SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Ascot Friday

It was great to be back at Ascot with Star Sports for the flat, writes SIMON NOTT.

Today, the firm had two pitches Tony and Dan betting on the rail and Armaloft Alex on his tod in Tatts so a seasoned team of hard bitten betting ring veterans ready to do business.

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1:50 – Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Handicap (Class 2) (3YO only)

I have to be honest though, it looked a bit thin crowd wise before racing and that translated in a very light tally of bets over the first, at the off Tatts had taken just £258 and the rail £476, tepid stuff and that was from good pitches. It’s funny how things work out sometimes, the 2/1 jolly Colori Forever won the race and both books won, Tatts £183 and the rail £426.

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2:20 – Juddmonte EBF Fillies’ Restricted Novice Stakes (GBB Race)

Next up and the rail took and kept an away bet £500 – £550 Joulany over at Chester. That was just as well because business hadn’t picked up on the home meeting, Armaloft took £430, the bulk of that thanks to a brace of £225 – £100 bets on the jolly Bint Archange while over on the rail they’d taken £422.

This time they didn’t get away with it, the 7/4 favourite bolted up and both pitches did their dough, the rails blew £486 and Tatts £362.

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2:55 – Palmer & Co. Champagne Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (GBB Race)

The next heat of the card featured 8/11 hotpot Gone By which would hopefully attract a few money buyers, there was at least one bag man in evidence but he had so far kept his powder dry, at least with Star Sports.

To be fair, although business so far had been little short of purgatory, those punters that had ventured out appeared to be enjoying themselves. Armaloft Alex was doing a great job with patience over in Tatts, explaining to a punter that betting each-way at 8/11 wasn’t often fiscally prudent.

The punter heeded his advice and bet the jolly to win, tapped his card, then asked for another bet, the double tap, Alex just smiled, just as well it wasn’t busy. Over on the rail they’d hardly taken a dinar in the home race but had laid £1500 – £300 Puturhandstogether over at Chester.

After a very uneventful period of betting on this the third heat at the off the Tatts book held £417 and the rail £260, of which they kept £263 and lost £908 respectively when 5/1 chance Light Of Paris won the race. Meanwhile, somewhere on the racecourse a punter who was going to back the second placed jolly each-way was no doubt cussing Armaloft Alex for talking him out of it.

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3:25 – Only Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Handicap (Class 3) (4YO plus)

They were off at Chester which was broadcast on the big screen, they got that one beaten so a carpet in the hod. Meanwhile it was a tale of two pitches betting on the next, poor and poorer. The Tatts pitch, let’s get this out of the way first, fielded £125 on the race, desperate stuff despite Armaloft’s wit and charm, so moving swiftly over to the rail they took £560 which included a bet of £3000 – £210 Walson’s Law, that’s 14/1 with the fractions.

That punter got the value because his selection went off at 17/2 but he still did his money when Bolo Neighs won the race at 12/1, Aye Aye Alex enjoyed an absolute skinner, though his cop didn’t justify the traditional walk around the other bookies peering into their screens to see how much they got. The rails duo of Tony and Dan didn’t have a skinner but got £422 on the heat, which was handy.

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4:00 – Ascot Hospitality Handicap (Class 4) (3YO only)

Next up and it was a much the same story with Alex on the Tatts pitch, it was like pulling teeth but he did manage to extract £208 from the punters, several who were regular and female. But, over on the rail, things had come alive having laid £2100 – £600 Moscow Power and £5000 – £350 (14/1 with the fractions) Dublin Bay which made up a fair chunk of their total £1450 field money.

Good things come to those who wait, the team got the money when 17/2 chance Secret Santa delivered a late challenge mugging Hallo Spaceboy in the shadow of the post, talking of waiting, the punter that bet £3000 at 1.01 the runner-up on the machine might have regretted being quite so trigger happy, but of course where there’s a loser on the exchange there’s a winner ho ho ho. The Tatts book copped £1386 but Alex knocked out £33.

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4:35 – Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Style Handicap (Str) (Class 4) (3YO only)

Next up, the penultimate, the rail laid an early monkey on Arbaawy at 15/2 then Alex laid a £500 – £200 Blue Courvoisier and £750 – £150 King’s Trust. The punter who backed Arbaaway, is it ‘Arb Away’ may not have been shrewd enough to ask for fractions but was still on at the top end of a stick on of sorts, the colt was a 9/2 chance as the field was loaded. Then King’s Trust broke out of the stalls and made a break for it resulting in him being withdrawn and bringing a 15p deduction into play, not to mention a delay.

Commentator Stewart Machin made an announcement asking people not to cheer an already spooked horse as it careered around Ascot, so what did a good selection of the crowd do as he ran past the stands? Answers on a postcard, moronic behaviour.

The race was eventually off at around 4.48, Alex had taken £315 and the rail £1070 with Arbaawy losing over £3000. The race went to Outback Heat winning at 11/1 for Harry Eustace under Kaiya Fraser, the rail copped £1010 and the Tatts copped a ‘Desmond’ £222.

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5:10 – Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% Apprentice Handicap (GBBPlus Race)

Going into the lucky last Armaloft Alex was quoting Jack Lynn, ‘I’m getting the full treatment Simon boy’ as he explained each-way, what the odds meant and and why he was losing the will to live to punters asking the same questions for the seventh race running. However Alex is a calm and a kind sort of chap and answered each question from the novices in an exemplary fashion, a credit to the firm, their bets didn’t add up to much though.

As the horses went to post he had managed to get £358 into the hod, meanwhile over on the rail they had taken a monkey, the biggest bet in the book £100 but were £2700 up on the day so a winning Friday was assured, Alex was £441 in front with £410 in the hod at the off, the rail held £624 as they jumped.

The race went to the 6/4 jolly Believitanducan but it wasn’t a disaster; the rail lost £61 but Alex copped £327 from his pitch, the cherry on the top of what was ultimately a fair winning day given the business. I’m back tomorrow but it’s all change with the teams.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to always ask for the fractions!

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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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