SIMON NOTT: Betting Report | Aintree Saturday

My first attendance at the Grand National was in 1996 with Torquay bookmaker Dave Phillips, who has since appeared in a #BettingPeople interview. https://www.starsportsbet.co.uk/bettingpeople-dave-phillips/

Dave had bought a pitch on the embankment. His original mark being that they bet to excellent margins to a busy crowd. The pitch only exists once a year so ideal for an annual trip from the English Riviera.

After pulling up the readies for the position his card was marked further, in a less positive tone. The general consensus that it was like being at a nightclub at closing time and you’d need eyes in the back of your head to stop getting the hod dipped. These reservations must have played on Dave’s mind, he gave me a call the night before and asked if I knew any hard blokes who knew a bit about racing. I did, asked said hardcase if he fancied a day at the Grand National and secured his services.

We duly picked him up the next day, being a short-arsed not scrapping type I always made it my business to be on good terms with all the tough guys, this was brownie points. Built like a bullock with eyes that could terrify from the other side of the pub our man was chuffed to be coming and dressed smart in a suit and overcoat. Weirdly he kept the coat on in the car all the way up to Aintree. When we arrived, we found out why, he had a bloody great rubber cosh in the inside pocket! He’d taken the role very seriously. I was sent to Tattersalls with a radio to try and earn off the on-course books in there while our weapon wielding mate guarded Dave, who did the business on the stool. Luckily there was no need for such security, and he wasn’t needed in future. Rough Quest won the race and from what I can remember we all got a few quid. Blimey 25 years ago. I wonder if he still has that cosh?

1:45 – EFT Systems Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (GBB Race) (Class 1)

Fast forward to today and after yesterday’s monster bet went in – the firm were in the mire. I asked Flynn if they could feasibly get out and win on the meeting. He told me ‘feasible, yes but would need some lumpy bets beat’ He went on to give me the big bets for the opener. Hometown Boy £70,000 – £10,000 each-way and £5000 – £500 each way and J’ai Froid £18,000 – £2,000 he added, ‘Only two losers here, Hometown Boy the big one’.

They finished first and second. Nasty. ‘Not the started we needed was Flynn’s stiff upper lipped post race comment.

📈 Toby Rose from Star Spreads told me ‘Sellers of distances today, shrewd money too. we want the big pull away winners so not a bad start.’

2:25 – Betway Mersey Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1)

There was early news from Flynn for the next, Star Sports had laid a bet of £24,375 – £15,000 My Drogo and added, ‘As well as this bet, we have £30k going onto it at 13/8 from a double so around £45k in total’.

It didn’t take long to add to that total, the bets kept coming in, Flynn rattled them off, £50k My Drogo 11/8, £130k My Drogo 11/8, £140k My Drogo 11/8 at the off he told me. ‘The favourite loses over half a million quid,’ adding ‘I don’t need to tell you it’s a one-horse book.’

No, he didn’t. I sure that the firm had to stay consistent and lay those bets, but after the bogie sauntered to victory they must have felt like just shutting up shop. As the race looked all over a fair way out, the day did too after just two races.

📈 Star Spreads’ Toby Rose came on and told me, ‘Late before the first we had someone come in with a big double numbers buy, the 17 wasn’t ideal in the first, so we’d have liked the second or third fav to oblige by a distance here just to buy ourselves some breathing room. We had a half decent buyer on My Drogo, so we would have liked it turned over, it was a bad race, we’re on the backfoot’.

3:00 – Doom Bar Maghull Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1)

There was very little of interest on the betting front in the next, though ‘Inlike’ did report bets of £200 – £1600 and £143 -£1000 Shishkin. If it was people trying to earn some easy beer money, they’ll enjoy their takeaway drinks tonight. Money without work for those punters even though the win was workmanlike for the jolly.

📈 It was a similar story at Star Spreads, Toby told me, ‘Watchers race here, we’re expecting to add another 10 to the double numbers’.

Toby was quick off the blocks with his hopes for the next, telling me, ‘A low cloth would be nice, up to 32, so 64, of a 141 buy, with the National to come, Paisley Park and Thomas Darby are the losers on the book.

3:35 – Ryanair Stayers Hurdle (Registered As The Liverpool Hurdle) (Grade 1)

Flynn came through late with the news that the big punters were being sporting enough to give the firm a chance to win it back. They laid a bet of £585,000 – £195,000 Paisley Park, and £700,000 – £175,000 Roksana with bets of £15,750 -£7000, £9000 – £4000 and £5000 – £2000 Thyme Hill to top it all up.

