SIMON NOTT: Royal Ascot Thursday BETTING REPORT

Ladies Day is always a special day at Royal Ascot, it’s the day the meeting kicks it up a gear. Traditionally the betting ring would be the fullest it’s been all week, firms that dodged Tuesday and Wednesday would turn up to bet for the first time. For some bookmakers, famously Barry Dennis, the influx of ladies into the betting ring was a hindrance rather than a bonus. His way of deterring their business was put a ‘Minimum bet £10’ sign up but he’s unashamedly miserable 😉

Most bookies would be happy to take the novice punters’ bets. By the end of the day though patience of even the coolest of layers would be tested. At this point, I will defend what I am about to write is not an attack on lady punters, it’s just an observation, the gender will not be mentioned but the props may tip the reader on their gender. Mind you, this is 2021 so even that isn’t a given of course.

The following things happen regularly on most racecourses but are just more prolific on Ladies Days. A punter teeters past the joint clutching a bottle, stops with a confused look on their face and asks what the list of names and numbers are. ‘They are the horses and their prices’. A punter that asks for a £2 each-way bet then gives you £2. The punter that calls in a £2 each-way bet, then plonks their handbag on the joint and proceeds to empty the not inconsiderable contents onto the hod before rummaging up a £2 coin to pay for the bet. A punter than giggles their way to the joint just as it’s getting busy, asks what you think will win, then if you are foolish enough to entertain the question with a tip, will argue that if you’re a bookie you’re bound to be telling them wrong.

A gaggle of punters that giggle their way to the joint, balance their glasses of champagne on the printer, giggle a bit more and spill one into the hod. A punter that approaches the joint evidently from a box high in the stands and unravels a list the size of which would frighten the Andrex Puppy. Jack Lynn’s favourite, a punter asks if you’ll take a pound each-way on the 6/4 shot, it’s busy so you say OK and are then tendered a £20 note to pay for it. ‘The Full Treatment.’ Of course, with so many bookmakers unable to attend this year I’m sure to a man, and lady, they’d love to be there today with a whole queue of the aforementioned. Anyway, on to today’s action …..

As per usual ‘Inlike’ set up the day with the early movers on a day when the course managed to avoid the worse of the overnight thunderstorms and the going remained good to firm.

2:30 – Norfolk Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2YO only) 5f

Perfect Power winning at 14/1 was a good start for the firm although recordable business was relatively modest. Bets in the office in the opener included £25,000 – £5000 and £9000 – £2000 each-way Cadamosto, £40,000 – £5000 each-way and £3500 – £500 each-way Project Dante, £24,000 – £3000 and £6000 – £1000 Go Bears Go and £42,500 – £5000 Lucci. The biggest bet on the winner was £8400 – £700. On course Flynn laid a punter £1000 – £160 Cadamosto, that’s with the fractions, if you don’t understand fractions you are missing out on a part of the tremendous value the betting ring offers. Take a minute or two to read all about them HERE.

📈 Toby of Star Spreads told me before the race ‘It’s been a slow start for race one, a few seem to be playing the high ground and holding off their usual distance or SP bets. We’ve had a couple of buyers on the Top of the Card (number 1’s), so we could do with none of them winning. Go Bears Go the loser on the card in this race’ He came back after Perfect Power’s win to add ‘50/50, Go Bears Go enough on the 2nd place – enough to keep the scales level’.

3:05 – Hampton Court Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3YO only) 1m 2f

Mohaafeth the 11/8 favourite, won the next which was a heat where some of the bigger staking punters got involved. JB in the office told me that 58% of all bets on the race were for the jolly. Those wagers on the winner included a £60,000 – £40,000, £7500 – £5000, £6000 – £4000, £5500 – £4000 and plenty more of lesser denominations that all added up to a nice few quid. One Ruler attracted bets of £6750 – £1500, £9000 – £2000, and £4500 – £1000 and Moving Time £24,000 – £3000. They all helped but it was a drop in the ocean compared to the losses on the market leader.

🌠 A sizeable bet laid in the Star Sports shops too One Ruler £20,000 – £4000

📈 Star Spreads Toby reported ‘We’ve now got the SP players coming in, we’ve had a seller of SP’s, he wants favourites and we want outsiders. Mohaafeth was a loser, it was a bad race, but we’ve plenty of time to go.

3:40 – Ribblesdale Stakes (Fillies’ Group 2) (Class 1) (3YO only) 1m 4f

Betting for the next was lively, sadly as JB reported from the office it was a largely one-horse book on Noon Star. Bets included £45,000 – £20,000, £10,000 – £5000 and £7500 – £4000 a few times. In addition to those bets there was an £80,000 double Noon Star and Stradivarius struck.

