SIMON NOTT: Tales From The Ring CHELTENHAM Wednesday

CHELTENHAM NEW YEAR’S DAY: SIMON NOTT reports from the Star Sports pitch at Cheltenham on Wednesday. As 2020 kicked off, rumours of the Betting Ring’s demise proved to be premature, drama on the turf was to soon to follow ….

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Happy New Year to everyone.

The team today were just two, the dynamic duo of head of on-course Flynn and senior rank Lofty, I was of course there in my role of content and social media, but when it comes to giving out change, a non-runner, no matter how much Lofty chips, and that man is a champion chipper. The aforementioned pairing worked remarkably well without my help, as you’d expect given the level of professionalism.

12:15 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Listed)

The punters were keen to get stuck into the opening six-runner heat. The one they all appeared to want to be on was Redford Road backed from 3/1 into 2/1. It would have been interesting to see who would have taken the responsibility for exactly how far they went down the book with it had it won, especially after Lofty declared ‘There’s no coming back if this one wins’, I think you’ll agree not the ideal phrase to hear about the first race of a new year.

Luckily the punters got it wrong and the brave prospered. 15/2 chance Protektorat won the race in a head-bobbing photo from the creatively ridden 3/1 chance Imperial Alcazar. Michael Cannon’s front man immediately looked over to me and warned of the chance of a steward’s enquiry. I hadn’t spotted anything but soon after, but not soon enough not to have paid £65 out, there was a bing-bong. The distance was given as a head so nobody I spoke to anticipated anything more than a rubber-stamping of the result to take place in the Stewards’ Room.

It did go on a bit until the next bing-bong, always a slightly ominous sign for those who backed the winner in such circumstances. The cheer that went up when they announced the result had been amended told the story but still a surprise to most. Fergal O’Brien’s 3/1 chance Imperial Alcazar was awarded the race. It cost the book a monkey but was still a winning heat, not so all down the line though. 2020 had just kicked off in some fashion.

12:50 Markel Insurance Handicap Chase

The knock-on effect was that with punters keen to draw over their now winning tickets and others trying to claim from winning tickets they discarded it kept the bookies busy while punters struggled to get their bets on the next race. Lofty concluded that the enquiry had ‘buggered up’ the race as far as turnover went. The eventual winner Doing Fine was a very small cop in the book.

1:25 Paddy Power Broken Resolutions Already Dipper Novices’ Chase (Grade 2)

The busiest man in the ring was the Betting Ring Manager, the second was Lofty up on the stool for the next. Try as he might he just could not get odds-on favourite Champ in the book. It was definitely a case of the holiday punters not keen to back an odds-on shot rather than our hero having a lean-up the short one, that of course would be the cardinal sin of bookmaking. Lofty was perceptive in-running though. The winning in the book jolly’s jockey Barry Geraghty kept looking around, yes, he was in front but didn’t appear to be going easy enough for such leisurely looks behind. ‘He’s kidding himself’ was Lofty’s cry tinged with a hint of worry that he hadn’t taken the firm’s whack out of the day’s banker. You’re a hero if it wins and something less complimentary should it lose, or fall, which Champ and Geraghty did, two out. The formbook will relate Midnight Shadow won at 4/1, it won’t mention Star Sports lost, albeit the price of a nice meal out in Mayfair for Ben, in the book.

2:00 Paddy Power Handicap Chase (Grade 3)

Betting was very lively for the next, punters were backing plenty of horses which is always good news for a good book. At the off Kalashnikov was the bogie with, Lalor, laid to a ‘right shrewdie,’ according to Lofty, just behind him, both for well-over four-figures and OK Corral taking out a monkey. Well, what a race, Cheltenham has seen many great finishes in its time, but you’d have a job to beat this one. As they passed the post most people around me appeared to be focusing on the far side where Saint Calvados was nose to nose with the gallant Lalor ignoring Oldgrangewood on the nearside. Then the excellent slow-motion footage was shown on the big screen, the error of everyone’s ways were highlighted, ‘there wasn’t much in it’ would have been an understatement. Even Alex Bird may have held fire getting involved, each slo-mo replay brought a gasp from the crowd. Time ticked on, people had just started whispering of a dead heat when the result was announced; 12/1 shot Oldgrangewood the winner by a nose from Saint Calvados with Lalor a nose back in third. Phew. The sort of race that takes the breath away regardless of any financial involvement. As it happened, the book won nicely. Happy days, especially for sponsors Paddy Power who certainly got their money’s worth there too.

