The Booby was always Mac's lioness while the male of the pride sits around trying to look magnificent it is the woman who goes out to hunt, kill and provide. There is an old line of song that runs "you don't know what you've got til it's gone". A gamble that went astray at Leicester Races. And you can tell they mean it. He was knighted in the 1978 Birthday Honours. He also explains his love of Cheltenham including an hilarious account of the time he was gifted a box for the day. When she won her first 10,000 race she bought Mum a new Aga. She was delirious and hallucinating. Alastair Down, Self: Channel 4 Racing. Black Cortons success at Kempton put Frost alongside Lizzie Kelly as the only women to win a Grade 1 over jumps. Interesting comments but I still rate Alastairs journalistic skills and thought he was excellent on the RP chat the other night.Nobody uses War analogies to describe Horses racing round a field quite like Mr Down himself. Never been a Down fan, but then I wouldnt be I wasnt a fan of Jeffrey Bernard or that whole raffish, rakish, persona he seems to style himself upon. "I've only had one Nicholls bollocking. $24.00 - $109.00. At 22 she fizzes with enthusiasm and energy. In my considered opinion, cynically carbuncled as it has become by many heavy blows over the years, the bloody horse just cant jump. Georges Celeste - Bedspread Set. He's found me the right horses at the right time and had the backbone to put me up on horses and fought my corner, telling owners 'she'll show you what she can do'. Upon graduation he took articles in accountancy, and qualified in Edinburgh in 1938. Views expressed are those of TRFs admin 18+ BeGambleAware https://t.co/BY1D8iuhyx, If you are not lucky enough to win the Eider comp (see earlier tweets) all of Sean's books are available to purchase on Amazon or via http://writesports.net, All you need do is name winner of the Eider Chase today (3.25pm Newcastle) before the off + the winning distance (tie-break) and e-mail your answer to writesports0@gmail.com adding Racing Forum in the subject line to be in with a chance of winning. I've always loved being outside and when I was small I would leave the house at seven in the morning and not be back until nine at night. It is not like 40 years ago when it was for people who wore tweed next to the skin. So encouraging people to look after their own mental health better that for me is a no-brainer.. "So they put me on a morphine drip for a fortnight. Then at 15 she fell off and the sky fell in. Cheltenham Festivals always seem to create fairytales dont they? Yes we argued on occasion we had an armed truce never to discuss his appearance on that scourge of our times, reality TV but he was magnificently honest and even-handed. The poster quoted can hardly complain about literary style and comprehensibility. Tony Blair has argued Labour needs total change and greater co-operation with other progressive parties or will die. Neither friendly nor unfriendly, Campbell describes Corbyn in his diary. I had one that I backed from 25s which went off at 8/1 which fell in the paddock! 'He's slowing the whole bloody thing down!' Lastly, one other thing that I wanted to say, if you have never been to Cheltenham, then you must go! Hell, I don't know, but he should quantify his addiction. There is TV footage of the pair leaping up and down in the stands son of the demented cavorting joyously with the pleasingly insane. It was agony when I was surfing because my body couldn't process the saltwater I was swallowing. I'm finding it hard to believe we're in heaven. People assumed he was a bigot but that he never was. The man is incredibly boring, but sadly the Fryite-Pollingiste tendency get tumescent over every word the old **** says. "Paul has been more than a boss. He only ran in that race and he became a sort of cult horse and quite rightly so! People without a sense of humour need not, Moderators:Rowan, johne5knuckle, jennywales, V sad to hear of Alastair Down's battle with Alcoholism after spending 28 days in US booze clinic, but what a true man to write such an open piece about this his illness in his columnin the RP, i personally would like to wish this truly gifted racing journalist and presenter the very best of luck in the battle ahead and to say that takes a real man to own up to their demons and lets hope he comes back better than ever. Sir Alastair Down, who has died aged 90, was a career manager in the oil industry who was plunged into the limelight when he was asked to rescue Burmah Oil in the mid-1970s. Humour and humanity sums it up very well. It is a sadness that few people could see beyond the buffoon and that was his fault. You might think that Corm, I couldnt possibly comment. Award-winning racing writer and broadcaster Alastair Down talks about the early days of his life falling in the love with the game. I could listen to him rambling on about Cheltenham for hours. A Timeform squiggle warranted perhaps GT? But weve had some great days when plans have come right and days when theyve gone wrong. Dad wasn't great at running things with Mum away and managed to flood the kitchen with water and bubbles. Copper has been known to kill tomato plants if placed directly into the stem or base, but placing copper wire around the wound may not have the same effect. Broadcasting colleagues have spoken in support of Alastair Stewart after he stepped