SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Festival Wednesday

I mentioned a couple of times yesterday that some poor folks decided to go to Benidorm instead of attend the cauldron of Sporting and punting adrenalin that was Cheltenham, writes SIMON NOTT.

One of them was Betting Ring Manager Vicki who very kindly sent me her review of the Festival del Sol. It read as follows:

‘Hi Simon.

‘Hope you had a great day.

‘The Tuesday 7.30 am flight from Gatwick to Alicante was best described as lively. I’d estimate 80% of the passengers were heading to Cheltenham in Benidorm and most had consumed a Wetherspoons breakfast and a few pints of Guinness before boarding. There are literally thousands of people here for the racing, standing room only at the most popular bars. We have fully embraced the experience today but it’s no Prestbury on sea with sunshine.

‘It’s more of a glorified stag do with every bar and restaurant showing the racing. Much discussion of which is the best VPN to get round using betting apps abroad! It’s definitely an experience but not sure one I’ll be repeating even with a bucket of beers for €12! To add insult to injury it started raining after the Champion Hurdle!’

Before we get on to today’s business, I was getting a bit of a hoot for the lack of figures in yesterday’s blog. Once all the sums had been done, the two pitches copped £38,000, yes they got some results, but there was serious financial damage done by the good things that went into it.

Today’s teams were as yesterday, I owe the fine fellows of the Sovereign lounge betting shop an apology, they went unnamed yesterday, rectified today, Steve, Paulo, Martin and Chris had already taken a £100 Yankee by the time I got there. One punter was evidently happy to have his bet before Lofty’s words of pre-race wisdom. Rumours that he ‘agreed with Spotlight’ a lot proved spurious.

It was snowing when I arrived at Cheltenham today, not sleet but proper pitching snow. Luckily it didn’t last long, but long enough for plenty of festive showy content to be posted online. I do remember sitting on my bunk in German barracks in 1987, hoping the Gold Cup would be abandoned and save my ante-post bet on non-running Burrough Hill Lad, luckily for the backers of The Thinker racing went ahead despite the snow, I must have been a shallow youth. There were no worries about abandonments this year, the wintery stuff was gone by the time the gates opened.

Was 1987 the last time snow fell at the Festival?

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1:20 – Turners Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4yo+) 2m5f

There had been excitement on the rails pitch early when they laid £50,000 win Energumene at 13/2 for the Queen Mother.

Meanwhile, in the opener here betting was steady without being massive on both pitches but jolly Final Demand was very popular just to small money. That was before ITV betting ring pundit Brian Gleeson came to the Tatts pitch, the camera attracted the punters who piled with a flurry including a £6000 – £4000 trade bet.

Over on the rail, Lofty was barking, not mad but bristly, which meant he was busy, once again not too significant lumps but busy, this is Cheltenham though ‘Just grands’ from the big man exemplifying that! Not long after that young Martin was reporting laying a £16,500 – £12,000 the jolly with a smile, he likes a big one does Lofty.

At the off the Tatts pitch was red for over £19,000 the jolly and £21,000 on the rail. The New Lion won to a massive roar from the crowd, the Tatts pitched copped £8000 and the rails £8500, the runner-up The Yellow Clay would have been the jackpot for both pitches despite being a 5/2 shot, still, a winning start.

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2:00 – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (Registered As The Broadway Novices’ Chase) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5yo+) 3m½f (3m110y)

Next up and a proper short one for the punters to get stuck into, Ballyburn at 8/13. The punters got stuck in to the £7000, £5000 and £2600 in Tatts but the rails struggled to lay it. Their worst result was Better Days Ahead thanks to an £8000 – £1000 bet they had the favourite losing just over £600.

It was a shame there weren’t real lumps for the jolly because Lecky Watson winning at 20/1 was a tremendous result for the ring. The Tatts pitch won just over £20,000 and the rails £7500 so still not to be sniffed at, but the vibes and lack of real money for the jolly were of the ‘they knew’ variety.

