CHELTENHAM IN THE RING

AUTHOR: Star Sports Content

SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Festival Wednesday

Last year we got soaked but at least the rain was warm.

The forecast looked similar today but when betting got underway for the first we were just treated to light drizzle, colder than last year though.

It was warming up in the Star Sports office though, they’d already laid a bet of £580,000- £400,000 Energumane in the Queen Mother, ‘I’ll lay it again’ Ben told me, before adding, ‘At the right price’.

1:30 – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Baring Bingham) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m 5f

Betting on the first on the pitches saw plenty of interest in Impaire Et Passe, several £1000 bets laid at 2/1 and 9/4 early. Unusually for Ben who has no opinion and won’t even know the colours of the bogies he was keen on getting the teams, Lofty, Inlike and Charlie on the rail and Hannah, Kyle, Steve (head of on course) to be best priced the jolly. Those that took the 2/1 and 9/4 were soon looking at 5/2.

I’m not privy to who marked Ben’s card that the seven length winner was one to get stuck up the book with, but I’m guessing their name is being scrubbed off the Christmas hamper list as I type. He still managed to smile for a selfie with some admirers shortly afterwards. The firm lost £40,000 over both pitches, mostly small cash bets. I’m told, but can’t verify, that the queues to draw could be seen by satellite! ‘At least we laid it at the right price’ was the ever stoic Lofty’s summing up.

Over in the office, the message from Ed Dark was:

“Hermes Allen the bogie and winner took the book…”

2:10 – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (Registered As The Broadway Novices’ Chase) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 3m ½f

Next up and it was all about the favourite Gerri Colombe, both pitches laid several £2000 and £1000 bets including bookmaker hedging. It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though, the rails laid a couple of decent bets Sir Gerhard at 3/1. At the off the jolly was losing about £15,000 across the two pitches, the only loser.

Ed Dark: “Up the front two here”

The Real Whacker and drifter out to 8/1 beating the jolly a short head was a welcome change of luck for the firm and the bookmakers in general. It gave the beleaguered team still paying out over the first a bit of respite too.

CHELTENHAM KNOCKOUT – 16 TIPSTERS LEFT FIGHTING IT OUT!

2:50 – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m 5f

They bet 8/1 the field in the next, a bag man got the book rolling with a monkey on Camprond at 18/1. There was very little else even of that size bet on the race apart from a late bookmaker’s hedge bet £15,000 – £1800, that’s 8/1 with the fractions Captain Conby.

The books were peppered with losers and takers so it was just a case of hoping for the best and seeing what won. Langer Dan won at 9/1. The rails book lost £6000 on the race, it was a taker in Tatts. The renaissance didn’t last long.

3:30 – Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 2m

The betting on the Queen Mother started with a bet of £11,000 – £8000 Energumene. It was proper raining by now. Those bets kept coming, the punters only wanted to be on one horse. Then the office called Ben, they’d laid a further £250,000 – £200,000 the bogie. Lofty and Flynn also had it red for £5000.

Well, what can you say, apart from what a great win for Energumene, the rest nowhere and £830,000 leaving the Star Sports hod. That’s a figure of speech, I expect it’ll be a bank transfer.

4:10 – Glenfarclas Chase (Cross Country Chase) (GBB Race) (Class 2) (5YO plus) 3m 6f

Understandably for a man that’s just done the equivalent of a National Lottery win, he decided to take an early bath. The team had to crack on with the Cross Country race. The punters were keen to be on, most backing the favourite Delta Work.

As the field set off to negotiate their obstacles the betting ring half emptied as staff took advantage to nip to the ablutions as is the tradition from when this race appeared first at the Festival. Lofty wasn’t one of them, he came over to tell us that the last bet in the book was £18,000 – £900 Gin On Lime.

The bookmakers and their staff rushing back from the loo still doing their flys up were greeted by the crowd roaring the favourite to victory, which is also the tradition. I tell you what dear readers, this was Festival shaping up to be a disaster, another £10,000 lost across both pitches. You wouldn’t want to be at the back of the queue to draw!

4:50 – Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 2m

OK, we’ve dusted ourselves off, it maybe a cold, dank, jolly heaven here today but it certainly wasn’t beyond recall for the on-course team. Time to kick on again with two races, and whole days to go. The penultimate was as you’d expect, busy without any real lumps to make the teams jump. The Tatts book had Final Orders losing £8500 thanks to bookmaker’s hedge money, the rails were ‘Up the front three’.

They’d also laid a £980 straight forecast also hedged from another bookie. Betting on the back row Barry The Tash observed that the bookmakers were betting amongst each other again ‘Because nobody has got any bloody money left’. There was salvation of sorts in the shape of 22/1 winner Maskada. Both cops copped, a phrase rarely heard so far this week.

CHELTENHAM KNOCKOUT – 16 TIPSTERS LEFT FIGHTING IT OUT!

5:30 – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO to 6YO) 2m ½f

The concluding bumper, not just any concluding bumper of course, was a decent betting heat with some decent bets tendered. Better Days Ahead was the bogie on the rails with Fact To File a loser too. Tatts had Encanto Bruno the worst, thanks to more bookie hedging they also had Fact To File a loser.

All those runners and all those different horses backed but it came to market leaders Fact To File and A Dream To Share battling it out to the line. The latter won it, 7/2 second favourite under Johnny Gleeson, the son of much-loved TV ITV presenter Brian. It was great for them, not the worst result for Star but probably terrible for most of the ring that had suffered badly again. Did you ever wonder why Bookmaking was never really offered by your careers teacher? Now you do!

We’re back tomorrow. Still smiling.

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 on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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