We backed Prince De Beauchene at 16-1. He was 7-1 favourite before today. It is very frustrating.

The day soon got better though thanks to African Story, who we backed early in the morning at a price of 7-4 / 13-8. We got the value and thought that this selection would be backed heavily with the subsequent news that came in. However, we did not think that it would go off as short as 5-6. Needless to say that African Story was a large gamble.

This time luck was on our side and there wasn’t a moment’s worry. African Story won by 6 lengths on the bridle. The race was put to bed in a matter of strides early in the home straight with Frankie Dettori barely moving a muscle. The 5-6 looked generous after the race; such was the manner of victory.

Next up was the antepost bet on Cocozza. Cocozza ran a disappointing race. This bet did not go to plan, with Cocozza coming out of the stalls awkwardly. He seemed almost to fly jump them. We lost a few lengths and Joe Fanning had to ride Cocozza to make the ground up.  This seemed to ignite the horse and we soon found ourselves in front with Cocozza pulling hard.

Two furlongs out the horse faded very tamely and was not really running any sort of race; maybe the ground did not suit.

On the whole the racing today, especially at Doncaster, was a total bookies benefit. The winners were priced at 50-1 / 12-1 / 25-1 / 7-1/ 14-1. It appears that the bookies made a killing on first day of the flat season.

For us it was a very volatile day. The main thing is that we made just over 4pts profit where many others would have done their conkers without fail.

This brings an end to a tough March. We turned the month round and finished about 7pts up. Whilst we’ve yet to do the final figures, I think we’d have been happy to take that half-way through March. The ‘Just info’ did very well with some cracking winners, hopefully that may have helped you top-up.

We have now broken through the 50pts barrier for the year. This was the first hurdle and it appears that all is going fairly well at this early stage, despite a relatively low amount of bets.

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Admittedly the race did look a little trappy on paper. Botti was keen on this improving filly and expected her to take all the beating.

During the race, the horse settled in second from the off. Strawberrymystique travelled well on the bit, taking up the challenge on the home turn and putting the race to bed in a matter of strides. She won by a good 6 lengths but still looked green in front, hanging slightly and changing her legs.

Strawberrymystique is one to keep with as they do feel she’s above average with plenty more improvement to come.

The other Botti horse mentioned finished 4^th despite making rapid headway towards end of the race. We feel that this is another one for the notebook and have hopes that it will be winning soon.

The good news is that we will have this Botti information throughout the summer flat season. However we can only be certain when our contact is travelling with the horses.

The horse was kept particularly fresh for this race and was trained to the minute in what looked a wide open and poor renewal of the Gold Cup.

Unfortunately lady luck was not with us again today. We had no run for our money. It seems to be a similar situation as with Dynaste yesterday. Weird Al broke a blood vessel early in the race and bled badly from the nose. This is total and utter frustration as the race turned out to be completely unspectacular with the stayer Synchronised taking the Gold.

Time For Rupert, who finished 5^th, ran a massive race. This does not make it any easier as Weird Al beat Time For Rupert on the bridle in the Charlie Hall chase earlier in the season. We will never know what might have been but we do strongly feel that if Weird Al had not bled he surely would have gone very close.

The below comments are taken from the Racing Post website:

Weird Al goes well fresh and had been deliberately kept for this after finishing third in the Betfair Chase in November, but the Charlie Hall winner was always in rear and was clearly in trouble with a circuit to run. He was eventually pulled up and reported to have bled from the nose, just as he had done in last year´s Gold Cup.

The ‘just info’ did ok again; Salsify won at 6-1 whilst Toner D’Oudairies & Oscar Nominee were 2^nd & 3^rd in the 16:40. Kumbeshwar ran well, also 3^rd at 16-1.

Ruby Walsh gave Boston Bob a pig of a ride. The money I witnessed going on that horse was remarkable with any odds being taken. Ruby gave the horse far too much to do and, it appears, messed up a massive gamble.

The 2012 Cheltenham Festival is now over. In all honesty I think it’s been a substandard event this year. We feel that Sprinter Sacre was the only horse to set the place on fire. Maybe the meeting was better over the three days as there were plenty of horses running at the meeting who would struggle to win a standard race on a Tuesday afternoon.

At least our biggest bet of the meeting won. Salut Flo landed a great gamble whilst we had some nice just info winners at 20-1 & 16-1. There were also a lot of big priced places.

As for our proper account bets, we were really unlucky with Midnight Game. The bet became dangerous days before the meeting when the horse went into 2nd fav at 8-1, we backed at 16-1. Sizing Europe, who should have won the Queen Mother, would have landed us a very good win completing the double with Sprinter Sacre for 15pts (thanks again to the stewards!). Dynaste also scoped dirty and was found to have an infection and Weird Al bled.

Out of 7 outright Cheltenham bets 4 horses did not give true running because of either being sick, bleeding or robbed of a win.

I think it’s fair to say that is certainly very bad luck. All the horses that we backed went off a much shorter SP than the price that we backed them at; an average of 6 pts shorter.

