DIARY – NEWBURY – HENNESSY GOLD CUP
SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2016
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Native River and jockey Richard Johnson pose for
photographs following their
victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup Click here to read about my visit to Noel Williams’ Churn
Stables yard earlier in the day I drove out
of Noel’s yard near Blewbury at around 10:40, following
the one-way outbound route past the indoor school and out onto Boham Road. Having
turned right, I headed along the lane, passing by a lady walking two
dogs. Further down I waited for a
vehicle to pass as it headed up the hill whilst, beside the sports club, a
4x4 waited for me. At the far end I
turned left, to begin the journey towards the A34. The road passes through Upton; there was a large country house to the
left of the road – Upton Lodge evidently, and a pub (the George and Dragon) a
little further on. Continuing along
the road I arrived at a new roundabout where I turned left, following the
signs indicating Newbury. The route
headed uphill to another roundabout then, shortly afterwards yet another one;
at this point I took the slip-road down onto the A34, heading in a southerly
direction. Having experimented with
this route on my way home from Jamie Snowdon’s
yard, I knew I had to leave the dual carriageway in three junctions’ time, signposted Beedon. There was a
broken down vehicle parked on the Beedon slip-road;
a second vehicle had stopped further down, presumably to check that the
occupants were okay – someone appeared to be changing a wheel. Having headed downhill, the road passes
underneath the dual carriageway before bearing left and heading through Beedon, then World’s End.
It seemed like ages before I reached the T-junction with Graces Lane;
strangely far longer than it had felt like on my previous excursion along
this route. Anyway, I
turned left and headed over the A34 and into Priors Court Road. There was a Christmas craft fair taking
place within the Newbury showground to the right-hand side of the road; too
late for me, as I’d already bought and wrapped all my presents. Shortly afterwards the road passes over the
M40 before meeting the A4009 at a roundabout in Hermitage; I turned right to
head towards Newbury. The A4009
meanders through fields, with a number of houses soon bordering the left-hand
side, before it opens out into countryside again. Soon after
entering the outskirts of Newbury there was a roundabout, with Love Lane
heading in from the right. I continued
straight ahead to reach a staggered double roundabout, taking a left turn at
the second one of these to head up Kiln Road.
This soon becomes Turnpike Road; along both thoroughfares are speed
bumps. Just prior to the road exiting
into the countryside once more, I turned right to head down Fir Tree
Lane. There had
been absolutely no delays on my journey so far, but at the far end of the
lane was a queue of traffic tailing back from the traffic lights on the
A4. Cars ahead of me had left little
space for vehicles heading in the opposite direction to pass a stationary car
parked on the other side of the road; they had to squeeze slowly through the
gap. It took two changes of light
signals before I could drive across the A4 and enter Hambridge
Road; at first it seemed that I might have encountered a tailback of traffic
from the racecourse but no, the line of vehicles were actually moving
fine. The road
passes over the River Kennet before reaching a
roundabout, I headed straight on and over the railway bridge in order to
enter the racecourse. The queue of
traffic started at the roundabout on the far side thereof. As it was around 11:15, there was no
opportunity to find a space in the tarmaced car
park 4 like last year and ordinary ticketholders were being directed into the
grassed car park close to the racecourse rails; designated as car park
5. I parked on the front row of two,
three from the aforementioned rails, close to the two furlongs post. The three
blocks of apartments which were being built between the Dubai Duty Free stand
and the health centre were nearing completion; the western one being the most
advanced, and the eastern one the least so.
Two large cranes were still on site too. However, unlike last year, a roadway now
runs along the front of the building plot, making it a far cleaner
proposition in wet weather. As it was
around an hour before the first race, I sat in my car and ate two of the four
cheese rolls I’d brought with me before changing into my Hotter boots and
putting on my faux sheepskin coat, scarf and neon pink hat. Having locked my car, I headed up through
the vehicles before turning right to take advantage of the aforementioned
roadway. A golf buggy was ferrying
punters from the distant coach park to the entrance. Ticket
holders were able to enter the grounds via a gate facing out towards the car
park, rather than having to head around to the railway side of the enclosures
to enter via the usual grandstand enclosure gate. Once inside, I headed across the tarmac to
the kiosk close to the turnstiles anyway, in order to purchase a race-card
for £3.50. I was waylaid during my
walk by a guy asking me if I vaped … he was selling
them … I don’t think so! Having
purchased my race-card, I walked to the Dubai Duty Free stand and entered via
the main doors; being later than I usually arrive, I had to fight my way
through the crowds to get to the ladies loo. On the way out I exited via the small door
at the far end of the corridor; far better than heading through the crowded
stand once more. I headed over to the
Parade Ring, where I climbed up one of the old concrete steppings
to get a better view. The
racecourse enclosures are still undergoing redevelopment. The old owners and trainers pavilion and
pre-parade ring are no more, with construction of a new facility
underway. Currently, the pre-parade
was restricted to the area immediately in front of the saddling boxes. The steppings on
the far side of the Parade Ring had already been removed. The concrete on the remaining steppings had seen better days and was clearly crumbling
now. The plan is to sink the Parade
Ring, similar to Ascot I guess. The
amphitheatre created will automatically provide viewing areas for the
spectators. Clare Balding was in the Parade Ring being
interviewed when I arrived; she was plugging her new children’s book. Clare’s problem is that she’s now suffering
from over-exposure in the media, which has caused her popularity to wane in
recent times. The
race-day compère then introduced Harry Derham, who is now his uncle’s Assistant Trainer; his
uncle being Paul Nicholls. Harry said
it had been a rush to get to the racecourse but they were here now and he
kindly spoke about the yard’s fancied runners today. Finally, a
representative from the sponsoring company, bet365 was interviewed. It
was then time for the first race of the day. The favourite for this event was La Bague Au Roi trained by Warren
Greatrex and ridden by Harry Bannister; price 5-4. Alan King had a representative in this
race, namely Dusky Legend to be ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. Once the horses had left the Parade Ring, I headed along the concourse
between the Dubai Duty Free and Berkshire stands, then through the betting
ring to reach the area close to the rails; I didn’t venture onto the grass
which occupies a four metre strip immediately adjacent to the rails. The starting gate for this event was in
the home straight, close to the 2-furlong mark, with just over one full
circuit to be completed and one hurdle to be negotiated twice during the
race.
