Goldie vs UL Fixture Report

On a still day on the Tideway with not much stream to be had, Goldie lined up against a University of London (UL) crew composed of a mixture of their first and second eights.Goldie won the toss and chose to race on Middlesex for the first piece. The plan was three 6 minute pieces.

Piece One: Off the start, both crews were up in the low 40s, and it was Goldie that took the initial advantage. UL were warned several times coming down the line of boats, and Goldie had moved to two-thirds of a length up by the Town Buoy. Goldie moved out to clear water round the Fulham Bend, where the UL cox tried to cut the corner to keep her crew in contention. The advantage to Goldie was nearly 2 lengths by the Mile Post, and by Harrods, when the piece finished, they had increased this again to around 4 lengths.

Both crews spun and headed back to the Mile Post to start the second piece. It was decided to stay on the same stations as the first piece (Goldie on Middlesex, UL on Surrey) and UL were given a 1 length advantage.

Piece Two: Off a standing start, Goldie looked the sharper again, as they looked to make up the 1 length advantage quickly. Warnings from Umpire Simon Harris for UL about a minute in saw the first real clash of the afternoon, in which Goldie came off significantly better. They had moved out to two-thirds of a length up by Harrods, and, despite receiving a few Umpire warnings themselves, raced out to clear water through Hammersmith Bridge. Goldie continued to lay down their rhythm, and led by 3 lengths by the end of the six minutes, which was nearly halfway down Chiswick Eyot.

The crews swapped stations for the third and final piece, and UL were given a length and a half advantage.

Piece Three: This piece was started from a rolling start at Chiswick Steps. UL initially held the Goldie crew well around the last bit of the Surrey bend, but with warnings aplenty for both crews, Goldie had drawn level by the crossover. This piece then became very similar to those that had gone before, with Goldie’s race pace proving the faster. Through Barnes Bridge, Goldie were able to move out to clear water and neutralise any Middlesex advantage to UL. The six minutes was down about half way between Barnes and the finish post, with Goldie leading by 2 and a half lengths.