The Turf | 14 March 2009

The Wagnerian tenor Lauritz Melchior was supposed to conclude an operatic scene one night by leaping upon a mechanical swan gliding across the stage. Unfortunately the appointed swan arrived, and departed, before he had concluded the key aria. More than a little miffed by the failings of the production team, Melchior turned to the audience and inquired acidly, ‘Anybody know the time of the next swan?’

I too have a fairly spectacular missed-bus problem. Although most readers will not see this article before Friday or Saturday, The Spectator’s production schedule requires the copy to be delivered on a Monday. This offering cannot therefore reflect on jump racing’s major event of the year, this week’s Cheltenham Festival. Apologies, but at least the events at Sandown last Saturday gave us a heady advance whiff of the brew we will hopefully have been savouring this week in the Cotswolds — good winners from Nicky Henderson and David Pipe, a master class in jockeyship from Tony McCoy and a well-celebrated Irish coup.

Trainer Paul Nolan brought over Golden Sunbird from County Wexford for the mares bumper (a Flat race confined to National Hunt horses) and bookmakers’ wires were soon humming with news of how much money was flooding on her the other side of the water. With Tony McCoy booked after Golden Sunbird had won her only other race back home under a 7lb-claimer the 6–1 available early on seemed generous and the good-looking chestnut came home comfortably ahead of Lucy Wadham’s useful Kentucky Sky.

I found myself caught up among celebrating members of the Banjo Syndicate as the contestants came back along the horsewalk and the whooping and hugging that went on among impeccable tweeds, dog-eared anoraks and City coats made it clear that the money had been down.