30/08/2010
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On August 30, 2010
One account bet yesterday on The Winged Assassin. We joined the connections gamble after they placed a huge amount of money in a 30 min gap. The price went from 9/1 to 7/2 in places we got 5/1, and it looks like we got some value from it. The horse did drift out on the course but that was just because all the money was already on.
The horse ran a poor race. It looked like it was never really involved in the first place. One of our contacts was with connections, who had some very glum faces after the race. The jockey reported that the horse was simply not interested and never put it in. Last time the horse was seen on a track it refused to race, but that was over a year ago with a different trainer. It had been working well at home, but may now be a morning-glory horse. In the future, I think we will stick with our own info instead of joining other people’s gambles.
26/08/2010
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On August 26, 2010
One bet today on Days of Summer, who won nicely for us at 12/1. The horse ran a super race, and was never in any position worse than 3rd, really quickening away well at the end. It was never in any danger of being out of the first three.
This was our first bet in nearly a week, but I hope it was worth the wait. Like I said, the weather is terrible at the moment. Backing flat horses on soft ground is a recipe for disaster; in the long term you can only lose. It’s still raining here in the midlands. That’s now over 24 hours of solid heavy rain. Not once has it stopped.
We backed Days of Summer at 10/1. We hit eights at one stage but we will get paid out at twelve’s with the best price guaranteed, so all around it was a good day. I can’t tell you when the next account bet will be because of the poor racing and the poor weather, but please bare with us. In the long term we will all come out on top.
20/08/2010
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On August 20, 2010
Yesterday we backed Hollins at 10/1. The horse was one of the biggest gambles of the Ebor meeting, going off at 11/2. This is a really big move considering the markets at York are good and bookies are standing bets.
Hollins broke well under Fallon, and was in 4th place five furlongs out, trading at 4/1 on Betfair. Unfortunately, Hollins simply got out-paced when the race turned into a sprint. Hollins was running over 2 miles 5 that trip, which is a bit long, but won over 2 miles 2 on his last visit to York.
The race was not run at the pace connections had hoped, and in hindsight, they feel they judged this trip wrong. The only other thing they could have done was made all, but Hollins has never done this. Fallon stopped riding two out when he realized the horse had no chance of winning. He could have made a closer finish, but the money was down to win, so he just decided to look after the horse.
It just goes to show that even trainers can make mistakes, and I know for a fact that connections did their conkers on the horse, taking all prices. But if you’re backing horses at 10/1 that go off at 11/2 then something is definitely right. Disappointing Ebor meeting for us, with this being the first big flat meeting we’ve lost at in a long time. Thankfully we had the 8/1 winner on Monday.
19/08/2010
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On August 19, 2010
We never got a run by Tiger Reigns. Despite breaking well, the jockey never got to the front. The plan was to sit in the first three since the horse has plenty of speed, but Tiger Reigns never came off. The bridle jockey just sat in midfield with a wall of horses around him and nowhere to go. In the Final 50 yards a gap did appear, and Tiger Reigns made up 3 places in a matter of strides and finished strong. This was a very frustrating run; but you need luck in these big races and we didn’t get any.
Ceilidh House was really fancied by the stable, but once again, for the 3rd time in two weeks, our horse was virtually pulled. I can’t believe we’ve now backed three horses in two weeks that have gone wrong. Ceilidh House had a lovely position turning for home in 4th place when the jockey looked down. I thought to myself “here we go,” before the jockey pulled up. The horse was legless returning to the stables, where it was scoped and found to be full of mucus.
Horses are not machines. And like everything else, they can go wrong. But three times in two weeks is just plain bad luck – very annoying bad luck.
Lords Bridge made a bad mistake at the 4th that knocked the stuffing out of it, and that was race over.
17/08/2010
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On August 17, 2010
Yesterdays bet on Tipperary Boutique did not show a great deal. I have now watched the race, and the horse never really looked involved.
It broke well in midfield, but the horse was soon taken to the rear as it had to be held up. It did pull hard, but I felt the jockey never really put the horse in the race. At two out the horse tried to make up ground, but no gap appeared. We got on early at 16/1, and the horse was backed into 9/1 about an hour before the race, but then drifted out. I think the drift out was due to a couple of things: the money going on in the morning, and one piece of information that I was not aware of (and honestly should have been) – the Hills yard is terribly out of form.
The horse was fancied by connections and backed, but it ran the same as all the Hills runners did yesterday: poorly. I will be speaking with our info guy, as we should have been aware that the yard was lacking form.