And then they were off, with the field led away
by the favourite, La Bague Au Roi,
from the hooded Ms Parfois, followed by Dusky
Legend, Happy Diva, Copper Kay and the very keen Soiesauvage;
the latter hit the first but continued without loss of impetus. The leader had settled well to her task as
they headed up past the grandstands and out into the country for the one and
only time. Having reached the first flight in the back
straight, all six runners took the obstacle in their stride. Copper Kay was a little slower than the
others as they cleared the third, with Soiesauvage
still keen at the rear of the field.
La Bague Au Roi
continued to hold the advantage as they jumped the next flight, with all six
runners still travelling well within themselves as they then reached and
cleared the final one in the back straight. The long-time leader led the closely packed field
into the far turn, from Ms Parfois, Dusky Legend,
Copper Kay, Happy Diva and Soiesauvage. Happy Diva made ground on the outside of
the runners as they headed towards the home turn; Josh Moore aboard Soiesauvage began to become animated at this point. Happy Diva then lost her place as they
entered the home straight. Harry Bannister began to increase the pace as
they headed towards three out and his mount flew it; Dusky Legend rapped the
top of it as she tried to close in on the leader whilst disputing second
position with Copper Kay. Wayne
Hutchison soon administered a slap down his mount’s shoulder as he tried to
encourage Dusky Legend to close upon the La Bague
Au Roi.
Meanwhile in fourth position, Ms Parfois was
receiving far more vigorous encouragement. Both Dusky Legend and Copper Kay had closed to
within a length of the leader as they cleared the second last. However, La Bague
Au Roi continued to gallop relentlessly on and had
extended her lead slightly by the time they reached the final flight. Then, on the run-in, she began to stretch
away from her rivals once more and won by 3¼ lengths from Dusky Legend at the
line. Copper Kay completed a further
2¾ lengths back in 3rd, with 19 lengths back to Ms Parfois
in 4th. The winner’s trainer Warren Greatrex
said they would now give the mare a holiday and bring her back for a spring
campaign; whether that would be straight to the Cheltenham Festival or with a
run beforehand he didn’t yet know.
I set off on a route
march back to the Winners Enclosure to see the horses arrive back. The odds-on favourite for the
next race was Thistlecrack trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Tom
Scudamore; price 1-8. Once the horses had left the
Parade Ring I headed to the edge of the tarmaced area, three or four metres
from the course-side rails. I noticed
that one young woman, who was on crutches due to what appeared to be severe
bruising to one of her ankles, was wearing stilletto shoes! Despite wearing a skirt, she wasn’t wearing
tights either; surely she was cold and in pain? The starting gate for race two
was part way down the back straight, with two fences to negotiate prior to
the far turn and then one full circuit of the course having passed the
grandstands.
And then they were off, with Thistlecrack holding a slight advantage as they jumped
the first, from Bigbadjohn and Ibis Du Rheu; Pinnacle Panda and Tajseer
cleared it in unison as they brought up the rear. After the hiccups which had occurred at
Cheltenham’s open-ditches a fortnight ago, when his mount had initially been
held up behind the front runner, Tom Scudamore
decided to set the pace today.
Besides, Thistlecrack is far too talented
and exuberant to travel at his novice rivals’ speed. Thus Colin Tizzard’s star
novice chaser led the runners over the second fence, with Pinnacle Panda the
least fluent in rear. The horses then
headed into the far turn, travelling downhill to the tricky cross-fence. All five runners cleared the obstacle in
their stride, with Bigbadjohn three lengths behind
the leader followed by Ibis Du Rheu and Tajseer; Pinnacle Panda was already detached in
rear. The horses were well spaced as they jumped the
first in the home straight, before heading to the first of the
open-ditches. Thistlecrack
measured it well, before popping over the fence; there was no need for
extravagant jumping today. Meanwhile
Pinnacle Panda ran down the obstacle and jumped it slowly. The main group of four continued up the home
straight and over the next without incident; Jamie Moore’s mount still well
adrift of them at the rear. Having
cleared the following fence, Thistlecrack headed to
the water-jump; Ibis Du Rheu now his nearest
pursuer. Both jumped it big and
bold. The John Hales-owned runner
snuck up the inside of the leader as they headed around the top turn, before Thistlecrack strode on again to face the line of five
fences ahead of them. The leader accelerated into the fence and jumped
it well. Ibis Du Rheu
was now three lengths behind him, with a further six lengths back to Bigbadjohn, and Tajseer three
lengths behind him; meanwhile Pinnacle Panda was labouring in rear, although
less than a fence behind. The next
fence was another open-ditch, which Thistlecrack
flew over and where Bigbadjohn was a little
slow. Tajseer
made an error at the following fence, when looking likely to take over third
position from the Rebecca Curtis runner. Meanwhile up front, Ibis Du Rheu
under Nick Scholfield was trying his best to keep
tabs upon the leader. The leading duo
cleared the fourth fence in the back straight well, whereas the outpaced Bigbadjohn ran down it.
