SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Derby Day

A bookmaker came to the joint before racing laughing saying that he hoped the staff were all in the same clothes and followed the same routine as yesterday. He was alluding to the fact that it was unusual for me to write about Star Sports winning as I did yesterday, writes SIMON NOTT.

He had to be reminded that the firm are in no way superstitious, well apart from Ben’s aversion to green, and would stay consistently keen to lay the punters what they want of course. More of a treat than the visit from the mick taking bookie was one from Australian racing royalty legendary bookmaker Rob & trainer Gai Waterhouse. What a lovely couple they are, happy to chat away behind the joint with us. Rob will be betting at Royal Ascot, so if you are going, have a bet with him as well as Star.

The team remained unchanged, Nick and Steve taking the bets and Flynn tapping them in. The difference on Derby day is that the enclosure the team are facing into has a strict dress code of morning dress which appears to attract a different crowd. Oaks equals punting punter while Derby is promenading punter.

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1:25 – Hong Kong Jockey Club Lester Piggott Handicap (Class 2) 1m 2f

There were some decent top hatted punters in evidence though. Unfortunately mostly wanted to be on Portsmouth despite looking too posh to be fans of the football club, the biggest bets were £2000 at 5/2 and £1500 at 9/4 but were plenty of £200 and £100 bets in the mix too. Nothing else was backed significantly, a result at the off the firm had the jolly losing £10,000.

At one point in the race it did look as if good old Pompy was going to land the first blow for the punters, however, he flattered to deceive. When push came to shove the bogie was no match for 9/2 chance Persica which ran on well to win nicely from the favourite back in second. When I asked Flynn how it was, he replied ‘Skinner in the win book’ which copped £4802.50, that’s not bad going for a second favourite. Inlike swore there was no Lofty style lean-up, the punters just didn’t want to know. The first race of eight to Star Sports.

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2:00 – Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored By My Pension Expert) (Group 3) 1m ½f

Next up and some early business £8750 – £5000 Running Lion and £5500 – £2000 Chic Columbine kicked the book off nicely. Just wandering along the rail where a bagman was lurking I counted 11 vacant rails pitches, on Derby day. It would be lovely to think that one day business would warrant a full house, somebody must own those picks. The good news was that during my perambulation business had been brisk, the team had taken a further £3000 in modest money to top up the big bet take, that was followed by a monkey at 15/8 the jolly nudging Running Lion’s potential losses to over £10,000 with just under that in the hod.

At the off the jolly was the only loser in the book, bad for £10,365. This time, Flynn admitted to a ‘Lofty lean-up’ when 5/1 chance Breege won by a neck from taker Chic Columbine. The book won £9200 and the MD was beaming unlike favourite backers who knew their fate way back in the race.

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2:35 – Betfred Diomed Stakes (Group 3) 1m ½f

Dylan Cunha’s Silver Sword was installed as the early bogie thanks to a bet struck at Cheltenham. That 25/1 looked value today despite the gelding priced as 12/1 outsider of the eight-runner race in what was a tight betting heat. The race didn’t really come alive though, there was still only £1600 in the book when the field arrived at the start and just shy of £2000 at the off. Royal Scotsman won at 8/1, the book copped around a monkey. ‘10 winning races from 10’ at Epsom chirped Flynn. It was a shame there wasn’t bigger money fielded in the race but it was still another cop in the book in the Star Sports winning on course saga.

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3:10 – Betfred 3YO “Dash” Handicap (Class 3) 5f

The first decent bet in the next was £10,000 – £500 each-way Doctor Vuby which set the bar to bet up to quite high in what looked like a tough race. It looked even tougher when a bookmaker hedged a further £350 each-way the same horse at the same price. The other loser in the book was the jolly Grandlad which had been a steady choice with the smaller backers, the biggest bet for him was £1000 – £200. Business was a bit better than the previous race but still very slow, there was £3500 in the hod but £1700 of that was on the bogie.

