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DAVID CARR

Weblog: What do you mean the Wi-Fi doesn't work? The life of a Racing Post reporter

DAVID CARR'S RSS FEED POSTED AT 3:42pm 16 NOV 2011

They're already looking to 3011 in Hexham

A 'once-in-500-year opportunity' was advertised in the Hexham racecard today - that puts the interminable wait for the 2012 fixture list into perspective.

Nor was it hyped up hooha - rather an appeal attempting to right an historical wrong dating all the way back to 1537.

It goes back to the time of the dissolution of the monasteries when Henry VIII celebrated becoming head of the Church of England by lining his pockets at the expense of the country's religious communities. The former monastery complex at Hexham Abbey was one of those plunderered.

Update: David Carr and his mo

PICTURE: David Carr

It is now owned by the local authority and is being offered back to the abbey who therefore have the chance to make it into a visitor centre and reunite the whole site after nearly half a millennium - provided they can raise the remaining £250,000 needed for a development project which will cost £3million in total.

The racecard concludes by hoping the project ". . . will take this historic place into the next 1,000 years or so of its life." Which is certainly taking the long view.

A four-mile chase in testing ground at Hexham can sometimes feel as though it takes 1,000 years to run and that was almost the case this afternoon as ten plodders trudged wearily round two and a half circuits of one of the stiffest tracks in the country.

It took nine minutes and 14 seconds to run. You could run five 2,000 Guineas in that time - and still have a minute leftover to get a drink at the bar.

Today's Frankel was Double Default on whom James Reveley judged things almost perfectly, leading over every one of the 25 fences - only to be caught by Outlaw Tom in an agonising final 100 yards. At least we could see the whole thing.

A visitor came into the press room on a fact-finding mission during the afternoon, saying they were thinking of moving us so they could use our current spot as an extension to the bar. Would we mind going somewhere without a view of the track?

We suggested very politely that being able to see the horses was actually a pretty basic requirement for a press box - some might even rank it more important than Wi-Fi, or edible sandwiches - and our suitably-enlightened caller promised to see what he could do.

Just a fortnight of Movember to go. Thanks to Mike Ku for the latest donation - go to http://mobro.co/davidcarr if you want to follow him.