Did Paddy get the priest in again?

With due apologies to friends from Brighton and Fontwell, I visited my favourite local racetrack this week.
Plumpton Racecourse has the advantage for a committed user of public transport of being next to the railway line. Access to the track for car drivers has become unexpectedly difficult in recent weeks, with a dispute between Network Rail and Lewes District councillors resulting in the railway crossing being stuck shut. This means that for anyone travelling from the north, there is an 8 mile detour. The argument goes back over 30 years to the days of British Rail. The crossing was one of the last to be operated by hand, and councillors have resisted all attempts to modernise it. Childlike stubbornness on both sides has resulted in this stalemate, and there is no sign of it being sorted in the immediate future.
Prior to the real racing at Plumpton on Monday there was a Shetland Pony Gold Cup. Obviously we all have to approve of this because it is a good cause (raising funds to look after retired racehorses) but forgive me for my lack of enthusiasm.
The jockeys look frankly comical.

They are nearly all related to trainers or owners (if you want to be professional jockey it is a huge advantage to have a dad who is a trainer). The ponies were paraded around the paddock. Flat jockey Seb Sanders - he of recent riding in his socks fame - was walking one round with a slightly embarrassed grin on his face. Some of the ponies even had cheekpieces fitted.
It was possible to have bet on the race but with an overround of 400% plus (16 runners with the outsider of the field priced at 7/1!) even I was able to resist.
Plumpton is another At The Races track, which meant this time the TV presenter was Derek 'Ho,ho,ho' Thompson. It is fair to say that Tommo's enthusiastic style of presenting does not always endear him to racing fans. I suspect he really does love the game but even I concede that he is so over the top that it can appear insincere. And I confess I have always been a little bit prejudiced against him since his premium service tipping line featured his voice declaring a horse to have 'been flying up the Newmarket gallops' when Tommo himself was actually in Dubai at the time.
There really is lots to like about Plumpton. It has a country feel but is easily accessible (not withstanding the railway crossing) from London and Brighton. There has been considerable investment in new facilities, the race card is informative and free and the viewing excellent. You can see almost the whole track from the stands, and they now have a permanent big screen.
For a small course it attracts some very decent horses, which suggests the top trainers like the place. For example, Uxizandre, won the handicap chase on the identical card two years ago, and then went on to win the grade 1 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival the following season.
This thought did not immediately come to mind when Paddy Butler sent out his annual winner (at 25-1) with Killabraher House, in his first run for the yard. Even the ultimate optimist would not have Cheltenham on the agenda for him, but it was great to see Paddy have his win. He trains next door to the course, and  even Tommo would struggle to suggest his horses are ever flying up the gallops.
Some years ago Paddy had gone even longer than usual without a winner and being the good catholic he is, he called in the priest to bless the horses. I couldn't see the successor to Father Sean in the winner's enclosure on Monday, but it was great that the owners included two yellow-jacketed car park attendants. I gather they told the winning jockey, Marc Goldstein, that he could leave his motor wherever he liked at future meetings.
There were a few fallers during the day, happily all uninjured. Somehow the favourite managed to win the first (phew), despite being cannoned into at one hurdle, and having to dodge loose horses and the second favourite running out into the wings. As I experienced the relief of my selection passing the post, one fellow punter turned to me and said, 'Bollocks. Still at least it's just the first race. I was so unlucky once that I backed fallers in the first 4 races, and then my horse ran out in the 5th.'
And it's not only good horses you see here, there are also some celebrities who visit. I thought I saw the actor John Hurt, but I gather he is ill, so it may have been just a doppelgänger (oh to be mistaken for John Hurt). There was no doubt, I'm sure, that Sussex's best ever fast bowler, John Snow, was in the paddock.
Finally Jeremy Kyle may have made an appearance  Stars Royale is owned by the 'Friends of Jeremy Kyle' and was running in the novices handicap, sixth race on the card. Some cruel people may have unkindly suggested that the animal therefore had no owners. It is trained by Nick Gifford, who one normally shrewd observer had told to me 'couldn't train ivy up a wall.' Nevertheless the horse managed to plug on into second place, winning £1,240.20 for the great man's friends.
My only real complaint about Plumpton, is that they feel the need to employ not just a commentator during the race but also an ex jockey, Colin Brown, to tell us what is going on rest of time. The man just never shuts up. Nearly every horse in the paddock is described as a 'good walker', he tells us what a wonderful value bet the Quadpot is (no it isn't) and every now and then tells us a horse looks fit. Actually it might be interesting if he told us a horse is not fit, but I suppose he is afraid to upset his friends in the training ranks by doing that. Surely it cannot only be me who finds this endless wittering on somewhat wearing?

Plumpton marks (out of 10)
Welcome/friendliness 6
Atmosphere 7
Betting ring (size, competitiveness) 5
Racecard (cost, quality) 10
Queues for bar 7
Viewing 8
Standard of racing 7

Total (out of 70) 50

Punting success - profit!