At the off those were the two losers the jolly for £500. It didn’t matter in the end, Gemma Tutty’s Blue Storm won the race at 8/1 and the book copped another £1700, in other words, the big bets. 11 races from 11 it was then.

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3:45 – Aston Martin “Dash” Handicap (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) 5f

The firm enjoyed an early visit from a bagman keen to get stuck into the Dash. He bet £350 on Chipstead at 14/1 and didn’t ask for the fractions, £700 on Dream Composer at 13/2, and £300 Lethal Nymph at 16/1 ditto. Maybe he was happy just taking some top prices there. At least it bulked up the book, the sun had finally come out when betting proper on the race got underway but the punters’ money stayed in their pockets. It didn’t stay in the Star Sports hod though, thanks to Steve, stepping high with open shoulders taking on the shrewdies behind the bag man’s money the firm lost £2900 when 6/1 chance Dream Composer pounced close home to chin hitherto all the way leader Democracy Dilemma which would have copped a similar figure, a nasty turnaround just before the main event.

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4:30 – Betfred Derby (Group 1) (British Champions Series) 1m 4f

Next up, the Derby where there was some lively betting from the outset, including £60,000 – £10,000 Ancient Wisdom, £14,000 – £1000 each-way Bellum Justum but very little over the jolly City Of Troy. Flynn laid a £3000 – £1000 early but was then Betfair price and bigger at times 10/3 but there was hardly a taker for some time, but eventually a few carpets trickled in making it a loser for two grand. The biggest bet as the horses went to post was another £1000 Ancient Wisdom at 13/2, the punter tried begging 7/1 having no idea his fancy was losing the thick end of £60,000 already.

The late machine move was for Ambiente Friendly but was friendless on course, at least with Star Sports. The firm could have done with that one winning, but it was not to be. It was City Of Troy that went down in the history books for winning the 2024 Derby, quite the training feat. The book lost £1000 which was also quite some feat when you consider the bogie in the race would have lost £62,000. ‘We won on the places’ grinned Flynn, it’s not often you aren’t knocked over with an arb on the board and only do a grand over a Derby favourite. It must have felt like winning to the MD and team.

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5:15 – Long Shot Northern Dancer Handicap (Class 2) 1m 4f

As so often happens after the feature race, especially a feature race that’s sixth on the card, business dropped markedly for the penultimate. The only bet of note was £5500 – £1000 Kotari plus several much smaller bets on Ziggy which ensured the book was an up the front two affair where they bet 4/1 the pair. At the off they lost £6500 and £1500 respectively with everything else a good winner. Once the race was off neither of the bogies looked like getting into it behind 7/1 winner Relentless Voyager which Flynn swerved a bit, it was only 6/1 with him hence the £2400 profit on the race. Had there been a market on it, with one race to go the in-running players would be blistering their fingers on a 1.01 Star Sports second winning day in a row.

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5:50 – JRA Tokyo Trophy Handicap (Class 2) 6f

There’s never a last race on the firm, at least it seems that way. A punter came over to the joint with £250 he wanted on an even money chance at Doncaster. Aways are always a pleasure if you are coming racing and you see a Star Sports pitch. That little advert was brought to you due to very little of interest in the lucky last. The bet away, Kings Gamble got beaten but there was still very little of interest in the race here at Epsom. As the horses got to post there was less than £2000 in the book. As they set off there had been no bets of any note but Mr Wagyu was still a loser for £2300 with Aleezdancer losing the cost of some quality footwear as supplied by Max the Shoes.

We were all treated with a cracking race to conclude. Mr Wagyu looked to have got some back for the punters, only to be mugged a short head close home by Misty Grey which won £88 in the book concluding the days sport winning £14,300 on the day and a nice few quid over the two days. How about that, the firm won again. I’ll be back at Towcester with Star Sports the next couple of weeks, then it’s Royal Ascot. Aye Aye. Thanks for reading.

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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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