Our columnist ran around Ascot on Saturday in the name of research and took a good blow afterwards as the final few furlongs caught her out.
As I take a brief check and a blow on the home bend at Ascot, I’m called over to the inside rail by an enthusiastic walker.
She’s American and I immediately know that whatever comes next, it will be good.
“You’re riding today? Do you think you’ll win?”
I have restarted running (slowly) since the New Year but the hazelnut praline and double chocolate cookie I stuffed on the M25 is probably not the recommended diet of a honed athlete.
Ego boosted and column opener secured, I continue the final three furlongs, sporting the obligatory Ascot course walk fluorescent armband.
From the home turn to the finish line, the last two fences stretch uphill ahead of you with the ominous presence of the looming grandstand. It’s a steeper incline than it looks on the coverage and I can imagine a gulp-worthy moment as you turn into the straight.
I bump into jockey Isabel Williams on the way in and ask the question. She has two rides on the card, Minella Blueway in the three-mile chase and Patriotik in the handicap hurdle.
“It feels a long way from Swinley Bottom and it’s probably more of a pull than how it looks like from the stands,” she explains.
“If you’re knocked out of rhythm, especially before the three-furlong marker, you can be on the back foot and it’s hard to get back amongst it.
“I would recommend that people walk the different courses when they have an opportunity. I think it helps understand why the jockeys sometimes make the decisions they do.”
With a possible jockey career in the offing, I’m hungry for more insight and request the attention of Mick Fitzgerald on his way to make-up.
“I think Ascot is a good front runners track,” he muses.
“Downhill at Ascot, it can make or break a horse. If you’re on a good jumper, you can win the race banking energy, almost free-wheeling down the hill jumping those obstacles well.
“At Swinley Bottom, chasing horses are trying to make ground on a leader uphill. If you’re in front conserving energy, you can jump the third-last and hold on round the bend, before trying to chase home before the second-last.”
They say today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chip paper but we haven’t even got to the Clarence House Chase before the headlines are out of date. Harry Cobden’s stood down before his first major ride for new boss JP McManus, leaving James Bowen as a worthy replacement aboard Jonbon.
I’m not awarding prizes – I’ve run out of mini Crème Eggs – but if I was, Daryl Jacob would be a worthy recipient as he correctly predicts how the race will unfold in the feature.
“I think Thistle Ask and Gidleigh Park will go forward; Jonbon will line up in three and I can see Il Etait Temps settling down the fresh strip of ground in the middle,” he says.
“The front two will get racing early doors, Jonbon will be wanting to keep the pressure on and to make the race a war of attrition, as it will suit him the most.”
The fall of Il Etait Temps at the second-last fence prevents Daryl from receiving the full array of points on offer, but he’s done well. So has Thistle Ask, courageous in defeat and his connections are delighted. Stood in the wrong place at the right time, I disappear into the scrum of hugs and pleasure.
“He’s chased Jonbon home, he’s done it!”
“We’re gutted but delighted, all at once.”
It’s been another cracker of a Clarence House Chase and the crowd’s rousing applause discloses Il Etait Temps getting to his feet after a nervy five minutes behind the screens. Everyone is back safe and we can go home happy.
And for anyone pondering the purpose of the fluorescent yellow armband, I was reassuringly told by the security guard at the Royal meeting that it ‘stops the snipers putting you in their sights’.
Imagine; downed in the line of duty for the Sporting Life. What a way to go.
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