SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Newmarket Thursday

The concluding day of the Craven meeting looked, as anticipated, the busiest of the week with a very decent sized crowd milling around the betting ring way before racing started enjoying the sunshine, writes SIMON NOTT

Today’s team were unchanged, Pam and Nick taking on the punters from pitch two in the second row. With the firm nicely up, the mood was optimistic and the ambience cheery in anticipation of what the afternoon’s sport would hold, bring it on.

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1:50 – Betway Handicap (Class 2) (3YO only)

If the team were going to kick on from what they were winning this week business was going to have to pick up from the £354 they took on the opening race.

To be fair to the low staking chicken hearted punters, the race looked a tough one to solve, even the market couldn’t sort them out with three horses going off 4/1 co-favourites. One of them, Sovereign Spell, won the race, the firm had laid the winner at 5/1 best price and knocked out £311 accordingly.

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2:25 – Betway Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes (GBB Race) (Class 2) (3YO only)

‘You should back this’ was Nick’s advice when pricing up the 5/4 jolly, no not because he shared Pam’s opinion that I was a bock but because the beast in question was bore the moniker Crown Knott. I can see where he was coming from but it would take more than a tenuous link like that to get me to invest my readies.

Between races previous #BettingPeople interviewee and shrewdie of the highest order Barry Beasley came to the joint, not to have a lump on but to say hello to Pam, it appears anyone that’s anyone knows Pam.

Despite a short one heading the market, an even money chance as they headed to post, the punters just weren’t finding the firm. Business was so slow I had chance to grab a photo of three legends of the ring, the two Billys and Ashley, once regular faces but now only seen on rare occasions so I had to get a photo.

Meanwhile, back at the pitch, Nick was looking into a book they held the miserly sum of just £316, where were the punters?

I’m not sure if it’s correct or just a racecourse rumour but I’m told the roof almost came off Buckingham Palace as 9/1 chance Portcullis scorched home in the royal colours under Ryan Moore for John & Thady Gosden. Unsurprisingly given the connections, the winner had been supported by the small punters, the book blew £813 and there still hadn’t been a big punter sighted.

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3:00 – ZYN Abernant Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3YO plus)

You might have spotted the photo of the group of gents, many of whom were wearing brightly coloured strides. More than one wag stood on a bookmakers’ pitch suggested that they had come in fancy dress…as me! Cheeky buggers, if only I was that famous, I’d be on Wogan wages.

Another face who came to the joint was Alan ‘Ginger’ Newman, one of the best connected men in racing. Luckily he was saying hello and not trying to get a lump on, when he has a lump it’s a real lump. He’s got a new book coming out soon, you’ll read what I mean.

Business had picked up though, busting through the £600 barrier before the horses went to post, the biggest bet in the book was just £60, though there was a good crowd here they still weren’t betting with any conviction.

At the off the book held £671 with plenty of horses not laid so several sticking out as bad losers. The 28/1 winner Run To Freedom wasn’t one of them, the book copped £648 over a nibbled at Henry Candy winner, it opened at 33/1.

As they were running, a group of lads came to the joint asking for a price Generous Rascal over at Ripon, Nick quoted them 7/1, the first of their number had a monkey each-way on, the next two £100 and £50 respectively. So all eyes on the 3.10 up north.

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3:35 – Betway Craven Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3YO only)

I was ‘watching’ the Ripon race on the Betfair exchange, the bogie was a big price from a long way out in running. ‘It’s beat’ I celebrated, ‘It’s third’ cried Nick bringing me down with a bump, indeed it was, the £150 win money was copped but the more prudent punter in their number copped an extra £375 on top of his money for the place.

Back at the home meeting, the forecast jolly Hawk Mountain was withdrawn shortly after the bookies priced up. Star hadn’t laid it or anything else when it was withdrawn so no damage was done, those that had needed to deduct 35p in the pound.