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2:40 – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4yo+)2m5f

Next up and an ‘impossible’ handicap for the punters to try and solve, it was the firm’s job to just fill the hod and hope for the best. Then Ben turned up. He does attract the punters in, but calamity often follows, a punter accidentally dropping a whole pint of Guinness into the hod via the print sort of calamity.

The team still managed to lay £8000 – £2000 Be Aware, though over on the rail they were very quiet. Jimmy Du Seuil won the race at 16/1, Archie Metcalfe backed it with Star at 20/1 the Tatts pitch lost £1500 the rails pitch won £1800, well done Archie.

He told me that previous #BettingPeople interviewee and my pal Dave Hazell tipped the winner up to him, cheers Dave!

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3:20 – Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (A Limited Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 2) (5yo+) 3m5½f (3m5f56y)

Next up and the race that relieves the betting run, not just of readies but the staff who take the opportunity to use the time it takes for the horses to go around and around to use the ablutions, they don’t need to rush.

Stumptown opened 3/1, there were plenty of takers to modest amounts as well as interest in Mister Coffey including a £6500 – £1000 each-way. There was very little doing over on the rails, of all the races at the festival, as far as punters go this is the least of interest year on year.

Mind you, at the off the Tatts pitch had the jolly losing over £23,000 in the win book, the rails had it losing for £5000, so not figures to be sniffed at. ‘Round and Around they go until the favourite wins’ cheered Lofty sardonically as Stumptown drew clear to win and relieve the firm of £28,000. Nasty.

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4:00 – BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5yo+) 2m (1m7f199y)

The payout for the next was exacerbated by a holdup in payouts due to fear of a dropped weight cloth that proved unfounded. Meanwhile, a punter came up under Kaan’s arm and bet £44,000 on Jonbon at 10/11 and another £20,000 at 5/6, the payouts took all the betting time of the race while Hannah and Tony worked away.

Of course over on the rail they’d already taken £75,000 on Energumene on top of plenty over the jolly too.

This was going to be a pivotal race for the meeting. What can you say, jumping and the Cheltenham fences saved the day again, Marine Nationale winning at 5/1 was a cracking result, Jonbon was runner up despite a terrible mistake out in the country. The Tatts book won £67,000 and the rail just over £100,000.

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4:40 – Debenhams Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5yo+)2m (1m7f199y)

Next up, the penultimate, Kaan had legged it early for a family function, Ben had gone wherever Ben goes after the feature and a calm of sorts descended on the Star Sports pitches where they bet 13/2 the field.

The betting was certainly less frenetic, the Tatts pitch worked hard to field £5000 it was a similar story on the rail, where the book was made up of mostly small money though Lofty did lay seven monkeys Primoz and £350 each-way Conyers Hill at 20/1.

The race was false started which allowed a punter time to have £35,000 – £5000 My Mate Mozzie with the Tatts pitch right in the hole.

Jazzy Matty winning at 15/2 was OK for Tatts thanks to the last bet, they copped £5023, the rails won £3000. Going into the lucky last Tatts were £77,763 in front at the rails £115,000, a winning day surely ensured?

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5:20 – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (A Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4-6yo) 2m½f (2m87y)

There were still bets out there, a punter bet £25,000 – £5000 Copacabana in the lucky, lucky, lucky, bump, last. ‘Down to Barry’ shouted Nick, nobody was old enough apart from Tony to get the joke, apart from Tony who certainly is but appeared not to hear. Nick still chuckled. Over on the rail, where Lofty was, there was no chuckling but they had laid £4000 – £1000 Bambino Fever and £3000 – £1000 Kalypso’chace.

The latter was a very late stick on, the last bet in the Tatts book was £2750 – £1000 though at the off their book still had the one loser. Lofty, Flynn and Ricky’s was littered with losers in a £7500 book, Tatts held just under £10,000 with a near £25,000 loser. Bambino Fever winning at 4/1 copped £3812 in the Tatts book and £600 on the rails which topped off an excellent day on the turf for the Star Sports team.

Two nil after two days, the Tatts pitch won £81,575 and the rails £115,600 give or take a couple of quid for readers that like figures.

Otherwise translated as ‘Aye Aye’ – we’re back tomorrow.

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Wednesday’s Racing Post results from Cheltenham:

 

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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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