Tajseer made another error at the final
obstacle therein and the trailing Pinnacle Panda continued to close upon him. Heading into the far turn, Thistlecrack
continued to gallop on relentlessly, closely followed by Ibis Du Rheu; BigbadJohn was twelve
lengths behind them, and Pinnacle Panda overtook the also struggling Tajseer. All five
cleared the cross-fence without incident, and Bigbadjohn
was much closer to the leaders as they entered the home straight for the
final time. Thistlecrack
was still going well within himself as he cleared the fourth last, with his
two nearest rivals being ridden along in an attempt to keep tabs on him. The next fence was the final open ditch;
the leading three jumped it well, although Bigbadjohn
did jump it out to his right as seemed his preference. Ears pricked, the leader popped over the
penultimate fence, with Bigbadjohn now upsides Ibis
Du Rheu; the latter hit the fence and skewed in the
air, he stayed on his feet but had lost runner-up position. Tom Scudamore glanced
over his right shoulder to check on his rivals as his mount headed towards
the final fence; it was a leisurely one, as he knew he had much in hand. With Thistlecrack
still travelling well within himself, he flew the last; Bigbadjohn
hit it, but still had enough impetus to retain his position from the now
tired Ibis Du Rheu.
Thistlecrack
continued the gallop as he headed towards the line, with Tom taking a final
glance over his right shoulder as he passed the elbow. Job done, he was able to ease his mount in
the final few strides and they won by 8 lengths at the line. Bigbadjohn
finished in 2nd position, with Ibis Du Rheu on his
chasing debut 6 lengths away in 3rd; Pinnacle Panda claimed 4th, 103 lengths
behind him! Having blundered at the
final open-ditch, Tajseer was pulled up before two
out.
I
returned to the steppings above the Parade Ring to
see the horses arrive back. Being a guest at the races today, and with the
task of presenting the mementos for the Hennessy Gold Cup later in the
afternoon, the Duchess of Cornwall also paid a visit to the Winners’
Enclosure at this point in order to speak with the connections of Thistlecrack as an interested race fan. The favourite for the next race was Antony
trained by Gary Moore and ridden by Jamie Moore; price 5-1. To mark the occasion, jockey Barry Geraghty wore the Peter O’Sullivan silks aboard JP
McManus’ In The Rough. As I’d done for the previous two races, and for the remainder of the afternoon too, once
the horses had exited the Parade Ring, I headed down towards the course-side
rails to view the races; although I remained on the tarmac area each
time. The starting gate for this race was in the back
straight, with one fence to negotiate before the far bend; equating to
approximately one and three quarters circuits.
And then they were off. The field was led away by Indian Temple; in
the front rank were Antony, Gentleman Jon, the grey Mystifiable,
and nosebanded Violets Boy. All sixteen competitors cleared the first
fence successfully before they headed into the far bend on the first
occasion. Indian Temple was quite keen
and led by three lengths from Violets Boy, Gentleman Jon, and Antony, with Henllan Harri to the outside of
the runners. Generous Ransom had
already lost his place near the head of affairs; In The Rough and Tjongejonge brought up the rear. Fox Appeal, to the fore of midfield and
with Wayne Hutchinson aboard, blundered at the cross-fence. Having entered the home straight, Indian Temple
continued to lead as the horses headed over the third fence. Generous Ransom, who jumped out to his
right over it, soon dropped to the rear of the field and appeared to be
struggling. There were no noticeable
errors as the runners jumped the first open-ditch but, at the next, Fox
Appeal made another mistake. They continued their journey up the home
straight, jumping the next without incident; Generous Ransom had now lost
touch at the rear of the field.
Heading towards the water-jump, Indian Temple led, from Gentleman Jon,
Violets Boy, Henllan Harri,
Antony, Mystifiable, Little Jon, Fox Appeal,
Warriors Tale, Full Shift, On Tour, Final Assault, Tjongejonge,
In The Rough, O Maonlai and the struggling Generous
Ransom. The next obstacle was the water-jump, which they
all cleared in their stride before heading around the top bend still led by
Indian Temple. Having entered the back
straight, they began their journey over the line of five fences; all sixteen
negotiated the first of these, although Generous Ransom jumped it slowly at
the back of the field. The next was an
open-ditch and, again, they all cleared it successfully; Mystifiable
was a little awkward however. Henllan
Harri almost joined the leader as they jumped the
middle fence along the back straight; still prominent were Violets Boy,
Gentleman Jon, Fox Appeal, Little Jon and Mystifiable. Having jumped this one, Richard Johnson
pulled up Generous Ransom. Indian
Temple made an error at the next fence, after which Henllan
Harri took the lead. The remaining fifteen runners cleared the
final fence in the back straight without incident and the Peter Bowen-trained
horse continued to lead as they headed into the far bend. Considering it was a two and three quarter mile
chase, the runners were still quite closely grouped as they jumped the
cross-fence for the final time; to the rear were Warriors Tale, Final
Assault, Tjongejonge, On Tour and In The
Rough. Henllan
Harri continued to lead as they headed around the
turn into the home straight, from Antony, Indian Temple, Little Jon,
Gentleman Jon, Mystifiable, Fox Appeal, O Maonlai, Full Shift and Violets Boy. The bottom weight was still ahead of his rivals
as they jumped the fourth last; near the rear of the field Tjongejonge made an error here. The third last fence was the final
open-ditch and to the outside of the field O Maonlai
moved up into second place as they cleared it. Then, travelling down to the penultimate
obstacle, Final Assault came to make his final assault on the lead, along
with Warriors Tale. Henllan Harri held a very
narrow advantage as they jumped this fence but O Maonlai
was sent into the lead shortly afterwards and was three lengths clear of his
rivals as he cleared the final fence; Warriors Tale, Final Assault and Henllan Harri jumped it in
unison. Fox Appeal and Full Shift were
behind these. O Maonlai was then
driven out to the line by his jockey Adrian Heskin;
he won by 5 lengths. The battle for
2nd was won by Warriors Tale, which prevailed by a length from Henllan Harri, with Final
Assault a further half length away in 4th.
