Number of visits: 10
Racecourse Number: 9
First Visited: 1987
I have wonderful memories of racing days at Carlisle both on the flat and over jumps. My first visit in July 1987 would include Carlisle’s big flat race of the year, the Carlisle Bell. The very first race I witnessed there was won by the David Chapman trained two year old Kabcast. One fairly unusual aspect of watching racing at Carlisle was that the stand at the end of the straight provided an almost head on view. Accessed via steps near the parade ring this was a very different but still exciting perspective. I still have the race card from this meeting which shows that back then the horse numbers corresponded to the original entry numbers and so were out of sequence. For example, a field of thirteen was numbered between one and twenty four which seems very strange now. Horses I remember from that day include Hard As Iron, Socks Up and Taffy Jones. Regular northern jockeys in attendance were Steve Perks, John Lowe, Lindsey Charnock and Nicky Connorton.
I visited quite a few times with my Mum and Dad as a teenager. We would often start with a visit to the cafe which was located underneath the old main stand. Probably not high quality cuisine but it certainly had character. On my last visit to Carlisle before going to university they bought me a framed photo of the 1989 Grand National featuring West Tip and the winner Little Polveir. When at university in Leicester, Carlisle became the unlikely venue of one of my favourite days racing ever.
In my second year at University I developed a horse racing based friendship with the warden of my Hall of Residence, Adrian Wells. He had a keen interest in racing like me and at that point had a share in a horse called Wensleydalewilliam trained by Chris Thornton in Middleham. After a while he was in no doubt I too was a keen racing enthusiast and invited me to join him on a trip to Carlisle races via Middleham itself to watch Wensleydalewilliam make his hurdles debut. This included breakfast at the Thornton’s and watching the horse loaded up for the races and following on to Carlisle. The only snag was that based in Leicester we had to set off at 3am. Thinking back Adrian was uncertain I would make it and he made it clear if I was not ready he would go without me. To be fair as a student my wake up time was often nearer lunch than breakfast but he need not have worried. There was no chance I was going to miss out on this opportunity. My reward for this early start was definitely the longest and at the time my favourite day at the races. Before I knew it I was sitting in the kitchen of Spigot Lodge, legendary Middleham training base formerly run by Sam Hall. I enjoyed breakfast and the company of trainer Chris Thornton, his wife and other key stable staff. Adrian and I were treated like VIP guests. I remember discussing the story of Steve Smith Eccles who, sleeping in his car on the morning of the Grand National, was woken by someone trying to steal his car.
After showing promise in bumpers Wensleydalewilliam was fancied to run well in his first hurdles outing. At that time Chris’s runners were a big threat whenever they ran in the north. He was predicted to be second favourite to a similarly promising northern contender Kushbaloo. Carlisle was very cold, misty and grey that day but this did not detract from the excitement of the occasion. I still have a few old style photos I took. They were not of great quality but mean a lot to me. Stood way up at the top of the main stand, next to the trainer himself the day had been nothing short of an awesome experience so far. I did not enter the parade ring with Adrian but had been closely involved with everything else. There was nearly a perfect outcome when the held up Wensleydalewilliam came with a late challenge, but Kushbaloo was too strong on the day and we had to settle for second. Adrian was happy enough with that especially with the prospect of future success strongly implied. I too was upbeat having taken the slightly disloyal approach of backing our runner to win or come second to Kushbaloo at evens.
The hospitality Chris showed me that day and on future occasions would not be forgotten. Ten years later he would start to train for me and would continue to do so until his retirement. This was also the start of several racing trips I took with Adrian in the early 1990’s which really sparked my interest in racing further and got me closer to its exciting, yet previously illusive, inner circle. At the end of every year Chris produced a printout of his horses in training with a review of the year and future plans. Adrian always passed on a copy to me which kept me in the loop. Following a trainer is a great way to enjoy and keep involved with horse racing, especially if time is limited, and I enjoyed watching his runners for the next twenty years. When he retired I began to do the same with Phil Kirby.
