A Quiet Week.
A little extra this week as I was stranded in Newmarket iPadless and I can tell you it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Friday 31st. I not sure how long we said our fair wells and waved goodbye to Stu, but it must of been very late, as very unusually for me I didn’t wake from my drunken slumber until 8-30am. Typically it’s an early 12-30 start at Newmarket today so I need to be on my toes and leave home at 11ish.
Just before I leave I am told that APACHE STORM, ridden by another new kiddie on the block Cam Hardie is expected to run a huge race, I back him ew at 4-1, even though with only seven runners I get paid first two and advise likewise.
I have arranged to meet my father and get a lift up with him, but as I am running late, I decide to drive in park up and arrange to meet him near the clock tower.
We arrive to a sparse crowd and still a non drinking Mr Bailey, which suits me as I am hanging badly. GOLDENCENTS is my second ANDY BELLs bet of the day and I am told to go in maximum, which I do and also advise.
A stewards inquiry erupts in the owners and trainers bar as part of the attendance wants to watch a race on ATR, amazingly this is frowned upon and not allowed as it’s an advertising channel and without the barmaid turning a blind eye, it wouldn’t of been allowed. Newmarket with it’s antiquated TV screens, of like I haven’t seen since my Grandmother upgraded hers, poor viewing facilities and bottled beer that equates to nearly a tenner a pint are probably wondering why the HQ of racing, yes the HQ, has a sparse crowd, well easy, don’t pay somebody a vast sum to come in and sort it, just ask or look at the likes of York, Ascot, Doncaster or even a lower grade track such as Leicester and ther lies your answers.
APACHE STORM in my opinion is always going half a stride to fast and finishes an annoying third, I could see the logic of using his stamina in front, but I think he needs another furlong now.
We leave the penultimate meeting at the Rowley mile for the year unfortunately losing and head into town for a few beers to watch, with luck, The Canaries win on sky and hopefully cheer our maximum bet GOLDENCENTS at 11/10 home across the pond.
As Norwich don’t kick off until 7-45pm we have time for a nice Thai meal, before heading into the Bull on the high street. It’s buzzing in there and everyone are in party mood, apart from the Grumbling Don, who is sitting in the far corner, I had forgotten it was Halloween and we have a lot of great fancy dress costumes on show.
Norwich win 2-1, but their performance is overshadowed by the game blonde bird from behind the bar, who picked the Grumbling Don in third place for his Halloween fancy dress, I wish we had our camera as the sheer look of shock horror and embarrassment, as he wasn’t even dressed up for Halloween hehehehe, ok, hands up, it did take us a bottle of bubbly to get into her ribs, but boy it was worth every penny.
GOLDENCENTS overshadows even blonde to put in the performance of the night and lands us a maximum bet by virtually leading all the way in a brilliant time.
Not long after the GOLDENCENTS race we head for The Heathcourt hotel as another busy day beckons tomorrow.
Saturday 1st. We finish the month in second place with just under 80 points profit, so in all a very satisfactory months work.
With all the slates wiped clean, there’s no time to settle or sit on our laurels. At least it’s not going to be a great rush today as I am only a five minutes in a taxi away from the course.
Saturday as we all know is free tip day and I am very excited when SIGN OF VICTORY of Nicky Henderson’s comes through as a very strong bet. I get Smudger and Tom to get me the 2/1 on show, I also put him up as my free Saturday tip and I email him out to my ANDY BELLs clients as another maximum bet.
MUTAKAYYEF looks to have been given another chance to win and the Dr Newland stable thinks that ARDKILLY WITNESS at 8/1 is a great ew bet.
With all my selections complete it’s a quick shower, change and up to the Rowley mile for its final day of 2014.
Once again for the last day of the season the Rowley isn’t very busy at all. As I only have one bet here I can enjoy the day and watch to see if we have any potential 3 year olds on show.
Another maximum bet landed and also our free tip of the day SIGN OF VICTORY bolts up and to the eye looked very impressive and was backed up by an absolutely fantastic time, 6 seconds above standard in good to soft ground, surely on that showing, if Nicky Henderson decides to give him a chance against his stablemate VANITEUX, he will go very close in the Greatwood hurdle at the Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham later this month. Even with the likes of ROCK ON RUBY, IRVINE and stablemate VANITEUX, he will probably be hoping for favourtism, which of the two Barry Gearathy decides to ride will be a major factor in the betting.
