SIMON NOTT: Glorious Goodwood Day Three

SIMON NOTT: Reports from the Star Sports pitches at Glorious Goodwood on day three. The weather took a turn for the better. The results a turn for the worse.

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Glorious Goodwood Day 3

When the weather forecast includes 45mph winds, we’d normally be looking to the forthcoming day with trepidation but after yesterday no rain was all we needed to hear for it to be music to our ears albeit whistling through the flagpoles.

The Star Sports wind report….

THOUGHTS BEFORE RACING

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AND THEY’RE OFF…

Business on the opening Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap Stakes was brisk. We took plenty of modest bets with the final hold money totalling three times what it would have been yesterday, though that wasn’t saying a lot. Sadly a lot of those modest bets were for 8/1 winner Good Omen, people liked the name, but was badly monikered in our case – the worst in the book and a four-figure loser.

Betting was once again steady without being lumpy in the Markel Insurance Fillies Stakes. Business wasn’t helped by the favourite Endless Time proving hard to lay but it did come in for support late on but no big punters came near us. At the off Harlequeen was our bogie with the favourite just taking the book so not ideal.

Unless the jolly wins of course, we considered that a bullet dodged and made up for the first race.

Kyle and Lofty’s half-time report…

It was the same story in the Qatar Richmond Stakes, that is plenty of bets but most of them very modest. And then it started to rain. Nooooo Carol Kirkwood said it wouldn’t!

The office called to say Headway was the bogie with them but was a winner with us on course.

The winner Barraquero was no good for us on course but at least we got the office bogie beaten.

All eyes were on Winter in the Qatar Nassau Stakes. We were 11/10 early and took a single bet of £540 at the price then an even rouf (£400) so got the foundation for the book in what we expected to be a modest betting heat despite the short one. There didn’t seem to be a big punter to try and tempt in, but we were looking and hoping for one.

We added another grand at evens to the take. Then another near the off, Ben screaming evens with a phone to the office stuck to his ear, that call was to warn him we had Winter for ‘plenty’ in the office in addition to the four-figures in our book on course.

The sun came out just as Winter passed the post the clear winner. What a disaster, the first real reversal of the meeting for us but a very hefty one.

Betting was steady for the Telegraph Nursery Handicap Stakes but not to the sort of volume that would get us out on the day. The office had laid decent bets on Starlight Mystery and Tangled. The latter burst out of the front of the stalls and was withdrawn just before the off.

Then things went from bad to worse when the likely good result Cheeky Rascal was collared under the judge’s nose by jolly Billesdon Brook. Then ensued the unenviable task of explaining the 10p Rule 4 deduction due to Tangled’s withdrawal to every winning novice punter of which there where a few. At the least the rain had stopped.

It could have been a lot worse though, some intrepid Exchange players trying to scoop up the in-running money on the jolly laid at 999/1 when she looked beaten and hemmed in on the rail. It must be like snakes and ladders that game! There was another short one to try and get in the book in the Victoria Racing Club EBF British Stallion Studs Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (phew!) Roulette was 6/5 with us, we laid £2,000 and a couple of monkeys at the price then chased it out to wrist 5/4 briefly.

She then crashed into even money as they loaded into the stalls. Then led from start to finish, another disaster. Normal service had been resumed at Glorious Goodwood!

At least there was a steel band to play a sad lament to cheer us all going into the concluding Tatler Handicap Stakes.

It’s not often you see a 4/1 the field eight horse race but that’s how competitive this looked on paper. The best strategy was to let the punters find the winner.

Business was steady, at the off we had three of the eight losing us over a grand. As pure luck would have it the winner and 10/3 favourite Quench Dolly wasn’t one of them. That result gave us a bit back in a race where we could have done our cobblers. It had been a bad day but ended on a high note, at least on course. With two days to go we’re still in with a fighting chance of achieving a winning Glorious Goodwood.

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Simon Nott is author of Skint Mob!: Tales from the Betting Ring

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