The April Meeting 16th April 2014

I didn't get a lot done at the April meeting on Wednesday 16th April - one drawing  mainly because it was sunny and I decided to have a few bets and a drink for a change. It was magnificently sunny and quite warm on the Wednesday, and there seemed to be an unusual amount of families with young children running around everywhere on the lawn. In other words, about as different from the Festival a month earlier as possible. They were also in the process of pulling down some of the old members' stand in preparation for development which will take place over the summer. I drew the view from my position seated on the grass in front of the stand - by Thursday it had mostly been demolished.

The Festival - Gold Cup Day - Friday 14th March 2014

Friday is Gold Cup Day at the Cheltenham Festival, hosting the most prestigious race in the jump racing calendar, the 3 mile 2 furlongs Cheltenham Gold Cup. As such, it's the busiest day of the Festival by far, making the previous crowds seem easy in comparison. Over 70,000 people were packed into the course on Friday, which made it difficult for me to find anywhere with enough space to draw. I managed to get a view of the parade ring before the second race of the day, the Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle. 

The day turned out to be an unlucky one for several high-profile jockeys - except for Davy Russell, who had three wins including the Gold Cup. First to go was Festival favourite Ruby Walsh, who suffered a broken arm in a fall in the first race. Next it was Daryl Jacob's turn. Having won the second race - his first of the Festival - his luck turned immediately for the worse when his horse, evidently spooked by something, careered at pace into railings in front of the Best Mate enclosure before the start of the third race. I drew the unfortunate Jacob as he was being tended to by medics. His horse, Lac Fontana, is being led away in the foreground.

The ensuing delay lasted 10-15 minutes as Jacob was stretchered into an ambulance. Later, it emerged that he had broken his knee, leg and elbow. Meanwhile, the rest of the riders circled uneasily on their horses, waiting for the course to be cleared.

The third race won by Very Wood, it was time for the biggest race of the Festival - the Gold Cup. The race had been billed as a return clash between the two heavyweight trainers, Nicky Henderson with last-years winner Bob's Worth and his rival Paul Nichols with King George winner Silviniaco Conti. With nerves still jangling after the previous injuries, the race had to be restarted twice before they finally got away. I was drawing up in the stands above the Tattersalls betting ring as this was going on and was able to capture the close finish as three or four horses crossed the line neck-and-neck. 

In the end, after a lengthy stewards enquiry, Lord Windermere, ridden by Davy Russell, was proclaimed winner. I caught Russell in a quick sketch as he pumped his fist in celebration parading past the crowd, few of whom must have backed him as he set off at 20-1. 

The Gold Cup over and done, but there was more incident still to come. I crossed the track and drew the Grandstand as the evening sun dipped below the roof, hoping to catch the horses running up past me to the finish in the last race of the day. What actually happened was that A.P. McCoy was unseated about five metres in front of me and the spectators I was with, dumped on the floor and trampled badly. As McCoy writhed in pain, the area was quickly sealed off by stewards. About five minutes later, the champion jockey pulled himself up and limped away across the grass, assisted by medics.

I emerged feeling somewhat privileged not to be a jockey. I didn't feel much like drawing after that, but here is a picture of some bookmakers packing up their pitches at the end of this year's Festival.

The Festival - St Patrick's Thursday - 13th March 2014

Officially, it's not St Patrick's Day until Monday 17th, but it's become a tradition at Cheltenham since the Festival became a four-day event to have a day named after the Irish patron saint. The card is always full of Irish horses, jockeys and trainers, and there's no shortage of Irish in the crowd either. Guinness is a prominent sponsor of the Festival and the Guinness Village is something like the day's official watering hole. Even in the morning, it's packed: 

There were Guinness St Pat's hats everywhere you looked, although most of the people wearing them weren't actually Irish. I drew these characters on separate pages and pieced this image together.

Inside the Guinness Village, I fought my way through the throng and rested on the railings of the bandstand to draw these racegoers watching the band in between races. The Guinness was in full flow but not all of the punters were doing well, as evidenced by the man covering his face with his hand.

Barry Geraghty is interviewed on his way back to the winner's enclosure after winning the Ladbrokes World Hurdle on More Of That. I drew the Guinness stand in the background before waiting for Geraghty to pass to sketch the horse and rider.