Fox Appeal was 5th and Full Shift 6th.
The quite well fancied On Tour finished last, having tailed off due to
breaking a blood vessel. Winning trainer Tom George said that his charge
was a very difficult horse to train and everything has to be just right for
the horse to run well. If the horse is
too close to the pace he’s too keen and too far off, he loses interest. Today was the target, with no long term
plans. Best fresh, and runner-up in
this race last year, it was the first time his new retained jockey had ridden
him.
I
returned to the steppings above the Parade Ring to
see the horses arrive back. The
favourite for the next race was Born Survivor, trained by Dan Skelton and
ridden by Harry Skelton; price 2-1.
Alan King had a runner in this race, namely Gibralfaro
trying two and a half miles for the first time, and ridden by Wayne
Hutchinson. It also marked the return
to racecourse action of Meister Eckhart, formerly trained by Alan King; the
horse had been absent for 968 days. The
starting gate for this race was located at the far corner of the track, with
one and a half circuits to travel during the race.
And then they were off, initially at a steady
pace, led by Robinshill, Battle Born and Beast Of
Burden. Gibralfaro
travelled to the inside, in mid-field.
Having started at the far corner of the track, the runners then headed
around the home bend to encounter the first of their flights, which they all
cleared well. Disputed and Meister
Eckhart were held up in rear. The
horses continued their journey up the home straight, with Robinshill
spear-heading the main group and Beast Of Burden ploughing a lone furrow
closer to the stand-side rails. Heading over the next, Oscar Sunset landed a
little awkwardly whilst travelling in mid-field. The pace was still steady and set by Robinshill and Beast Of Burden as they jumped the third
hurdle. Onefitzall
was in third, close to the inside, from Born Survivor, Battle Born, Gibralfaro, Oscar Sunset, Favorito
Buck’s, Gassin Golf, Meister Eckhart and Disputed;
the latter jumped it less than fluently. There were around 12 lengths covering the field
as they headed up past the grandstands with one circuit now to travel. It was two by two up front, with Robinshill and Beast Of Burden still sharing the pace
making, although steady, followed by Born Survivor upsides Onefitzall. The
eleven runners continued around the top bend and out into the country for the
one and only time. Oscar Sunset was the least fluent at the first in
the back straight and had now dropped to the rear of the field with only the
race-rusty Meister Eckhart behind him.
The still steady pace meant the runners continued to be well grouped
at this stage of the race. Battle Born
didn’t jump the next very well and drifted back further through the field; he
was also race-rusty having been off the course for 772 days prior to today. The field headed down over the next, with Battle
Born now in rear and continuing to lose ground rapidly; he got a reminder for
his troubles from jockey Aidan Coleman too.
Meanwhile, up front, Robinshill and Beast Of
Burden continued to set the pace at a steady gallop as they jumped the final
obstacle in the back straight; travelling just behind the leaders, Born
Survivor was a little ungainly at this one. The runners headed out of the back straight,
headed by Robinshill, from Beast Of Burden, Onefitzall, Born Survivor, Gassin
Golf, Gibralfaro, Favorito
Buck’s, Disputed, Oscar Sunset and Meister Eckhart; having completely lost
touch and tailed off, Battle Born was now pulled up. Meanwhile the remaining ten headed towards the
home bend; Beast Of Burden began to struggle at this point and dropped back
through the field. Long-time leader Robinshill lead them into the home straight, from Onefitzall, Born Survivor and Gassin
Golf. The Nigel Twiston-Davies
runner got a little bit close to the third last, which enabled his nearest
rivals to gain ground on him; Born Survivor, although initially looking
dangerous, was unable to quicken under pressure. This left Onefitzall
to go on, with the closing Gibralfaro in hot
pursuit of the leaders. Richard Johnson’s mount was a length up as they
cleared two out, with Gibralfaro, Robinshill, Gassin Golf and
Born Survivor jumping the flight almost in unison. Robinshill was
the first to cry enough, followed shortly afterwards by Gassin
Golf. This left Onefitzall
to be driven into the final flight, with Gibralfaro
pressing him all the time. Disputed
had closed from the rear into third and was now in pursuit of the leading
duo; meanwhile Born Survivor continued to plug on in fourth. Both Onefitzall and Gibralfaro cleared the last well, whereas Disputed
bunny-hopped it. Richard Johnson and
Wayne Hutchinson now drove their mounts towards the lollipop, with Onefitzall proving the stronger and enabling him to forge
ahead on the flat and win by a length at the line. Disputed staying on at the same pace after
the last and finished 1¼ lengths away in 3rd; Born Survivor was the best of
the rest when completing in 4th, 8 lengths further back. I was pleased with Meister Eckhart’s effort as,
although well beaten, he did show promise on his return when staying on to
finish 6th; besides he is rising 11.
