The Best Wednesday Of The Year, and Cheltenham.

The Cheltenham Festival only comes around once a year, so I was very lucky to be able to spend Champion Chase Wednesday at Huntingdon. Having attended the Festival on the Tuesday, the 7am wake up in Bristol was a rather humbling experience, especially as the price of a Guinness at Prestbury Park was not a strong enough deterrent.

I was on a train from Bristol to Swindon at 8am, before getting a taxi to my Grandmother’s house to steal her car for the day. I was en route to Huntingdon by 10am with an ETA of just after 12:30.

A first time visiting Huntingdon and I was pleasantly surprised. A very intimate course, hosting a flat track and a small reservoir situated in the middle, adjacent to the finishing post. I had the pleasure of being joined by just the one URC member which I was very grateful for. Before that, I managed to sneak a quick bowl of chicken tikka with rice - lifesaver.

We made our way to the parade ring where we watched the Turners on the big screen. Further scandal over the start and a very flat run from No Drama This End meant the first over there was a shade disappointing. Craig joined us in the parade ring and gave us the game plan. He was planning to be handy and creep closer heading into the final turn, hoping for the best as they straightened. LBG, as ever, was brilliantly turned out, marching around the parade ring with his ears pricked. He and Craig headed off to the start as the spectators filled out the stand. A pleasantly large crowd considering what was happening two hours to the West.

The flag dropped and Craig found an early position in the middle of the pack. He jumped the first well but slightly jumped into the horse in front of him, causing him to lose a little bit of ground. He continued to jump well as they came past us but was slightly struggling to go the pace. He came off the bridle as they jumped the last down the back, and it sort of looked like that was his race run. Craig kept at him, however, and he dropped his head to stay on nicely into 6th. Craig was happy with him, saying he’ll just need a longer trip and faster ground would cause no issues. His and Josh’s thoughts passed on to the WhatsApp group chat of members, it was back in the car before the second race at Cheltenham. BBC Radio 5 provided the goods on the way home, before making the trip back to Liverpool, arriving at 10pm. 7am - 10pm, some day. LBG will be back, and it was great to see him finish off his race. Another great day had, bring on the next!