flat race in which Alan King had two
runners. Choc rode Whistlejacquet,
the other runner being Tutto Bene,
ridden by Charlie Huxley claiming 5lbs.
Choc having mounted and set off down the track to the racecourse, he
cantered down to the start with a group of other runners. The horses entered in this race were 3 year
olds, so the distance was only 1 mile and 6 furlongs. When the race commenced, Choc took up
his position in 4th or 5th place on the inside of the field, going 3rd as he
approached the end of the back straight.
He went to the front around half way up the straight and won by 2
lengths, the 5-2 favourite. Choc’s 50th winner of the season. Before the race
started, Jonathan and Nick had expressed the opinion that Tutto
Bene was a more impressive looking horse than Whistlejacquet, but it was a case of handsome is as
handsome does. The majority of the crowd headed for
the exit as soon as the race had finished, but I returned to the Winners’
Enclosure to see Choc return. He
unsaddled and spoke to connections and, as he exited the enclosure I spoke to
him, telling him well done – for I knew it had not only been a treble on the
day, but also his 50th winner of the season.
I then set out for the car park, and it was an uninterrupted drive out
from the venue today. The drive home was fine on this occasion, and I
arrived home at around 17:30. I really
can’t explain why the journey home took around 2 hours to complete last
Wednesday. |
