SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Glorious Goodwood Friday

Has anyone seen a bird on Kennel Hill yet? writes SIMON NOTT.

No, and neither have I. Well, what can you say about yesterday apart from my Max The Shoes brogues are currently drying on the dashboard of my car which is acting as an airing cupboard in the Sussex sunshine as I type.

As we say in the Shire, yesterday certainly was a bit ‘dampy’.

Today was the first day I’d been able to wear the Panama this year. There was talk of a shower but positivity is the name of the game. Unusually for this week, there was a bet of note in the opener £9000 – £2000 each-way Kyle Of Lochalsh on the Tatts pitch once again staffed by Luke, Sophie, Nick and Kaan. Over on the rail with Tony, Lofty and Emily it was just steady business.

---

1:20 pm – Coral Goodwood Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105) 2m4½f (2m4f97y)

The bogie touched 6/1 on course before settling at 11/2, even with Star Sports, who had it losing £10,000. At the off, the Tatts book held £6271 and the rail £2233.

The market drift didn’t matter a jot to the horse or Oisin Murphy on board, the combination bolted up to win unchallenged which was a bad start for the Star Sports Tatts pitch that blew £10,287, but the rail managed to cop a grand. Feel for the poor off course punters, the SP was 5/1, come racing.

---

1:55 pm – Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3yo) 1m

Next up, the smallest field of the meeting with just four runners. The only bet of any note on either pitch was £5500 – £2000 Cosmic Year laid in Tatts which had been weak in the market so in hindsight they were lucky to get him in the book.

As I’ve said, in hindsight, you’ll have guessed the team got it beaten although was arguably a little unlucky in running. The race went to 11/4 shot Seagulls Eleven providing Oisin Murphy with a quickfire double and a cop in both pitches books, Tatts fielded £4489 and won £2346 and the rails held £2498 and kept £1230 of it.

---

2:30 pm – Coral Golden Mile (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo+) 1m

Next up and in contrast a 16-runner heritage handicap where Fifth Column and Greek Order were 11/2 chances on the first on-course show depending where you looked. The one a frantic bookmaker’s workman was looking for was Real Gain asking for a monkey each-way at 22/1, so frantic he didn’t even ask for fractions. Disgrace.

It was a bit flippant a bit early because when I got to the rail, Lofty told me they’d laid £50,000 – £2000 each-way on the same horse. Just before the off, Star Anthem was withdrawn bringing the place terms to three places, Star had been betting a quarter first four.

The gamble made a real go at landing the jackpot for the plotters leading a furlong out but have to give best close home to 11/2 chance Rhoscolyn. Sadly, though probably morally correctly Real Gain held on for third in a photo rewarding the placed horses.

The Tatts pitch had fielded £4580 and blew £2080, clobbered by the places and the winner the worst winner in the win book. I was almost too scared to ask Lofty but plucked up the courage, and he gave me a Lofty round up, they’d taken £7000 and lost £9000. The withdrawn horse had been officially returned a 16/1 chance so no rule four applied to ease the pain.

---

3:05 pm –King George Qatar Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (3yo+) 5f

Next up and on the back foot but with plenty to play for they bet 11/4 Big Mojo to win the King George. Business in Tatts was steady but didn’t contain anything lumpy but added up to £3449. On the rail, Lofty was getting frustrated with the Internet signal not working leaving him blind.

They had laid £25,000 – £5000 Asfoora, the standout bet in a book that held £7893. 14/1 chance Jm Jungle winning was a boost for the firm and gave Lofty’s blood pressure time to subside on what was a hot day anyway. The rail pretty much copped the big bet, the places went against Tatts but still won £1401.

---

3:45 pm – Regent Seven Seas Cruises Bentinck Conditions Stakes (Class 2) (4yo+) 5f

The next race coincided with the strawberries and cream lull. Punters were too busy noshing on the traditional Glorious Goodwood free summer delicacy to punt, which saw the jolly Liberty Lane drift from an early 7/4 to 9/4.

So quiet that Kaan gave Sophie and Luke the company credit card to purchase tasty ice creams, which they appeared to enjoy, on a losing day so far too. He’s a diamond that Kaan.

Over on the rail, they’d laid £900 – £400 Liberty Lane but nothing much else of any size though still held £2800. It was a similar story in Tatts but they managed £3121 so not as quiet as it looked. Fox Legacy the 3/1 second in won providing Oisin Murphy with a treble copping £1222 for Tatts.

The rails couldn’t lay the winner, so copped £1700, Lofty swears he didn’t have a lean-up. Meanwhile, I was talking to John Grogan who thinks at 81 he might be the oldest member of the betting ring. We see him all over the country – a top man!

---

4:20 pm – Hawes & Curtis Nursery Handicap (Class 2) (2yo) 6f

Next up, the penultimate already, I hadn’t even noticed we’d done the race before the penultimate. They bet 4/1 Old Is Gold, well they’d hope to, but Kaan told me that it appeared the punters had no money, they certainly weren’t rocking the joints to get on.

Over on the rail, they laid £5000 – £600 Golden Brown that’s 8/1 with the fractions, then £4000 – £1000 Old Is Gold and a couple of monkeys at 5/2 Shaman Champion busiest race of the day, in Tatts Kaan was just tapping away with £3200 – £200 each-way Airside taken early which remained his team’s biggest bet of the heat in a book that held just under £2500.

Ardisia winning at 20/1 looked like result depriving Oisin Murphy of a four-timer on the favourite back in second, the win book in Tatts only copped a tenner boosted to a £394 win on the races once the places had been calculated, the rails under Lofty’s guidance did a little better their £4600 book yielded a £4000 profit, their busiest race of the day reaping rewards.

Going into the lucky last, the Tatts pitch were £7003 behind while the Rail was winning £3500 so chances of a winning day depended on whether the punters got stuck in.

---

4:55 pm – Coral Pipped At The Post Winners Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 3) (3yo 0-90) 1m3f (1m3f44y)

From the outset, it looked like it was going to be a lively last, a punter bet £2000 – £500 the jolly Push The Limit, another £3200 – £800 the same horse then a £10,000 – £2500 each-way which made it a 7/2 chance.

Meanwhile, over on the rail they were taking plenty of bets but none of them in the writing about bracket, they were just good old-fashioned busy with a late £2600 -£400 Mdawi bringing the field money to almost £4000, £3846 to be exact at the off.

Tatts held £8933 with the one bad loser for £14,932 in the win book, but much worse with the places. The firm didn’t have to sweat for too long, Push The Limit the absolute bogie looked like winning from a fair way out.

Oh well, at least the firm had chances, at least in theory, Tatts blew £24,149 making it a £31,000 losing day. Over on the rail, they lost £1360 winning £2200 so at least clawing the figure below £30,000, at least the week is still a winning one with a sunny heaving Saturday to come.

We say a temporary farewell to Sophie tonight, cheers Sophie, with Kieran taking her place tomorrow.

---

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

---

STAR PROMOTIONS