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2000  The Full Report on the Day
Well it was another year were the " will there be racing " "won't there be racing " scenario was well in the news again, and 24 hours before the biggest day in the Welsh Racing calendar was again under threat from the weather. I was with great relief that I say that the course had passed the 8 am inspection and the frost was in the ground but the report said that the course was just about raceable and with bright sunshine forecast the ground could only get better. So off I went to Chepstow again this year having done the homework the night before with hopes of seeing a great contest in the big race and also with some good supporting races. Chepstow racecourse gets busy on Welsh National day so it is a good idea to get to the track early the only problem with this is that the "early birds" have to park on the centre of the course as inevitably people come late and they save the main car park for the late arrivals because they can't get onto the centre of the course, but this is a small price to pay to get in early and beat the rush. The sun was shinning brightly by the time the racing started and the weather was good all day. 
There was a new attraction at the course today and that was the big TV screen that was placed opposite the stands and this was great as the undulations at Chepstow add character to the track but inevitably you can't see some parts of the course. The worse parts are the turn into the straight this is in a dip and the horses climb to get to the first two fences in the straight this can sometimes be frustrating as the second fence is the open ditch and this is a fence that horses have difficulty with and a horse that jumps this one well usually gets around fine. The other part is the stable turning just after the winning post where the jockey turn uphill again to the fences in the back, this is also in a dip and unless you are in the members enclosure you can't see this part of the course. There were a few jockey changes on the day because of injuries and suspensions but there were still good jockeys on show including the French racing family The trainer F.Doumen and his son The jockey F.Doumen who had a lively looking horses in the Welsh Finale Hurdle which was the 3rd race on the card. And we were all waiting to see if Moral Support could give the same performance that he did in the Rehearsal chase earlier in the month. The ground this year rather suprisiningly was soft and no heavy as expected and indeed as it has been in year's gone by. There were a few non-runners in the day because trainers thought there was still some frost in the ground but they were few and a good day looked in prospect. |