During late 2000 plans were afoot in the Tomlinson household to arrange a surprise party at the races for my Dad to celebrate his sixtieth and my thirtieth birthday in April/May 2001. Falling two weeks apart, any day in between was ideal and we settled on a meeting at Carlisle as a great option. We would sponsor a race and invite various friends and family to attend. There was a function room within the head-on stand which was available. We were well looked after in the preparations and my wife Claire and I signed up for racecourse annual membership for 2001 which allowed us to get the race sponsorship for half price. This shrewd looking move ended up as a costly mistake. All was well until disaster struck with the outbreak of foot n mouth disease in February 2001. This led to restrictions in the movement of animals, the slaughter of infected livestock and cancellation of many race meetings near to where infections had been recorded. When the Cheltenham Festival that year was postponed and then lost we knew we were in trouble. Carlisle meetings began to be cancelled. We provisionally moved the celebrations to later meetings but one by one these were also cancelled as the crisis continued. A nightmare for Carlisle racecourse, for horse racing, the farming community and for us. Eventually we abandoned our plans and made a mental note to maybe do something for my fortieth birthday. More on that later. Racing did resume much later in the year at Carlisle with the strange added feature of walking through a pool of disinfectant on arrival and departure. We went to only three meetings as part of our annual membership that year and missed the best of the summer action which was also a big disappointment. When racing restarted Claire in particular was most annoyed when the annual members facilities, normally restricted and exclusive, were opened up to all day members as part of the racing relaunch. She has not been back. Less prone to bearing a grudge, I have!
My Dad and I returned in 2014 once again thanks to my Racing UK Club Members free day passes. Much had changed since my last visit including the building of a brand new and quite impressive main stand. Our arrival was slightly delayed by heavy rain and we sat in the car park for a good half hour waiting for it to pass. Our trip up had included a breakfast stop off at Westmorland Tebay services, which unusually for these areas is well worth a visit. As we entered the course, having already eaten we were very much focused on finding winners. We also had the added inspiration of an impressive display of previous Carlisle Bell winners over the many years it had been run, including a couple we had witnessed ourselves. Despite our motivated state we would have to wait a little while to record our first success. The first two winners of the day were Spanish Fleet trained by John Wade and Knight’s Parade trained by Gordon Elliott. They had two things in common. One that they were both likely winners of their respective races. Two that my Dad and I managed to back neither. Spanish Fleet in particular won convincingly and went to record two more course wins soon after. For race three we played it safe with favourite Drop Out Joe, trained by Charlie Longsdon and ridden by Noel Fehily. A fine display of jumping later we had our first winner. I doubled up in the next race with Dark Glacier trained by Peter Bowen.
In race five it was my Dad’s turn to take centre stage on the betting front. Normally I would put bets on for my Dad with the on course bookmakers. I have better sight and can be fleet of foot when needed. On this occasion though my Dad retained control which resulted in a memorable outcome. His fancy Rolling Maul, also trained by Peter Bowen, was a talented but moody sort. Expecting around 8-1 his plan was to back it each way. When he saw 10-1 available my Dad swooped but then realised this price was for win only. Bravely and perhaps without full thought he switched all his stake to win only. As the runners headed for home this looked a big mistake. Simply The West was well clear with Rolling Maul staying on solidly amongst a group of horses well in behind. As the leader came to the last he jumped safely but slowly, showing signs of fatigue but he was still ten lengths clear of Rolling Maul who had now asserted in second. In the furlong or so from the last hurdle to the line two unlikely things happened simultaneously. What we witnessed from the head on stand we still talk about a couple of years later. The leader’s fatigue suddenly became chronic and he began to lose momentum and speed. Meanwhile a good jump at the last created just a glimmer of hope for Rolling Maul. As Simply The West wandered all over the track Rolling Maul was straight and true. Encouraged by an increasingly animated crowd (including us two) Rolling Maul closed in rapidly on the leader with a hundred yards to go and the two fought out an unlikely thrilling finish. In the end Rolling Maul won comfortably by three lengths going away. Later, I added one more winner to our haul when the grey Robin’s Command took race six for Rose Dobbin and Craig Nichol. I really like Carlisle and always have. It is welcoming, has character, solid facilities and when I go I seem to find winners, which always helps.