A view down the rails between two sets of bookmakers' pitches before the running of the final race of the day, the charity race. 

After the races there was a bloodstock sale held in the main parade ring. Something like £1.6 million was allegedly spent on horses - not a penny of which was spent by champion jockey A.P. McCoy, who I drew as he chatted quietly on the periphery of the main crowd. A.P. had a bad fall on Wednesday evening but, as is his style, had regrouped to win the first race on St Patrick's Thursday aboard Taquin Du Seuil.

The Festival - Ladies Day - Wednesday 12th March

Day two is Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Festival, something like National Hunt Racing's answer to Royal Ascot. There's a distinct lack of the Ascot pomp and ceremony to proceedings, however, and once racing is underway, it's the usual anarchic Cheltenham going, albeit with a splash more colour. Here the punters begin to gather near the fences with Cleeve Hill in the background as the first race of the day begins. 

Somehow, the feathers and hats and colourful coats only seem to emphasise the fact that the majority of men in the crowd are wearing either black or beige, or both at once. 

It's business as usual for Channel 4's Tanya Stevenson, preparing to summarise shifts in the betting before the day's feature race, the 2m Queen Mother Champion Chase. Except of course, in that this year she's sans John McCririck, her former co-presenter who used to refer to her as 'the Female'. 

The crowds are dispersing after the fifth race of the day. The members grandstand is in the background, assorted outfits in the foreground. 

At the end of the day the racegoers in the bars are split roughly between tea and champagne, and it's not hard to tell who's drinking which. 

In the 'Fashion Zone', new to this year's Festival, there have been catwalk models and displays all day. Here the Ronnie Scott's All Stars band, led by pianist James Pearson, play a set for racegoers who can't quite bring themselves to leave the racecourse just yet. 

The Festival - Champion Day - Tuesday 11th March

The time has come - it's the Cheltenham Festival 2014! I was there bright and early, well, at least in time not to miss anything significant. The first thing I noticed were the massive crowds and the fact that my parking badge is now useless so I had to pay £6 to park at the Pump Room. When I got to the racecourse I realised that the drawing was going to be a bit different from the quieter race meetings so far this season: 

Punters queue to enter the Centaur as the doors open at 10.30am and the Cheltenham Festival 2014 is underway! From the top to the bottom of the town the streets are full of racegoers 'preparing themselves' for the week ahead. This time last year, there was threat of snow on Champion Day, but today the sun is out and the air is clear, though cold. 

Punters observe the first horses to come out into the Parade Ring for the Sky Bet Supreme Novice's Hurdle, won by Vautour, trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Ruby Walsh, frequent winners at the Festival. 

Photographers congregate around trainer David Pipe and connections, after Western Warhorse's victory in the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy. The Festival is one of the sporting media's biggest events of the year. My friend Gavin James in in there at the front, with the flash. 

A groom from Nicky Henderson's yard leads Ma Filleule around the Parade Ring before the third race.  

Ma Filleule came in second having led until the third-last fence; here she is being dusted off after the race and being observed by pleased connections. 

Not a part of the racecourse is inactive during Festival race-days, even during a race. Here punters watch the racing from a Pizza stand. 

A view of the Parade Ring and Grandstand during the pre-parade for the Champion Hurdle, the most important race of the day. This year's  renewal is one of the most anticipated in recent memory as several fancied pretenders line-up against Hurricane Fly, winner of the race twice previously. 

Claire Balding and Mick Fitzgerald perform interviews to camera after the Champion Hurdle, won narrowly by Jezki ahead of champion jockey A.P.McCoy's ride My Tent Or Yours. 

Racegoers exchange betting -  or possibly fashion - tips before the fifth race. The course was so crowded that I found it harder to concentrate on individual racegoers than at previous meetings. 

The run up the hill into the fading sunlight at the finish of the seventh and final race of the day. I did this drawing and the other two large drawings on a watercolour block which is far better than sketchbook work although it is just under A3 and also a pain to remove and store the drawings after they are finished as they need to be cut away from the tape. 

Tomorrow is Ladies Day - now it's time for some well-earned tea! 

Festival Trials Day, 25th January 2014

Festival Trials Day is the last day of racing at Cheltenham before the four-day Festival in March. During a week when large tracts of Somerset disappeared underwater and freak weather events battered the country, the racing hardcore descended upon the racetrack undeterred to pay their dues. Unsurprisingly, the Club lawn was roped off and the ground declared Heavy.

