No.9 – Ripon

Monday 31st August 2015
Ripon, North Yorkshire
Distance travelled: 50.2 miles
Attendance: 5,279

First stop (sort of) on my quest to do the 59 was Ripon. Free car parking always gets the thumbs up and a short walk later I parted with £14 for admission to the paddock enclosure. First impressions were that it was a good proper traditional course in a nice setting. There was a band playing, people eating cheesy chips and the skies were reassuringly grey – a proper English bank holiday!

  

The parade ring was particularly pleasant with a small terrace running most of the way round offering decent viewing.
Service at the bar was reasonably quick and not being a fan of Fosters even if it’s free never mind at £4.10 a pint, I went for Kronenberg at £4.60. Over the odds but par for the course prices at ‘events’ these days. A decent pint and it was cold, which is more than most manage!
After finishing up moaning about the price of everything in true Yorkshire fashion, I headed to the paddock enclosure ready for the first race. No idea what the official attendance was but it looked to be in the region of 5-6000, a solid ‘busy without being too busy’ type crowd.

    

The Paddock was a large terrace that definitely had an old skool football ground feel to it. Alongside was a big stand bearing the course name, with the Club Stand at the far end for those opting to attend suited and booted. The Paddock is set quite far back from the track but still offers a decent enough view down the home straight, with plenty of room to get closer to the action by the rails if you so wish. Opposite was the Course Enclosure well populated by families with gazebos as far as the eye can see!

Whitman going on to win the big race of the day in another tight finish

My days betting was typically dire, with just the one winner in ‘The Wee Barra’ at 9/2. Even that was far tighter than i’d realised in a proper heart in mouth race which my hero just edged in a photo.
There were a couple of photo finishes on the day and it always raises a smile that no matter what gets the nod, the noise from the crowd would lead you to believe everyone was on it!

Victoria Pendleton walking the course before her first ever ride under rules

Usually by the time of the last race a decent number have headed off to try and beat the crowds or give serious thought to robbing a bank, but today was different. The vast majority appeared to have stayed put for the Victoria Pendleton show, or the ‘Betfair Novice Flat Amateur Riders Handicap’ as it was otherwise known. Going to post, her mount ‘Royal Etiquette’ gave her a bit of grief which she handled well, before eventually going on to ride a cracker of a race narrowly missing out on a win in her first ever race under rules to Tom Greenwood aboard 33/1 shot ‘Jordaura’.

Photographers lining up ready for an Amateur Novice Handicap, not something you see too often

   

Overall a cracking little day. A nice welcoming and well looked after course with no pretentions and a good atmosphere. The racing was far better than expected with almost every race coming to an exciting conclusion.

Highlight(s) of the day: Victoria Pendleton ride was entertaining and impressive in equal measure. The roar from the crowd when ‘The Wee Barra’ was announced the winner of the photo was great stuff.
Lowlight: Spending 5 minutes queuing for a refund on a daft ‘Doctor Watson’ bet, only to be informed i’d gone to the wrong bookie…

This is an after-timing free zone, as the awfulness of my selections hopefully proves!

Selections:
2:00 – Kumanavsumfun (8th of 8)
2:35 – The Wee Barra (1/7) at 9/2
3:10 – Penny Royale (3/7)
3:45 – Still On Top (3/8)
4:20 – Balducci (7/9)
4:55 – Don Keyhoe Tay (2/4)
5:30 – Ice Konig (5/12)