Rowed over
Excited by this terms prospect of more than 2 days of bumps, W1 had a strong paddle up to station 15, executing a rapid practice start at the Plough to rapturous cheers from onlookers. With Pembroke in front and Jesus W2 posing little threat from behind, we were looking to secure a solid bump on day one.
At the cannon we flew off at rate 45, striding out to 40 before the motorway bridge and eventually settling at a solid 36. As predicted, we moved away from Jesus and onto Pembroke, pushing to almost a length away around First Post - however, Pembroke smelt blood with Fitzwilliam ahead and gradually pushed onto them, pulling away from us. The inevitable bumping of Jesus 2 also removed any pressure from behind, and we struggled to match Pembroke’s gains ahead. By the time we hit the Long Reach we were some distance away from our targets, who bumped out under the railway bridge leaving us with a row over.
Whilst not the result we wanted, we are approaching tomorrow’s racing with a fresh and more proactive gameplan to push onto Fitz and escape the new pressure of Homerton behind.