SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Glorious Goodwood Thursday

As you’d expect on Ladies’ Day, people-wise it was the busiest day of the week so far.

Lofty and Flynn’s teams remained unchanged and decided to get to work on the Magnolia Cup before racing proper. At best, they expected to field a couple of hundred quid. Both pitches were surprised at the level of interest in the race.

The crowd were literally queuing up to get on. Halley’s Comet proved popular; backed from 33/1 into 3/1. All apart from one notable shrewdie they didn’t fancy, or at least didn’t back, the winner Dark Shot which won under Ashleigh Wicheard. Had there been an SP returned, the winner would have been around the 4/1 mark so winning on the race was a double bonus.

1:50 – Coral Kincsem Handicap (Class 2) (3YO only) 1m 2f

The Magnolia Cup business was busier than the first race proper. Lofty told me that the biggest bet he’d taken on the race was £40. It was a similar story with Flynn over on the rails who was struggling to get into four figures. That was until a punter doubled the take with a single bet of £8000 – £1000 Asaassi. 9/2 chance Warren Point getting up on the line to beat 18/1 Blue Trail would have snatched a good result away from many of the books but Flynn’s team’s good fortunes continued from yesterday as they enjoyed another excellent winning race.

Lofty’s Tatt’s pitch also copped a £100 in what he described as a ‘nice book’. Pro-punter and tipster Simon Holden came to the joint just before racing, he was a recent Betting People interviewee, though he didn’t have a bet. I did spot some known sticker on guys so as with previous days here, things were looking good for a brisk day’s punting.

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2:25 – Richmond Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2YO only) 6f

Once again, it was great to see a lot of ladies making their way to the bookies in the betting ring to have bets. Also once again business was brisk, plentiful and small. Surprisingly, for smaller punters, many of them were happy to back the even-money favourite Royal Scotsman. Lofty’s business added up to the jolly losing just over £400 while a bet of an even two grand ensured that’s pretty much what the rails book lost when Royal Scotsman won, priced 5/6.

It could have been a lot worse of course but it was still a reversal.

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3:00 – John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes (Group 3) (Class 1) (3YO only) 1m 4f

By the third race, some of the ladies were ruing their fashion over sensible choices in the shoe department.

It was getting hot down in the ring, you could see why Panama hats became the headwear of choice over the years, despite fewer and fewer being in evidence. The same goes for blazers, not why they’d become popular but rarer and rarer, I felt a bit conspicuous in the loud clobber on Tuesday. So, on the advice of Mrs. Nott, who couldn’t find ties to match all my jackets today, I went for a sober blue suit. Little did I expect that Lofty had similar impeccable taste and was wearing an almost identical one, if they cost the same he certainly got the value.

There was decent money for New London in the next. One of the first bets laid was £2500 – £1000 to a fellow bookmaker hedging, followed by a two grand bet at 11/8. Those were the only two bets worth talking about in the race. Though the weight of smaller money also made Jack Darcy a smaller loser. Lofty had a similar book, too, with much smaller figures though the latter was the bogie. At the off, New London was losing over £5000 and duly obliged, the only small bit of good that could be taken out of it is that having returned 6/4 two-thirds of the money over the winner was done at the right price.

All of a sudden, it was shaping up to be a bad day.

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3:35 – Qatar Nassau Stakes (Fillies’ And Mares’ Group 1) (British Champions Series) (Class 1) (3YO plus) 1m 2f

Several well-respected judges had made negative comments regarding Nashwa in the fourth and the market reacted accordingly, the favourite was fairly weak. There were no big bets on either joint but near the off both Lofty and Inlike had her losing four figures. Going into the stalls Nashwa was doing over £2600 in the rails book then a punter had six monkeys each-way Dreamloper right in the hole.

The field set off without 12/1 chance Ville De Grace which was withdrawn at the start resulting in a 5p Rule 4. Nashwa didn’t look an easy ride but won anyway. Luckily, Dreamloper finished unplaced which eased the blow. Ben called, they were having a bad day in the office, I had to tell him that they were dwindling it away here too, which probably wasn’t what he wanted to hear but quite possibly expected to.

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4:10 – Jaeger-Lecoultre Nursery (Class 2) (2YO only) 7f

By the fifth, yes I’m ditching all the antepenultimate stuff for a bit, hoping for a change of luck, the teams were looking at the first losing day of the meeting. The rot needed to stop. Lofty was up the front two losing approximately a grand a piece old style while Flynn and co had the jolly sticking out west of £4000 thanks to a bet of £4500 – £2000.

Racegoers and TV viewers were treated to a ding-dong finish, bookmakers to a top five home, the shortest price of which was 10/1. Prairie Falcon was in front at the post under Hollie Doyle, returned 14/1 and was largely friendless. The rails booked copped £2500 while Lofty’s team trousered £1600 putting them proudly back in front. True Statesman went off at 15/8 but finished well down the field.

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4:45 – World Pool Handicap (Class 3) (3YO only) 5f

I was nearly in trouble getting the betting info for the sixth. As I dipped into the rail, a young gent gesticulating wildly accidentally smacked me right in the chops with his ample elbow. I wouldn’t have minded so much had he been tic-tacking. Luckily, I was wearing my favoured robust specs. Had I been donning my more stylish but rarely worn pair, they’d have been buggered, as would have I, my vision is somewhat fuzzy sans specs. Neither Kyle nor Flynn appeared to notice me rubbing my smarting snout. Flynn was too busy being bullish. ‘We’re on the road to getting out’, he beamed. I nipped over to Lofty’s joint and they were still tapping away but had long since given up hope of laying a lump.

I watched the action on the turf unfold from there, Get Ahead won the race at 7/1. ‘We copped a carpet there’ Lofty informed me, adding to the winning tally from his pitch. Over at the rail they were highly delighted, OK they’d laid a £7000 – £2000 Le Beau Garcon which went off at 11/4, but got it beaten and copped £3000 on the heat. There was drama in the race when Sophie’s Star unshipped jockey Jonny Peate but luckily, as he was able to walk back to the Weighing Room, it appeared that all that was damaged was his pride.

All that was needed was another decent result in the lucky last and the treble of winning days was a possibility.

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5:20 – Tatler EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (GBB Race) (Class 2) (2YO only) 7f

Down at the sun-baked rails pitch, Kyle and Flynn had been doing their sums. They needed to cop £700 on the race to ‘get out’ on the day. Over on his pitch, Lofty said business had been OK, he’d laid several horses including a bet of £1800 – £400 Sparkling Beauty. Back over on the rails, they’d taken the biggest bet of the race £7000 – £500 each-way Daydream Dancer so had enough money in the hod, to do a Houdini on the day. Whoever the punter was that had the rouf on with Lofty was, they didn’t really have to worry too much, she won pretty much unchallenged.

The punters did a ‘yesterday’ though and left Flynn and Kyle out despite Sparkling Beauty returning the 7/2 joint-favourite. The rails book won £900 on the race so a bottle on the day, Lofty did £1200 but won a bottle on the day. Between them, they’d managed the great escape, £400 up on the day, three winning days in a row at Glorious Goodwood, with hopefully the two busiest to come.

We’re back tomorrow.

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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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