SIMON NOTT: Betting Report | Cheltenham Festival Friday

We’re here already, the climax of the meeting, Gold Cup day. It’s the day the pace steps up on the turf and those hardy souls that have been at it all week muster up one more push and a few more readies. It’s also the day where people who optimistically entered Cheltenham Champion Tipster competitions just pick a card full of random 100/1 shots. Desperation, in the hope of a miracle needed to collar the leader, someone who must have had a hotline to Mystic Meg tipping so many winners.

For some of the bookmakers for whom things hadn’t gone so well, they’d settle for getting the exes on the last day. The more fortunate deliberating snapping the elastic bands around the winnings and betting cautiously or going for the jackpot would be the way to go.

Back in the day the floormen would have been speculating on the bonus and probably treating themselves to a couple or three sneaky pints of Guinness before the first in eager anticipation. And of course, everyone, bookies and punters alike are absolutely buzzing for the horse racing heroics about to unfold out on the turf. As a famous man once said, ‘Let’s get gambling!’

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1:20 – JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1)

‘Inlike’ Flynn was in touch early with the message ‘Business opened with a £25,000 – £20,000 Zanahiyr’ – Something to bet up to then, but as we’ve found it this week, bets usually considered as huge sums can get dwarfed in the money wagered with Star Sports on a big day.

📈 Toby Rose from Star Spreads was also on early, his message, ‘We’ve got someone going hammer and tongs this morning, they’ve lumped one a few throughout the day, Tritonic is our loser in the first and throughout the day we want low racecard numbers, someone’s bought double numbers (double number of every winner added together) at 112.’

Quilixios winning the opener under Rachael Blackmore with Zanahiyr back in fourth was a good start to the day, I say ‘good’ because dwarfing the previous bet on Zanahyir, a punter opened his shoulders and had a bet of £275,000 – £200,000 late on the jolly which of course stayed in the hod. The trouble was, another customer had a bet of £200,000 – £100,000 Quilixios. If ever there was a race where the firm could have done with a good old fashioned ‘result’ this was it. Flynn was stiff upper-lipped about it though, telling me; ‘Quilixios was the worst winner in the race, but the most important thing is that we are in front after the first.’

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CHESTER BARNES
Matt Chapman broke the news between races that Chester Barnes had died. It was such a shock, I had a chat with him at David Pipe’s yard a couple of years ago, he told me some great stories, he said he’d do a betting people interview but always managed to dodge me, ‘in the bath’, ‘just popped out’, when I called, ha ha.

He was a real character and a huge part of the Westcountry scene when I first started going racing in the 1980’s.

Thoughts go to his family and the Pipe’s too for their loss.

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1:55 – McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

Betting news prior to the County Hurdle, there were plenty of horses backed here as you’d expect, the biggest bets and hence the three losers were, Third Time Lucki £80,000 – £10,000 each-way and £8000 – £1000, Gowel Road £28,000 – £2000 each-way and Ganapathi £6500 – £1000 and £27,500 – £5000 each-way with a taker £33,000 – £1000 each-way Belfast Banter.

📈 News from Toby at Star Spreads was ‘Buyers everywhere here probably the most we’ve had on any race this week, Fifty Ball the big loser’

The only 33/1 ‘taker’ in the book winning must have been pretty gutting for the firm. Flynn remained stiff upper-lipped, well silent actually.

📈 Toby was uncharacteristically lacking in vaavaavoom when telling me ‘Middling result, Marginal profit’.

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2:30 – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1)

Whilst waiting for ‘Inlike’ to break his silence, Toby from Star Spreads piped up again, ‘Anything, but Torygraph, currently our biggest liability of the week.’

The race went to 14/1 chance Vanillier which was a very acceptable result for both Star Sports and Star Spreads. Inlike told me that Stattler had been the main loser, bets included £10,000 – £2500, £8000 – £2000 and £22,500 – £5000 plus support for Torygraph which saw support to the tune of £16,000 – £2000 each-way and £8000 – £1000 each-way. Flynn elaborated saying that it had been a very good result which meant the firm was in the game for once.

📈 Toby was ecstatic, not only did they get Torygraph beaten but they enjoyed one of the best possible results, including the places, he then added ‘Bring on the big one’, bring it on indeed.

