SIMON NOTT: Betting Report | Cheltenham Festival Wednesday

The last race was make or break for the day on Tuesday, Wednesday could pretty much end the meeting if the monster backers and multiple punters waded in to the short ones and they all obliged. As with yesterday, not being there brought back some memories. It was different this year, not waking up in an ropy room with a hangover, despite the resolution to be professional as far as the drinking went on Tuesday night.

Getting to the course early-daft to ensure a space and no steward’s enquiry from the bloke on the car park entrance. The image of Roy Lynn staring down the track after a bad Wednesday, ‘bad’ meaning the smallest winners in his overs book had won most races. His face, a picture of misery and annoyance as the sound of the band wafting through the stands from the Guinness Village playing the same tune for the umpteenth time. ‘It must be the ‘Shemozzle Boogie’ chirped in Johnny The Clerk, to much amusement, Roy out of earshot. Not so entertaining, needing to be escorted from Lower Tatts by a posse of policemen in the gloom after being surrounded by a group of drunk and increasingly aggressive lads swearing they had £100 with us the winner of the last. They hadn’t.

Remembering how hard Cheltenham is again. That means not bothering with the life-changing Super Heinz or chucking a few quid at the Jackpot like you did on Tuesday. Much more conservative aspirations that you’d settle for a place in the Coral Cup. Everything to play for today, let battle commence.

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1:20 – Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (Registered As The Baring Bingham) (Grade 1)

‘Inlike’ Flynn gave me some info to kick off with, a bet of £20,000 double, Monkfish 1/3 & Chacun Pour Soi at 4/5 to kick the day off nicely. That was dwarfed by a bet of £350,000 at 7/4 Bob Olinger. I might be biased but that’s a fair bet to lay.

A loss of £612,500 in the opening race is a very nasty position to be in, especially when the firm had no hope from a long way out, the winner was going that well. Quite rightly accolades were pouring in for winning jockey Rachael Blackmore but Henry De Bromhead’s gelding won so easily Lofty could have ridden it to victory.

📈 Toby from Star Spreads wasn’t all that chuffed either, he told me ‘Our worst result, favourites index buyers off to the ideal start with Monkfish to come, elaborating for people like me who are clueless about spread betting, ‘ Favourites index, is favourite performance over the meeting, whatever horse goes off SP fav, gets 25 points for win, 10 for second, 5 for 3rd, they’ve bought at 87 and then we have someone buying on the meeting at 264 buyers of Monkfish here too, so it’s a double blow if he wins’.

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1:55 – Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (Registered As The Broadway Novices’ Chase) (Grade 1)

A double blow it was then. Anyone who lumped on Monkfish would have had their money’s worth in the excitement stakes, but the gelding still won nicely in the end. Two bets were struck which would usually be described as lumpy, £10,000 – £35,000 and £10,000 – £40,000 landed but appeared modest compared to the first race, and just as well. What would have hurt the office boys harder, despite the losses lesser, would have been the place part of two £33,000 – £1000 each-way bets the runner-up Fiddlerontheroof. That’s the double bump. Flynn also added that Monkfish was ‘In every multiple going.’ At least there was hope of a result in Coral Cup where the punters make the book.

📈 There was no news from Toby.

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2:30 – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3)

Flynn was happy with the business, telling me just prior to the false start, ‘Good spread of business – nice competitive event.  Thomas Darby was popular with bets including £1500 each-way and £500 each-way both at 14/1, Botox Has £1500 each-way and £1000 each-way also at 14/1, Grand Roi £1500 each-way at 7/1 and £1000 each-way at 15/2 with Botox Has the big shortener.’ 33/1 winner Heaven Help Us was aptly named, some small respite for the one way traffic going the punters way so far.

📈 Toby over at Star Spreads was equally upbeat telling me, ‘We had buyers of Koshari, and Thomas Darby so was a great great result for us across the board, fortunately nobody backed the winner , otherwise would have been paid out at 83 instead of 50’

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3:05 – Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)

Some of the shine was lost from the Queen Mother when Politologue was a late withdrawal. More of a worry was that the monster backers appeared to have snapped the elastic band around the winnings. If they didn’t wade in again then it was going to be a long road back after the first. Flynn’s message was ‘Chacun Pour Soi the only loser in the book, we laid £4000 – £6000 and £2400 – £3300 plus lots of £200 bets and included in a lot of multiple adding Rouge Vif is a winner in the book but we have laid £1500 each-way at 22/1.

17/2 winner Put The Kettle On was an excellent result with the 8/13 favourite back in third. It was a familiar story though, just the luck of the bookmakers that the monster bets aren’t struck when the short ones get beaten. Still, another winning race was no doubt welcome.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads was also happy telling me that it was top result for the distance and favourites index adding that it was ‘one for us’.

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3:40 – Glenfarclas Chase (Cross Country Chase) (GBB Race) (Class 2)

Next up the race where the racecourse staff got to have an ablution break and the perennial joke is that they go around and around and around until the favourite wins. There was more interest here because of Tiger Roll’s participation having already been ruled out of the Grand National.

Flynn’s message was that Easysland was the only loser in the book, stakes were small but plentiful. Tiger Roll absolutely bolted up. It was great to see but would I be the only one who felt gutted too. Imagine the excitement now had the horse been going to the Grand National with a real chance of winning it again and creating history. It feels like racing has really been deprived something that could have been so special.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads was happy with the result too, adding that it was good to have a couple in a row go their way.

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4:15 – Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Grade 3)

Betting was lively in the penultimate. Bets included £50,000 – £2000 each-way Amoola Gold. £35,000 – £2500 each-way Not That Fuisse with Us And Them described as a big loser with a bet of £10,000 each-way at SP.

The SP of the winner Sky Pirate was 14/1 and a cop in the book with none of the aforementioned in the frame. A bit more clawed back with the absence of any huge bets.

📈 Three decent results in a row was the message from Toby over at Star Spreads.

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4:50 – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1)

The concluding bumper saw early bets at both extremes in the market. A punter waded in with £20,000 at 6/5 the jolly Kilcruit and another with £750 each-way 100/1 chance Jack’s A Legend. The guys in the virtual office just needed to tap away to bet up to those two.

📈 Toby was a little meh as they lined up for the last telling me, ‘Nothing really to report in the final it’s been a slow end to the day, we could do with Kilcruit being overturned to stop the favourites index copping, but otherwise an OK day’.

Flynn’s update as they set off was that Kilcruit the only loser having laid further bets of £6000 – £5000 and £2200 – £2000.

Sir Gerhard winning at 85/40 could well have been a loser in the book but wasn’t – so thankful for small mercies. Toby would have cheered up a bit getting the jolly beaten. The day was effectively over after the first for the office when the big hitter hit big then appeared to put the elastic band around it. Let’s hope it was to keep their powder dry and they wade in again tomorrow. Flynn chose cricket and boxing metaphors to sum up the day’s business, concluding ‘It’s been an overall tough day, we were knocked for six early doors and never recovered, we hit the the canvas for the first time this week and will need a couple of 10-8 rounds to claw it back.

Two days in and the punters are getting the money, it’s not over yet though, here’s to Gold Cup Day, sorry, Thursday!

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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