Pontefract Racecourse

Racecourse number: 20

First visited: 1991

Number of visits: 7

The photograph above was taken at the pre parade ring at Pontefract in 2010. In shot are my two favourites seven year old girls from then. My daughter Rachel and my racehorse Smarties Party who was fancied for the upcoming two mile two furlong handicap.

Nineteen years earlier in July of 1991 I made my first trip to Pontefract races. Positioned right next to the M62 near Leeds it is a large square shaped flat racing track with a significant climb to the line over the final two furlongs. I have a memory of two horses from this day. After twenty one consecutive defeats Chaplins Club, a great servant to owner Peter Savill, was way off the betting radar but as an old favourite and winner of ten races was surely worth a small interest bet. Meanwhile, the previous season Timeless Times had set a record of sixteen wins in one season. I was thrilled to see this famous horse in the flesh and hopeful of a return to winning form. My two key resources for this blog are the Racing Post online database and the less well known my dads old diaries. Both are invaluable for this early period but what surprised me using the former was that the two horses above actually ran in the same race. My dads entry for this day began "We had a family day out at Pontefract races. Irene, Jason and I picked up Linda and Andrew (My sister's boyfriend at the time) from her flat and took them. We all backed one winner but showed a loss." Timeless Times disappointed carrying the burden of my wager whilst Chaplins Club flew home on the outside to spring a 33-1 surprise and provide me with that familiar racing sensation of if only, should have, could have, meant to but didn't!

My second trip to Pontefract in 1993 was with my later to be wife Claire who joined the Tomlinson family on a typical racing day out for the first time. Still keen to impress her at this stage I made a miserable effort in terms of my betting prowess on this day. Countless losing bets were followed by further betting misery when my banker of the day Lake Popoo, owned by Robert Sangster, was out battled and beaten a neck to deny me any strand of credibility. Even at this early stage Pontefract was destined to be a place of betting failure for me.

When Smarties Party ran in 2010 it would be the last time I would attend a race meeting as an owner with Chris Thornton as my trainer. Later that year he would retire following a fantastic training career which included horses like Shotgun, Path Of Peace and Flossy. Much was expected of Smarties this day which was reflected in the high number of syndicate members who turned up. I genuinely felt she would finish in the first three. She had come second on her previous two flat outings and hopes were high. One big obstacle to success was Sinbad The Sailor owned by Sir Alex Ferguson who would go off favourite. Shrewdly though, Sir Alex did not turn up to see his horse disappoint in fourth......... but he still beat us by two lengths. Patchy soft ground was touted as the excuse for a poor showing by Jockey P J MacDonald. My poor record at Pontefract continued nearly twenty years on. In truth though it was a great day out and we were well looked after by the Pontefract staff. It was a genuine thrill to be in the parade ring with my Dad, trainer Chris Thornton and other syndicate members on a fancied runner watched by my wife, my mum and my kids. Just a shame the hoped for visit to the winners enclosure was not to be.

This blog post is kindly sponsored by Guinness.

Uttoxeter Racecourse - Part One

Racecourse number: 18

First visited: 1990

Number of visits: 9

By my second year at university my interest in horse racing had become much stronger. Seventy five percent of my afternoons would be spent at the races or in the bookies. I was regularly doing two to three race meetings a week. Somehow my life had become a mixture of horse racing, playing football and drinking with friends (with the occasional lecture thrown in). Most of my studying involved racing form not my degree subjects. Leicester had regular race meetings but I needed more. The Midlands rail network allowed me to develop an additional small group of tracks which I attended regularly over the next few years. They were Southwell, Nottingham and Uttoxeter. Using my trusty student railcard I could cheaply and quickly get to these racing destinations. In the case of Southwell and Uttoxeter I was planted right at the racecourse entrance as the racecourses both have train stations adjacent to them.

Prior to 2015 my previous visits to Uttoxeter took place in the early 1990's. On my first visit in November 1990 I had £20 on a horse called Market Forces who won at 5-2. A couple of weeks later I backed him again when he won, this time at Leicester.  At the end of this first visit I helped myself to a Tote placepot poster which I displayed in my room at University for quite some time. For the next few years pictures of horses, copies of photo finishes, bookies posters and losing betting tickets would be my room decorations of choice. My biggest Uttoxeter winner from this time was Captian Dibble who easily won his first novice chase there. I had £50 on at 6-4 and he was never in any danger.  A couple of years later he would win the Scottish Grand National at Ayr. A year earlier I had witnessed his novice hurdle success at Leicester, beating my selection that day Upton Park. These form connections would be a prominent feature of my mini Midlands circuit.

In the winter of 1991 I saw Stay Awake trained by Jonjo O'Neill run on three consecutive occassions. First was a gallant second at Cheltenham on Mackeson Gold Cup Day (My first visit there). Then a cosy success at Leicester. The third run was at Uttoxeter and the race was somewhat memorable, particularly for me. There were only four runners in what was a top novice chase contest with Stay Awake a marginal favourite over a couple of strong rivals. My involvement in the outcome of this race was both unexpected and ironic. At this time in my gambling journey I would often go to the races and have one big bet or no bets at all. On this day like the previous run at Leicester Stay Awake was my one selection and I had £50 on at 5-4. Positioned at the second last fence I watched the race unfold. Going racing as often as I did at that time I enjoyed mixing up where I watched each race and was not content to simply watch in the stands. From early in the race I could tell this would not be my day. Stay Awake did not jump with the previous fluency I had witnessed and jockey Mark Dwyer did well to keep the partnership intact and keep the horse in contention as they turned for home. As the runners approached me at the second last the three leading contenders were locked in battle but with Stay Awake clearly under the most pressure, but still with a chance. As the three of them jumped as one Stay Awake made another mistake and crumpled on landing right in front of me catapulting Dwyer forward into the turf. Unusually the horse simply stood up and did not follow the other runners allowing horse and jockey to be quickly reunited. Now stories of my interaction with jockeys are few and far between but a most interesting and unexpected one then took place. In a surreal twist it became very clear Mark was coming over to talk to me. Surely an apology was not necessary, these things happen in racing! Holding Stay Awake by the reigns he simply asked if there was prize money for fourth place. Somewhat flustered I checked and confirmed that there was. He was somewhat unconvinced and pressed the matter. I again confirmed and was then supported by another race goer who had joined the conversation. Finally satisfied Mark remounted, jumped the last and claimed the fourth place prize money to the ironic cheers/geers of the crowd. Should he have known? Certainly this was an unusual circumstance and of course today he would not be allowed to remount.

There are two other significant memories that stand out from my visits to Uttoxeter. The first was witnessing the filming of a scene for Coronation Street. In it Don Brennan enjoyed a visit to the races with his new redhead girlfriend. I was very close to one scene (Don placing a bet with an on course bookmaker) but on the wrong side of the camera! In 1995 I would attend the first Sunday meeting with on course betting. Desert Orchid was the star of the show, there on parade to promote the big day. Racing seven days a week is so much taken for granted these days but I was there when it all began.