Newbury Races, Friday 17th September as guests of Haynes Hanson & Clark wine merchants

For as long as we've known Charlie Stanley-Evans, sales director at Haynes Hanson & Clark (HHC) we have been fortunate to be invited to their annual champagne reception in the Fred Winter suite, a facility in the impressive Berkshire Stand at Newbury racecourse which is large enough to accommodate up to 300 of their guests. My company buys its wine from HHC for hospitality events we run at Twickenham, Lord's and we've placed a big order for their fantastic Pierre Vaudon NV Brut champagne for a big concert at the Chelsea Old Church we are organising on 30th September on behalf of the Orchestra of St. John's. As Nick Clark, the HHC Managing Director points out in the video interview, sponsoring an important race at Newbury and inviting guests to reward their loyalty over a few glasses is a crucial element to their annual marketing and customer relationship management.

We set off from Kencot at just after 12.30 and arrived literally as the horses were pulling up at the end of the opening 6F sprint which went off at 1.30. Ned was experiencing his second day's racig inside a week; he's definitely starting to get the hang of it as, once again, he took the whole occasion in his stride and we were able to stay for 4 races which gave us plenty of time to catch up with some old pals and enjoy the build up to the 30th running of the HHC Conditions Stakes which was off at 3.45. Rachel and I took it in turns to look after Ned so that we could enjoy the HHC hospitality up in the suite - as usual, the service and quality of their wines was excelllent.

In the second race I backed Dazzling Diamond £5 each way at 14-1 with Sunderlands down on the rails. We didn't win anything at Donacaster and the losing streak, sadly, continued as the horse wasn't placed. Up in the box I was chatting to Simon Seddon-Brown, an old friend, who confidently told me that a horse called Delegator would win the 2.35. Off I trooped to the Tote and put £10 on to win. Well, blow me down, Simon was bang on the money and the horse won at 3-1, netting me a profit of £30. I offered to buy him a drink but there was free champagne so, we laughed and agreed "another time"!

I had agreed to interview Nick Clark immediately after the 2.35 and once I had done this I went down to the paddock to meet up with Rachel and take over Ned responsibilities. I didn't back anything in the Arc Trial at 3.10 but Rach staked £5 e/w on Campanologist who came 3rd with the Tote paying a dividend of £1.50 for the place - so we actually ended up losing £2.50....but it could have been a lot worse. The Godolphin horses are running particularly well at the moment but no Frankie Dettori this year, Ted Durcan was the jockey for the Godolphin Royal Blue at this meeting.

In the HHC Conditions Stakes at 3.45 I staked £5 e/w again with the Tote, as there was a kiosk just outside the box, on Cloud Rock. I watched the race on TV in the box whilst chatting to Ian Renton, Racing Director of Arena Leisure, also a guest of HHC so I was able to talk about my role as a Voice of the Races and tell him how good the hospitality facilities had been up at Doncaster. He told me that the 4-day St. Leger Festival had been a great success for his business and was positively beaming.

Cloud Rock ran a pretty good race but finished outside the places. Perhaps this colt will come on for the run...I suspect so. I headed to the winners enclosure and took some photos of Nick presenting a lovely magnum of wine to the co-owner of Moriarty, Michael Pescod. This horse is trained by Richard Hannon who is having a fantastic season.

We stuck to the plan of leaving the races at 4pm and made it home in time for Ned's 5 o'clock feed.

Another fantastic day's racing was enjoyed by all.

