Tuesday

SO, has the threat of the coronavirus stopped people attending Cheltenham, and has it seen a change of behaviour among the people who have attended? If there is a better way of answering this question than heading down to the track to press – or recoil in horror at – the flesh.

The first thing I’ve noticed is the difference in attitudes to greeting old friends and acquaintances depending on where they are from. One of the first people I meet at the track is BHA chief Nick Rust, who cheerfully offers an elbow in greeting and makes a joke about the handshake conundrum. He’s here expecting to talk about equine welfare on the back of the publication by the independently chaired Horse Welfare Board of the industry’s horse welfare strategy, entitled A Life Well Lived.

Life has a habit of overtaking the best laid plans of mice and men, however, and while the ITV team did mention the strategy, both the continuing spread of the coronavirus (on Tuesday morning it was announced, rather ironically, that the Health Minister, Nadine Dorries, had tested positive for the virus) and breaking news about the federal investigation involving leading US trainers Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro, meant that the BHA had more pressing matters to think about.

Grasping hands

Unlike their English counterparts, every Irishman I came across made a point of grasping my hand firmly and shaking it as if their very lives depended upon it – a definite cultural divide at an event which is rich in such diversity. Ian Renton noted that late ticket sales had tailed off after a typically strong early rush, and crowd numbers were down for the first time since 2014, although the atmosphere was not noticeably lacking.

One group of people who were enjoying the day more than most were the members of the Imperial Racing Syndicate, led by Ian Robinson and Paul Costello, after Imperial Aura landed the Northern Trust Company Novices’ Handicap Chase.

At a meeting where most of the winning connections were well-known industry figures, accepting their trophies demurely, and looking forward to doing the same again soon, the Imperial Racing lads and lasses were only too aware that this was their moment, and they were determined to live it up to the maximum.

Racing fans

Ian headed up the Our Friends In The North partnership which owned Imperial Commander, and recruited Paul to help expand that experience into what is now Imperial Racing, with the aim of producing another Cheltenham Festival winner for a new group of racing fans.

The group starting off sourcing one horse per year, but demand has seen the number of new horses each year increase, and all the horses are sourced and pre-trained by Kevin Ross. Imperial Aura is one of five horse to have raced this season for the Imperial Racing 2016 Partnership, and there are various other partnerships on the go, with Robinson and Costello keen to provide a similar experience for all members.

“We have over 100 owners with varying degrees of involvement from as far afield as Spain. We keep in touch with them throughout the season and have a fantastic WhatsApp group which means every owner feels a part of every horse.

“We have some who want to own a chunk of a horse so may have as much as 40% down to a couple of friends splitting 5% between them. Everybody is treated as an equal and there is no hierarchy here.”

Imperial Racing are very much in tune with the ethos of A Life Well Lived, and every penny they take in fees goes towards taking care of the horses, including rehoming and additional health care as well as experiences for the owners like an annual champagne day or buying additional badges on racedays.

Feeling strain

With Imperial Aura being widely tipped for Tuesday’s race, I asked Paul if he was feeling the strain more than usual: “Yes, it’s hard to keep everybody’s feet on the ground when expectations are high, but we were all geared towards enjoying the experience rather than just the result. It’s still nerve-wracking, though, and I found it easier to sneak off with my wife Charlene to watch the race on our own in front of the stands. David gave him an amazing ride – at the top of the hill I let out my first cheer, and by the time we jumped the third last, I knew we had it. The coming minutes and hours turned into a blur but there was a lot of hugging, cheering and drinks!

“With a chance to reflect, as much as I have waited what seems all my life for a moment like this I can honestly say that the best part was seeing the emotion on the owners’ faces; there wasn’t a dry eye in the parade ring including from our esteemed trainer. I must thank all the team at Kim’s including Lauren who looks after Aura and assistant trainer Mat Nichols; Mat has always held Aura in the highest regard and his faith in him paid off.

“We’ve now got an equally exciting prospect to look forward to with Imperial Alcazar, who could run in the Sefton at Aintree. I wouldn’t discount us being back here next year with Imperial Aura, and you never know maybe we’ll have another star coming through by then.”