CHELTENHAM SATURDAY

AUTHOR: Star Sports Content

SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Saturday

Saturday didn’t start the way we hoped it would, Head of On-Course ‘Inlike’ Flynn had been up all night sick. It appeared he’d eaten something that hadn’t agreed with him, more like outlike last night. Anyway, poor old Flynn was a late non-runner so was ably replaced by super-sub Ed Dark who joined Tony and Hannah on the Tatts pitch. The lower rail team was unchanged from yesterday, lucky neither Lofty, Ricky or Charlie had chosen the pizza.

12:35 – JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle (Registered As The Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle) (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (3YO only) 2m ½f

Eight went to post for the opener, business was steady, brisk and smallish Tony and Hannah were tendering the bets in glorious sunshine while Ed tapped everything in and made the book.

It was all coasting along quite nicely until a bookmaker came in with a monkey hedge bet for Gary Moore’s Perseus Way at 25/1, almost déjà vu from the last yesterday. The good news was, it was a win only wager, very handy indeed as it turned out, the gelding ran a tremendous race finishing runner-up, luckily not tremendous enough to beat 4/1 winner Scriptwriter. The booked copped £600 on the race and Eddie no doubt breathed a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile down on the lower rail I got a text from Lofty, he was already after more till rolls having taken 230 bets in the first. There used to be 999 card tickets in a pack in the old days, how many does a till roll do? I shall have to ask. More steps in the new fitness app.

1:10 – Celotex Thermaclass Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (Class 3) (4YO plus) 3m 1f

I got down to Lofty and Co just as the bogie for both pitches, Anightinlambourn (pictured below, far side) won the second race. Lofty’s crew blew £1200 and Ed’s £900. Lofty wasn’t in the best of moods given that they’d done their dough, so wasn’t all that patient with my question about the till rolls. It depends on how long the pay outs had been, of course, I’m a silly boy. The bet expectancy of the roll that just spat out a lengthy list of winners was evidently quite short. I did risk staying long enough to also learn that they too had laid a £500 bet, this time at 20/1 the runner-up in the first. I’ll tell you something else too, shirt sleeve order in November has been hitherto unheard of, this tweed clobber was challenging attire.

1:45 – From The Horses Mouth Podcast Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices’ Chase (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m

It was a case of extremes on the Tatts pitch for the third race. Ed had laid a bet of £1500 – £1000 the favourite Banbridge and enough out of the outsider Fusian to make them the two bogies, both for the thick end of £2000. Computer issues which the RDT sorted slowed things down a bit. The jolly showed no sign of similar and won easily losing £1900 in the book, the few minutes not taking bets probably saved the firm a few quid. Lofty had messaged prior to the race to say he’d need ‘snookers’ to win, that baffled me, but Ed understood, and it probably meant that he’d also lost on the race too.

2:20 – Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m 4f

The feature race of the day was another busy heat, modest bets punctuated by the odd wager of some size. If I tell you that the biggest bet tendered on the race was £250 each-way Umbrigado you get the picture. The bigger bets just weren’t about for the race despite the early indications that there were some bigger punters in the ring. Mind you, it’s a tough old race to pick the winner of so it wasn’t too surprising the backers weren’t opening their shoulders.

When French Dynamite jumped the last in front the Tatts book was looking at a £1500 loss until GA Law’s guts got him up close that swung the book around to the tune of £2500 and a grand profit.

Ed Dark was smiling, but Paul Binfield, Paddy Power, the sponsors Racecourse ambassador was still his jovial self, telling me: “The winner was one of our five best-backed horses for the meeting and the avalanche of cash for GA Law which we saw in the week did not abate on the actual day. Stolen Silver was also heavily backed, but unfortunately, he took a tumble.

“Jamie Snowden had a fancied runner for this race a few years ago in Present View and it’s great to see him finally win the first marquee event of the jumps season. Some major tipsters, including the Daily Mirror’s Dave Yates AKA Newsboy tipped GA Law and he may well have contributed to the whirlwind gamble on the day, but good luck to Mirror Racing Punters.”

2:55 – Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle (GBB Race) (Class 2) (4YO plus) 3m

There was drama in the ante-penultimate when the well-backed favourite Shearer was brought down out in the country. A punter had a £1500 – £500 in early skirmishes, he certainly got the value but not the luck.

There was a real scrap to the line in which the run of the Master Trainer Chris Gordon continued when Annual Invictus got back up to win after being headed up the hill. The winner was returned 12/1 and ‘the second-best winner in the book’ according to Ed copping a couple of grand. Ed was being very stoic because he’d backed 6/1 chance Fontana Ellisi, the runner-up, and incidentally, the best winner in the book, funnily enough.

3:30 – Paddy Power Feel Like A Favourite Intermediate Handicap Hurdle (Class 3) (3YO plus) 2m 5f

Down at the bottom rail, Lofty’s team had been very busy, very, very busy. They’d laid some decent bets too, but most of them on winners which accounted for the fact they were losing £2500 when Ed was winning about £3000. ‘The B Team will have to up their game was Ed’s observation, but don’t tell Lofty’. Lofty had told me to look at the size of their pay out list on twitter, and boasted ‘You’ve never seen a list like it’, he’s right, I hadn’t but we all have now.

The penultimate was a good betting heat, Ed laid bets of £3500 – £2000 Unanswered and £5000 – £750 e/w Elle Perfecta. The latter was unplaced but the jolly Unanswered won readily so a setback. Going into the last the Tatts book was winning £400, Lofty’s no doubt deeper in the mire.

4:05 – Stirrups Restaurant And Cocktail Bar Evesham Mares’ Open NH Flat Race (Listed) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO to 6YO) 2m ½f

When it comes to having a guess up in the getting out stakes, ‘Willie’s in the bumper’ is the age-old cry. There were plenty of punters who wanted to be on Williamstowndancer, let’s hope they didn’t have more than they could afford on. The hopes of any financial recovery were thwarted when she decided to run out and unship Bryony Frost in the process. The filly minus her jockey then ran back onto the course and chased the winner Queen’s Gamble up the hill. The latter returned 9/4 favourite but copped £2300 in ‘Eddie the Lean-Up’s book. The cop due mainly to our mate forever more known as ‘The Bag Man’ who’d plunged an £8000 – £2000 on Bonttay into Tony’s sweaty palm. That stayed nicely in the hod and ensured a winning race and day, on the Tatts pitch at least.

I did message Lofty, he didn’t reply, we can guess it wasn’t good news and that he, Charlie and Rick were wrestling with another world record payout slip.

⚠️ STOP PRESS. Lofty’s team lost pretty much what Ed’s won. ‘A get out given the last two jollies won’ said Lofty. Yes, but Ed’s team still won on the day….

We’re back tomorrow, hopefully Flynn is feeling better and battle ready.

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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