SIMON NOTT: Chester Day Two betting report

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]ay two of the Chester Boodles May Festival started in the garden of our digs. A couple of ladies wandered up the path as I was trying to get a phone signal.

It transpired that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They very politely asked if I’d like a Watchtower. They showed me the cover, emblazoned ‘The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ was it an omen?

After the opening Gateley PLC Changing The Legal Landscape Handicap it looked like it could be, a bad one. First horseman of the Apocalypse, Jim Crowley on winning 10/11 favourite Khairaat which knocked the ring badly. To make things worse the layers never had a chance as it won so nicely.

The second apocalyptic horseman rode in on 6/4 favourite Deauville in the Sportingbet.com Huxley Stakes. This time it was Ryan Moore belying his angelic appearance serving it to the bookies. Baz the Tash bemoaned the results then reported that business was useless, adding ‘there’s more life in that cemetery over the road’. On the plus side and this blog likes that side best, if they can’t take it they can’t lose it.

Baz may have been deadpan in his light-hearted delivery but there was little jollity in the ring after Mutawatheb won the Boodles Diamond Handicap. The well-backed 7/2 joint-jolly under the first apocalyptic horseman Jim Crowley who came back to sock it to the ring for a second time.

I didn’t dare ask anyone how their day was going after Ryan Moore led home an Aidan O’Brien 1,2,3 on 5/2 favourite Venice Beach in the MBNA Chester Vase Stakes. Who needs four Horsemen when two demons get doubles? After four races the ring was being ravaged and badly needed a result.

There was hope in the ring prior to the English Fine Cotton EBF Maiden Stakes. Course bookie Colin Wadey gave odds-on jolly Dahik as his lay of the day on Twitter. The infamous Racing Blogger expressed an interest and was quoted 4/5 by the broad-shouldered layer. Sadly ‘Bloggsie’ was in London so couldn’t avail himself, come racing for value. The rest is history Richard Kingscote rode a cracking race to win on 3/1 Dragon’s Tail with the jolly unplaced. Any in the ring that followed Colin’s advice got the money. The Blogger’s? Well that is probably in a London betting shop somewhere. To open an account 08000 521 321 Bloggsie! Hardly a proper result for the books in general but had the fight back started?

The answer is no. Andrea Atzeni broke the hearts of the layers coming with a late swoop on 11/4 favourite Zamjar to win the T&L Leasing Handicap Stakes. Atenzi became the third Horseman of the Apocalypse. There was was still time for the fourth to show up but in reality it didn’t matter, the ring had already slithered down the financial abyss with very little chance of clambering out on the day.

Praise be, the Gambling Gods finally relented and finally gave the bookmakers a break. 8/1 shot Storm King flew home in the concluding Virgin Atlantic Handicap Stakes. David Allen’s mount would have been a winner in most books and at very least stopped the rot. The books will be coming out for the big day tomorrow on the front foot. Where was the fourth horseman?’ Nobody knows but the ring was happy he went AWOL. Proper job.