I think we will come out of Cheltenham with a very small profit. Though it’s disappointing to think what could have been had we had a bit of luck on our side. Nevertheless we’re still in a very healthy position for the year and are on target. I do know that quite a few members have made money at Cheltenham by backing the ‘just info’ horses.

The last few weeks have been very busy and we have covered a lot of miles. I’ve certainly had enough of betting for this week and think we could all do with a few days off.

Dynaste ran a lifeless race. The horse was shaken up far too early on the first circuit. We were able to grab a quick word with connections after the race who said that Dynaste didn’t travel and was beaten after a mile. Dynaste is going to be tested once back at the stables.

It’s a shame that we didn’t get a run for our money. I’m certain the horse would have been in the top 4 if only repeating this season’s form. Even more annoying is that we called it right with Oscar Whiskey who didn’t get up the hill.

Next up was Salut Flo, our largest bet for some time. I’ll be honest, confidence had dipped slightly because of way the Pipe horses had ran with Grand Crus also well below par.

Thankfully we had no worries as Salut Flo never saw another rival. He led from start to finish, running his rivals ragged whilst landing a huge gamble for the yard and a great bet for us. The horse did indeed have pounds in hand; the Pipe yard was right when saying only had to jump round to win.

After the bad luck spell of Sizing Europe, and a few other horses, not running their races, it was good to get a strong winner on the board with 20 plus points won.

Cape Tribulation won, mentioned in the just info. The horse was backed from 20-1 into 14-1. Bellflower Boy also ran well but did need riding along from the start. It appeared that he didn’t pick up when on the bit but made plenty of ground up late to finish a solid 7^th.

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The horse jumped and travelled well for the entire journey but three out is where any chance of a place went out of the window. We had no chance of beating Simonsig, who looks very good, but I believe we would have been placed if Davey Russell had been a bit more switched on.

The first three home kicked on three out but our jockey sat quiet and let them go a good 15 lengths ahead. Finally Davey woke up and asked Make Your Mark to close on the front-runners, which he did, making the ground up into 3^rd place.

Long story short, Make Your Mark jumped the last in 3^rd but had to make ground up fast leaving nothing left in the tank for the finish.

Our next bet, Act Of Kalanisi, was backed into 12-1 before the off.  We missed the jump and Act Of Kalanisi could have done with being a bit more handy in-running but was stuck in the pack.

During the race the horse travelled well and moved into contention four out, making ground up into 5^th whilst being only a few lengths off the leader.

The pace quickened three out and we were still in a good position behind the leaders. However A C T failed to quicken and kept on at the one pace. The horse ran a little flat and well below par. We will speak Dr Newland and gets his thoughts on the run later tonight.

Where do we start with Sizing Europe? The finish to the race was a shambles, farce, whatever you want to call it and it cost us a good deal of money.

The most prestigious meeting of the entire year and we have a man waving a small flag nowhere near the fence that was not to be jumped. To make matters even worse, 85% of the fence was not even dolled off.

Approaching the last, jockey Andrew Lynch was driving Sizing Europe but holding Finian’s Rainbow and looked to have the race won. The last was not dolled off in any way and our jockey could not possibly see that the fence was not meant to be jumped. The flag man was in the corner of the track, nowhere near the middle where he should be. From the view the jockeys it looked as if everything was as normal and the jump as ok.

Sizing Europe was on the inside of Finian’s Rainbow when both jockeys realised the fence was to be missed; this caused Sizing Europe to switch strides before the fence, causing the horse to lose momentum and very nearly crash out. Finian’s Rainbow however had a clear path and lost little ground as the horse was on the outside.

Andrew Lynch somehow stopped Sizing Europe from jumping the last and did very well to keep the partnership in contact; such was the violent way he had to yank the horse right. Long story short, Finian’s Rainbow was able to keep galloping but Sizing Europe lost speed and had to be asked to quicken again at a stage of the race where it is impossible to do so.

Quite simply, the Cheltenham stewards cost us 15pts and we would have been in a position of profit going into day 3 of the Festival.

Jockey Andrew Lynch reaffirmed after the race that this mistake from the stewards cost him the race. It leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth.

Nacarat jumped and travelled well during the race and won quite easily. He was the best horse in the field but we had a few questions marks against him judging on the form of last few runs. Connections kindly informed us that they made a mess of his training and the poor efforts could be ignored. Freshened up, and with conditions in his favour, Nacarat was back to his best and got the job done.

Next up was Eyre Square, 1pt E/W at 7/1. The horse was very well backed before the off but unfortunately ran a poor race. Currently we do not have any information on the run but Eyre Square folded quite tamely at around a mile from home after travelling and jumping well. Maybe the 4 mile win at Kelso took plenty out of Eyre Square and as a result he’s not fully recovered, but that’s just a guess.

The race had been the season target but the horse failed to give his running. Despite dropping a couple of points we still ended with 3pts profit on the day and few a few more pounds in the reserve for Cheltenham.