He probably needs a step up in trip now.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure once more to see the horses arrive
back. The
joint-favourites for the next race was Ozzie The
Oscar, trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson and Tommy Silver
trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sean Bowen. Alan King’s representative was Who Dares
Wins ridden by Wayne Hutchinson. Interesting fact time … Theligny
is a geologic chalk formation in France … the French-bred is grey – that’s a
good choice of name! The starting gate for this event was
in the home straight, close to the 2-furlong mark, with just over one full
circuit to be completed and one hurdle to be negotiated twice during the
race.
And then they were off. The runners were led away by the visored Makethedifference, from
the light grey Theligny, mid-division the
nose-banded Tommy Silver, with Ritual Of Senses and Ozzie The Oscar to the
inside; held up were Who Dares Wins and Holly Bush Henry with the dark grey
filly Omessa Has at the rear. All eight runners cleared the first flight
in their stride before heading up past the massed crowds in the
grandstands. A good gallop was set by the leader as they
continued around the top bend and into the back straight for the one and only
time. Makethedifference
was a couple of lengths clear of his rivals as they jumped the second flight;
Theligny was a little bit awkward at this one. Continuing down the back straight, Ozzie
The Oscar flicked through the top of the next, although the standard of
jumping was good all round so far. Makethedifference
continued to bowl along at the head of affairs, three lengths clear of the
others, as they headed towards the fourth.
Having cleared the flight, one of the joint favourites Tommy Silver
received three slaps down his shoulder and Holly Bush Henry was given a
reminder. The runners were now heading
towards the final flight in the back straight; both Theligny
and Tommy Silver received slaps down the neck following this one. Makethedifference
continued to lead, by two lengths, as the runners entered the far bend, from
Ozzie The Oscar, Theligny, Ritual Of Senses, Tommy
Silver, Who Dares Wins, Omessa Has; Holly Bush
Henry brought up the rear and was now being pushed along by his jockey Kielan Woods.
Charlie Deutsch, aboard Tom Vaughan’s second string Makethedifference, decided to take advantage of the
descent to push on and was soon six or seven lengths clear of his
rivals. This was their wake-up call
and they endeavoured to close down upon the leader led by Ritual Of Senses. Heading into the home straight and over the third
last, bottom weight Makethedifference continued to
hold his rivals at bay as he flew over the flight. As they continued to the penultimate obstable, it was left to Who Dares Wins to burst out of
the pack in pursuit; the remainder of the field were all being ridden along
by this stage. Having made no
progress, Richard Johnson decided to pull up Ozzie The Oscar before this
flight. Makethedifference
was still six lengths clear of his nearest challenger as they jumped two
out. Currently in third and fourth
were Ritual Of Senses and Omessa Has. Meanwhile Who Dares Wins continued to reel
in the leader and was upsides as they jumped the final flight; Makethedifference, tired by this stage, blundered
here. This left the Alan King top
weight to gallop to the line, and he continued to stretch his advantage all
the way to the line to win by 9 lengths.
Tim Vaughan’s other representative Theligny
continued to stay on and collared his stable companion by half a length close
home; Ritual Of Senses claimed 4th.
I
headed back to the Parade Ring area to see the horses return. Channel
4 Racing’s Nick Luck interviewed the winning trainer, Alan King, prior to the
horse arriving back in the Winners’ Enclosure. However, with the important task of
saddling a runner in the following race, namely Smad
Place, Alan’s daughter Georgia accepted the trainer’s trophy on his behalf. The favourite for the Hennessy Gold
Cup was Native River trained by Colin Tizzard and
ridden by Richard Johnson; price 7-2.
Alan King was represented by last year’s victor, Smad
Place, again ridden by Wayne Hutchison.
Also returning was the 2013 winner Triolo
D’Alene; the horse had recently lost his best ‘friend’ Simonsig when the latter had
suffered a fatal injury at Cheltenham earlier in the month. Race regular, Houblon
Des Obeaux, was a non-runner. The
starting gate for this race was at the beginning of the back straight, with
almost two circuits of the track to cover.
The main body of the field picked up stragglers
having turned and begun jogging in to the tape and then they were off, first
time. The runners were led off by last
year’s winner, the almost white Smad Place;
prominent were Local Show, Saphir Du Rheu, Holywell and Double
Ross. Both Local Show and Saphir Du Rheu had been
restrained by the time they jumped the first fence, with Native River and Coologue joining the front rank in their stead; former
winner Triolo D’Alene hit the first and jockey Jerry
McGrath struggled to regain an iron. The second fence was the first of the
open-ditches; Native River and Double Ross took the lead as they cleared
this. The blinkered Upswing,
travelling at the back of the field, made a mistake here. The favourite flew over the third fence,
with Theatre Guide jumping it a little stickily to
the rear of mid-field. Local Show
stepped through the next but survived whereas, in contrast, Saphir Du Rheu made a customary
bungle and fell; Nick Scholfield was piloting the
horse today, in Sam Twiston-Davies’ absence. The Paul Nicholls runner was fine, got up
and followed the field, but the fence suffered damage; Nick was okay too and
walked away. Native River continued to lead the way, from Coologue, as they all successfully negotiated the final
fence in the back straight; again, one of the two bottom-weights, Upswing was
a little slow at the rear of the field.