2:35 Paddy Power 69 Sleeps To Cheltenham Handicap Hurdle

Of course, this is just my opinion, but I must say that anyone that uses the term ‘more sleeps’ and is aged 10 or over need to be sent to bed early with no milk or story. Race title aside though the race before the penultimate was another excellent betting heat. I peered into the book just before the off to see that the bogie was Might Bite which took a hefty chunk out of what had been fielded and was by far the worst loser. Maybe noticing my expression of surprise Lofty quickly informed me that ‘We laid it all at 9/1, it’s now 14/1, that’s because we are professionals’. There was never a doubt about that professionalism Lofty, see paragraph one. Given the amount the bogie was taking out of the book the rest of the losers in the race did little damage. That included the morning gamble and eventual 3/1 favourite Skandiburg. Firms that stuck it right up the jolly must have been feeling very pleased with themselves for most of the race when it appeared to be toiling. Not so at the business end where it mattered, the winner by just under 2 lengths. The firm lost £100 in the book, like Lofty said, professionals.

To add to the merriment of only doing a oner over a well-backed jolly Star Sports current star of TV, radio and print William Kedjanyi came to visit the pitch, it’s always great to see William.

3:10 Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle (Grade 2)

The penultimate saw six horses line up all of which had their supporters, I know that because Lofty said, ‘They’ve bet plenty of horses,’ plenty was all six. The one the punters wanted to be on the most was Janika, there were no lumps, just a steady flow of bets which added up to a nice few quid at the off. Summerville Boy winning at 10/1 was another betting ring friendly result the only caveat being that when you have good books you’ve laid all the horses so certainly a good winner but not quite as you’d expect given its price.

3:50 EBF Stallions & Cheltenham Pony Club (Listed Standard Open NH Flat Race)

It was getting a bit dark for the lucky last, it didn’t deter the punters though, business was brisk in a competitive race for those either side of the betting fence to get stuck in to. Luckily for the jockeys there were no obstacles to jump. Down on the pitch Lofty was getting all ‘Shop Steward’ on me, insinuating that if anyone backed a winner with us 10 minutes from the off it wouldn’t go into the blog because ‘I’d be halfway up the M5 rather than helping with the gear’. Luckily there were some punters of a certain age playing ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ complete with actions, fair play, just behind the joint, that distracted the Union from me, for a bit anyway.

Looking into the book there were three losers for half of what the firm were winning on the day, ensuing a winning one. I’d let my guard down, Lofty gleefully informed me that Flynn had been caught short and had to make an emergency visit to the gents, so I’d have to take bets rather than get a flyer. I obliged of course, a flyer was never the plan, those two minutes took me back and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a couple of bets.

Flynn returned, apparently suitably relieved. The race itself was run in the gloom but at the line there was no doubt, after a photo that Warren Greatrex’s 16/1 chance Audacity had held on after making all, landing a gamble in the process having been as big as 33/1 on course, 40/1 off it and much bigger on the exchanges.

As the seemingly large number of successful backers queued to get their winnings there was another ‘bing bong’ Stewards Enquiry. Those in on the gamble had a nervous wait until 4.10 to hear that the placings remained unaltered and they could draw. I had a quick glance in the book, we’d lost £100, on a 16/1 shot too, I bet Lofty wishes I’d gone home 10 minutes early after all!

See you all back here on trials day.

PS – Lofty fanclub, please don’t write in complaining, he loves the attention.

Simon Nott

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Simon Nott is author of:
Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring

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