The Ladies’ Challenge Plate has been competed for at Henley since 1845 but ladies are not eligible for this event. The Coffee Room at many London clubs is the only room where coffee is not served. So I wanted to see if there would be any ladies at Ladies’ Day at Cheltenham this week.
There were, but 90% of the large crowd (57,000) was male. Sensible ladies wore thick tweed but some dressed-up as if for a warm summer afternoon at Ascot. The sun did shine but Cheltenham is exposed and there was a brisk wind which just goes to show what a doughty breed female racegoers are. Here is a line-up of some of them from the Daily Mail.
There have been some changes at Cheltenham since my last visit in the 1970s; most obviously new grandstands and an increase in corporate hospitality, as it’s coyly termed. But where have the Irish priests and the tic-tac men gone? The former maybe discouraged from attending in Lent, the latter made obsolete by modern technology, I suppose. Two things haven’t changed, the craic and the Guinness.
There was a popular win in the big race, the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Ten year old, Sprinter Sacre had not raced since 2014 after heart problems but proved that he had made a full recovery when he won by seven lengths. The racing crowd are generous and cheered him home although he was not the favourite. Here he is after the race with Nico de Boinville up. It looks as if he’s been at the Guinness too.
Finally, a happy birthday to any reader whose birthday falls on St Patrick’s Day. You know who you are.