Winners and Losers

My thousands of readers will have noticed that I failed once again to make my regular Sunday post last weekend. The excuse this time - I was down at Cheltenham for the Gold Cup and only returned home late on Sunday evening.
I've been a fan of jumps racing for many years - those old steeplechasing campaigners come back year after year, unlike their soft and cossetted flat racing relatives who may only run a few times - often only for a season - then retire to stud. The jumpers become old familiar friends (though, like friends, you may curse some of them them occasionally!)and National Hunt racing remains something of a sport, a tradition other than a big business.
I've wanted to go down to Cheltenham for the annual National Hunt Festival for over 25 years, but for a number of reasons it never happened. Instead, I've taken annual holidays to watch the races on telly, either at home or, in my Scotsman days, in the pub. However as a birthday present for me last year Caroline arranged a trip (or is that a pilgrimage?)down to Prestbury Park for the Gold Cup on Friday.
Cheltenham is a notoriously difficult meeting to find winners - huge fields, mind boggling handicaps and the absolute cream of jump racing from the UK and Ireland trained to peak fitness for those races in March. There's over twenty races and I think I'm doing quite well if I can bag a winner per day (the Festival used to be held over three days but was extended to four a few years back).
Since I left the Scotsman in 1999 I haven't followed the form as religiously as I used to in the run-up to Cheltenham, but because I was actually attending the meeting this year I decided to subscribe to Timeform and do some homework beforehand. It paid dividends too - two winners on the opening day and another two on Thursday's ten race card (Wednesday was postponed due to high winds causing structural damage to the course) meant that I was well in front - as long as I didn't lose too heavily on Gold Cup day I would finish the week in front (something I haven't achieved since the unforgettable See More Business - my favourite ever horse, and not just because I won a lot of money on him - triumphed in the Gold Cup in 1999.)
However that proved a challenge - the rescheduled card offered nine betting opportunities, and because you are down there you really can't just stand and watch without placing a wager with those cheery Irish bookies, can you? Well, the day was a marathon not a sprint - we left our hotel in Bromsgrove at 9:15 and it took two hours to reach the course; the roads were jam packed with racegoers and you envied those lucky (and rich) folk who travelled to the course by helicopter - and there were dozens of them. Anyway, our early departure meant we arrived in plenty time for the first race and we had time for a leisurely stroll round the various stalls and a chance to soak up the atmosphere before the first race at 12:30.
I won't bore you with details of the racing: suffice to say that, despite my having spent hours poring over the form book, I failed to get a horse even placed in the 12:30, the 1:05, the 1:40,the 2:15 or the 2:50. Despondent? No - even despite the fact that Caroline - no student of the turf but picking horses because she 'likes the name' - was collecting from the bookies after almost every race!
I believed that Kauto Star would win the Gold Cup although I wouldn't back him at short odds, so I had a small bet on an outsider called Knowhere (guess where he finished? No - he was sixth!) and watched the most eagerly anticipated Gold Cup clash in my lifetime. As it turned out, it was not the neck and neck struggle up the famous Cheltenham hill that many pundits had predicted and racing enthusiasts had hoped for - Denman (Kauto's stablemate) galloped his rivals into the ground and had them all beat a good way out. I don't think Kauto Star showed his true form (perhaps the good to soft ground was tackier than he likes) but take nothing away from Denman. He looks an awesome beast and he's truly a worthy champion.
On to the Foxhunters - this race for amateur riders traditionally follows the Gold Cup and I've had the winner here a few times over the years. And yes, I backed a winner at Cheltenham!!! Amicelli won well, and at a very rewarding 33-1.
I didn't back another winner but Amicelli ensured that the day didn't prove too costly.
It was an experience I'll always remember so thanks, Amicelli, thanks Caroline and thanks Cheltenham for the memories - the women dressed a la Royal Ascot in chiffon and ridiculously high heels (spotted later up past their ankles in fine old Gloucestershire mud), the seething throng that packed the Guinness village, the hard-working bookies who handed over money with a smile (honestly!) and the legion of happy drunks wandering around the car park in near dark looking for their lost coaches. Magic.
We spent the rest of the weekend with Esther and Peter in Birmingham - as ever they were generous hosts and we enjoyed a few (well more than a few)drinks in one of the many new waterside bars which have sprung up since Birmingham's canal has been regenerated. That area was really run-down but it's now really bustling with bars, restaurants and small craft shops; it seems that this is one regeneration that has proved a success.