SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Royal Ascot Friday

Day Four, the Friday of Royal Ascot traditionally the day the real punters came out to play. They needed to today if the Star Sports on course team were to win back the £200,000 they were losing over the first three days, writes SIMON NOTT.

It was doable though and if the early bets struck were an indication that the backers meant business, there’d certainly be chances today. Struck early included £20,000 – £8000 Supreme Yeats over at Market Rasen, and £8000 double Fairy Godmother and Opera Singer here at Royal Ascot, a monkey on the golf, £100,000 – £2500 Flight Of Fancy in the 5.05, £33,000 – £1000 each-way Tazara in the lucky last, £66,000 – £1000 Brave Empire in the same race along with a monkey on Hedge Fund at 40/1, £60,000 – £3000 each-way Shelley in the 3.45, £30,000 – £10,000 and £15,000 – £5000 Opera Singer in the same heat and £4700 Fairy Godmother at 5/2 in the first. Back up at Tatts a wager of £15,000 – £5000 Mountain Breeze added to the tally of bets that needed to stay in the hod. That was swiftly followed by £20,000 – £1000 each-way Safecracker in the 4.25.

As I said, today promised to be lively and as you can see by the bets in the last there’d be no elastic snapping around the readies until the non-body shamed lady and a cast of 1000’s sang around the bandstand.

The teams taking the bets today were unchanged in Tatts, Nick, Tony, Steve, Ben hopping on and off and Emily’s swansong, she’s up at Towcester tomorrow. Down on the lower rail Lofty was back, Ricky, who kept his 78th birthday quiet yesterday and Inlike Flynn.

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🎩 2:30 – Albany Stakes (Group 3) 6f

Big bets aside, business had been fairly quiet, that all changed after the King’s procession passed to a raucous rendition of the national anthem, dues paid, the punting started. The money focused around the front two in the betting, Fairy Godmother had been all the rage, trading at a bottle, 2/1 as the horses went to post. A bet of £4000 – £400 Twafeeg bucked the trend then wallop, £200,000 – £100,000 Fairy Godmother laid and the price stayed on the board, Ben meant business today, big business. Eventually with the jolly losing £206,000 the bottle was nipped into 15/8.

Going into the stalls the jolly and £206,687 bogie was back to a bottle. They were off and in reality the race was over in a flash. Ben’s balls of titanium looked to be about to bear dividends when stable mate of the bogie, Heaven’s Gate went clear at the furlong pole. ‘Stay with me’ shouted Ben, then over the bobbing heads and at the bottom of the big screen we saw Ryan Moore on the favourite coming with a run that was certain to get there long before he actually did. The last 100 yards felt long, drawn out and excruciating. The book lost £206,000, in the first race and that was surely the last financial nail in this year’s Royal Ascot.

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🎩 3:05 – Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) 6f

It’s not about days, or even meetings, but the long game, one that never ends, the team were immediately up in the next where Inisherin was opened favourite. A punter came to draw his £16,450 over the first winner and had it all on Inisherin at 12/5, try tic-tacking that one, I reckon even an old school clerk would have struggled.

Anyway, if anyone was worried about him, Ben was already laughing and posing for photos as the team cracked on. At the off Inisherin was a loser for just under £40,000 and bolted up, no cups or lips involved this time. On X Chris Poole was talking about kites, a magic money tree would be more helpful they way this was going. To run it in even more the crowd were loud and boisterous today, the blokes were even worse.

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🎩 3:45 – Coronation Stakes (Group 1) 1m

Next up and both Opera Singer and Shellet were losing over £40,000 each thanks to earlier bets and a rolling up double. Then, in it came, one of the bogies Opera Singer went 3/1 so the firm joined in. There he was, lurking, the big punter, ear to phone, or should that be phone to ear, either way he asked for and got £300,000 – £100,000.

I have to admit, Steve and I gave the winner Porta Fortuna a roar like we’d just got the last leg of a triple rollover Scoop 6 back in the day up when she reeled in Opera Singer in to win going away. It’s quite funny to think that was to celebrate only being £113,000 down after that result. It wasn’t over yet, despite aching feet, there was a spring back in the step of the firm. Ben? Nowhere to be seen!

