(The Pea done good ....)Denman was declared to run again today and carrying top weight of 11st 12lb and conceding upwards of 13lbs to the other horses, it would be a very special win if he pulled it off.
But before I tell you what happened (if you haven't seen the race already) I wanted to share with you part of the 'Rainbow Swap' that Trash organised. It's a twist on the 'Princess and the Pea', the pea having locked the Princess in the cupboard under the stairs I reckon !
(apologies for the gimpy expression ... I wasn't quite ready for the photo)OK, back to the race. Waiting with freezing baited breath for Denman to come into the paddock. We grabbed an early seat as the course was heaving ... what you can't see is my cup of hot choccy with whipped cream on the top. Boy was it cold today. I had 4 layers on and my big wool coat. I even had long socks on under my trousers.
I'm an old hat when it comes to winter racing but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that a strapless dress, bare legs, stiletto shoes and NO coat add up to freezing your tits off and blue lips !
No word of a lie, there were women dressed like this today. I had to chuckle. Even their inch layer of hairspray had frozen rock solid.
But wait, looky here ... male totty waiting on the rails. Ok, so you may have had to shut your eyes, maybe squint a bit, even pretend ? Ha! Ha! Hardened punters me thinks. But, I was taking photo's of the race and NOT the totty ... they were all inside, in the bar, in the warm.
A proper wintery National Hunt day's racing view.
The crowds waiting for the start of the Hennessy. There is always a huge roar at the start, goose bumps galore and a hope that all the horses come home safely no matter where they finish.
Denman leading on the first circuit generated a HUGE huge cheer.
Done ! An awesome race. Other runners tried and failed to break his spirit but Denman, being the bull of a horse that he is, would not give up. The Queens horse, Barber Shop, ran brilliantly for a long way but Denman just galloped him into the ground.People were screaming, shouting, cheering, applauding and showing their appreciation of such a deserving and brave horse.
I get very emotional watching my racing and admit to having a bit of a watery eye watching the closing furlong and listening to everyone cheering him on.
Looking very chilled out on his way in to the winners enclosure. Perhaps he's thinking of his bucket of water, a nice feed and a warm rug.
The review of race read like this ...
Denman - Tracked leaders, challenged from 11th until led 15th, pushed along from 4 out, ridden when challenged 2 out, stayed on strongly under pressure run-in.
A brave, brave defiant horse. A deserving winner for the 2nd time. Long may he stay well and fit.
3 comments:
Hey hey here we are in wales back in blog land. So little time soo busy with kids and doggy and work blah blah woe is me and all that:D Check out the blog for Olly bags (one of his many nicknames) photos. Also know as poo bag, you stinker, Olly Bolly, Olskie, Olly Olskin, Oy Get off! And more often than not fart bag. Spribgers can't half chuff their way through the day!!!!! School fayres-0 hmmm yes ours is this friday and lots of people keep asking me if Im doing a stall...no been there like you waste of time to be honest all the mums here know where I sell and usually come direct to me and it's so soul destroying to come home out of pocket. Poo to school fayres . Reindeer poo yes my hubby went out in the dark one year dressed in a dressing gown (no no undies) with shovel to the farmers field opposite. Armed with a shovel full of poo he came face to face with a pair of glowing eyes at head height, panicked and ran in wellies, pant free all the way down the lane. Was it the beast of Gower? No a very large black ram standing on the stone wall!!!! But the poo convinced Kiera who was wavering about santa. There on the deck was oaty poo the next morning plus chewed up carrot ( munched and spat out by me nice) she still asks for poo on the deck even though she knows where it came from now.:D
Hi Laurie, My rainbow swap parcel arrived this morning... thank you so much. Lots of lovely goodies but I especially like my Princess and the pea hanging... I thought perhaps the princess might be under all those mattresses! Sorry to read about your school bazaar experience. I've done my fair share of those and you can never predict what will sell. The fairy godmothers are lovely and should have all gone!
Love the idea of the princess locked in the cupboard and the pea taking over... it reminds me of that book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (all about how the poor old wolf had a bad cold and kept sneezing and didn't MEAN to blow anyone's house down, and what the heck is a pig thinking of anyway, building a house of straw etc etc etc - very funny!)
Loved your racing description... Sounds like a great, emotional day.
Love Charlotte
xxx
Post a Comment