ARDKILLY WITNESS looks as if he needs slightly further and finishes mid pack and MUTAKAYYEFF is firmly put in his place by a very impressive AIR PILOT, surely on that showing, if he hadn’t of missed the cut for the Cambridgeshire (by one) on that showing he would of gone very close, given a high draw obviously.
So the last days racing of the year has resulted in a small profit for the day and the start of another month.
NOTEBOOK: 16th Nov Cheltenham The Greatwood Hurdle, SIGN OF VICTORY.
Sunday 2nd. A very poor days racing and we are going to take a leaf out of Simon Holden’s book and keep our hands firmly in our pockets.
Monday 3rd. I didn’t go out for Sunday lunch or even watch a single race yesterday and to be honest I didn’t miss either a bit.
I wasn’t concerned about having a no bet day yesterday as I knew we had two big bets coming today. BERTIES DESIRE is trading at 2/1 and all close to him think he is going to win. I get on at the 2s and email out that all my clients do likewise.
The Harry Fry PRESENTING ARMS at 11/10 is hopefully going to be our third winning maximum on the trot. In reality I have far to much on him and I am sure that if I was actually counting out the green stuff I wouldn’t be having half as much on. It’s far too easy to get bets on now and when we are just touching buttons or sending texts as I do we have to be careful that the money doesn’t actually lose its real value.
Anyway with my days bets complete I can have a look at the runners in tonight’s or rather tomorrow mornings Melbourne cup and see if we can find anything, highly unlikely, but I will try.
Our first bet BERTIES DESIRE doesn’t have his chance to get the heart pumping as the constant rain at Kempton scuppers any chance we had and thankfully he is pulled out and is a non runner.
PRESENTING ARMS is always sitting pretty and rounding the final bend I am wishing I had much more on him than I did, but that hindsight thing again, he jumps the last and wins going away, as we were rightly told he would.
A nice winning day, I know it’s slowly, slowly so far this month, lets just let things settle down a shade before we start steaming in. We have plenty coming up, the November handicap at Doncaster this weekend and than one of my favourite jumps meetings of the year The Paddy Power at Cheltenham and if that’s not enough the Betfair Chase at Haydock and then finishing the month if your up north with the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle or the Hennessey Gold cup at Newbury for all us Southerners.
Tuesday 4th. It was nice to land our fourth maximum on the trot yesterday and I know we have got another at Fakenham Thursday, unfortunately because of the owner, trainer combination I’m not expecting a big price, but I have just been told that this 4 year old gelding is expected to win on his way to bigger and better things.
We have to concentrate on today first though. KINGS TEMPEST who won for the Twiston-Davies team first time out has changed stables, but the same owner so there must of been an in camp stewards inquiry and now runs for Warren Greatrex. He is a cracking ew bet to nothing at 9-2 and could well win in a difficult looking little race.
Finally I email out NORFOLK SOUND who runs tonight at Kempton and his stable thinks he has been given the perfect opportunity to break his maiden and I bet and email him out at 9/4.
That man Tony McCoy gets every ounce out of the not so willing JOLLYALLA who tried to stop after the last and beats us on the run in. For a man that gets so many winners, for the life of me I can’t get him right and when I’m against him he always seem to do me.
If that is the best NORFOLK SKY can do he needs to ply his trade on the beach at Brighton, for the stable to have been so confident surely there must of been something gone a miss, one to watch next time.
A loss on the day, fortunately it will still leave us in profit for the month, which is my main aim.
Wednesday 5th. I have an early morning at Newmarket and things don’t seem quite so glamorous at 6am when it’s pouring with rain and cold.
Once again we are going to have a no bet day, but two good pieces of news we should have one coming up to back on the AW very soon which will be a working mans price and a maximum I mentioned earlier in the week which is defiantly happening tomorrow.
Thursday 6th. Mr Jolly is up for Fakenham today, which is his first day out racing for three months since his stroke. I’m a little apprehensive to be honest in case he’s doing things too quick, only time will tell, if he wants to go I will take him, always.
As I was promised on Tuesday our maximum bet at Fakenham has come through nice and early, although my worst fears were vindicated although even I didn’t think that JACK FROST would be so short. As I say in my email a winner is a winner and suggest taking the 4/5.
I also advise a lay as I don’t think after a year off coupled with the poor homework reports BROXBOURNE is an odds on shot.
