SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Newmarket July Festival, Thursday

Star Sports’ ever-burgeoning portfolio of on-course pitches has spread its web to include Newmarket July course, so I thought it rude not to be here on their debut, writes SIMON NOTT.

I’ve not been here often, the last time about 15 years ago so it was a pleasure to be here again. Getting a gravel chip on my windscreen was the worst part of the otherwise stress free run up from the shire, let’s hope it’s repairable and not a new windscreen, it’s all a gamble in the turf travelling game.

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1:50 – Bahrain Trophy Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3YO only)

So, first impressions of the course were it’s as beautiful as I remember it. It was very busy in the opener too, plenty of punters getting involved on Ladies Day with some sharks circling to make things potentially interesting in the big bet stakes. There appeared to be a very big crowd for a Thursday which was great to see, no doubt the glorious weather helped too.

The team today was Kaan, Pam and Jed from up North. There were no big bets in the opener which made the field money of £3690 quite encouraging. Even more encouraging was Point Of Law winning at 5/2 and the firm copping £2463, a winning start to the new pitch. Aye Aye.

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2:25 – Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2YO only)

Next up and I met Pam’s twin brother, Ray who’s also in the game, who knew Pam had a twin, not I. Meanwhile, business was brisk but small in the three-horse race then an even £3000 Inner City Blues hedging from a fellow bookmaker a couple of minutes to post time doubled the field money and made the jolly the definite bogie on the heat.

At the off, the book held £7209, sadly the market got the race right, the favourite bolted up the book blew £5460. Pam nipped off to get cold drinks during the race, she’s a diamond that Pam, there’ll be no moaning from me about the weather but it was pretty warm down in the ring.

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3:00 – Betway Handicap (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3YO only)

Next up and a handicap with 13 runners so a heat of spirited betting followed by a bookie favouring result was hoped for. Bets were smaller but there was a spread of a lot of horses, such a big spread that several people tried to back the non-runner despite it not being listed on the board let alone priced. Pam and Jed were being kept up to their work on the front of the joint with plenty of novice punters keen to get involved.

Meanwhile Andy Henderson, friend of the on-course team came to say hello, resplendent in shorts ‘These legs have done nine marathons” beamed our mate, he’s a better man than me, that’s for sure. All the tapping in bets done the race was off, the total field money was £3434 copping £1337 when 12/1 Jazl did the business for the book, prevailing in a photo.

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3:35 – Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (Sponsored By The Kingdom Of Bahrain) (Group 2) (Class 1) (3YO plus)

A bag man who has proven to be a bit warm in recent weeks sneaked under the radar to bet £12,000 – £2000 Almeric early, alarm bells rang but the price didn’t immediately collapse as it was feared it might.

Betting remained steady after that until a trade bet of £2500 – £3000 on Rebel’s Romance, which had ‘till that point already been popular, the firm having laid £400, £500 and £600 bets at 5/6 and £400 at 4/5.

At the off the book was two against two, sadly for the bookies but to the roar of favourite backers, the jolly had read the script, winning with some ease costing the firm £3825. Armaloft Alex ‘celebrated’ by opening a bag of Haribo that must have been in one solid lump, every has a losing day cope!

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4:10 – British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (GBB Race) (Class 2) (2YO only)

The feature of the maiden was a trade bet £5000-£6000 the jolly Peaceful Charm which looked a value bet to lay in the hindsight of the filly being an 11/10 chance at the off. And so it proved, backers of the short one never really had a hope of collecting given her lacklustre performance down the field.

The race was won by the 2/1 second in Scommessa Sicura, she had opened 11/4 but didn’t do much damage to the Star Sports £9051 book, which held on to £6981 of it.

Hold the Haribo!

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4:45 – Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes (Listed) (Class 1) (3YO only)

Betting for the penultimate received an early kick start when a bookmaker hedged £9000 – £6000, half of the bet he had just taken, on Morris Dancer.

The rest of the business amounted to a further £2480 which included just one notable bet, a carpet on the jolly at up the arm 11/8. Once again the favourite let down its backers, Oisin Murphy’s mount Oxagon looked to have blazed a solo trail to victory on the far side only to get collared close home by 11/2 chance Shayem showing a blistering turn of foot on the stands side, the bookies cheered, the book copped £7358.

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5:20 – Debenhams Handicap (Class 3) (3YO plus)

Going into the lucky last, Kaan was having a right old whinge up about the heat. Yes, I know, we spend most of the year soaking wet and freezing. Anyway, despite having a groan, he was also chuffed, the firm were winning £9124 and had done 951, the aim was to of course add to the winnings and bust the 1000 ticket barrier on the day.

He had the right staff to do it with Pam and Jed punter facing. They’d bust through the 1000 bets before the horses started off down to post though bets were mostly modest. The biggest bet fielded on the race was £1200 – £300 Lion Of Alba, the big hitters either had no fancy in the race, had legged it to beat the traffic or both, field money was £2400 near as dammit. Asmen Warrior won the race at 9/2, the book copped £1548 capping a successful first day at the July course.

Star Sports are back here tomorrow, I’ll be heading down to Ascot for Friday and Saturday reporting from the ring.

First, I’m recording a #BettingPeople in Newmarket this evening. Watch this space.

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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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