BET NOW

HORSE RACING

20 March, 2022

AUTHOR: davidstewart

SIMON NOTT BETTING REPORT: Cheltenham Friday

Who’d have thought it after Wednesday’s disastrous results and drenching? Star Sports are going into Gold Cup Day, bathed in sunshine, almost shirt sleeve order and in front on the week. There’s no better way to go into, arguably, the biggest betting day of the year than that.

The firm were hoping to kick on from yesterday’s massive turnaround in both weather and results, the weather today’s a given, the results would depend on what the Gambling Gods had to throw at the bookies.

📈 Toby Rose from Star Spreads was on to me bright and early, telling me: “It’s our busiest morning so far. The distances have been popular this year, and they continue today…but more on that later.

“It seems everyone wants to be on Pied Piper. We’ve also smaller losers in Knight Salute and Porticello.”

He also added: “Would have been a backer of Red strides today. Good choice!” He’s obviously a man of impeccable taste.

1:30 – JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO only) 2m 1f

Betting was brisk on the opener a good hour before off time. The two bets of note early were on the same horse, bets of £10,000 – £700 (14/1) and £10,000 – £800 (12/1) struck on Porticello.

Bets from the office were coming in thick and fast. £120,000 Vauban at 13/8, earlier bets of £25,000 and £12,000 at 15/8, there was also a bet £4,000 each-way Teddy Blue at 33/1. Meanwhile, on course, the computer crashed in the heat of the betting; not ideal but RDT were soon on the case.

The on course book was back up and running in no time. Meanwhile, Ed Dark in the office reported a bet of £20,000 at 10/3 Pied Piper.

Vauban winning was a terrible result, but there is always a bright side. The computer glitch probably saved the firm a nice few quid, the jolly was a winner for £89 in the on-course book.

2:10 – McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 2m 1f

The County Hurdle was for several years the difficult to solve ‘shit or bust getting out stakes’ of the meeting, though I don’t suppose the fun police would allow such a race moniker these days. It’s still as hard on paper, but buoyed by a first winning favourite and clutching fist fulls of bookies’ money, the punters were keen to steam in and bet like heroes.

Heroes keeping their powder dry as it turned out. Plenty of bets in smallish stakes. Ben was doing what bookies do well, having a bit of a moan up while Kyle and Flynn looked straight ahead, tapping away, which is the best way in such circumstances. The ammo wasn’t so arid in the office with Ed Dark reporting a bet of £160,000 – £10,000 each-way Broomfield Burg.

At the off, the field money totalled just over £5,500 in what was a raggedy book. State Man was 3/1 everywhere, 10/3 and even 7/2 in places at the off. It was difficult to lay and was actually winning £103 in a book peppered with plenty of losers in all price ranges.

State Man won, the places weren’t great but not disastrous, the book lost a couple of hundred quid over another jolly. The winner returned 11/4. Come racing.

📈 Toby Rose was a happy man, he beamed: “Two races in, we’re very happy. We could do with a couple of bigger distances thrown in, but we’re 2-0 up on today’s races so far.”

2:50 – Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Spa Novices’ Hurdle) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4YO plus) 3m

Ed Dark reported an early bet of £28,000 at 9/4 Hillcrest in addition to a £10,000 – £4,000 laid earlier then topped off with a £50,000 – £25,000 all in the office. Then the monster came in £125,000 at 2/1.

Meanwhile, in the on-course book, it was Ginto that the punters wanted to be on. Despite a massive crowd and business brisk, it was lighter on course than previous days. Ben observed that the demographic appeared to be much younger and more likely to swipe to pay in normal life rather than pull up readies with which to bet.

At the off, Ginto was losing just over £3,000 and Hillcrest just under £700 in a £6,000 book.

📈 Toby Rose told me: “We’re looking to avoid Ramillies here any of the top two in the market would be fine, by a distance please!”

The Nice Guy winning at 18/1 proved a winner both on and off course, however the race itself was marred by the sad injury to Ginto.

3:30 – 🏆 Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 3m 2½f

Betting was hindered slightly by a gaggle of excitable lads shouting at each other at the top of their voices, poor old Inlike could hardly hear Ben call the bets.

Of all the places to talk bollocks at the top of their voices, a foot from Flynn’s ear was possibly the worst, of course they were oblivious. It was a relief when they decided which of their number ‘should get the ale’.

