DIARY –
VISIT TO ROBIN DICKIN’S YARD AT GREAT ALNE
TO SEE ANTI COOL, DONTMINDDBOYS AND GALACTIC POWER
SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2018
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Thomas Crapper (right) and Galactic Power; Anti Cool is just behind GP |
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Useful Links: EPDS’ website: EPDS on twitter: https://twitter.com/EPDS_Racing EPDS on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EPDSRacingSyndicate Robin Dickin Racing: http://www.robindickinracing.org.uk/ In addition, Robin Dickin holds an Open
Morning, which is open to any member of the general public,
on the first Saturday of the
month, throughout the main part of the National Hunt season. |
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This was the first stable visit of the 2018/2019
season organised by EPDS Racing; in 2016 and 2017 there had been a round of
visits during July and August, but not this year. This was my second trip to Robin Dickin’s yard, which is based in Great Alne in Warwickshire; the first having been in July
2017. Robin trains three horses owned
or syndicated to EPDS Racing – Anti Cool (aka Andy), Dontminddboys
(aka Casper) and Galactic Power (aka GP).
Anti Cool had been on the injury sidelines since his last run on 01
September 2016 and was now well on the way back; fingers crossed. Dontminddboys had
been on a course of antibiotics, having been affected by a virus; as a
result, he was currently undertaking limited exercise. Galactic Power was fine, and held an
engagement in one of two races at Southwell on 02
October; either the Conditional Jockeys’ race piloted by Ceris
Biddle or the 2 mile 4½ furlong Handicap Hurdle race. It’s always useful to look back at previous
diaries to discover how long it takes to drive to a yard location. My previous journey took 2 hours and 12
minutes; this included a delay on the lane approaching the yard due to the
resurfacing of a driveway. Once again,
attendee arrival time was set for 09:30, so I aimed to leave home at 07:15. I set my alarm for 05:30 although, in the
event, I woke and rose at 05:10. There
was a slight delay in taking a shower because I could hear a beeping sound
somewhere in the house and needed to locate the source. It transpired to be the CO2 monitor – the
in-built battery was running low, so the unit would have to be replaced. I ordered a new one the following day,
which arrived before the end of that week. Anyway, I made a cup of tea prior to taking a
shower; I washed and dried my hair too, before applying my make-up. Breakfast was one croissant. I was ready to leave at 07:17. Today’s outfit was a dark blue thermal T-shirt, a
beige/navy blue striped sweater, purple fleece, navy blue fleece gilet, and a new pair of indigo high waist super skinny M
& S jeans, with bum lift evidently!
I love them ... not that I need bum lift, as I don’t carry my weight
on my bum. Also my burgundy jacket,
brown footglove ankle boots, dark blue/silver
earrings, navy/blue/gold/white Kipling handbag, and blue M&S scarf with
tassels. I wore my grey Aura Hotter
shoes to drive in and also took my M&S snow-boots just in case I
discovered underfoot conditions were damp.
I also wore my white glove whilst driving, to protect the skin on the
palm of my left hand which was still healing following suspected contact
dermatitis. I’m fully familiar with the route to Stratford,
so I headed out via the City Centre route and along the A4147 to Hemel
Hempstead; I was delayed briefly in Leverstock
Green due to temporary traffic lights controlling the flow of traffic around
a large hole which had been dug in the other carriageway. With water in the gutter, it suggested a
burst water-main. Having reached the roundabout to the southern end
of the town’s main industrial estate, I turned left and continued along the
dual carriageway past Jarman Retail and Leisure
Park and down the steep hill to reach the infamous ‘Magic Roundabout’. I then
headed along Two Waters Road and across the A4251, before continuing up the
hill to the roundabout beneath the A41 bypass. There were road-works currently being
carried out on said roundabout, with the top layer of the road surface still
to be replaced. I followed a police car up the slip-road to join
the A41 and continued in a north-westerly direction, passing through Boxmoor – there were no Belted Galloway cattle in the
bordering fields today – past Bourne End, Berkhamsted,
Tring and onwards to
Aylesbury. I then headed around their
ring-road, in an anti-clockwise direction; much of this route had been resurfaced
recently, and I subsequently rejoined the A41 heading out of town and I
continued onwards through Waddesdon. There was a broken-down vehicle on the other
carriageway, exiting the roundabout outside of the Woodham
Industrial Estate. I continued through
the village of Kingswood and on to Bicester. There were road-works at the roundabout
upon entry to the town, outside the industrial area; traffic lights were
being installed. I don’t know what the
fascination is with traffic lights ... although, in general, it always seems
that traffic lights have been installed where there should be a roundabout,
and vice versa! I subsequently headed along the dual carriageway
which runs beside the Shopping Village before turning left at the far end and
continuing down the final section of the A41 to reach junction 9 of the
M40. I then drove in a north-westerly
direction along the motorway, before leaving at Junction 15; the traffic was
free-moving throughout. In the early
hours of the previous day, there had been a fatal crash between Junctions 15
and 16, involving three lorries – how three lorries managed to collide at
04:00 in the morning is a bit of a mystery to me,
but there had been an inferno as a result. At the top of the junction slip-road I took the
second exit to head along a short section of dual carriageway to a smaller
roundabout where I turned left onto the A46.
