Race reviews

Hopefully things are feeling reasonably good from where you guys are sitting…

Today was the third consecutive tipping day in which we’ve had a winner –and the P&L chugs forward by a couple more points. All very nice, I guess…

I just wish it felt as comfortable where I am sat ! I’ve never really been one for backing short priced horses (and when I say short priced, I mean anything in single figures !), so with me tipping 3 or 4 of them a day, I feel a real weight of expectation.

I know that if the service is to be sustainable, this is the way I have to operate.

I’m pretty confident I can judge the pre-race merits of a horse, be it a 20/1 shot or a 2/1 shot – it’s just that, maybe somewhat bizarrely, I feel more comfortable with the former –as there is never the weight of expectation that it will actually win !!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings – I just want to get that off my chest  !!

3 Mainline tips today – plus the early bird tip from last night…

First up was Vino Griego – who I honestly think blew his chance of becoming my ‘cliff’ horse !

Put simply, he should have won today –and he didn’t want to. That’s no good to me – or to anyone else that wants to back him.

The race panned out perfectly for him, he came there cruising at the third last- and then decided he couldn’t be bothered.

I’ll just be watching him from now onwards…

Next it was Realt Dubh, who was almost as disappointing !

Held up by Carberry (not that he had much choice with Flemenstar blazing a trail !) he proceeded to try and take the fifth last fence home with him –and that was that.

If I’m honest, I don’t think he was ever going to win today –and it looked to me as if he was still feeling the effects of his hard race last weekend.

That is a coupe of times I’ve come unstuck with horses that have had recent tough races – it won’t happen again…

Next came the early bird tip, Stow…

When I issued the tip last night, he was 14/1 with B365 – and 12/1 with Ladbrokes. I knew those prices were too big – in my book, he was a 7/1 shot.

However, never did I imagine that he could go off at 5/2. To put it bluntly, that was ridiculous !
In fairness, he looked like rewarding his followers as he was going best entering the home straight (he traded odds on in-running). However, he tired on the run to the second last and eventually finished fourth.

I suspect he will come on for the run (he normally does) and will be of interest again next time (provided we act quickly !).

Talking of which, I have so far only received 3 emails from people who said they managed to get on at any kind of a price last night.

I am hoping that most of you just haven’t got round to contacting me yet –because if only 3 did mange to back him, I need to be looking carefully at the early bird aspect of the service…

The final tip to run was Leaps and Bounds –and fortunately she (or her jockey Tom Scudamore) had read the script…

They took up the running at flag fall and were never headed.

Numbercruncher was the only horse that ever really looked like threatening her- but when Tom asked for extra effort from the second last, she soon had him in trouble.

An unopposed front runner, who can jump like she can, will always take some passing. If only the days previous tips had performed in the same way..!

Just a few quick comments on the other mentions from this morning…

Having sung his praises last Friday, I think Andy Lynch slightly mis-judged things on Voler La Vadette this afternoon. He left her a very long way out of her ground – and unfortunately for him Whatuthink kept on galloping…

I’m sure that Voler la Vadette will improve for the outing and demonstrate herself just as good this season as she has been the past few – but today was one that got away…

Finally at Market Rasen, Barrakilla did indeed see off Mr Watson – and the rest of the field, to record an impressive victory.

You wouldn’t have got rich backing him (he was returned at 2/1) – but I still wish I had tipped him rather than Realt Dubh ;)

Tomorrow looks like a quite day – but I’ll get an email out early evening saying if there will be any tips…

TVB.