Perhaps the most pleasing thing yesterday was the win of Prince De Beauchene, who won the BobbyJo chase (Irish Grand National trial) at Fairyhouse very easily indeed. Prince De Beauchene is the horse we backed earlier in the week for the Grand National at 16-1. We thought that the horse would go off a single priced favourite for the big race come Aintree after an ATR presenter gave us the heads-up. After yesterday’s win the certain bookmakers cut PDB to 7-1. We have a nice bit of value locked away and just need to keep our fingers crossed that the horse stays sound until Aintree.

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First up was Riverside Theatre, who won at 13-8. Hopefully you may have backed the horse with best price guaranteed and made an extra point. Riverside Theatre was returning from a year off the track due to a small fracture. We were kindly informed by connections that the horse had been doing some great work at home and left Burton Port trailing.

From the off our selection jumped & travelled well, racing handily and just looked to be in with a huge chance from as early as the third fence. The opposition slowly dropped away, apart from Medermit who we thought was the main danger. Riverside Theatre just had too many gears for the King runner and won quite easily in the end. Riverside Theatre will now run at Cheltenham, though admittedly it would not be a horse that I would support. This is due to the fact that the horse runs much better when fresh. Medermit however will be interesting, especially if running over three miles. I would not be surprised if connections ran him in the Gold Cup.

Next up was Giles Cross who, with a clear round permitting, looked a certainty to be placed. Once again, from the off we never really had any worries as Giles Cross made the running and kept out of trouble. I don’t think the horse made one jumping mistake in the entire race.

Last time out in the Welsh National Denis O’Regan went a bit quick and saved nothing for the finish. The lesson was learnt and he gave the horse a splendid ride. Denis just lobbed along in front, setting the pace he wanted and jumping fence to fence and whilst everything else was in trouble.

From six out it looked like we only had to jump to be involved in the finish. Denis did not ask Giles Cross to put the race to bed until the last 150 yards, all the while Neptune Collonges trying to close us down. The horse had enough left in the tank and won quite cheekily to land us a nice bet and complete a good day. I would not back Giles Cross in the national as the horse must have soft ground and I don’t feel he would see out the trip.

Around 18pts profit on the day, this hopefully has gone some way to making up for what has been, because of the weather, a quiet month so far.

Royal Guardsman, the just info horse, was back to his best with a very impressive performance. This horse was one of our main jump notebook selections after we learnt that he was beating Cue Card easily on the gallops. We backed Royal Guardsman first time out this season but the horse ran a shocker and was found to be ill, like many of the trainer’s horses at the time. It’s pleasing that it now seems the information that we received was correct. If he gets a run in the bumper at Cheltenham the horse could have big chance.

We’re also pleased to be able to information you that Night Alliance is back at Dr Newland’s yard after suffering from very bad bleeding. The horse is ok but will require a good rest & additional treatment.

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Unfortunately we will never know how the race would have panned out as it came to an end jumping the 5^th. The horse and jockey made an error; He’s Our Lad nodded on landing whilst Rachael Green lost her irons. We lost quite a few lengths and our good position. It appeared that this affected the partnerships confidence as He’s Our Lad then hit both the 6^th & 7^th fences and all chance was lost.

I wish Mr Honeyball would let the horse stride on early in the race. He’s Our Lad travels so well during its races and could quite easily get everything else off the bridle. Although race tactics can change, the jockey arrangement will unfortunately stay the same.

We can’t back this horse again but it will no doubt run as it should in the near future and win at a nice price.

First up was Lord Windermere who ran a fair race but probably was not quite battle hardened enough for a race of this nature. The horse travelled and jumped well throughout; on the turn for home Lord Windermere moved up into 3^rd place on the outside and looked dangerous.

Unfortunately the horse did look to run well enough at the business end of the race. He did not handle the bend and appeared to hang too far to his left. Up the home straight we didn’t really quicken but stayed on nicely with the horse visibly shaking his head.

We think that a nice prize can be won with the horse, but talks of the Supreme at Cheltenham look very optimistic.

Next up was Last Instalment who was a lot shorter than we would normally bet, but the price did look to represent some value. The horse was clearly the best in the race by a long margin. The SP of 8-11 was about correct; we got 5-6 earlier in the day that represented better value.

Last Instalment won nicely, making all and wasn’t headed at any point in the race.

The stakes were given to ensure we made a profit if the first value horse lost. This worked as we had hoped with a 1pt profit made on the day. Admittedly it’s nothing to get excited about but at least we we’re off and running for February.

The cold snap looks to be nearly over and we’re hopeful that we can push on and prepare for Cheltenham. I don’t think we saw any Cheltenham winners at Leopardstown. Last Instalment would have an E/W chance in the RSA but with talks of Grand Crus running, a place would be best could hope for.

Quel Esprit finally won a fair race. He jumped round well despite a bit of pressure. Can’t have the horse for the Gold Cup, however he looks to have stones to find with Long Run & Kauto Star.

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