The remaining nineteen runners now headed into the far turn led
narrowly by Coologue, from Native River, Double
Ross and Smad Place; Aubusson
led the main body of runners. They all cleared the cross-fence without bother,
although Local Show had begun to show signs of distress having made the
earlier mistake. The runners then
headed into the home straight on the first occasion, with the Charlie Longsdon runner continuing to hold a narrow advantage as
they all successfully jumped the next.
The following fence was the second open-ditch, and again there were no
departures, with all competitors clearing it well. To the inside of midfield, Henri Parry
Morgan hit the next, with jockey Sean Bowen momentarily losing his right-hand
grip on the reins as a result. Double
Ross now held a narrow advantage as they jumped the fence before the
water-jump; travelling just behind the leaders, Un Temps Pour Tout hit this
one. Smad
Place gave me a fright just before he took off at the water-jump; initially
it looked like he was surprised by the nature of the fence, his head went up
and he appeared in danger of paddling through it. However, being the experienced chaser that
he is, he managed to spring over it despite the stuttering appearance of his
approach. Phew, that was a close
one. Aubusson
had drifted back noticeably through the field as they headed into the top
turn and Local Show was struggling at the rear of the field, alongside
Upswing. The front-running veteran
Double Ross continued to hold sway over the entire field as he led narrowly
from Native River, Coologue, Smad
Place and Un Temps Pour Tout. Upswing
clouted the first fence in the back straight but survived. The next obstacle was another open-ditch and, at
the rear of the field, Local Show jumped right and cannoned into Upswing as a
result. Meanwhile, Native River,
Double Ross and Coologue continued to jump boldly at
the head of affairs; Triolo D’Alene was at the rear
of the main group as they cleared the third fence in the line of 5. Or rather it would have been a line of 5 had the
next fence not been dolled off having been damaged on the previous
circuit. The jockeys angled their
mounts out wide, following the notification to bypass it; this was in the
form of a steward leaning over the inside rail whilst waving a black and
white chequered flag and ‘arrowed’
boards placed along the top of the fence. With normal service resumed, the runners now
headed towards the final obstacle in the back straight. Barry Geraghty
decided to pull up the JP McManus-owned Regal Encore at this point, although
both JP’s other runner Upswing, along with Ben Pauling’s Local Show continued
over this one; the latter two bumped again in the air ... you’d have thought
the jockeys involved would have been wise to that possibility by now! There was no change upfront as they headed into
the far bend; Holywell was now struggling at the
rear of the main group. Improving
their position as they continued to the cross-fence were Blaklion,
Vicente and Carole’s Destrier. Double Ross out-jumped his younger rival as
they cleared the fence. Richard
Johnson urged his mount along in order to keep upsides the Nigel Twiston-Davies runner to his outside as they headed into
the home straight; just four more fences now to jump. Blaklion
followed in their wake, then came Smad Place and Carole’s Destrier. Double Ross was still narrowly ahead of Native
River as they jumped four out; Blaklion and
Carole’s Destrier their closest pursuers. Behind these, the darker grey Vtya Du Roc, Theatre Guide, and Hadrian’s Approach had
stayed on from the rear of the field, and Smad
Place continued to battle bravely to the near side, despite his top-weight
this year. There were no serious jumping issues as they
cleared the final open-ditch, although Hadrian’s Approach did nod on
landing. The leaders now headed to the
penultimate fence, with the veteran still marginally ahead of the favourite
as they cleared it; the latter is a hard ride but digs deep when asked to by
his jockey, so remains a danger.
Hadrian’s Approach put in another scruffy jump here. Just one fence to go now and, as they approached
it, the brave Double Ross finally succumbed to the prolonged challenge from
Native River as the latter took the lead; very tired, the veteran made a
small error at the fence. Blaklion held a narrow third at this point, with Carole’s
Destrier at his shoulder. Smad Place’s
jumping had kept him in the race thus far and he still currently held on to
5th. Ahead, Native River initially stretched six
lengths clear as he headed toward the elbow, with Carole’s Destrier now in hot pursuit. Then suddenly, as the leader seemed to idle
slightly in front, Noel Fehily’s mount was at his
quarters and seemed determined to snatch the prize. But Native River is made of stern stuff and
found enough close home to win by half a length at the line. Phew.
Double Ross claimed a thoroughly deserved 3rd
prize, 5 lengths behind the runner-up, with Hadrian’s Approach 1¼ lengths
4th, Blaklion a length behind him in 5th, Vyta Du Roc 1¼ lengths away in 6th and Smad Place only three quarters of a length away in
7th. There had been just two fallers, in fact both the
Paul Nicholls-trained runners, with Vicente coming down at the last when well
beaten. As mentioned earlier, Regal
Encore had been pulled up, also Upswing, Local Show and Coologue. Last of the 13 finishers was Holywell who trailed in miles behind the others! Who’d have thought when I’d admired him for his
chestnut flashy-ness when running at Cheltenham a
couple of years ago, that Native River would be very talented too! The
comment I actually made in my diary following that hurdle race on Cheltenham
Trials Day in 2015, in which today’s Hennessy winner fell, was “And Native River was fine following his
fall; he followed up his mishap with a win at Exeter two weeks later; I liked
him, he was pretty!”