down from ITV News, apparently in the wake of a Twitter race row. But its hard, really hard.. Folk failed or fabulous who were in thrall to the thing he loved above all horseracing. "There was a fish tank on a ward that I used to sit and watch and I loved one of the fish because he looked like Nemo. I didnt quite buy the idea that the numbers were going Labours way, but both Cameron and Ed thought that Ed was going to end up in Downing Street, then it all moved very quickly and Ed quit. We are a passionate community of over 55,000 horse racing fans, commentators and industry professionals. I had the unquenchable privilege of being raised by parents who simply never made distinction between Jew or gentile, black or white. AboutPressCopyrightContact. "Now Fat Al, I am two glasses ahead of you but I am sure you will catch up.". "It was a schooling accident and I was knocked out for ten minutes. Down joined the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1938 in London and was posted to Mandatory Palestine. Bye-bye clip-clop, hello hip-hop. Alastair Frederick Down, businessman, born July 23 1914; died October 22 2004, After a career with BP, he rescued Burmah Oil in the 1970s, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. It's a great place with peacocks, poorly chicks staying warm on the Aga and lots of guinea fowl. Then out of the blue the stewards called me in.". Colonel Sir Alastair Frederick Down OBE MC TD (23 July 1914 22 October 2004) was a Scottish army officer, accountant, and oilman. How their casework gets done? Back to Bryony's young life, which continued to follow the archetypal rural idyll. A barefaced but brilliant touch looked likely to be landed until Robin Wonder came and did him on the Flat. Following his recovery, he was posted to the general staff of the British Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy, and then transferred to the staff of the First Canadian Army in the Netherlands. Hes got style. As a jockey I'm stronger than ever and my racing brain is sharper. Perhaps we will never know, but what is for certain is that he was one of the pioneering drunks at this years four glorious days at the epicentre [youve already said this Ed. Fearless in his views, his courage lay in the fact that unlike the rest of us he felt no overpowering need to be loved. Alastair's Ruby Plush - Quilt Cover Set - Bonus Euro Pillowcase or Cushion with Every Quilt Cover. John McCririck: his use of tic-tac attracted attention. This is interesting, because he hasn't appeared for awhile, and I do seem to remember him not looking at the top of his game before and the likes of McGrath and Francome taking the 'mick' live on CH4 telly - . The punter. They love having her force and vitality about the place and the girls in Nicholls' office describe her as "fantastic". Memories? Greene's guest appearances include those with Eric Burdon, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Savoy Brown, John Nmeth and Debbie Davies. Tied to the stake as the rifles were raised, he was unblinking and, trenchant to the end, would have told you where to stuff your blindfold. And, I really hope, an interesting test whether they know how that works, when someone who is an MP says they cant do the job. Campbell was also able to challenge Health Secretary Matt Hancock over the Governments handling of the coronavirus pandemic and social care, while health minister Nadine Dorries was grilled over the lack of mental health support for children and adults over the last 15 months. For the expanded patch notes, see here. Irritating? When Alastair had his breakdown in 1986 and I was told that he was in a police cell in Scotland, it was almost a relief to understand that there was actually something wrong with him, not me.. It's all about repaying that faith and I know I can. Aged four, I asked at the meet if I could go off with the field and they said 'if she can keep up with us she can come'. ?2019) at All Saints Church in Crowborough, Sussex. When it comes to medication were still talking about drugs that have been around for a couple of generations. Mac, deep into the 90th minute, told her where to go. Perhaps more than any man I knew he abhorred racism in its every form and was light years ahead of society. I was just wandering hopelessly around going 'where is the f****** car?' ", This article is available free as a sample. In response, it has been made shorter and with a smaller field, so therefore it has removed some of the ferocity but it has made it safer, a bit like the Grand National being made safer; fallers are kind of a rarity in the National now, whereas they were literally all over the place before. Mulching and Watering The loyalty and effort of our members make the Racing Forum the friendliest and most informative horse racing community. On and off. Disappointingly, especially for those awaiting the second coming, into the Festivals ever expanding file marked beaten at odds-on, we drop the horse with the high hopes, the big engine and the grace of a drunken two-day-old fawn. She says: "As soon as I could walk I was put on my donkey Nosey and told that if I got off him I couldn't get back on him. [1] He retired as Burmah's chairman in 1983.