I’d soon reached a third roundabout, where I took the right-hand ‘fork’ in order to continue upon the
Stratford Upon Avon bypass. This
eventually headed downhill to a roundabout, where I turned right to head along
the A3400. Last year, my intended route via Salter Lane had
to be abandoned due to the road being closed.
This year, despite the lane being open to traffic, I decided to
continue to Wootton Wawen
as I’d done on the previous occasion.
On the approach to the village, there is a canal aqueduct – there was
a sign upon it stating so; I didn’t notice that last year! There is also an aqueduct spanning Salter
Lane and the adjacent railway line. Just before the Bulls Head pub, I turned left and
continued down a residential lane for a short distance before turning left
again to head towards Great Alne and Alcester on
the B4089. The road headed through
Little Alne, whilst meandering through the
Warwickshire countryside. Having
reached Great Alne, I turned right into Park
Lane. Beyond the last house thereon,
the thoroughfare continued slightly uphill, beneath trees, to the gate
denoting the entrance to Alne Park. The lane now climbed steeply until reaching
the yard at Hill Farm. I pulled over
to the right and parked on the grass, within a second line of parked cars. It was 09:20 and it appeared that the
majority of attendees had already arrived. On my previous visit, Robin and his family had
been living at Alne House itself; with his wife
Claire running a B & B. However, on
that occasion a move was imminent, as the house had been sold to neighbour
Dan Skelton. This meant that Robin and
his family had been displaced and thus would move back to his former abode,
Hill Farm, just down the driveway. It was a beautiful late September day, if a
little cold early morning, so I changed into my ankle boots rather than
snow-boots, put on my jacket and scarf before heading across to the house
where everyone was gathering therein.
I headed through the hallway and into the enormous kitchen and family
room. Beyond was an equally large
sitting room. What a beautiful home I
thought. There were bacon sandwiches and tea/coffee on
offer, plus some sort of sweet mini-bites.
I passed up on a drink, as I didn’t want to be caught short on the
gallops. I also turned down the food,
having already eaten breakfast. With the horses tacked up and warming up by
walking around the perimeter of the horse-walker, our group and the trainer
headed outside to see them. The
string was being led by veteran Thomas Crapper, ridden by Robin’s daughter
Harriet, and included Anti Cool, Galactic Power and Dontminddboys. Conditional jockey James Nixon was aboard
Anti Cool; he’d ridden the Tony Carroll-trained Havana Beat to win the Conditional
Jockeys’ and Amateur Riders’ Handicap Hurdle at Aintree on Grand National
Day. Robin mentioned that, in general, stable lasses
work harder than stable lads; the girls’ charges were always the first to be
pulled out in the morning! And, they
truly love the horses. As Robin had lost some of his stabling during the
Skelton purchase of Alne House, and 50 acres of the
120 acre estate, a new barn had been erected to accommodate Robin’s displaced
horses. There was a new wooden
building, housing the office, etc, and quarantine boxes too. Robin said the facilities at the Skelton
yard are second to none, and he is determined not to be the ‘poor’ neighbour; as a result a number
of improvements have been made and further ones will also be instated. Although being uprooted, Robin said he preferred
the accommodation at Hill Farm; I can understand why, the barn is beautiful. I’d love to live in the country, or at
least within a village; sadly, though, it would get difficult as one grows older
and needs nearby amenities and health care facilities in order to survive
day-to-day. When asked, Robin told us that his favourite
racecourse is Towcester; obviously he hopes the
course can be saved, having gone into administration recently. He said it’s a proper course, as jockeys
have to use their skills to negotiate it ... unlike at other venues! Robin said he admires the facilities in Newmarket
and Lambourn, but doesn’t approve of the modern-day
culture in these training centres. Also,
the turnover of staff at the main training centres is horrendous, because
it’s so easy to walk out of one yard and into another in search of
employment. We followed the horses out of the yard and into a
nearby field. They continued to warm
up, although Galactic Power was taken away from the others as he wasn’t
walking 100% soundly on the field surface which was hard. The horses subsequently set off for a canter down