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure to see the winning horse arrive back. As mentioned earlier, the Duchess of Cornwall
presented the trophies. Celebrities are invited to attend on Hennessy Gold
Cup Day; I saw Andrew Lloyd Webber and his wife Madeleine (Gurdon), but
didn’t notice anyone else, including actor Eddie Redmayne
who evidently was there too. The winner’s details were unveiled upon a board
placed in the corner of the Winners’ Enclosure. Also, a representative from sponsors
Hennessy was presented with a memento containing the race-day badges for
every year of their sponsorship of the race, 60 in total. It had already been reported that this
would be their final year of said sponsorship and this was confirmed
officially not long after. The favourite for the final race of the day was Imjoeking, trained by Lucinda Russell and ridden by Derek
Fox; price 4-1. The
starting gate for this event was half way down the home straight, with that
and one full circuit to travel.
And then they were off. The runners were led away by Whispering
Harry to the near-side, to the farside Imjoeking who hit the first, with Raven’s Tower between
them. Bringing up the rear was the
enigmatic Mr Mole, still owned by JP McManus but now trained by Ben Haslam. Whispering
Harry was the length leader as they cleared the next; having not been fluent
at the first, Fou Et Sage jumped this one rather
big. The third obstacle was the
water-jump; jumping it in second position was Imjoeking,
then Ulck Du Lin, Raven’s Tower, Ultragold, Fou Et Sage, Parsnip
Pete, Ut Majeur Aulmes and finally Mr Mole. Imjoeking
snuck up the inside of Whispering Harry as they headed around the top turn
and held a narrow advantage as they headed towards the first fence in the
back straight. However, the latter hit
the top of it before landing steeply and, as a result, he fell. Raven’s Tower cleverly side-stepped the
prostrate horse as it somersaulted over and none of the others seemed to be
affected by the departure. None the
worse for his tumble, Whispering Harry was soon to his feet and galloped
after the others; James Davies was left sitting up on the turf and shortly
afterwards walked away unscathed. Imjoeking
led narrowly over the next, the first open-ditch, from Ulck
Du Lin. Raven’s Tower took off a long
way from the fence; he did clear it but lost ground as a result. The Paul Nicholls representative was
upsides the leader as they jumped the next, with Ultragold
in third position from Raven’s Tower, Parsnip Pete, Fou
Et Sage, Ut Majeur Aulmes and Mr Mole.
Having given himself a scare at the previous obstacle, Raven’s Tower
hit this one. The remaining eight continued their journey down
the back straight; they had to bypass the next fence because it had been
damaged when Saphir Du Rheu
fell on the first circuit during the Hennessy Gold Cup. There was one more obstacle to jump in the
back straight and Ulck Du Lin led over this one. Meanwhile, having cleared this fence, Mr
Mole was being bumped along at the rear of the field. Sensibly, the rider-less Whispering Harry
was bypassing the fences whilst galloping along beside the inside rail. Heading into the far turn, Ulck
Du Lin had set up a three lengths lead over his nearest rival, which was now Ultragold. Jumping
the sometimes tricky cross-fence, both Ut Majeur Aulmes and Mr Mole had
begun to lose touch with the others.
Entering the home straight, Ulck Du Lin led
over four out; Ut Majeur Aulmes was now beginning to stay on and closed on the
main group. The next fence was the final open ditch, with Imjoeking now rallying to the inside of the leader and
both Ultragold and Parsnip Pete also in close
contention. It was now the Colin Tizzard runner which closed upon the leader as they
approached two out, but Ultragold blundered and
dropped back, whereas Parsnip Pete jumped it well and took the lead. Parsnip Pete spear-headed the charge as they
galloped down to the final obstacle, with Ultragold
and Ulck Du Lin as his wingmen, and Imjoeking and Raven’s Tower just behind these. Parsnip Pete ran down the last fence and
got in close but cleared it in the lead.
Imjoeking began to fade but Ultragold raised a second challenge and continued to
close as the winning post approached. Despite his best endeavours, Parsnip Pete had
nothing more to give and Ultragold won by half a
length at the line. Raven’s Tower
claimed third despite having encountered jumping issues on the way round,
with the chestnut Ut Majeur
Aulmes staying on to claim 4th from Ulck Du Lin, with Imjoeking in
6th. And the loose Whispering Harry
continued his progress along the inside rail and headed up the course to the
inside of the water-jump; hopefully no photographers or ground staff got in
his way! What a fantastic day it had been for the Tizzards? Three
winners, including the extremely talented Thistlecrack
in the Grade 2 Novices’ Chase and the stamina-laden Native River in the
Hennessy Gold Cup. Colin is no longer
described as a dairy farmer with a few racehorses; he’s definitely a
racehorse trainer with a few cows! The
winning jockeys for the Tizzards were Tom Scudamore, Richard Johnson and Tom O’Brien respectively.
I
returned to the Winners’ Enclosure for the final time today to see the horses
come back. Final race over, it was now time for me to
leave. Although I would be heading
just a short distance to Caversham, I thought it
sensible to pop to the loo before I left, especially as I didn’t quite know
how long the race-day traffic would take to clear. Being a creature of habit,
I headed through the still fairly crowded lower ground floor of the Dubai
Duty Free stand to the ladies room I always use. There was a short queue, but not long
enough to queue out of the door and into the corridor. Penny spent, I headed
out of the small door to the back of the stand and around the corner to exit
via the gate I’d entered by earlier in the day. I headed along the roadway, which was now
completely lined with vans and lorries, before heading across the grass to my
car; my Fiesta was all on his own (yes, it’s a he not a she), so was easy to
find. Not far in front of my car were a number of items of litter, presumably
thrown out of one of the vehicles which had been parked in the row in front
and was now departed. Why don’t people
take their rubbish home, rather than expecting other people to clear up after
them? I sat in my car until the exiting queue was short
enough for me to join it without me having to push in. During the time I’d been sitting in my car,
I ate the two remaining cheese rolls.