There was £15,000 in the hod as they lined up when a punter had two monkey reverse forecasts 1 and 3 and 1 and 11. As they were running Galvin lost £10,000, Chantry House £5,000 and A Plus Tard £2,000, anything else would do.

A Plus Tard was the ‘best’ loser in the book, but still no good. If there was going to be the chance of a good cash cop that was the race it was going to be in.

Sadly there are some bigger punters that don’t want any details of their bets disclosed. It appears one or more of these were on A Plus Tard to untold bundles, literally untold, even to me. All I can say is the colour drained from Ben’s face, he picked up his hat and coat, bid me farewell with a handshake and was gone.

📈 Toby at Star Spreads was in a much better mood, he messaged to say: “It’s a long way back for our punters today, even with three races to go. Lord Schnitzel our next bogey.”

4:10 – St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase (Class 2) (5YO plus) 3m 2½f

Taking the last gasp reverse forecasts into account the on-course book didn’t come to too much harm. With Ben gone Tony, Hannah and Co got to work on the next, the book was ticking along nicely when a bookmaker’s floorman came in for a bet of £10,000 – £1600 each-way Bob And Co, that’s 6/1 with fractions, then a punter had £2500 on the favourite Billaway right in the hole at 13/8. Ed Dark, in the previously tight-lipped office, told me that they’d also laid Bob And Co £9,500 each-way at 13/2.

Things went from bad to worse, 9/2 chance Winged Leader jumped the last clear and, despite being second favourite, was copping over £5,000 in the book. Kyle on the computer commented that the favourite might get up, despite jumping the last in third 10 lengths down.

That fine fellow should bet in running, the roar that went up from the crowd when Billaway got up on the line for an £8,000 turnaround in fortunes was a real rubdown for the bookies; unintentional but a rubdown nonetheless. As my old boss Ivor Perry said when they were clobbered at one Festival, ‘Today would be a good day to get mugged in the car park.’ With two races to go, that’s how it was shaping.

Punters who backed Winged Leader with Star must surely have been counting their winnings but they got some compensation with PIPPED which returned their stake up to £100 as the 9/2 runner-up was pipped – by a neck.

4:50 – Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase (Registered As The Liberthine Mares’ Chase) (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (5YO plus) 2m 4½f

Time to regroup and get stuck into the last two races of the Festival. The office reported a bet of £25,000 on Mount Ida at 9/4 while Inlike Flynn laid a fellow bookmaker a hedge bet of £10,000 on Elimay at 9/4.

As they were running, a punter had another £10,000 on the same horse at the same price.

They were in a line jumping the last, but it had got to that stage, you just knew the bogie was going to get up. There were some seriously distraught looking bookmakers in the ring as the Elimay cheers rang out. Flynn is too cool a cookie to be distraught, but he was looking deep into the hod for enough readies to pay out.

There was no coming back on the meeting, probably not for anyone. Who knew backing horses was such an easy game!

📈 Toby Rose was on the winning side with Star Spreads, telling me: “On the whole, our day has gone well, and we’re in a good spot overall. We’d like to end on a winner, avoiding Chemical Energy and The Goffer, we can achieve that.”

5:30 – Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (GBB Race) (Class 2) (4YO plus) 2m 4½f

It was a demoralised betting run that priced up and started fielding money on the concluding race of the meeting. Just a little bit back would be handy.

Just when we thought it would be a coast through to going home time. Flynn laid a bet of £100,000 – £3000 each-way Party Business cash.

Our luck changed when Party Business finished fifth and out of the money behind the winner Banbridge. A small bit of luck gone the firms way in a very hard Festival. Please no mention of Cheltenham 2023 till next February.

Dave Jolly in the Star Sports office summed the meeting up, saying: “Fantastic four days of racing and especially our customers, most of the expected good things performed brilliantly, and on the odd occasion we got one beat, it was by the obvious alternative and we’d laid it.

“The first two days, left us a £2m mountain to climb, we saw a glimmer of hope on Thursday when things went our way, but then today, a five-timer for Willie Mullins, the Triumph Hurdle and Gold Cup both going to the favourite – all hope gone for this Festival.

“As ever this week, we looked to lay the big bets presented to us, we may have ended up battered, but we hold our heads high, celebrate the event, congratulate those who won and go again tomorrow.”

SIMON NOTT

Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

STAR PROMOTIONS

<</a