SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Festival Tuesday

The guide books have been read from cover to cover, the preview nights are all over, the notebooks are full.

All that’s left is the roar and the business of betting. That’s what we’re here for and braced for, the best week of gambling on any UK racecourse. Star Sports set their stall out to take on all comers, and all comers were expected.

Star bet number two on the rail, and number three in Tatts. After a bit of musical pitches the rails were manned by Tony, Inlike Flynn and Lofty and Tatts: Hannah, Kyle, Ben and head of on course, Steve.

1:30 – Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m ½f

I have no idea what the crowd numbers were, but it seemed huge, more like Gold Cup day. Maybe getting in front of the stands for the full effect of ‘the roar’ was a factor. As long as I’ve been coming, bets have been light on the opening race. It was the same today, well light in the context of the Cheltenham Festival.

The rails pitch was busier, ‘just grand after grand on the favourite’ was Lofty’s nonchalant response when I asked if anything had happened. Monkeys were the biggest tendered on the Tatts pitch, most of them on the favourite Facile Vega too. They added up to a loss of about £15,000 over the two pitches.

The 9/2 winner Marine Nationale was at least not the favourite which looked likely to win jumping the last. It was a fair result in the Tatts book copping £3000 but a ‘taker’ in the rails ledger. ‘It looked a lot worse halfway up the run-in’ was Lofty’s astute observation.

OVER IN THE OFFICE: “Two losers: Facile Vega and Il Etait Temps. No lumps but lots of bets across everything”

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2:10 – Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 2m

Betting behind us, fifth generation ‘Jack Bevan’ Archie Metcalfe was betting without the front two in the betting under the heading ‘Donkey Derby.’ No offence to any connections meant I’m sure.

The first big bet of the meeting was tendered on the rails, £20,000 on El Fabiolo at 11/8, bookmaker’s hedging business taken on the nod. There’s no need for lawyers and contracts on the racecourse, it’s done on trust.

Kyle was getting a touch of the Lofty’s betting on the second. I asked why Jonbon was losing £11,000 and he replied ‘Oh just grand and monkey bets’. It’s a different world at Cheltenham but so far it hadn’t really come to life like we know it can. The rails pitch had the jolly losing £30,000 at the off, ‘up the front two’ between them. El Fabiolo bolted up from Jonbon and the book did its money.

Jack Bevan did it right behind though, a winning race for the Torquay Troubadours thanks to Saint Roi finishing third at 11/1.

OVER IN THE OFFICE: “One horse book. El Fabiolo only lose”

CHECK OUT CHELTENHAM KNOCKOUT – 32 TIPSTERS FIGHTING IT OUT!

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2:50 – Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 3m 1f

Next up and a Cheltenham speciality hideously hard handicap. Ben hopped off the stool to be replaced by Tony. Between races, I was stopped by a workman on the rails asking if I thought tomorrow would be off. A bit of a strange question I thought as people had mostly dispensed with their coats.

I’m hoping he’d been reading the Daily Express weather forecast, rather than had his card marked by the Met Office. Ben had only been gone a few minutes but came down to the pitch looking a bit confused asking me what number the Star box was. I didn’t know they had one, luckily Steve had the number so hopefully Ben found it before they’d done in the buffet.

Betting on the race was fairly quiet, but it gave me a chance to chat with a couple of bag men, it’s partly my fault they have dispensed with the accessories from which they got their monikers. No publicity! Whilst the business on this race was quiet Flynn came over to tell me they’d laid £4000 – £11,000 Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle, that in addition to the £2000 – £5000 laid on the Tatts pitch before racing started.

I’m told the race itself was a cracker, I’ll have to watch the reply as I was on a pasty run. It appears a good game, pasties that is, the bookmaking game wasn’t so good, 6/1 joint-favourite Corach Rambler winning cost the firm another couple of grand. The pasties were nice though.

OVER IN THE OFFICE: “Two bogies finished 1st and 2nd”

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3:30 – Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m ½f

Despite Constitution Hill being the horse the punters wanted to win, given the price they weren’t getting involved. Star Sports also bet on the forecast. They did their money twice. Constitution Hill won impressively to a huge roar from a crowd who mostly wouldn’t have backed him.

State Man chased him up the hill, the bogies in the forecast book too including a grand forecast bet struck and landed. Still, it was great for racing.

What wasn’t so great was Ed’s message from the office: “230k at 4/11 Constitution Hill”

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4:10 – Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Registered As The David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m 4f

Ben didn’t stay out of the action for long and was back in the thick of things. Now, a horse that would be almost certain to take the roof off the stands should she win would be Honeysuckle. She was a backable price too at ‘top of the head’ 9/4.

Punters are a hard-nosed bunch mind, the bet to get the book started was £10,000 – £1000 Echoes In Rain. There was money about for Honeysuckle, £5000 – £2000 plus a £6000 – £1000 Epstante but not the sort of business you’d hope for in a prime pitch.

Just a bit of betting ring gossip to relate….. bookmaker Mike Smith forgot all his tools, all apart from his headboard, the rest had been drying out after a drenching at a point to point and not in the car, the trouble was, he only discovered that when he got here. Fair play to his determination though, he begged and borrowed enough kit to bet, though still claimed he’d rather be at a point to point.

He almost certainly did after Honeysuckle hammered home the passion and romance of the Festival. She won to a deafening roar which was no doubt followed by a thunderous tapping of superlatives on keyboards up in the press room by scribes with infinitely better wordsmith skills than I saying how fantastic it was to see her win.

Over on the rails Lofty, Inlike and Charlie hadn’t had a winning race and did another £3500 there, Ben’s team lost another grand.

Ed Dark’s message was: “Honeysuckle the big bogie but no lumps”

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4:50 – Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Registered As The Fred Winter) (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO only) 2m ½f

The penultimate was a busy betting race, the rails took very good money. Maybe the punters were realising that they were running out of betting options. Flynn and team took a £2500 each-way bet on Byker which was the biggest in a race with plenty of decent but not blog-sized bets. The Tatts pitch was less frenetic but still did good business.

The race lived up to how competitive it looked on paper. 18/1 winner Jazzy Matty was a £5500 cop on the rail but would have been a different story if runner-up Byker had prevailed. A winning race on both pitches going into the lucky last.

Ed’s message was: ‘Jolly big bogie’

CHECK OUT CHELTENHAM KNOCKOUT – 32 TIPSTERS FIGHTING IT OUT!

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5:30 – Wellchild National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 3m 6f

The last boasted an odds-on favourite Gaillard Du Mesnil. The gelding attracted a bet of £4000 – £4400 on the Tatts pitch as well as ‘bet after bet’ of £220 and £110 on the rail. It was getting proper nippy down in the ring but punters keep the firm busy.

Both pitches had the favourite the bogie at the off but the rails had also laid £4500 – £500 each-way Mister Coffey to make things interesting.

Anywhere but Cheltenham, you couldn’t make it up. As if the punters hadn’t had it their own way all day. Mahler Mission looked to be coasting to victory before falling. There still looked to be OK for the books then the jolly found another gear propelled by the roar of the crowd to storm up the hill and win going away. Maybe he’d have won anyway, it might be some consolation for the bookmakers to assume so.

Mister Coffey finished third just to get the final jab of the day in. The rain started to pour just as the queues formed for payouts, the punters didn’t seem to mind, but for the books paying out, I’m guessing they couldn’t wait to see the back of what had been a very bad Tuesday. The saving Grace for Star was that had the big punters had their betting boots on, it could have been a whole lot worse.

We’re back tomorrow.

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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