15/10/2011
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On October 15, 2011
Firstly the sad news; Mille Chief, our notebook horse, has sadly been put down after breaking a leg in a routine piece of work on Saturday. This is a huge loss for both Mr King and the owners as this horse was top class. We have passed on our condolences.
We had two bets on Saturday. Our first selection was Society Rock. This will not take long to review as we had zero run for our money. The draw of stall two turned out to be the worst possible as the runners came over the other side. Society Rock needs holding up and cover. From the three pole we were totally boxed in with nowhere to go. Despite travelling well at two-out, the leaders kicked on and our horse was stuck in behind not being able to make a move.
A big thank you to Bryan Smart though who, once again, was brilliant. Although I’ve not checked back at the results, I don’t think he has given us a horse that has lost in all of the seven/eight bets.
Verinco did what it said on the tin. It broke fast, led the entire race and won with bit to spare in the end. At one point it looked like the other side had the advantage but the camera angle is deceptive at Catterick and this turned out not to be the case. Verinco was well backed into 3/1 and a nice little gamble was landed.
January 2011 Review
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On February 2, 2011
After finishing 2010 with a great profit of 146 points, members did not have to wait very long for the first profit and bet of 2011. In fact the very first bet was on New Year’s Day where we backed Rose of the Moon at a huge 16/1. The horse was stepping up in trip and a massive run was expected and as a result there was a lot of support in the betting markets. It was so nearly the perfect start as the horse bounded up the Cheltenham hill passing all but one of her rivals and only failing by a length at the line. The E/W money was landed as we finished 2nd but so close for a great 16/1 payout.
Our next bets added a bit more cash to our client’s banks with 2 winners and 2 losers.
We placed a few antepost bets in December 2010 but both races were postponed due to the bad weather. But finally the King George race went ahead and so did our antepost bet on Riverside Theatre who ran well and finished 2nd retrieving a nice profit from our E/W bet.
We had also pinned a bet on Mille Chief in the Ladbroke Hurdle and unfortunately this race was also lost. Then, three weeks later, Mille Chief routed a field under a top weight and is now fancied for the Champion Hurdle. I am sure that if Mille Chief ran in the Ladbroke we would have collected a great payout as we were on at a large price.
Despite picking up profits on some nice E/W bets, we continued to hit the cross bar. This time it happened on Somersby at 8/1 E/W. Our selection lost out by the shortest of margins to Master Minded. On the finish line Master Minded’s head was down and ours was up and we got done in the photo after trading at 1.05 on Betfair. Yet again, so close. As you will notice, the average price of our selections is around 6/1.
Unfortunately a very similar result followed; after being informed of a huge gamble that was going down at Wincanton. The horse, Hawkaller, from the excellent Anthony Honeyball yard was available at 16/1 when advised and the SP was a much shorter 7/1. At two out it looked like money in the bag as Hawkaller was clear of the field approaching the last. At this point all we needed was a clear jump for a place but disaster struck when the horse stumbled and lost all momentum, eventually finishing 4th in an 18 runner field.
We then backed Angus A Vic at Gowran Park who ran well until two out but faded poorly.
Our final bet of the month was placed on The Giant Bolster at Cheltenham (a course where we get top class information). Clients were clearly instructed this horse is held in the highest regard and is only 7/1 because he is not trained by a fashionable name. Fashionable name or not, The Giant Bolster did the job. After so many close calls at big prices it was a relief that ensured members started the year with a great profit of 10 points (all proofed as usual).
When we started the service we always said we would close membership at a certain figure. That number is low as we are not, and don’t want to be, a huge service small. The membership is now almost full and only a few places remain; once they’ve gone new membership will be postponed.
There is no better time to join with the Cheltenham Festival on the horizon. We will be looking to reproduce similar results to last year where we had 9 selections and 7 winners that included 16/1, 9/1, 10/1 and 9/1. Membership will be on a first come first served basis once we are full we are full.
08/01/2011
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On January 8, 2011
Today was an up and down day and despite showing a profit I think it could have been so much better.
We had our first antepost bet on Maktu who ran in the Welsh National. The horse was heavily gambled in the betting, all the way from 6/1 into 9/2 today though we managed to take the 8/1 that was available on Wednesday.
From the start Maktu was never out of the first three and jumped well as we predicted. Unfortunately Maktu did not appear to settle and as a result was pulling hard. The pace was a conservative one and understandably so in today’s conditions. Despite being the right choice, this pace did not suit our selection. The jockey did a great job of trying to settle him and find cover during a very hectic race but there was little he could really do.
A group of four horses broke away with about half of a mile remaining; Maktu was one of them and appeared to be travelling better than anything else. At three out he was still in contention for the win but Maktu made his first error of the race. This was the point where his energy and enthusiasm appeared to empty. Maktu used up too much energy whilst pulling hard early on in the race. Whilst jumping the last we were still in third and it looked like the E/W money was ours but we lost out of fourth place on the line.
We were fifth in the end and inches away from a winning bet. The most frustrating part is that if we backed the horse today as opposed to earlier in the week then we would have got paid out on 5th place with Bet365 though the odds would have been much shorter. Below are the Racing Post comments on the race.
Maktu, whose trainer won this with Supreme Glory in 2001, ran a nice race in defeat on his return in November and had been laid out for this event. Well backed, he had his chance but ultimately paid for running too enthusiastically. He is better than this on his day and, while it wouldn´t be at all surprising to see him back for another crack next season, there ought to be a nice pot in him before that long.
The money given to the bookmakers on Maktu was only temporary though as we got it straight back and more on Minella Class who won very easily indeed at an advised 7/4. Always going well, we knew the horse had improved plenty from its last run and this combined with major doubts about the rivals on this ground made us confident that a bet was justified. From three out the race was won, Minella Class looks a lovely prospect.
It’s important to give a mention to Mille Chief who bolted up in what was probably the performance of the day. Giving two stone away in today’s conditions was an incredible feat and even trainer Alan King was lost for words. Unfortunately for us it was a case of what might have been as we had a solid antepost bet on Mille Chief in the Ladbroke Hurdle, but the race was called off in the cold snap. Surely on today’s performance Mille Chief would have taken all the beating in that race and landed us a great bet.
27/01/2010
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On January 27, 2010
Today we had two bets, one on Mille Chief and the other on Prince of Fire (also advised as a double). I must say I was particularly unimpressed with the ride from Mr David Casy, who seemed to just canter round on Prince of fire. He appeared full of running at two out where he went to the front with a double handful at the last. Instead of asking the horse to go clear two or even three out, he sits there messing about trying to hold back. Why don’t jockeys just try and win! This is just a joke. Just win the race and be done with i!.
The horse went to the last fence with no momentum. The horse was put under and pressure when jumping into it. The horse jumped ok, and then the jockey asked the horse to sprint, in heavy ground, after going nothing more than a canter.
However, Ruby was sat behind asking for everything well before the last which as a result meant he finished much faster.
Mille Chief won easily, but that unfortunately we lost the double due to what in my opinion is a poor ride.
27/12/2009
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On December 27, 2009
We had one bet yesterday, advised as a strong one on the notebook horse Mille Chief. It was 2nd time lucky for us and the horse won nicely at 8/11 (5pts win advised), the Betfair SP was 1.8.
The two horses were neck and neck jumping the last but (as we thought) the weight difference showed up the extra class that this horse has. For Mille Chief to win this race going clear at the end against a really useful horse in the form of Westlin’ Winds shows you why Alan rates this beast so highly.
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