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Photos From The Day

Up early as getting ready in the morning seems to take twice as long when you are doing everything supported by a walking stick.  My hip replacement was only two and a bit weeks ago and today is my first major venture into the wide world!  We agreed that taking two cars from Beare Green was silly so Alan arrived just after 8.30am to take Sarah and I to the races.  Discussing the race in the car on the way up, Alan felt that Oscara Dara would improve enormously from running at Southwell as his work had been slightly disrupted by the snow.  To educate Oscara Dara, Alan was keen that he be ridden mid pack and allowed to pick off horses as they tired.  He hoped that Oscara would then finish in the first five or so.  Having watched the previous day’s racing at Southwell, I told him that nothing had been coming from a long way back and that if this was the plan, it was very unlikely that Oscara would be in a position to peg back the leaders.  On this basis no bets were being struck, so it was hard to understand why Oscara who had been priced at 7-1 was down to 5-1 by the time we arrived at the course!

On arrival, Alan walked the track and came back reporting that it was so soft that he nearly sank!  I asked whether this would be OK for Oscara Dara and he admitted that it was actually much softer than he had anticipated and that he was not at all sure that it would suit him.  We were joined in the owners bar by Ian and Barabara, Tony and Vicki and Dave and Cathy and before long it was time to head out to the parade rings.  Oscara Dara looked very calm in the preliminaries, unlike some of his rivals who got a bit worked up.

Timmy Murphy arrived in the paddock and confirmed Alan’s instructions that Oscara Dara was not to be given a hard race.  We did not want to run the risk that he would try too hard on the soft ground and set himself back.  The owners then headed to the stands to watch the race.

From the start, Timmy steered Oscara Dara wide to avoid the sand kickback from the horses in front.  He seemed very relaxed in 5^th or 6^th for the first circuit and moved smoothly up to 4^thround the final bend.  3 furlongs from home and certainly to my disbelief, it seemed that Timmy was now sitting comfortably alongside the leader and Oscara Dara was the only horse in the race that was still running on the bridle.  With no effort at all he cruised a couple of lengths clear and approaching the furlong pole, Timmy decided to give him a taste of racing, pushing him out to the line.  The response was immediate as Oscara Dara picked up and went 10 lengths clear, cruising to victory in front of slightly stunned but overjoyed owners!

In the winners enclosure Timmy was very enthusiastic about Oscara Dara and said he could have found more if needed.  He felt that the ground had not ridden as soft as anticipated and was delighted with him.

Then we were whisked off for presentations and a glass of champagne from the racecourse!  Two races later Preuty Boy, Alan’s other runner stayed on well but was only able to claim 4^th.  We headed for home around 3pm and were rewarded with some pretty bad traffic for the journey back.  This however did little to dampen the spirits and we now look forward to our next race!