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3:05 – Wellchild Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1)

In the Gold Cup betting the punters only wanted to be on one horse, Al Boum Photo, as my old boss Jack Lynn would say, they would not be denied. Flynn said that 42% of the bets for the race were for Willie Mullins’ gelding. They included £25,000 – £10,000 twice, £5000 – £2000, £20,000 – £8000, £6875 – £2500. Toby at Star Spreads told me that Royal Pagaille was their ‘bogey result’.

Minella Indo winning at 9/1 was just what was required for a book on the fight back. Flynn, not one for over hyperbolic statements just said that it was a ‘Great Result, good on the places too’ with the favourites filling them.

📈 Star Spreads news from Toby was that the winner was not good on the race, but good for us on the double numbers buyers, adding cautiously that they might be robbing Peter to pay Paul which of course rarely makes financial sense. Less cautiously he added ‘It should be a canter home now’.

I was a little perturbed about that last comment, it’s not good to develop a premature celebration habit in this game, just ask Armaloft Alex, you can see his arm up in the Silver Ring just before Maljimar gets collared by McCoy on Wichita Lineman.

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3:40 – St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase (Class 2)

Traditionally after the Gold Cup the punters ease off and the bets dwindle in size and frequency.

This Festival is far from traditional this year. Flynn came through with the bets and I almost fell off my chair. Billaway, £400,000 – £200,000 and Bob And Co £720,000 – £160,000, two of the biggest bets of the week, and in the Foxhunters. You can imagine the cheering in Star Sports trader’s living rooms as 16/1 chance Porlock Bay ridden by Lorcan Williams and trained by former #BettingPeople interviewee Will Biddick battled up the hill to deprive the mighty Mullins yard another victory by the shortest of margins. We won’t mention the at least £600,000 turnaround in the book. Tremendous stuff.

📈 Luckily Toby’s premature virtual arm in the air didn’t spoil the day for Star Spreads, having said that, it appears they did their money on the 16/1 chance, his message ‘That actually ended up a loser, but minimal damage done.’

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4:15 – Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Registered As The Liberthine Mares’ Chase) (Grade 2)

Going into the penultimate Flynn came on to say that the firm were now just in front on week. Bets to follow, and follow they did.

Elimay a bet of £475,000 – £380,000 plus £5000 – £4000, £2500 – £2000, £3300 – £3000 and £2500 – £3000. Then a bet of £250,000 – £100,000 for Colreevy. That ladies and gentlemen is what you call in bookie chat as ‘Going (right) up the front two’. It’s probably not often that you’ll cheer home a horse the firm you are being paid to write for have laid to lose a quarter of a million, but it’s a funny old game. Colreevy just did the business, got the money for the intrepid punter and was still a decent winner in the book. Aye Aye.

📈 Elimay was the only loser for Star Spreads too. ‘Lovely Day’ was Toby’s summing up. Toby’s virtual arm was up a bit again before the last, he told me that in the ‘Lucky last the only loser is Gabynako but there’s no way back for them today barring a late monster’.

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4:50 – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (GBB Race) (Class 2)

There were a couple of eye-watering losers when Flynn came through with the bets, for that Lucky Last, they included £400,000 – £10,000 each-way Mill Green and £322,000 – £11,500 each-way Leoncavallo. Gentlemen De Mee was the other loser bets of £6000 – £2000, £12,000 – £4000, £7500 – £2500 and £16,500 – £6000.

The form book will relate that they were all out of the frame, the 8/1 winner Galopin Des Champs a nice cop in the book to conclude the meeting.

Flynn summed up the meeting with a rather understated given the colossal ups and downs on the week, ‘A good end to the week. Gold Cup day got us off the canvas.’

📈 Toby was happy too, telling me ‘That’s us done, a good finish and up on the week’.

And that’s it from me too, concluding my work for Star Sports where it began, at the Cheltenham Festival. It’s been an eye-opening experience and a pleasure working for the absolutely top bloke that is Ben Keith. Thanks for reading and watching my contributions to Star Sports’ success over the last almost four years. I’m glad I was able to sign off reporting on a winning Festival.

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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