Since this meeting is generally all about gleaning any tips and form for the forthcoming Festival I decided to spend most of the day drawing in the Tattersalls - the main betting ring in front of the Grandstand. This meant I could also get under the cover of the stands should the weather turn, as I fully expected it to do.

This is a view from the near end of the Grandstand across the betting ring with Cleeve Hill in the background. The light was initially quite bright and the weather clear if blustery.

All the best characters - like this lady wearing several different animals - are to be found in the Tattersalls where the punters monitor the changing prices on the horses before putting their money on. Each betting company operates a 'pitch', which consists of an electronic board and sign mounted on a stand, to which is attached a small staff and a collection of boxes, bags and trolleys to set the thing up and take it home at the end of the day. Each bookie has a man or woman sitting at the computer set up behind the pitch, presumably to keep the odds updated (above). Below, this casually-dressed punter collected a sheaf of notes from this bookie so had obviously had a good win:

Above: this lone punter kept his eyes on the second race from minute one and only gave up towards the end. Below are two drawings that didn't quite come off as the subjects decided to shift off too soon:

Some of the bookies have traditional names - some very old - and others opt for puns such as 'Spread Ex', above. This bookmaker was really a kind looking fellow. Some betting-ring characters, such as the gentleman below, seem to have no discernible function - he hovered around the same pitch all day without ever seeming to do any work or place any bets:

Below, this priceless granny was huddling against the cold - or perhaps her bets weren't coming off:

Above, I thought these chaps looked quite distinguished, but I didn't get their colours. The chap in the hat was wearing a striped puce and emerald suit (natch) while his friend was more casually attired in a navy coat and open shirt. Like something out of John Le Carre, I thought.

It started to get cold so I moved under the grandstand for protection. Above we are looking over the betting ring to the winning-post.

If I had a favourite horse, it might well be The Giant Bolster, who stayed on well to win the fourth race, the Argento Chase over 3 miles 1 furlong. He is a Gold Cup regular but generally overlooked despite finishing runner-up in 2012 and fourth in 2013. These two punters had backed him but, confusingly, appear here to be standing in mid-air in front of the big screen.

Another excellent granny; evidently a day out for all the family, and some dead animals too.

You wouldn't have known it, but in a minute or two the heavens are going to open...

... in the second spectacular thunderstorm to hit Cheltenham races this season. Sunny one minute, then the skies darken and a flash of lightening precedes an enormous clap of thunder. Hailstones and gale-force winds then proceed to blow over most of the bookies' umbrellas, destroy several food stores, loosen some fences and send debris and some unlucky punters everywhere. One of the bookmakers even lost his electronic board and had to put up a plastic whiteboard instead. I drew this mostly from memory as the storm can only have lasted five minutes and most of this time I spent looking on anxiously.

And, indeed, you wouldn't have known it had happened at all from the expression on this old boy's face, who was back to his form study as soon as he realised the worst was over. Doubtless he's seen it all before.

Finally, some more bookmakers. They perch about a foot higher than everyone else to better project their incentives and accept bets. Below: it is now gone 4 and the light is fading; I wanted to capture the orange glow projected onto this bookmaker's face from his electronic board as he accepted some last bets on the final race:

The International, Saturday 14th December

Saturday was the final day of racing at Cheltenham until New Year's Day and featured the Stan James International Hurdle, a Grade 2 race and usually the pointer for the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle ran at The Festival in March. It was won this year by The New One, trained by local trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies. I didn't watch the race as I was facing the other way at the time, trying to draw a segment of the crowd as they watched the race:

Earlier in the day I tried to concentrate on the betting as the punters scanned for good prices for the big race. The New One started at 2/5 odds on so the public were clearly in little doubt as to the race's outcome.

The weather was windy and horrible again on the Saturday; most of the food stalls lost their menu boards and a fair few spectators their hats.

As the light died I tried to get the orange glow of the bookie's electronic boards half-obsured by the mass of punters making their way to and fro:

At the end of the day I was not the only one resorting to the relative warmth (and safety from flying displaced objects) of the bars, although I got the impression some had been there a fair bit longer than I. A long clean-up job for someone: