A PUB landlord with horseracing in his blood may be onto a winner as he prepares to turn the haunted country watering hole into a 'mini Cheltenham Festival'.
The Crown Inn in Peopleton between Worcester and Pershore may prove itself a dark horse in the racing world by screening the whole of the Cheltenham Festival from inside the atmospheric country pub.
The hope is that the idea will prove a dead cert for race fans and beat the odds for people who did not manage to get tickets or who cannot go to the biggest week in the racing calendar which runs between Tuesday, March 12 and Friday, March 15.
Customers can even enjoy breakfast at the pub in Main Street, Peopleton from 9am until 10.30am throughout race week. The pub has a 6ft projector screen which might make it the closest thing to actually being at Cheltenham you can get inside the boundaries of Worcestershire.
A hot buffet lunch between 1pm and 2pm daily although people are urged to book in advance (or enquire over the phone first) to avoid disappointment.
If visitors are still there for the final furlong, they can also enjoy a three-course meal in the evening, served between 6pm and 6.45pm. HPA and London Pride are two of their most popular ales.
Matt Linsey, who has run the Star Bar pub since last September, has worked transporting race horses, including working for horse trainer Tom Lacey in Ledbury.
Like many of his customers, he feels strongly connected to that racing world, a love he also instilled in his young son.
"Racing is in my blood. My parents were into horses although not into racehorses. I am looking forward to hearing the Cheltenham Roar," he said.
He is all too well aware of the dangers of the sport - the 45-year-old's former partner, Charlotte Cole, was killed aged 23 in a horse riding accident 13 years ago.
To make the most of Cheltenham, they have a sweepstake for the champion hurdle race on the first day (Champion Day).
Mr Linsey and his partner have also provided a home for retired racehorses including Weird Al and Restless Harry who won the Betfred “Hat Trick Heaven” Handicap Chase (For the Harwell Trophy) at Newbury in January 2014.
"They were quality racehorses we took in in their retirement," he said.
Their son, two-year-old Jake, has also been learning to ride on Restless Harry as the horse riding traditions carry on to the next generation.
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Though the raucous cawing of the rooks in the nearby trees may provide a somewhat Gothic ambience to the 300-year-old grade II listed pub (Historic England says the building has roots dating back to the 13th century), it also boasts something a little more unsettling - its very own mischievous resident ghost who has been known to vent her frustrations.
Mr Linsey said: "She rings the bell if you have done something during the day which annoys her. The clock also falls off the wall. Customers have seen chairs picked up and slid into the bar. Pens fly around. Things fall off the wall if she is properly angry.
"It's quite eerie sometimes. You can be washing down and the clock falls off the wall. That's why the clock hasn't got any glass in it. That's the third clock we've had since September."
The pub has a large beer garden at the back and seating at the front for finer spring and summer days to come.
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