I can only imagine that the roar that went up in the Hove area would have scared the seagulls on Brighton beach as Thyme Hill wore down Roksana in the shadow of the post.

Winning over a market favourite, could it have turned just in time?

Flynn was a bit wry with his summing up of the race. ‘An enjoyable end to the race that one but still a good bit behind’.

That made it four favourites in a row, clobbered on two, ignored on one and got plenty back on the last to oblige.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads was upbeat, ish, telling me, ‘Its another high number, and a very short distance, keeping the sellers very alive’

4:15 – Betway Handicap Chase (Grade 3) (GBB Race) (Class 1)

Flynn was later in with the news in the race before the penultimate. Bets were more modest, £68,750 – £25,000 and £32,500 – £13,000 Happygolucky, £52,500 – £7000 Spiritoftheages and £21,000 – £750 each-way Killfilum Cross making that one the worst winner in the book.

📈 Toby of Star Spreads told me ‘Cloth numbers up to 83 and counting, distances at a measly 16.05. Now the race by race buyers are starting to filter in, and are getting involved in a few of our Grand National markets with a nice even flow of bets across the board, Fagan is the biggest loser here’.

Toby was happy with Happygolucky, the fifth jolly of the day winning, Flynn, less so. The Aintree black clouds had gathered for the layers ….

With just the Grand National and a Bumper to go any chance of winning on the meeting appeared to have bolted, at least for Star Sports.

5:15 – Randox Grand National Handicap Chase (Grade 3)

Despite looking like all hope is gone, all they could do is get their heads down and tap away. ‘Inlike’ Flynn started to send the bets through, £120,000 – £20,000, £55,000 – £10,000. £25,000 – £5000 Cloth Cap, £70,000 – £5000 Magic Of Light, £88,000 – £4000 Potters Corner. Then it got a little bigger, £275,000 – £50,000 each-way Cloth Cap.

📈  Toby at Star Spreads told me ‘We’ve got a really fair spread of bets, across a few markets, we’ve gone to town on our Indices here. The 100, 10 place, index is really being lapped up. Cloth Cap definitely a negative and high cloth number, Blaklion would be a nice one to avoid as well, if we can get Burrows Saint across the line in first, that would be the dream.

Wow! Minella Times winning under Rachael Blackmore at 11/1 saw history made.

The result would have been one everyone would have enjoyed and celebrated seeing but it makes it better when the firm won on the race. Flynn came back with ‘That was a good result all in all. We’re still behind by a fair way but makes it a bad week rather than a shocking one.’

📈  Toby Rose from Star Spreads chipped in, ‘ Jolly poor on the cloth number but brilliant on the indices’, adding, ‘We were a winner on the race but our double numbers buyer is in a pretty tasty profit with one race to go, Minella was about as good as we could have hoped for really, on the indices.

6:20 – Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk Standard Open NH Flat Race (Grade 2)

The concluding bumper set to start 65 minutes after the National seemed a long time coming. Mind you, any other year with 100’s of punters to pay on-course it wouldn’t have done. It also gave ITV Racing a chance to really put Rachael Blackmore’s win in the spotlight that it deserved.

📈 Star Spreads’ Toby was a little disappointed as to where the spread bettors had gone, lamenting, ‘They’ve all gone into hiding for the last, we’d absolutely love the favourite to win, the next three in the market are poison for the double numbers.’

It appeared that ‘Inlike’ Flynn had gone out like him too, but super-sub Rory gave me the last race lowdown which read as follows. £72,000 – £4,000 each-way Jack’s A Legend, £34,375 – £12,500 each-way The Gossiper and £13,000 – £8000 £3200 and £15,000 at SP Balco Coastal.

Knappers Hill winning at 8/1 under Megan Nicholls for her dad Paul was an excellent result to conclude the meeting. That at least ended the day with a winning race for Star Sports. Toby over at Star Spreads got the last word ‘A little sucker punch on the double numbers there. But, it’ll take nothing away from a good Aintree on the whole.’

So, that was that, a memorable exciting meeting with some huge winning bets which ensured the punters came out on top again. It’s only lent though next virtual stop, Epsom for the Oaks and Derby.

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 now on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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