AUTHOR: Star Sports Content
SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Greyhound Derby Towcester, Saturday
Before I start on tonight’s action, there have been a couple of issues with Star’s staff clobber, writes SIMON NOTT.
Firstly, one of Ben’s right hand ladies, Kim, was sporting a jacket that looked very green, not tempting fate I hope Kim, it’s lucky nobody told the boss. Secondly, you might remember Kaan’s very fetching orange tie from yesterday’s photo.
Well, it is no more, at least no longer in Kaan’s tie collection. A punter betting in the last asked if he could also win Kaan’s orange tie as a bonus if he backed the winner. Our man on the stool, mistakenly thinking the cheeky chap had a throwaway couple of quid on the 66/1 poke sportingly agreed. Imagine his horror when the chap came back demanding his neckwear on presentation of his winning bet on the 4/6 winner.
A bet, is of course a bet, so the tie was delivered to enable the delighted and now flush and smartly dressed punter to ‘go on the pull’ in Northampton suitably attired. The sacrifices of working in the ring are many and varied.
Before racing, Max the Shoes brought me some footwear he’d had expertly repaired for me. Max is an absolutely top man but also camera shy, can you guess which one Max is in the photo?
There was a good crowd too, there were plenty of people in the stands before the first and created a real buzz about the place even getting involved in the opening graded race where the firm copped a monkey. It all augured well for a lively night in the ring.
6.17pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 21
The first bet in the first Derby heat £2200 – £200 Foggy Bottom out of Trap 1, an early phone bet from Ireland Lofty informed me. The favourite in the race was Road Exile which opened 10/11 to win from Trap 6. Lack of interest meant he was nudged out to evens, then 5/4 where a bet of £350 ensured that price didn’t last the blink of an eye, evens it was. At the off the top lost £885 and bottom £720.
Trap Six broke well and made all to win easily, that despite Lofty shouting ‘It’s a long way home’ from the second bend, you suspect more in hope than expectation.
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6.35pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 22
Next up and another bottle bet from the Emerald Isle, once again on Trap 1 in this case Jetstream Breeze £2000 – £200 laid. There was an even shorter jolly in this race, Trap 4 Romeo Command opened 8/15 with Kaan and Lofty. The straight forecast betting on offer was proving very popular with the punters, not just the small stakes either, a couple of £100 bets in that market were tendered. A punter came in with £400, though it wasn’t for the forecast or the jolly, by then 4/6, but Trap 3’s incumbent, Salacres Tipster, £2400 – £400 laid to the man.
That bet was shortly followed by £200 – £300 the jolly which was proving hard to lay, so up the arm 8/11 it was and tempted in a carpet a couple of £100 bets. At the off Salacres Tipster was the bogie with the jolly losing a round of drinks in a posh pub.
Not many people backed Trap 2 Savana Top Cat which won the race, there was one chap that did, he’d had £30 on the first winner and spun up the £57.27 he had to come on the winner and was delighted. The team were delighted to pay him too, having copped £1800 on the race bolstered by a skinner in the forecast book.
6.51pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 23
The first bet in the next heat was £1200 at 13/8 Trap 3 Rushy Meadows which set Lofty and Kaan a target to try and bet up to in what looked a fairly open race. Maybe too open, business was brisk but fairly small. It was only as the dogs were approaching the traps the team laid £500 – £400 the favourite. The jolly had been well-backed not to lumps but it all added up, losing £2776 at the off.
Lofty and Kaan feared the worst when the bogie broke well and headed into the first bend in front, only to emerge from it in last place. Droopys Priority won the race from Trap 4, the last bet laid on the him was a fiver at 12/1 which the ecstatic lady backer was soon up to collect. The winner was the best result in the book which copped £2776, maybe it was too early, but Kim’s green jacket didn’t appear to be all that unlucky so far.
Lofty went next door to Danny of Bunny Racing to ask for elastic bands to snap around the readies, yes that was a bit of a rubdown wasn’t it. Modesty Lofty, modesty.
7.10pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 24
Next up and a five dog heat, Trap 1 vacant, the top team laid two decent bets in quick succession, £3000 – £2000 Trap 2 Da Bold Falcon and £1400-£400 Glengar Martha in Trap 6. When I next looked at the board Trap 6 was missing, I informed Lofty, he knew it was missing and informed me so exploding in a very loud voice in a fit of rage. Apparently, he was having technical problems.
Late on, having calmed down again, our volatile but loveable hero laid £825 – £300 Trap 6 topping Lester the pro-punter’s second best bet of the night, up. Lester knew, his fancy pinged the traps and it was all over. The book lost £700 but at least Lofty had calmed down again. Phew!
