SIMON NOTT: Betting Report | Aintree Thursday

In contrast to Cheltenham, even though my history attending the Grand National meeting goes back to the mid-1990’s, I graced the Thursday for the first time as recently as 2017. That was with Star Sports. Back in the days working for Dave Phillips I’d have always been at Taunton looking forward to our once a year trip to Liverpool to bet on the embankment for the Grand National, the only day that enclosure was open.

Before that, when floorman for Jack Lynn, we’d be at a point to point on Grand National day. Jack would tell me on an annual basis that while he had his betting shop in Dartmouth he never won on the big race. Whatever the result there would always be a ticket in the pile that ruined the book, had he had any staff he’d be suspicious that they’d written one in.

Back in 1993 we were at a point-to-point run on the inner circuit of Exeter Racecourse. For the reasons given above Jack didn’t join the bookmakers on-course betting on the National. One that really had a go on the National that day was a wonderful character Brian ‘Big Boy’ Edwards. He’d been hollering the odds since he set up a couple of hours before the first race. He was a lovely chap, but a nightmare if you were a floorman. ‘Even £100 please Brian’ – ‘You’ve got an even nothing’ – ‘Thank you, can I have it again?’ – ‘No!’ was one interaction at Salisbury. Anyway, if people are up on their Grand National history, they’ll know 1993 was the year of Captain Chaos and the void race (pictured above). The look on Brian’s face as he had to pay out every single bet he’d taken on the big-‘un, taking him the rest of the afternoon. The old betting ring at Exeter was a horseshoe shape around which the queue snaked. Meanwhile Jack tapped away to a very generous percentage, on the point-to-point card, wry smile on his face he didn’t even try to hide.

---

1:45 – SSS Super Alloys Manifesto Novices’ Chase (Grade 1)

The first thing you remember about Aintree is, it’s not Cheltenham as far as bet sizes go. Not that Star Sports don’t court the big bets just the same, the punters don’t appear to fancy it as much. That said there was some decent business in the first. ‘Inlike’ Flynn told me that the early interest had been around The Shunter, hardly surprising given its widely publicised new owner JP McManus. Star laid a bet of £10,000 – £2500 at the declaration stage and another £4500 – £1500 this morning. There was money for Eldorado Allen including bets of £800 and £1500 at 13/2, the latter could have been a £10,000 – £1500 had it been on course and he’d asked for the fractions.

Don’t know about fractions? Learn here SIMON NOTT: When on-course, always ask for the fractions

The only other horse backed to any money was the winner Protektorat to the tune of £10,000 – £1000 the one in the pile that ruined the book.

📈 Over at Star Spreads, Toby Rose told me, ‘Totals’ bets are the flavour of the day, we have a big liability on double numbers (double winning cloth number all added together at end of day), so we want single digit winning numbers throughout the day. A real shrewdie (Shroodie if I want to be down with racing twitter I’m told) has sold SPs (wants shorties to win) and sold 2nd – 3rd distances.’

---

2:20 – Doom Bar Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle (Grade 1)

It’s not a great start breaking level on a race that should have been a winning one, but as we’ve seen in previous meetings, when you get it and do it is often as hard to predict as the races themselves. An easier prediction was that Monmiral was the only loser here. Bets included, £2000 – £2200, £1667 – £2000, £8182 – £9000 and £6600 – £6000. The other backed in the race was John Locke including an £18,000 – £1000. Ultimately, that was handy to chip a grand off when the book lost when the favourite duly obliged.

📈 Over at Star Spreads, Toby wasn’t happy but did divulge the reason for his chagrin, telling me, ‘That was a bad result, 9.5 lengths, and a higher cloth number again.’

---

2:50 – Betway Bowl Chase (Grade 1)

I doubt I’m the only who feels a bit cheated that Tiger Roll didn’t go for his third Grand National, but as an old racecourse mate of mine used to say, ‘You don’t pay the training fees’ and he’s right. Whatever the romance that might have been, the public weren’t interested in backing Tiger Roll today. Flynn told me that the market surrounded just two horses, Waiting Patiently the biggest loser in the book with bets including £4000 – £1000, £4800 – £1200 and £40,000 – £10,000, the other Clan Des Obeaux attracting several decent bets, the biggest of which was £33,000 – £12,000. Clan Des Obeaux was an easy winner and the second worst loser in the book. Great stuff for Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured below) and his co-owners landing a consecutive race treble and at the time of writing no tales of bookmakers losing millions on trebles.

