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DAVID CARR |
Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter
Back where I belong
Haydock - just about the perfect place to end the working year.
Not because of the weather, on a miserably grey and wet day.
It's a holiday week but there was never any danger of the attendance record being broken (though I did spot the managing director of another jumps track, whose visit was clearly so unofficial that he had decided not to bother shaving).
Or because of the racing itself, on a decidedly low-key jumps card for which the saturated ground meant two hurdles were taken out and there was a six-furlong dash between two out and the last.
"Hoof It could have run here today!" said Tom O'Ryan.
Main news line was the number of jockeys queuing up to deride the four-day ban given to Timmy Murphy after his fine winning ride on Tamarinbleu - sad that this year may be more remembered for the whip more than for Frankel or Kauto Star.
No, Haydock was the perfect setting for me because this has been the place to be in 2011, for me at least.
This was the 15th time I had been to the track this year, comfortably more than anywhere else. Next was ten daysat Southwell, followed by eight at Doncaster and six each at Aintree, Catterick, Chester, Hamilton and Wolverhampton.
I've been to 30 different tracks in the past 12 months, from Perth and the nest of swallow chicks just outside the press room, via Hexham and the pungent aroma of dead rodent all the way down to Taunton, which may have been lacking in extraneous wildlife but which was a real delight on my first ever visit.
I was lucky enough to be there on Gold Cup day and Grand National day, not to mention Kauto Star's memorable comeback victory here and Dominic Fox's equally emotional triumph over adversity at Ayr.
To fight my way through bumper crowds on 'free racing' days at Newcastle and Doncaster and countless other 'ladies days' - including the all women riders' night at Carlisle.
And to watch Eric Bristow, Paul Hanagan and Richard Fahey play darts in an interminable match at York (if they had really insisted someone finish on a double they might still be throwing now).
To brave -7C temperatures setting off for Kelso in midwinter, to struggle through power cuts at Catterick, Chester and Hexham, to endure countless hours on the motorway and to stomachseveral bouts of 'Thommo TV'.
It's been a long year but I know how lucky I am to do what I do - there's still absolutely no temptation to go out and get a proper job.
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