SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Friday

I must admit fearing the worst given the forecast and 7.30am inspection…

Hopes were raised when another look was called for 10.30, but it did mean I had to set off in hopeful anticipation rather than a certain day’s work. The frost covers did their job though, despite the reported minus seven temperatures overnight. By the time I got to Cheltenham, just after 10am, the word was that the meeting would be on, and indeed it was.

Cheltenham on mornings like this is glorious, a joy to be here despite the winter clobber needing to be well and truly out. There was plenty of banter before racing. Today’s team were Ed Dark and Lofty. ‘Inlike’ Flynn is sadly for us now moved on to higher things on the Star Sports firm, great for Inlike but on a personal level it’s been a pleasure to work with him at the helm, will miss him and wish him every success. I had a chat before racing with Gary Wiltshire, we were reminiscing about a huge figure on betting rings gone by, ‘Johnny Lights’ when another one, Stephen Little, came over to say hello too. Gary was telling me that a lot of people still don’t know about the #BettingPeople interviews, for which both he and Stephen have sat. Please help spread the word if you enjoy them.

12:40 – British EBF ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle (GBB Race) (Class 3) (4YO to 6YO) 2m 1f

Given the uncertainty about racing taking place, the crowd looked a very good one. They were a punting bunch too. The first bets in the book were £2250 – £2000 Gentle Slopes, and £600 – £300 Master Chewy. A little later on a punter came in for another £2000 on Gentle Slopes, this time at a bottle, 2/1. At the off, unsurprisingly Gentle Slopes was the absolute and only bogie losing around £4500.

The gelding appeared beaten with two to jump, but Master Chewy, a winner for a carpet £300 looked to be going very well. ‘A right result would be nice’ was Lofty’s observation. He got his wish, Attacca kept pulling out more and strode up the hill to win. ‘That’s handy’ was our hero’s celebratory remark, followed by ‘It’s better than the dogs’, had my eyebrows not be ravaged to the point of almost non-existence bay alopecia I’d have raised one of them. He noticed my quizzed look and elaborated, ‘What I meant was, it’s like being at the dogs, taking bets like that.’

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1:15 – Cheltenham & South-West Racing Club Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (GBB Race) (Class 3) (4YO plus) 3m 1½f

Next up and a small field even if we’re waxing lyrical about the dogs. Just three went to post after Mister Coffey defected. Hidden Heroics was opened 8/11 but eased to tips-on, 10/11 favourite before the off. Lofty and Edwardo couldn’t lay it, but they did manage to get second-in Green Vault in the book, no lumps just steady readies, which ensure he was the bogie when the field jumped.

The jolly won totally unchallenged, and the book copped £668. Well played the intrepid duo on the rail where the sun was out and woolie items of clothing were being removed at a rate.

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1:50 – Cf Roberts Electrical & Mechanical Services Mares’ Handicap Chase (Class 3) (4YO plus) 2m 4½f

The competitive handicap chase that followed was a popular heat with the punters. They didn’t bet in much volume but were still keen to get on. While the lads were under the cosh I was dispatched to purchase celebratory pasties. Blimey if you can’t raise a pasty after copping over an odds-on shot, when can you. They did smell mighty fine but after seeing the size of my belly in a picture from the Derby Awards, I’m slimming. Lofty and Ed did a sterling job of demolishing theirs before the off, at which Marta Des Mottes was the loser in the book, bad for just over £2000 should she win.

Tom Symonds’ mare nearly turned the pasties sour jumping the last in front but was chinned on the line by David Bridgewater’s 8/1 winner Dame du Soir. She copped a monkey in the book despite an under the odds bet of £700 – £100 struck on her. Ed and Loft were on a roll, metaphorically speaking of course, they were full up after their traditional Cornish lunches.

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2:25 – Dahlbury Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 3m 2f

The antepenultimate saw a plunge horse, Nigel Twiston-Davies’ charge Undersupervision backed from 6/1 into 7/2. Lofty and Ed laid a £3500 – £1000 late on to a punter, that’s the way lads, get them in at the right price. That was the biggest bet the intrepid duo laid so made the gamble the bogie at the off.

The punted horse ran well but had to settle for finishing third behind 8/1 winner Eva’s Oskar. Lofty told me ‘the first bet in the book was £800 – £100 the winner but we still copped a nice few quid’, which equated to £700 in less vague terms. I had a wander down to Lower Tatts between races, I saw one of the bagmen, yet to trouble Star Sports, he’d been having a quiet day but did manage to get £800 on the winner of the third. Who says there’s no value down at the bottom end too?

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3:00 – Catesby Estates Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) (3YO plus) 2m 1f

For those of you out there that don’t like to read about bookies winning, your luck is in.

I won’t beat around the bush, Lofty and Ed’s luck ran out in the penultimate. The race was affected by the omission of three of the four hurdles due to the low sun. Would it have affected the result, we’ll never know. The good thing is though, especially writing a betting blog, Ed and Lofty laid a bet of £4500 – £2000 Mullenbeg which got beat. But, as you will have guessed, they also laid the winner, which was Fergal O’Brien’s Punctuation under Paddy Brennan, to the tune of £4500 – £1000.

Lofty was upbeat, well as upbeat as you can be having given back the thick end of £2000 when it was going so well, but stoic in saying, ‘The winner was the smaller loser of the pair’ and noted that they’d done nothing wrong with the price laid as the gelding returned 9/2. Quite right too Lofty, they were still in front with a good betting heat to conclude.

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3:35 – Citipost Handicap Hurdle (GBB Race) (Class 2) (4YO plus) 3m

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Ed had been suffering all day after coming second walking a greyhound this morning. He’d twisted his ankle and had been popping aspirin to numb the pain. It was only when the sun vanished behind the stand and the temperature plummeted that he reached for his wooly hat, nails. Going into the race the firm were still copping £4700 on the day, some feat really given the results. The punters just didn’t want to get involved in the last. It took the pressure off the team, if they couldn’t take it, they couldn’t lose it. An announcement came that the last three hurdles were to be omitted, though not because low sun, as there was no sun, but to enable the rapid laying of covers to try and save tomorrow’s racing, so commendable.

At the off, Nicky Henderson’s 7/2 chance Captain Morgs was the bogie for £540 with the jolly Dusart taking the book. The bogie won, the book lost the aforementioned £540 but still copped over £4000 on the day. Job done for Loft and Ed. There was still plenty do for the teams battling the clock on course to get those covers down.

I’m told that tomorrow could be a little more in doubt than today given that temperatures aren’t due to rise above freezing until around 10am tomorrow after hitting a mighty minus tonight. If it’s off it won’t be for the lack of effort by the racecourse. It’s all down to you Jack Frost, don’t be a spoilsport eh?

We’re back tomorrow. Hopefully.

SIMON NOTT

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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