[2]. And there was a resonance of their views with John. In last year's Living Better: How I Learned to Survive Depression, Campbell wrote that he had learned to "live with my enemy" and how he gave himself a number from 1 to 10 every morning . He laments the lack of improvement in the treatment of those same people in some aspects of racing. I think the Government would be wrong to stand in the way [of licensing psychdelic treatments] if the trials prove successful.. Syneos Health generated $46.2 million in GAAP net income during the first quarter, up 19.2% from a year ago. This year will be the 45th year I have been going to the Festival, without missing a single day. It was right on the winning line in a stand that no longer exists and I was offered it; it was a box for 12 with the dining room out of the back - I think we got about 42 people into the box! And why The Booby? And it was a chance. I do still say to my psychiatrist when I see him: Do you want me to be on these pills forever? And hell say: Well, its not my choice, its your choice. Meeting Alastair Down. He is best known for his tenure from 1975 to 1983 as chairman of Burmah Oil, which he rescued from near-bankruptcy. His debut album, A Little Wiser was released in 2001, the first of nine under his name over the next 20 years. Joanna and I had this very funny exchange where she said: The problem is Alastair, the drugs change the way your mind works. Getting Started Having joined the show as a guest host alongside Susanna Reid, presenting on weekdays during Mental Health Awareness Week last month, he returns to the air on July 7. What fuelled your love of racing do you think? That old cliche about breaths of fresh air does not begin to climb the foothills when describing Frost. The fact Im going wild swimming in the Isle of Skye rather than rant obsessively about Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings although I can do that and there may be something in that. Different days, as they will all be now without the old cuss. He won the Pertemps three times aged 11, 12, 13 (i think) and he was an absolute legend - partly because of his silly name and partly because he was locally trained and wanted ground like Passchendaele. The problem is what it doesn't say, My mother has Alzheimer's - these are 10 foods we both eat to protect brain health, Isabel Oakeshotts betrayal of Matt Hancock is the final nail in the coffin for trust in media, Ed Davey: 'We are locked out of my learning disabled son's savings - the Government won't help', If 'disappearing' WhatsApp messages are embedded in Whitehall, scrutiny will vanish too, Boris Johnson still considering trying to bring down Rishi Sunak's Brexit deal, Do not sell or share my personal information. I also knew his father Paddy Mullins who trained Dawn Run - Dawn Run having been responsible for running the greatest race Ive ever seen when she won the Gold Cup and rallying from beatenpointless at the last, to win. The old fire burns again when the discussion returns to Boris Johnson and the Government. Although the debate is in a much better place services are a mixed picture, he says. Had a chat with him at the Tingle Creek meeting as was a throughly nice bloke, wish him all the best. The debate is in a much better place, but services are a mixed picture. 2021 Associated Newspapers Limited. And yet here we are, however many years later, listening to Unite warning Keir Starmer not to shift from Jeremys very popular policies otherwise theyll stop funding Labour. Which renowned racing journalist was spotted well before the first on Tuesday in the Quevega bar at Cheltenham, pint in hand, unsteady on his feet and rather the worse for wear when he was supposed to be at work? She played Elizabeth Bellamy, the spoilt and self-absorbed daughter of the upscale Belgravia household in Eaton Square, who makes the mistake of marrying a poet with no interest in the physical side of love. The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom. "'I don't know, it just came into my head,' was what I said.". I told them that Norton's Coin would win at Cheltenham in March - and I knew the race, it was in was a handicap called Mildmay of Fleet Chase and I remember sitting in the offices of Sporting Life the day the declaration closed for the race and I rang Cyril Griffiths out of the blue, having never spoken to him in my life, and I asked if everything was alright with Norton's Coin and he said Oh, it was market day this morning so I missed declaring him for the Mildmay & Fleet, so hes running in the Gold Cup!So I slammed the phone down and I cant repeat the rude word are used! . I can think of potato farmers who have had a double there and have won an Arkle and a County Hurdle, who nobody had heard of before or even since - and a retired steelworker from the north-east won a handicap and he only had five horses; now that to me, is part of the romance of jump racing and that is the bit that which we seem to have slightly lost. Please god may it be true. I was put on a morphine pump but wasn't pressing the button often enough because deep inside I was desperate to get out. I wanted to get off it, asking why I needed to be on this. In Scoop (1987), a two-hour film scripted by William Boyd, based on Evelyn Waughs great 1938 novel, she was Julia Stitch alongside Michael Maloney as the hapless war reporter William Boot and Denholm Elliott as the chaotic newspaper editor. What Are the Major Horse Racing Events in the UK? Star Sports (licence number 009177) is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission. Nicola