Then, the punters who had been conspicuous by their absence appeared, betting £150, £200 and a grand on Hidden Force at 11/10, Nick left the price there but there was a bit of wrist 5/4 available as they horses passed us on the way to post.

I suppose the punters felt they needed to get involved in the race that names the entire meeting. As they went behind, Nick went bottle 2/1 the second-in Oxagon in an effort to level the book up a bit, there was a taker wielding £150 but little else. At the off the book held £1992 with the jolly 5/4 at the off losing £1379.

They couldn’t get to Oxagon, the book copped £1189 which was handy putting the firm £487 in front on the day.

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4:10 – Rossdales Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (GBB Race) (Class 2) (3YO plus)

Next up, the race before the penultimate, a betting ring bathed in sunshine but once again very small business but plenty of it, £865 in total bet on the race where the biggest bet was £100 but more like a tenner average.

Such was the recreational nature of the business, the book won £488 over the victorious 10/11 winning favourite Hassaleh. Aye Aye but no giving our fellow bookmakers the rubdown.

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4:45 – Betway British EBF ‘Confined’ Novice Stakes (GBB/GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3YO only)

Before the penultimate which featured a short one in Maho Bay, which opened at 5/6, a punter bet £60 each-way a winning 3/1 chance away, you can always bet the aways with Star Sports.

Between races I got talking to a lovely chap named Nick, he likes the #BettingPeople videos and is from Hackney. He was telling me about his younger days as a kid with his dad at the dogs when he was allowed to have 50p on with The Vikings, imagine that. He went on to become a City trader, the betting ring is surely only a variation of that game isn’t it. I also met Mike again who is part of Andy Gibson’s WhatsApp group, it’s excellent when people come and chat, be warned though I’ll have to write your name down several times to remember it these days!

‘This isn’t very exciting is it’ bemoaned a morose Nick with no bets to tap in.

Nearby I could hear a bookmaker saying ‘They’ve lost interest’ to nobody in particular. It appeared that they had, what had been a slow day had just become slower, until a rails bookmaker begged and got an even monkey the jolly to liven things up a bit.

It was a while before a punter off the floor had a monkey on at tips-on the jolly to top that up,  bringing the field money up to £1455 which was much better than the total when Nick was having a moan up, he was just yawning now. By the time the horses got to  post Maho Bay was indeed evens and losing £786 in the book. 

Maho Bay out ground them all to win nicely in the end for Charlie Appleby under William Buick returning 11/10 and costing the book £743, which meant the firm were £53.24 up going into the lucky last.

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5:20 – Watch Live Racing At Betway Handicap (Class 3) (4YO plus)

Shortly after the penultimate I bumped into pro punter Jeff Laughton who’d admitted to suffering a shaky start but was well in front at time of chatting. He was heading down to Newbury, gentlemen of the turf put in the miles, though I raised him Exeter which he didn’t seem to fancy.

Remember the photo of the brightly coloured clobber? It turned out their theme was Michael Portillo, genius, the guys were still in the betting ring for the 18-runner lucky last. The downside of a 7/1 field race was there was very little chance of a busy race, but I did get chance to speak to ‘young’ Luke, who did work experience with the firm on course working at York last year, a lovely chap now working here at Newmarket in the breeding industry.

Meanwhile, Nick and Pam had tapped away to the best of their ability fielding £1060 on this race and laid £100 each-way Chesneys Charm over at Ripon. Some punters were evidently filled with confidence betting forecasts in this race, you’d need to be the love child of Mystic Meg and Phil Bull to get one up in this race, chuck it in the bag Nick.

8/1 chance Royal Velvet won copping £15 on the race. No, nobody got the forecast up, and if you want to find out the result at Ripon you’ll need to look it up, I’m off to the Shire. The winner, retuned 13/2, was 8/1 on the Star Sports at the off.

Come Racing!

I’m back tomorrow, at Exeter, thanks for reading.

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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