12/11/2011
0
On November 12, 2011
We started the day by advising a bet on Universal Soldier for 3 points win at 15/8 after learning the horse had been setup to win on its first time out.
The horse was a most unlucky loser and would have won comfortably if not for that one mistake on landing that forced us to a complete standstill during the race. We were hacking along in second place at the time; all was going well when jumping the 10th; we’re pretty sure this is where the mishap happened. Universal Soldier must have lost the best part of ten lengths whilst the jockey Harry Skelton did really well to staying on top.
Normally it would be race over if the above happened but Harry did a great job; giving the horse time to recover and throwing everything at him to get back into contention. We came back through the field into second but the eventual winner got a good 15 lengths ahead. Jumping the last we closed the gap to around 4 lengths. We were still closing all the time and ended up being beaten by a length or so. We were still able to finish well clear of third. Another three strides would have grabbed it.
We would have won and landed the spoils if not for the one blip but you need that bit of luck at times. Connections backed the horse heavily from 11/4 in the morning into 6/4 at the off. It was just a case of needing the right race plotted up but we left the money behind.
Our second bet was on Mon Parrain who didn’t travel a yard. No idea what happened but something went completely wrong. I won’t speculate at the moment but no doubt something will come to light later this evening. This horse was the next big hope from the Nicholls yard so it was a terribly disappointing run.
I also have to mention The Giant Bolster who fell at the first. This is really bad for David Bridgewater who is such a sound guy and has tried everything with this horse. Yogi Bresner has been working with him for the last two months but it looks like he just can’t jump a fence. I would question the decision to put Tom Scu on top; he can talk a great game but in my opinion is a poor jockey.
In other news, Noble Alan came down when cantering. He must be one of the most unlucky horses in racing. This is now the third time this has happened in big races with a substantial winning fund.
Zero luck for us today, so hopefully things will be put right tomorrow.
16/03/2011
0
On March 16, 2011
Today was a great day for with a cracking profit made around 26pts.
This was always going to be a big day for us with five bets running. Thankfully it worked out well in the end.
The day started well with So Young finishing 3rd for a very small profit. This does not tell the whole story though, as Ruby Walsh rode a stinker. He gets all the praise on Tuesday, but nobody says anything about this effort today. The horse was eight lengths behind when jumping three out. Ruby is cantering on the horse whilst the leaders are going away. Finally, two out, he decides to make headway and So Young makes ground up with ease. That said, it was no easy going; Ruby had to barge his way through and met the last sideways on, royally fluffing it in the process. I can only think Ruby thought he was on a machine. A rare and unfortunate poor ride from a top jumps jockey.
We never got a run with the Giant Bolster who fell early in the race, 3rd fence if I remember correctly. I feel really bad for connections.
We also had Sizing Europe on the cards who bolted up at 10/1, landing us a great bet. Never out of the front two, jumping like a stag, he was brilliant. Just like last year’s Arkle victory, below are the comments we made on him:
I’ve no idea why they tried this horse over three miles, it was certainly a bizarre decision. Remember his solid victory in last year’s Arkle, on drying ground, where he jumped like a stag? Master Minded will not like a drying surface, nor will Big Zeb who won this race last year. When running left-handed tracks, Sizing Europe’s form reads 2113110511. We feel it’s suitable to ignore his last four runs as they have been on right-handed tracks. He’s now back to his optimum trip and where he should show some sound quick jumping. As a result we feel that he is excellent E/W value.
Why they ever tried going three miles with him is beyond me. Sizing Europe is a top class two miler on a left-handed track. I can’t believe he hasn’t run on a left-handed course since last year’s Arkle victory. Today was his first time back. There was never really a moment’s worry as he was running against a field where Master Minded would not take to the ground and is not the horse he was.
Then we had Aegean Dawn running for us. Despite making good headway from the rear he faded two out whilst in 3rd. I’m not sure why he was held up so much; these were different tactics and did not work. You must be handy at Cheltenham over trips of two miles five and under. Maybe there was a problem with him before the weekend, but we take everything Mr Henderson says with a pinch of salt.