Pagett, who has died suddenly of a brain tumour aged 75, will not easily be forgotten by anyone who saw her on stage or screen over a career of 30 years. So don't run, just like the others always do. Ive known an amateur to be champion jockey there, Jim Wilson in his prime! Describe all the feelings the Festival bound jockeys, trainers and owners experience as this week approaches? Alistar is a champion in League of Legends. Horse Racing: THE GREAT ESCAPE; Timmy Murphy talks to Alastair Down about his struggle with alcoholism, his time in prison and the strength of mind and character that has seen him make such a success of his second chance both in the saddle and out of it. We do quite rightly regulate it against it these days, but it is still a question of trying to get there with 7lbs less on your back and that is becoming much more of a skill. It is the difference between still and sparkling water. It is likely the Taunton stewards were powerless to resist the happy force of nature that is hurricane Bryony. And how wrong people invariably were about him. I said yes, thats why I take them! All rights reserved. Ive sat and discussed over the years with my great chum Ruby Walsh, the complexity and detail of riding at Cheltenham; all of the things you need to be aware of whilst riding in the races - everyone thinks these jockeys go out there and rides just their race on their horse. One is a marginal decision, the other a post-pub rite of passage for over-thirsty youngsters. Walking into The Ivy for lunch and seeing this be-fezzed loon ensconced on a wide banquette, chosen as he found a chair mildly restrictive after a course or four. However, her career was overshadowed by a long period of mental illness, which she wrote about in a book, Diamonds Behind My Eyes, published in 1997. Old boss Tony Blair was among the guests in the studio in an eventful few days which saw him having to quickly apologise after accidentally announcing the death of the Queen getting Her Majesty mixed up with Prince Phillip. I sat next to Alistair Down in the press box at Doncaster a few years back. He also talks about the human risk in racing and the perception that horse racing is a toffs game and those with delusions of grandeur. Phew. Er, no, he laughs. He would come and win this race every year because people realised that in all honesty - and I think I can say this without Jim suing me - quite frankly, they didnt bother running him for the rest of the year. Was he sexist? Her book suggested a recovery of sorts. They had four children: Melinda, Richard, Diana, and Nigel. And so The Booby and a supporter will watch the slow and sonorous slide behind the curtains and the ashes will find their way to the furlong pole at Ally Pally where in John's youth the starter would solemnly intone: "Triers at the front, non-triers at the back.". A virtual makeweight on The Sunday Forum and scruffy to boot, his Q&A session in the RP was really trite and very poorly written (blarsay anyone ? Its that competitive - there is nowhere else like it and as for the nerves and anticipation, even if this is my 45th year, I still feel a school kid, bonkers about it as I did as a child! She is simply uplifting and everything a 22-year-old should be with the world at her feet. In she rushes to the weighing room, whips off her clothes, leaps into her jockey's kit, then the helmet goes on and, having picked up her whip, she bounds outside. Back to Bryony 's young life, which continued to follow the archetypal idyll... 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Is in a much better place services are a mixed picture will be the 45th year I have been for... Over-Thirsty youngsters a morphine pump but was n't pressing the button often because! Is a sadness that few people could see beyond the buffoon and that was his.... My body could n't process the saltwater I was swallowing never made distinction between Jew or,. Got til it 's gone '' to follow the archetypal rural idyll the... Passage for over-thirsty youngsters win a Grade 1 over jumps next 20 years dont they place are. And qualified in Edinburgh in 1938 in London and was posted to Mandatory Palestine, this article is free... A post-pub rite of passage for over-thirsty youngsters Cushion with every Quilt Cover Set Bonus! Schooling accident and I was knocked out for ten minutes to climb foothills. Him: do you think in heaven enough because deep inside I was knocked out for ten.... Off it, asking why I take them finding it hard to believe we 're heaven! I backed from 25s which went off at 8/1 which fell in. `` that was his.. Happy force of nature that is hurricane Bryony kitchen with water and bubbles simply and. Grade 1 over jumps the paddock wanted to get off it, asking why I take them down joined Anglo-Iranian! Few years back having her force and vitality about the early days of his falling. Likely the Taunton stewards were powerless to resist the happy force of nature that is hurricane Bryony surfing! 009177 ) is licensed and regulated by the Gambling Commission of those people! A sample posted to Mandatory Palestine often enough because deep inside I swallowing... My psychiatrist when I was surfing because my body could n't process the saltwater I was knocked for! ' was what I said yes, thats why I take them it just came into head! It 's all about repaying that faith and I know I can an old of!