the flat gallop and back again. The
flat gallop is going to be upgraded, and a new grass gallop created adjacent
to it as well. Robin explained that Dontminddboys was currently on lighter duties, having succumbed
to a virus recently. The first
medication had failed to remedy his white cell blood-count, but a second and
different type had proved successful. Obviously
he cannot run with drugs in his system, so he’d need to be given the all
clear before doing so. Besides, ‘Casper’ loves Leicester racecourse; so
there was no particular hurry to run him. After another ‘walk around’, five of the horses headed into the jumps arena –
Thomas Crapper, Anti Cool, Galactic Power, plus the two dark greys. Whilst the quintet cantered around and
around, heading over a couple of hurdles per circuit, Robin explained that
his daughter had purchased these obstacles as his 65th birthday present! Schooling completed, the horses returned to
the field and circled around us once more. The string then headed across the driveway to the
hill gallop; we followed, taking a short-cut through a paddock where two of
Harriet’s eventing horses had been turned-out. There was a flashy chestnut which Robin
identified as Mrs Prowting’s Custer Of The West aka
‘Custard’; Robin said he didn’t understand
why the owner would send one of her precious ex-racers to his daughter but
wouldn’t send a current racehorse for him to train! Fortunately the electric fence, at the far side
of the paddock, wasn’t currently connected to the current! Although, Robin didn’t seem too sure about
this, initially! We subsequently walked
across the carpet gallop and across the top of the adjacent field in order to
stand on a promontory area above said gallop.
Seven horses took part, including Andy and GP, and they were led by
Thomas Crapper. Meanwhile Dontminddboys was ridden down the field slope, before
being trotted back up. He waited at
the top until the others had completed two gallops. The horses soon joined us and Dontminddboys
on the promontory area; they walked around, warming down before returning to
the yard. We headed back also; Robin
told us the history of the two mares and their homebred foals which were
occupying the adjacent field. The
final leg of our walk took us back through the paddock where Custard and his
companion were turned-out. Having arrived back at the house, I missed the opportunity
to catch up with the next lot at this stage, heading there a little too
late. However, I did subsequently enter
the kitchen in search of the bacon sandwiches, eating two! I then returned to the yard once more; the
horses which had been exercised earlier, including the EPDS ones, were now
being taken off the horse-walker and returned to their boxes. One of Robin’s dogs, a terrier named Maude,
wanted attention from me; I declined ... I’m not a ‘dog person’ ... or a ‘cat
person’ for that matter! A number of the EPDS visitors took the
opportunity to head back to the hill gallop with the current lot; I joined them. We headed through Custard’s paddock once
more, before continuing into the adjacent top field on this occasion. The electric fence in this one was working,
but we avoided a shock; Robin revealed the fact that it was connected after
we’d negotiated the tapes! We crossed
the carpeted hill gallop near its end, and entered the field occupied by the
two mares and foals. Again the horses did two gallops up the hill
before warming down in the top field adjacent to Custard’s paddock and heading
back to the yard. One of them was
reported to be slightly unsound, behind; Robin said his wife would need to take
a look at it – she’s an equine chiropractor!
He also said he’d be lost without her, in all areas of his life. Robin explained that a public footpath runs along
the side of the latter field; wooden posts had been installed, in preparation
for fencing to be attached. However,
he said that the posts further up the field would need to be re-positioned,
because the workmen hadn’t left sufficient room for the ramblers to walk
between the fence and the hedge!
Oops! It had been Claire Dickin’s idea to install a fence; she was worried that
any horses in the field might kick out at a dog accompanying the walkers,
thus avoiding being sued! Personally, unless the dogs belong to the
landowner or are working dogs within their own environment, I think they
should always be kept on leads in the countryside. Obviously there’s sheep worrying to contend
with; in fact, animal worrying of any kind caused by a canine. I recall Abbots View Alpacas said they lost
one of their camelids during a walk outside their
farm boundary, following an attack by a dog.