7.29pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 25
The first bet in the book in the next heat was £2000 – £2400 Trap 2 High Trend and £5000 – £200 Trap 5 Beaming Outlaw followed by £100 each-way the same dog at the 25/1 Lofty had left on the board. I asked what they knew about the dog and he replied confidently ‘Obviously nothing’.
The next decent bet in the race was £500 at 5/2 Ballinabola Ed running from Trap 6, that was as the dogs were going behind, once again the forecast was proving popular. A popular combination was Trap 2 to beat Trap 6 which was the way the race ended up, that meant the £1100 the book lost over the jolly became bad for £1500 once the forecast book had been taken into account.
7.47pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 26
Lofty laid a £2000 – £250 Trap 4 In Good Time early in the betting for the next heat, but the race was a slow burner. That was handy really because Max The Shoes came back over to the joint for a chinwag and started buttering Lofty up, telling everyone that would listen that if it wasn’t for Lofty there’d be no Star Sports. As you can imagine the big fella cheered right up, nice one Max, the money’s in the post.
The money wasn’t in the hod though, at least not compared to how things have been the last two nights. At the off the bogies were In Good Time and King Sydney from Trap 5. Neither won, that accolade went to Trap 1 Barntick Bear which had been a weak favourite but won nicely. ‘Follow the bear’ cheered a now chirpy Lofty, even chirpier as the book had just copped £750 over a market leader.
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8.05pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 27
Next up and the first bet of note was £500 – £200 Trap 6 Slick Sentinel followed by £2000 – £200 his neighbour Arb Park Ranger running from Trap 5. The last bet made that one the bogie at the off of a quiet betting race.
Slick won the race coming with a late rattle, not Slick Sentinel but the previously not mentioned Ballymac Slick otherwise known as Trap 4.
The reason I hadn’t mentioned the winner before was that hardly anyone backed it despite being only 3/1. I told you it was a quiet betting heat, the book copped £720 which was very handy.
8.22pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 28
A punter waded in with a monkey at 5/1 on Trap 5 Unanimous Leon early in the next. He had the biggest wager but was only the first of several decent bets on the same dog. The money had taken the team a little by surprise as Jaytee Craze running from Trap 2 had been expected to be popular opening 4/5. The first bet for the jolly was a decent one but came late and from another bookie rather than the floor hedging £2000 – £2500 as the dogs were approaching the traps.
That left the book ‘up the front two’ in betting order. As it turned out, it was the perfect race to have an old fashioned book. 12/1 chance Trap 6 Clona Kody had opened at half that price and proven friendless but bounced out of the boxes and made all to win copping £3334 for the firm. The winner had been a turn up for the book but both Kaan and Lofty agreed that had everything not gone wrong for it in running the favourite would surely have won.
8.40pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 29
A punter was eager to get on Trap 1 Glorious Tom early in the heat before the penultimate, begging 7/2 the 10/3 shot as soon as the race was priced up, pulling up £700 to have on when Lofty relented. Clona Curly running from Trap 4 was opened 11/10 favourite and attracted a bottle, £200 at the price so got the book started nicely.
There were a couple of £100 bets over the favourite but basically the first two bets were the book as far as bigger money went.
It looked for much of the race of Trap 1 losing £1430 was going to win, only to be collared close home by Trap 4 losing £540.
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8.57pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 30
With two races to go the book was winning £6500, Kim’s green coat didn’t look like it was going to scupper the night, maybe the trick is staying away from the joint. The penultimate heat was one of the more competitively priced of the night where they bet 7/4 the field. Bens Teddy from Trap 2 headed the market. By this time, what had been a fairly warm and sunny night had turned cold as the sun went down and the wind picked up.
Those punters who had worn shorts might have regretted their wardrobe choices if there hadn’t been a warm bar to dive into. One punter not in the bar or wearing shorts had £1000 – £500 Trap 2, followed by a £700-£400 bookies hedge money and a couple of £100 bets, ensuring it went off the bogie for £2428. It was all academic, as Trap 4 Ballymac Senan bolted up as soon after Trap 2 made a post race bolt for the kennels.
The book copped £1500 boosted by forecast money.
9.15pm Star Sports/TRC Greyhound Derby Heat 31
In the lucky last Trap 3, Links Maverick was the subject of bets of £3000 – £2000, 2100 – £1200 and £1500 – £1000, evidently some punters had kept their powder dry. Other bets included £600 – £200 Trap 1 Superfast Gorden but at the off the bogie was losing £4000 in the book.
He finished stone last behind Trap 6 King Combs, Lester’s nap of the day, Lester knew. The book copped £3500, topping off a cracking night for the firm. Kim, can you wear the green jacket again next week, please?
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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.
Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS
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