📈 Over the Irish Sea at Star Spreads Toby told me. ‘That was a good result on cloth numbers but a bad result on distance.’ Evidently perked up and more talkative Toby was in touch as they were still going down, he told me, ‘McFabulous would be fabulous in the next, he’s a low number and we’ve got a seller of it in a match bet versus Brewin’upastorm’.

---

3:25 – Betway Aintree Hurdle (Grade 1)

Flynn was a little less enamoured about the prospect of a McFabulous win, having laid a bet of £60,000 – £15,000. It could be worse though, bets on Jason The Militant included £60,000 – £20,000, £10,500 – £3500, £5500-£2000 and £3000 – £1000. They were the only two losers so Abacadabras winning was magic for the book. Despite being tipped up by some real clever people in the morning the gelding was surprising unencumbered by any bets of note and a good winner for the firm. Aye Aye, they only had to wait four races for a cop. Flynn came on to say ‘Great result there but still behind on the day and plenty of time to get that back yet’.

📈 Equally upbeat was Star Spreads’ Toby who beamed, ‘Good race, everything went our way.’

---

4:05 – Rose Paterson Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase (National Course) (Class 2)

📈 Toby was in quicker than Flynn with his summing up of the business in the next, ‘Killaro boy makes today a bad day, otherwise, just fingers crossed for something high up the numbers.’

Flynn’s news was that there were just two losers, Cat Tiger which attracted bets of £27,500 – £5000, £6000 – £1000 and £5500 – £1000 while Billaway saw bets of £5000 – £2500, £2000 – £1000, £5500 – £2000 and £2750 – £1000. Matt Chapman on ITV Racing was a bit rude to poor old Luke Harvey and the jockeys in the race saying that they rode in a similar style to him. I’d like to see Chappers plonked on the back of a horse to jump just one of those fences, brave people all.

The race went to 66/1 chance Cousin Pascal ridden by Mr James King. James is the son of recently retired Racing Post veteran hack Andrew. It’s safe to say without fear of contradiction that Andrew was a real character in the Press Room, nobody was safe from his caustic wit and often colourful language. As Armaloft Alex, text me after the race ‘I bet the winning riders’ father was using a few choice words there’. I bet he did too and hope he was on. Flynn messaged, they laid a bet of £13,200 – £200 each-way, no it wasn’t the rider’s dad, but whoever the punter was, he made the winner the worst ‘winner’ in the book. Another bet in the pile.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads was very happy with the result, which is of course a good thing, unless you’d been betting with them.

---

4:40 – Close Brothers Red Rum Handicap Chase (Grade 3)

Flynn was a while getting on to me, I feared the worst. I needn’t have worried though, he was late on parade for the best of reasons, counting the metaphoric readies. A punter had come on and bet a whopping, £400,000 – £80,000 each-way Destrier, another topped it up with £50,000 – £10,000 the same horse. He added that there had been plenty of ‘smaller’ stuff too. The Dan Skelton gelding had been a tip from various sources flying around all morning, but it was not to be. The 5/1 favourite may well be one for the notebook but only managed eighth place behind Gary and Josh Moore’s 9/1 winner Editeur Du Gite today – fancied by Davy Russell in his Star Sports blog. ‘Inlike’ was rightly in a buoyant mood after the race telling me ‘The winner was a great result, we’re definitely in front on the day after that one.’ Aye Aye, we all love it when the good guys, the bookies, hit the front. Don’t we?

Flynn added ‘We’ve started the week much better than Cheltenham a few weeks ago that’s for sure’.

---

5:15 – Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open NH Flat Race (Grade 2)

The bigger punters were in again for the ‘Getting Out Stakes’, can we even call the last that anymore? Anyway, they lumped on the jolly, Eileendover to the tune of £9091 – £10,000, £2000 – £2200 and £2273 – £2500. There was a potential sting in the tail of the race and the day too, a punter waded in with a wager of £50,000 – £1000 each-way Milan’s Edge.

Me Too Please winning under Rachael Blackmore at 14/1 was as ‘Inlike’ described ‘A lovely end to the day’. That’s what we like to hear, a winning day for the firm to kick on with.

A great way to conclude the first day, at least if you’re on the side of the bookies, which of course I am. Still, there’s two days to go punters, but in the words of a group of Welsh lads who surround Michael Mendoza at Chepstow one day singing ‘We’ve got all your money!’.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads ended up happy too, his final word on the day ‘It was a decent enough finish, we’re up on the day, it looked like it might be tough going a few races in, so we’ll take it.’

Simon Nott.

---

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 now on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

---

STAR PROMOTIONS