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🎩 4:25 – Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) 1m4f

Next up Safecracker was already a bad loser thanks to the earlier bet. Next up and Crystal Black was the subject of £2500 each-way at 14/1 and Ethical Diamond £4000 – £2000. The firm added another £3000 at 2/1 the jolly then a punter span up £25,930 at 2/1 followed by another bet, this time £10,000 – £1000 each-way on Crystal Black which had that pair sticking out as bad losers with the rest copping over £30,000. That is, apart from Safecracker winning £10,000. Down on the lower rail they were chipping away winning £3000 on the day which was handy as I’m told tonight we were going out whatever happened.

Casting thoughts of food aside, at the off the firm needed the bogie beaten, and he was, firmly into fourth, that was the good news. The bad news was the winner was 11/1 chance Crystal Black, the gelding would have been an excellent winner for most of the ring, but once the places had been taken into account lost the thick end of £19,000. That was quite annoying to be perfectly honest with you, but the punters make the book. The comeback hadn’t just stalled but eased into reverse.

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🎩 5:05 – Sandringham Stakes (Fillies’ Handicap) (Class 2) 1m

Next up and the market opened 4/1 Kitty Rose the favourite but one of the first bets in the book was £32,000 – £400 each-way Raknah, the team had already laid £100,000 – £2500 each-way Flight Of Fancy so there were nasty rag results lurking at the bottom of the book. It was a while before Nick, Steve, Tony and Emily laid a bet of £7500 at 7/2 Kitty Rose here then shortly after took a wager of £10,000 – £8000 Split The Profit at Redcar. Spoiler, it was Star splitting them, not the hopeful punter away.

Meanwhile, the ladies appeared to be becoming well lubricated, at least the gaggle grouped in a circle between us and Roy Christie, determined not to move for anyone and almost pushing me into the joint in their resistance, they were shrieking loudly in conversation, none appearing to be listening to the other. Not being grumpy but it was hard to hear what was going on in the book.

Anyway, thankfully they eventually teetered off for an apparently much needed new bottle, small mercies. As the horses went into the stalls the book held £15,000 with Flight Of Fancy losing £90,000 Raknah £20,000 and Kitty Rose £21,600. 14/1 winner Soprano was a good result winning £12,000 so ‘only’ £112,000 behind in the Tatts book.

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🎩 5:40 – King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) 1m4f

Next up, the penultimate and a bet of £42,500 – £20,000 Diego Velazquez. Meanwhile, Emily finally succumbed, after four days and 27 races, the shoes were discarded and the trainers donned, the shoes might have beaten her but the smile never vanished, she’s been a real asset and worked hard non stop.

News from a golf course was that today’s golf bet laid this morning copped, £850 to the punter to add to the tally. Better news from Lofty, Flynn’s team were winning £5000 on the day. Then, from the shadows, under the bookie’s arm a bet of £200,000 – £100,000 Diego Velazquez which meant that one was losing a quarter of a million quid at the off.

Calandagan won at 11/2, the book won £120,000, more importantly, Star’s Tatt’s Team were £6000 up on the day plus what Lofty’s merry men ( and Ricky ) were winning, £8000.

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🎩 6:15 – Palace Of Holyrood House Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) 5f

The lucky last was a 6/1 the field affair and a book peppered with bad losers already thanks to early business mentioned previously, Hedge Fund, Tazara and Toca Medera the three bad ones as betting kicked off. Added to that tally as the field were going down, Billy Webster, £300 each way at 16/1, the punter blagged a price so no fractions were asked for or offered, he knew the game. Dorney Lake attracted bets of £700 and £350 at 8/1 so joined the red horses, as did £150 each-way at 66/1 Thunder Blue. It was shaping up to be a real lottery, ‘just the eight losers with 20 running for us’ called Steve. £2400 – £400 Jubilee Walk late in the day added to the tally but was dwarfed by the £36,000 – £6000 that followed it in. The book looked more orthodox with that one losing £38,000 and Brave Empire £52,000 making it a make or break race book made by the punters to end the day.

The 18/1 winner Pilgrim was one of ours, none of the bogies were in the frame and the book won £16,000, Flynn’s team won £3000. A winning day and some got back from the previous losses. Who’d have thought it after the first, this could go to the last race tomorrow. Bring it on.

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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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