Having joined the queue to exit at around 16:45, myself and the cars
ahead of me were being diverted through the overflow car park, rather than
having to push into the queue leaving from car park 4. This meant driving upon a roadway of metal
pontoons, thus ensuring that no-one got stuck in the mud; although, as it
hadn’t been a wet day, this was probably unlikely anyway. It was stop start, stop start for around 10
minutes. Exiting the far end of the overflow car park, it required a sharp
left and then another left turn in order to join the roadway which led from
the coach park. Stewards, standing at
the roundabout just prior to the bridge, were directing the traffic and
allowing the queues to alternate for a couple of minutes each to ensure that
everyone got a chance to head over the railway bridge on a timely basis. The traffic tailback wasn’t too bad at the other
end of the bridge either, where it exited onto the Hambridge
Road; vehicles from the racecourse having priority over those who had driven
past the station. Having approached
the traffic lights on the A4, I decided to head straight across into Fir Tree
Lane rather than take a right turn here; the tailback to turn right was long,
but there were only two cars ahead intending to follow the same route as me! I thus headed up Fir Tree Lane to the top, where
I took a right-hand turn at the first mini-roundabout before heading straight
ahead at the next mini-roundabout before soon arriving at the large
roundabout upon the A4; it may have been a slightly longer route but may well
have been quicker. I headed straight across and drove into Thatcham, my route now very familiar territory. The sole time I’ve been seriously held up
in Thatcham was in 2008 when travelling home from
my first ever Hennessy Gold Cup Day. I did get caught by a number of the traffic
lights, but it was not too much of an issue today. My route took me back through Woolhampton to Junction 12 of the M4. My night vision glasses can be worn over
glasses but, today, I wore them and left my contact lenses in for the journey
to my friend Denise’s house. I think
my night sight has deteriorated since I purchased these glasses, but it was
still an improvement on not wearing them.
Fortunately much of the route from Thatcham
to the motorway has street lighting anyway.
It had been daylight, although fading, when I left the Parade Ring but
was dark by the time I drove out of the car park. I recall someone sounded their horn when driving
around the roundabout above Junction 12; I presume a driver was in the wrong
lane to enter the slip-road – it wasn’t me in the wrong, as I was in the
inside lane! Anyway, I joined the M4
and drove along the eastbound carriageway to Junction 10. There were
currently road-works on the slip-roads which led to join the A329(M) and I negotiated this route safely before heading
along the very dark dual carriageway in the direction of the A4. The A329(M)
terminates at a business park, so I left at the junction prior to that,
heading down the slip-road and driving around the roundabout below. I then drove in an easterly direction once
more, leaving the A4 at the eastern-most lane which leads into Sonning. Again, it was difficult to see without the
assistance of street lights. When you think about it, people are now expected
to work into their late 60’s but no-one takes into account the fact that
during the months of winter they may not be able to drive safely once
darkness falls; ridiculous. Anyway, I
headed over a number of speed-bumps as the road descended towards the Thames;
I had to wait briefly for the traffic lights to change so that I could cross
over the river via the ancient single track bridge. There were two cars in front of me which I
could follow. It remained very dark until I reached the
roundabout at the Henley Road junction, at which point I turned left to head
along the thoroughfare to Denise’s house.
I pulled off the busy road and parked just outside her front garden;
the pavement is very wide at this point. Whilst I was still sitting in my
car, Denise’s husband Terry arrived back in his 4x4; he’d popped down to the
shop to get last minute provisions. Dropping in to see Denise after racing on
Hennessy Gold Cup Day has become a tradition, and it provides an excellent
opportunity to drop off her Christmas presents too; this year I even
remembered to deliver her Christmas card in person. I never expect to be fed as well as watered
during my visit, but she kindly made supper for all three of us. It was good to catch up with her again,
having previously visited in mid-September.
I stayed until 20:45; we didn’t watch Strictly Come Dancing on this
occasion, but an old episode of Midsomer Murders –
namely The Fisher King. It’s a strange
episode from my point of view, because I can never remember who is who and
what their family relationships are; I’m old and confused. Anyway, I headed home via the dark narrow lane
which leads through Sonning and back to the A4 once
more. I then headed eastwards through Knowl Hill to reach the A404(M), at which point I turned
right and drove along the unlit dual carriageway to reach the M4. Fortunately the motorway does have
lighting, so my journey back to the M25 went smoothly with good night-time
visibility and free moving traffic. Having reached the M25, I headed along the
slip-road to join the clockwise carriageway to head back to
Hertfordshire. Again the motorway was
well lit and traffic was moving freely.
I left the M25 at London Colney; the
carriageway of the bypass was very dark.
At the far end I had to stop at the traffic signals located at the
entry point to a large roundabout.
However, the phasing wasn’t as expected this evening and, having
driven at the correct speed to negotiate all the lights upon the roundabout
without stopping again, I was surprised to encounter a red light. It would appear that the day-time phasing
and night-time phasing are different. Anyway, I continued up London Road before heading
around the ring-road to reach home; I arrived before 22:00. However, I didn’t turn in until around
01:30 ... so it had been a very long day. Photos - Hennessy Gold Cup Day 2016 – Races 1 & 2 Photos - Hennessy Gold Cup Day 2016 – Races 3 & 4 Photos - Hennessy Gold Cup Day 2016 – Races 5 & 7 Photos - Hennessy Gold Cup - Hennessy Gold Cup |
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