It's Day 3 of our Christmas countdown and Simon has written a brilliant piece for you all about his annual trip to Ascot's QIPCO British Champions Day. Give it a read and come back tomorrow for the next racing memory!
Once You've Been You'll Count Down The Days 'Til Next Year by Simon Morrison-Peacock
I remember the day well,sat in a local pub with my mates on a Sunday lunchtime and as usual the banter got round to yesterday's racing. Swapping tales of triumphs and oh so nearly the big ones as the amounts got larger with the increasing alcohol intake.
Gradually the chat got round to days at the races,my mates had started going to Ascot-lucky for them Frankies magnificent 7 day-and said what a great weekend it was and I should think about going next year. The statement was that once you go you'll count the days off till the next year.
Well little did I know that Sunday lunchtime session would shape my life and its commitments over the proceeding 20+ years. Never has a truer statement been uttered,I look forward to this weekend more than most of my breaks in the year,we have a great time and watch some quality racing.
Anyway I digress,the weekend involves travelling Friday morning,the day before Champions Day,returning the Monday after. 3 day weekend in the smoke and an intense days racing on Saturday,the consumption of larger than necessary quantities of alcohol and the staking of larger than usual wagers on ever increasing desperation depending on the way the weekend has panned out.
The jaunt begins with meeting at Darlington Station,I must point out there are several unspoken but closely followed traditions of the trip,the first can doesn't get opened until the train moves out of Darlo,the person who wins at cards on the train is destined to have a nightmare weekend gambling-a curse that remains yet to be lifted-on arriving at Kings Cross we get a cab for the 10 minute walk to hotel,listening to the inane banter or outright bragging of the jovial London cabbie-just don't mention Uber-before checking in placing clothes carefully away,the suits are suitably given extra revnance and then the fun begins.
In our younger days,the Friday meant a long session,waking up with a hangover and feeling rough until hair of the dog on course,however as we have gotten older we have whilst not got much wiser,we have realised that the whole point of the trip is the racing and not who can drink the trips body weight in whatever beverage we are consuming and so we reach the Saturday in a more soberish frame of mind. The Friday now consists of meeting up with old friends and a decent bite to eat before a leisurely drink at hotel and bed.
The trip was originally ran by a group of older guys who love their racing,however the ravages of time has meant some are sadly no longer with us or have reached an age were it is impractical for them to go to such a prestigious meeting owing to various old age factors. So we took over the running of it and whilst it started out as a group of 6,we now have 14 going and more wanting to go every year. So the logistics of organising,hotels,travel,tickets for the racing,tube etc whilst sounding a simple enough task is time consuming and a living nightmare when it comes to actually obtaining payment,the group now consists of an age group of 23-56 year olds. I don't know how we do it but it eventually gets done and we arrive and return as a group,though somewhat disheveled on the Monday. It involves dealing with hotels to get best deal possible,the £85 for Ascot upper level tickets and booking trains 6 months in advance to obtain best prices possible. Though inflation has done us some what the 3 day weekend minus beer and gambling money still pulls in for less than £320 all in.
When Ascot swapped meetings of Champions Day for the Royal Lodge meeting we went to we had a dilemma as to what to do. After discussions and a vote we decided on giving Champions Day a blast to see if was ok. So that was that we have since attended everyone with ever increasing numbers on the trip and we love it. The first Champions Day was met with some trepidation,the racing media were less than enthusiastic,TV was very anti at the time and all predicted failure. The day and the meeting were saved by a wonder horse of the ages,the mighty Frankel. It was if the horse realised this is my stage and I'll show you what a great day it is. Boy did he show us. There were teething troubles,transport to and from London to Ascot was a nightmare,over full trains,lack of services and little things during the day were niggly but Ascot listened and has learned,every year they produce something new,something eye-catching and gradually the quality of the races has increased to were in my opinion this years meeting was beyond world class,a truly exceptional days racing.
This year was slightly spoilt for me by the lack of security up stairs,having paid top whack it was disappointing to see that anyone and anybody got upstairs if they wanted to and the easy to get around reduced capacity was back at the bad old days before they changed it. I did write to Ascot but have yet to receive a satisfactory reply apart from platitudes.
However as Niamh wrote in her excellent piece on the day it is a must to put on your list to attend. Apart from the racing,there is plenty to see and do prior and post racing,the transport and station organisation has improved considerably,the facilities in the new stand are world class and with so many group 1's on the card this is a must see fixture. ITV have done an excellent job in building it up and televising all races,I think it is only a matter of time before the stayers race achieves Group one status and the cavalry charge handicap is changed to a listed race.
The trip as I say is a big thing for myself and my mates who go,we save all year,look forward to it all year round and the planning for the next year begins on the train Monday morning. I'm quite proud of ourselves that we run a trip for such a decent price,when the equivalent through a travel agent or specialist company would be double what we are currently paying. So if meeting a group of Teesside lads who love their racing,enjoy new company,then why not join us next October at the meeting. We are as the title suggests, counting down the days.
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