Financial position on the day: £7.50 profit

St. Leger Day, Doncaster Racecourse, Saturday 11th September 2010

Checked out of the Campanile Hotel, Doncaster at 11am having loaded all the clobber, mainly Ned's, back into the car. The cot just about fit into the bathroom and fortunately he kipped as soundly as usual despite the efforts of a few high spirited (lashed) punters returning to their rooms in the small hours. I didn't sleep that well as was too excited about Leger day and meeting my fellow Voices to be honest. Thanks to the RCA car pass we were able to park really close to the main entrance to the racecourse where we were met by Robin from the BHA. I couldn't help but notice the huge Roll of Honour of St. Leger winners though and took pride in seeing Blair Athol immortalised as the winner in 1864. Rachel's great great Grandfather William Allison, a Yorkshireman by birth, was connected with the horse which also won the Epsom Derby that year. We were whisked off to have some photos taken in the Champagne Lawn where we grabbed a table and enjoyed a lovely glass of Pommery. Ned (11 months) seemed to be taking it all in his stride - his first day at the races and our first as a family. Rachel looked fab and the sun was shining.We had a reservation for lunch in Silks restaurant (the old weighing room) at 12noon, earlier than we might normally have eaten in the past but now we operate to Ned time. There was a nervous silence as we were shown to the table and whilst the high chair was assembled...how would we cope, how would Ned cope, how would the staff cope, what were the other diners thinking other than they must be mad coming racing with their baby....!! Service was excellent and well timed so that once we'd fed Ned we could enjoy our starters - R had Moules Mariniere and I had the Thai fishcakes - all scrumptious - followed by Bangers & Mash for me and the fishcakes for R. We had a bottle of house champagne to celebrate our wedding anniversary which was a real treat. It's amazing to think that 7 years ago to the day we were getting hitched in Oxford...special memories. Ned's patience began to wear thin so no time for pudding or coffee but he needed changing.....this was going to be the acid test....how easy would this be? Silks has very good baby changing facilities in the Disabled WC so a very big thumbs up to them.....maybe a day at the races with a baby isn't so difficult after all.......it's a long day though (7 races on the card) and eventually we would need to head back home (3 hour drive) so having enjoyed yet more bubbles courtesy of Nigel from Racing for Change it was time to enjoy some racing and have a few bets. Damn it...needed some cash.....huge queue at the ATMs in the Grandstand and then eventually got some money for which I was charged £2.50 for the withdrawal.....why can't racecourses have recognised high st bank cashpoints as part of the set up I wondered.....? In the first, I staked a fiver with the Tote on Waiter's Dream (inspired by Ned's behaviour in the restaurant, of course!) but quickly saw that go up in smoke. In the 2nd I handed betting duties to Rachel and she backed the Henry Candy runner Signor Peltro £2.50 each way again at the Tote for convenience. Long journey from his yard at Kingston Warren and he'd had a big sprint winner at Haydock last weekend. Ran a poor race and we finished outside the money. In the St Leger itself the hot favourite Rewilding was unattractive at the price so our money went on Dandino and Total Command both £2.50  each way. We were right to avoid Rewilding but our selections didn't feature. Total losses incurred on the day £20 but at least a % of that will be reinvested in racing....small consolation for us but in an age of austerity the industry needs everything it can get. We left after the St Leger and had a good ride back to Kencot in time for Ned's evening meal. So, the end of our first day racing together as a family....would we do it again? Yes, definitely, but we'd stay local so that we could squeeze in more of the racing itself and not have the worry of a screaming baby in the back of the car!!! Hats off to the staff at Doncaster racecourse especially the team at Silks - you were great and please pass our compliments to the chef. And, how can I forget the meticulous planning of the 24 hour trip by my lovely wife, I couldn't have done it on my own that's for sure.

St. Leger Meeting - Doncaster Races, 10th -11th September 2010

We're almost ready for our trip up to Doncaster on Friday for the St. Leger on Saturday. It's a course we've not been to before so we're very excited. I have just been up to a family funeral near Thirsk in N.Yorkshire and we passed signs to Doncaster races on the way so I am pretty confident that the route is now sorted (we will not be relying on SatNav just a good old fashioned road map). The course was certainly well signposted from the motorway. In fact, we picked up some relatives at York train station en route so we actually drove past York racecourse too. There's something about York.....I wonder if Doncaster will give me the same vibe. We'll find out soon enough.