On course ‘Inlike’ Fynn laid a bet of £25,000 Noon Star at 9/4 and £60,000 – £10,000 Dubai Fountain. Nicely ‘Up the front too’.

📈 Toby from Star Spreads added ‘It’s been the busiest race of the week oddly, they have been queuing up to get on, Annaville is the biggest loser, Twisted Reality or Ad Infinitum are not good either.

🌠 A Star Sports shop laid Dubai Fountain £21,000 – £3000

Loving Dream winning at 18/1 (25/1 on course #Comeracing) was an absolutely cracking result. Just the one message from JB ‘Lovely result that, if you hadn’t guessed’. We had JB, we had. I would mention that it stayed in the hod and give it the Aye Aye but it is a bit soon.

4:15 – Gold Cup (Group 1) (British Champions Series) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m 4f

Flynn reported laying an early £1250 – £1000 Stradivarius on course. That was topped up with a bet of £25,000 – £30,000 there too. It was mostly one way traffic in the office as well. They took bets of £50,000 – £60,000, £40,000 – £50,000 and £36,000 – £40,000. The only other bet of note anything else was £36,000 – £3000 Spanish Mission.

Subjectivist winning at 13/2 was a great result for the firm, but to be fair anything but the favourite winning given the lop-sided nature of the book would have been.

🌠 One of the Star Sports shops also laid a grand Stradivarius at 11/10 in the morning. CLICK HERE for Star Sports Shop locator

📈 Toby summed up their view of the race saying, ‘We’d have taken Stradivarius all day long, but assume the rest of the business wouldn’t have. The place hunters were trying to find the value, Santiago and the winner were the two losers but the silver lining was an excellent result on the high number market’.

5:00 – Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Str) (Class 2) (3YO only) 1m

Despite being hugely competitive where they bet around 5/1 the field, there was still a bit of action of note in the office. Ed Dark taking over from JB in the Hove office told me that they’d laid bets of £110,000 – £10,000 Aeiron Power and £75,000 – £10,000 Raadobarg well as plenty of grand and monkey bets Air To Air which pretty much took the book.

Flynn reported the business was much quieter on course, but Lofty did lay a £250 each-way bet on the rail Dinoo at 33/1 which was also laid in a Star Sports too with a £49,500 – £1500 each way.

📈 It was a different story from Toby at Star Spreads who reported ‘They’re just warming up now. It’s getting busier as each race comes, no one is hitting big, but we were pleased that neither Emporio and Emperor Spirit won. We’ve got our head in front, and it feels like we’re going away with two more to go’

5:35 – King George V Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) (3YO only) 1m 4f

Bets in the office for the penultimate were relatively modest compared to the sums banded about earlier today. They were still big enough to ruin Ben’s starter though. They included £35,000 – £10,000 each-way Sir Lamorak £22,500 – £1250 and £18,000 – £1000 each-way Parachute, £6000-£1000 and £5000 – £1000 Surefire and £45,000 – £5000 Nagono.

Near the off Ed reported a bet of £45,500 – £13,000 Sir Lamorak, the punter evidently not superstitious. They might be now after the jolly had to settle for runner-up spot behind 5/1 chance Surefire.

📈 Toby from Star Spreads reported ‘It was easy maths there, Sir Lamorak was the loser, we wanted it out of the frame but second was ok, we’re still ahead, just need the number one out of it in the last.

6:10 – Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) (3YO plus) 7f

The lumpy bets in the office had dwindled a bit by the last but business was still brisk. Glenn sent through what they had, bets of £14,000 – £4000, £13,333 – £4000, £9667 – £2900 , £12,250 – £3500 each-way on Aldaary, £25,000 – £1000 each-way Riot and a real move including £40,000 – £5000, £36,000 – £4000 £48,000 – £6000 and £8000 – £1000 each-way all on Boardman and £6000 – £500 each-way Lord Campari.

18/1 winner Highfield Princess appeared to be a great result, when posed the question the final word from the office was that the last result was ‘Decent enough’.

📈 The final word on a good winning day for most, from Toby was ‘All we needed to do was avoid Bedouins Story, we’re ahead, and ready for tomorrow’.

There was no word at all from ‘Inlike’ on course. I did on the TV notice it had started to rain, it’s difficult to stay that immaculate trying to get a mush down in those conditions, I dread to think how grumpy Lofty would be with the prospect of counting soggy readies before enjoying the staff welfare meal. I thought it best not to call.

More of the same 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