SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Cheltenham Sunday

15 years ago, back in 2007 at this meeting on the Sunday I suffered probably the coldest day I have ever worked on a racecourse. You know when people say they can’t feel their fingers? Yes that, literally.

I was working for the Perry firm with Jim Clarke. After five races plunging our fingers into the smash tray, submerged in frozen water while artic winds propelled bullet-like rain into us, we pulled up stumps. Not until getting an odds-on shot beaten and the day’s pay in the hod. The meeting was abandoned with just the bumper to go after the wind started hurling inanimate objects around the racecourse. Anyway, that pretty elaborate intro was just to illustrate how today couldn’t be any different. Glorious, almost shirt sleeve order. I know what I prefer.

1:10 – mallardjewellers.com Novices’ Chase (GBB Race) (Class 2) (5YO plus) 3m ½f

Today’s weather may well have been glorious, but the fields suffered somewhat from a plethora of non-runners. Thankfully only one defected from the opener leaving 5 runners going to post. The teams today were, Lofty, Kyle and Charlie on the rail, this time the main one in Tatts and Inlike, recovered from dysentery, Steve and Tony on the Tatts pitch. It was Lofty’s crew that managed to get the bigger bets in. Both on the jolly Bardenstown Lad, a monkey at 15/8 and another at 13/8, the ultimate 11/10 favourite.

Flynn wanted to get the jolly in too, he managed to get it a loser for £700 in his book thanks to small money. All those that waded into the favourite knew their fate some way out. Basically, it was never going to win. The race developed into a match between 10/1 chance The Real Whacker and 5/2 second-in Indigo Breeze, the former prevailing. There had been a move for the winner, 16/1 into 10/1 but not much evidence of that support on course.

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1:45 – Shloer Chase (Registered As The Cheltenham Chase) (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m

Only three lined up for the next. Nube Negra was returned 1/10 and won easily, though if you are the type of person that likes to lump on those you should have been on course, there was 1/8 hawking at the off and 1/7 had been spotted. Bagman told me that ‘they’ were against the jolly. I was hoping to see a slew of huge wagers to that effect, which didn’t happen. He invested a total of £180 on the race, of course I bollocked him and reminded him that I need something to write about.

Luckily, there was, Inlike Flynn and team laid a £1000 forecast at 11/8, the favourite to beat Daly Tiger. The favourite beat Ganapathi which was handy, the shine was taken off it when the distance was given as eight lengths, which meant the £500 – £100 ‘between 7 and 10 on the distance’ Lofty laid, copped.

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2:20 – Jewson Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 3m 3½f

As this is a blog for Star Sports, I’ll do a bit of a gee-up for #BettingPeople. During the afternoon, I was contacted by the brother of one of the best-known betting ring punters of years gone by. His brother, although no longer active on course, but still betting seriously, is up for doing an interview. I won’t tempt fate by giving his name in case it doesn’t happen. But, I mentioned it to Gary Wiltshire betting on the rail, and he was excited. Watch this space.

The third heat boasted 11 runners and punters who appeared to have been waiting for a race to get stuck into, and get stuck in they did. Steve and Tony laid a £1500 – £500 Fantastikas, £4000 – £500 each-way Eva’s Oskar and untold bundles in smaller money on Does He Know. The result couldn’t really have been worse. Does He Know won with Eva’s Oskar runner-up, the latter looked beaten turning for home. ‘This payout is going to be horrendous observed Flynn as he passed another Andrex Puppy’s dream pay out list to Steve and Tony. Things were brighter on Lofty’s side, they’d copped £800, Lofty was quite chuffed he’d had lean ups and lays and got it right.

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2:55 – Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m ½f

The feature race of the day was a little late off as ground staff removed the two hurdles in the home straight due to the low sun. It gave backers more time to get involved. There’s another character to add to my repertoire, let’s call him ‘newspaper bloke’ he’s been betting all weekend, he approaches the joint as stealthy as a baddie in a 1950’s spy film noir, clutching a newspaper, from which he produces readies with which to bet, at least £100s.

He has his wager and slinks off again, from whence he came. There were a few others like him, not with newspapers, but betting in hundreds, which added up to a nice few quid in field money at the off though with no actual lumps. Lofty’s team did lay a £3500 – £500 Sonigino which was bogie along with Dad’s Lad which was also popular. Flynn’s Tatts book bogie was Gin Coco so was very happy to see the gelding beaten into second behind 17/2 winner top weight I Like To Move It, a very good result for both books.

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3:30 – Sky Bet Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle (Registered As The Sharp Novices’ Hurdle) (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 2m ½f

The penultimate is where the big punters came out to play. Flynn and team laid an £8000 – £4000 Springwell Bay while Lofty’s on the rails hooked a £4500 – £1000 Iberico Lord. After his first mention, it was inevitable that Newspaper Bloke wouldn’t make an appearance… he didn’t. One of the other bookies told me that there was sharp money about for the first four in the betting, bag men in action.

That’s possibly when Inlike kept Fennor Cross, the 3/1 second-in at 11/4 on the Star Sports pitch. He did right too, John McConnell’s gelding won the race nicely from 12/1 chance Ukantango. The book won £4500 while Lofty’s was a nice winning green too. I won’t say a good winning day was on the cards because that would be tempting fate.

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4:00 – Autism In Racing At Cheltenham Open NH Flat Race (Listed) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO to 6YO) 2m ½f

One of the first bets in the book for the last was £1000 – £160 Katate Dori which was the prelude to the price tumbling to 11/4 favourite. There was also money for Notnowned, Steve and Tony took a bet of £3900 – £1300, the other one the public wanted at bigger prices was Milton Harris’ Gentle Slopes. At the off Notnowned was the absolute bogie losing just over £3500 with the gamble and Gentle Slopes taking the book.

It was a bit annoying for the team to see the latter win nicely at 12/1 but not show a profit on the race. Still, they hadn’t lost either so copped what they were in front on the day, about £3000. Lofty’s rails crew fared better, hadn’t been inundated with the winner so copped £1500. A good final day, that would have been the icing on the cake of a winning weekend had it not been for that last bet in the book in the last from the unknown Irishman on Friday.

Thanks for reading.

SIMON NOTT

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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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