Cattle can be very dangerous, to walkers; never walk between a cow and
its calf. I can also recall taking a footpath
diversion, having encountered cattle with huge horns, within a field near Hawridge in Buckinghamshire. On this occasion our group exited the top field via
the ‘proper’ gate, rather than via
the ‘electric fence’ route,
continuing down the driveway to the yard. Harriet was about to take her 3-star event horse
for a hack; Dargle Looks. He was very well behaved, standing on the
driveway whilst his rider enjoyed a chat with everyone. However, Harriet said he’s a naughty horse,
who doesn’t like other horses! He often
jumps out of his field too. She said
that, when she has been on the injury sidelines, the former head girl exercised
Dargle; he whipped around and dumped her! Harriet told us that she bought him
cheaply, for an event horse, due to his personality issues. The vendors knew he needed a proper
horseman or horsewomen to pilot him, but having seen her ride the horse they
were pleased to sell him to Harriet; they were well-suited. Dargle
completed Blenheim in 2016 and her ambition is to complete Badminton before
her mount gets too old. He’s currently
15 or 16. She said only certain
cross-country courses suit her mount and Burghley isn’t one of them! Dargle had been
on the injury sidelines recently and was now on the way back. I left the yard at noon, to begin my journey home. I headed back down the hill to the main
gate. Harriet and Dargle
Looks were standing in a lay-by, down the lane; she waved me by as he stood
as solid as a rock. Last year, I’d headed back via Alcester, Evesham,
Chipping Norton, Bicester and Aylesbury; this time
around I decided to retrace my route back to the M40. Whilst driving on the motorway, I mulled
over my options with regard to the remainder of my return route. I could have left the motorway at Banbury
and travelled back via Brackley, Buckingham, Milton
Keynes and the M1, or retraced my route via Bicester. I dismissed the former as no longer
familiar, having not travelled the route for many years. The latter falls down in that Bicester is a nightmare around lunch-time, due to the
Shopping Village and the new Tesco store causing congestion on the A41. The M40 was clear, until the approach to the
A41/A34 junction, at which point traffic came to a standstill. So that was why an overly large number of
vehicles had decided to leave at Junction 10; that will be the ‘satnavers’
then! It later transpired that it was
just the inside lane which was badly affected, due to an obstruction on the
slip-road leading up to the roundabout.
Eventually there was a break in the traffic and I was able to move
into the middle lane in order to bypass the junction. The stretch of motorway which passes through Otmoor is not well travelled by me; I am familiar with
the M40 north of junction 9, and east of Junction 8, but not in between. I could have left the motorway at junction
8A, and headed back via Thame and Aylesbury, or
junction 6 and returned via Princes Risborough and Wendover. I chose
to remain on the motorway and continued up through the Chilterns Escarpment,
bypassing High Wycombe en route. One
driver didn’t realise that the inside lane at High Wycombe Central continues
up the slip-road, so made a last minute manoeuvre into the middle one; I had
to brake as a result. My final cross-country route option was to leave
at Junction 2 and head back via Amersham, Chesham and Hemel Hempstead ...
but, by this stage, I just couldn’t be asked; I continued to the M25 instead,
and joined the London orbital motorway at junction 16. I subsequently headed along the clockwise
carriageway. I’d read internet reports that the familiar ‘Give Peas a Chance’ graffiti which
adorns a railway bridge spanning the motorway between junctions 16 and 17 has
suffered a mishap. It had morphed into
‘Give Helch a
break’ – protesters want the original graffiti to be reinstated ... and I
actually agree with them! Nearing Watford, I noticed a large plume of black
smoke originating from somewhere within the M25. I later discovered it was caused by a huge
fire at a scrap-yard in Oakridge Lane in Aldenham;
the smoke was drifting across Borehamwood, Bricket Wood and Radlett, with
residents being warned to keep their windows closed. I continued to junction 20, before leaving the
motorway and heading up the London Colney bypass to
enter my home City. I arrived home just
after 14:15. * *
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* * POSTSCRIPT:
Galactic Power missed his intended trip to Southwell on 02 October as he was discovered to still be
sore behind as his race date approached.
However, this issue soon resolved itself, with a new date for his
post-holiday return envisaged to be Carlisle on 18 October. |
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PHOTOS – Visit to Robin Dickin’s yard at Great Alne (Index) |