Finally, Go All The Way ran in the bumper. We backed this horse last night at 33/1. We knew that there would be money for this horse and we weren’t wrong with him returning 16/1. Go All The Way ran really well and still looked green in the early parts of the race, but he stayed on up the hill and grabbed 4th meaning an 8/1 place winner for us. We’re really pleased with this piece of information as they kept this very quiet and it proved spot on.
11/02/2011
0
On February 11, 2011
It was horrible to see the unfortunate events at Newbury unfold today. Two horses were killed in the parade ring. It seems they were electrocuted by an underground cable that made contact with an electric rod in the ground; nothing has been confirmed yet. Three other horses also collapsed but luckily survived.
The meeting was rightly abandoned, but this just adds to the problems of horses needing a run before Cheltenham. A very sad day for horse racing, the sport really could have done without this.
Regarding our selections today, Zaidpour finished second. He again did not show the form that was seen on his second start. Zaidpour ran a similar race to that on the time we were beaten last time. There certainly isn’t the same grace in his travelling style that we have seen when he was winning a group one race by 12 lengths. It was massively disappointing as he is surely better than a second place.
The info came from our main source of information who was at the Mullins yard in midweek filming a piece for Cheltenahm. He watched Zaidpour work with Bishopsfurze who is top class. Zaidpour beat him by a huge margin at the time without even being shaken up. That piece of work is why Mullins said he is possibly the best horse he’s ever trained, and Bishopfurze is seriously good.
For whatever reason he’s not replicating his home performance with that on the track. We know he’s fully capable of doing it on the course, so this really is a huge disappointment. Everybody at the yard was expecting the horse to win this in a hack canter. We very rarely release a bet as strong as this, but the information was particularly strong, reinforced by first hand experience from one of the top trainers in the business. The money flooded on, as we thought, and Zaidpour went off at Evens. Hopefully you may have hedged your bets in some form prior to the off as we had the early price of 6/4.
The other horse we backed was given no chance. As was said in a precautionary email; you can’t come from off the pace at Warwick. The jockey was caught napping on the turn for home where the leaders kicked on and as a result we could never be put in contention. After a point at about two out the horse was not even ridden as the race was over.
Today was certainly not our best day, but we don’t have many setbacks like this and still show profit for the year. We have lost today but it’s only takes a 6/1 winner with a couple of points placed, as we did with The Giant Bolster, and we have it back with profit. Not the end of the world but not a good day by any means
January 2011 Review
0
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.
29/01/2011
0
On January 29, 2011
Today was a really good day for us; with just the one account bet placed on The Giant Bolster who won well for us. The 8/1 which the horse was advised at disappeared very shortly after the email was sent out, so for purposes of transparency of our account bets we’re recording the price at 7/1. The horse was backed heavily just before the off and hit a low of 9/2 at one stage before returning 5/1.
We’ve had some tough luck of late and, as we all know, we so nearly had it again at the first fence where The Giant Bolster came rather close to being brought down. Thankfully though, despite losing a few lengths, we were ok.
From then on we crept into the race. Turning for home our class eventually through and jockey Rodi Green produced The Giant Bolster at the last to win, going away in the end. After the race there was a good interview with David Bridgewater who thinks in couple of year’s time this horse will be a Gold Cup contender. He also said the horse would improve greatly by March and needs three miles.
Regardless of the race, if the horse starts off of level weights he must hold a fair chance of victory. Today that was the main advantage for us. So after all the tough luck and near misses we’ve had, we finish January around 10pts in profit. We stuck to our guns and rules today and, as they will for the long run, we have done well.
Will have news on Bensalem this Sunday once we have spoke with our connections, I was very pleased with the recent run where the horse travelled like the second best in the race, that is until two out where he blew up. Choc Thornton never got stuck into him at any point and eventually Bensalem was only a few lengths from being placed.