As I arrive at Mr Jollys to pick him up, I am pleasantly surprised to see how well he is and is in the process of phoning his bets through to Paddy Power, I shout JACK FROST in the last to him and he surprises me by putting a Nifty (fifty) on it, although he does look at me and frown a shade when they give him the price.
Mr Jolly gets the first winner at 10/1 so that will keep him warm for a while.
BROXBOURNE leaves his shabby jumping at home and pings every fence and soon has the very well fancied Caroline Bailey charge at it and our only hope is the good traveling WILD BILL, our chances of turning over the fav goes when WILD BILL either loses his footing or collides with the rail on the top bend and loses six lengths, he does run on but never really challenges the favourite and finishes a fast closing second.
Poor old Mr Jolly has had enough two races before the end so I load him and his powered chair up and we leave. I have had a swing on HRH’s JACK FROST so he may get bit of a roller coaster ride homewards as I want to be in a bookies to watch him run and it’s touch and go.
Luckily he dozes off or he has his eyes closed as we just make Ladbrokes and watch JACK FROST win very nicely, so a lovely finish to what is hopefully not Mr Jolly’s swan song.
Friday 7th. Another maximum landed yesterday and that’s five on the trot now, pity we haven’t had anything juicy to go with them, because at these prices we will never retire, but as I said in my email to my clients a winner is a winner and bearing in mind nearly two out of three shorties get beaten.
I meet the Fixer (Owen) for breakfast this morning and he rolls his eyes when mine consists of a green tea and a bottle of water. He tells me that he and hopefully we will have a big aw bet next week which I will defiantly be punting and I will certainly pass it on to my clients as well. It seems to be another poor days racing, I know what you’re saying there’s a winner in every race, the problem is the poorer the grade, as a norm, the harder it is to find a winner and coupled with these ever changing weather conditions it becomes even more difficult.
Incidentally who was the clerk of the course at Fakenham trying to kid yesterday with another unbelievably inaccurate going report. He started the day off as good, I think he must of picked up his croquet stick from the shed instead of his state of the art walking stick as the times suggested (over 30 seconds slow) it was very soft, shocking misleading report again.
ROCK THE KASBAH is trading at a ridiculously short price and I am told that the way it has been campaigned to ensure he doesn’t carry a penalty is even more enticing. At 4/7 we can just nick a few easy points, I also try my arm as I’m told that the ARTFUL DODGER has been showing signs of improvement at home so I take a chance he might sneak a second and advise a minimal straight forecast.
ROYAL MOLL is having her first run in this country for Warren Greatrex since leaving Willie Mullins in Ireland. The conditions shouldn’t present her with a problem today as she has won on soft and heavy last year. I am told that we need to take the early price as she will be well punted by the new owners.
Finally on what I thought was going to be a very quiet day I think that MASON HINDMARSH is far to bigger price and looks a cracking ew bet at 7/1.
As I’m bang in the middle of a detox, as breakfast this morning told the story and have no plans to take the boys up on their offer of an afternoon in Weatherspoon’s, so I decide to go and see my father and watch the racing for the afternoon.
We watch ROCK THE KASBAH as he only needs to be pushed out by James Best to win by an easy three lengths with the third back another 10 lengths and chancing my arm that ARTFUL DODGERS back problem had been sorted was a bridge to far as he trailed in 5th, although he did beat four home so it was an improvement.
ROYAL MOLL battles all the way from three out and looks like the winner and trades really short on the exchanges only to completely miss the last fence and get caught bang on the line. Our day almost finishes on a high as MASON HINDMARSH takes it up four out and is going very strongly until he is also caught and passed by virtually the outsider of the field and we post another second.
I think we were very unlucky not to record another winning day, a first and two very annoying seconds gave us a small loss.
I am catching the 8-10 to Doncaster tomorrow and anybody that are not already members need to join as already this evening I have three very big bets sorted.
Saturday 8th. I catch the 8-10 as planned and hopefully we can smash the last day of the flat proper at Doncaster. Next week is going to be huge as we have the Paddy Power meet and I can’t wait, I have already given you a little tastier earlier in my diary and hopefully we can smash it and make loads of profit as we did last year. Lets hope our free tip wins today as easily as last weeks did.
Free tip: 4:05 Doncaster MELVIN THE GRATE 7/1 Paddy Power Each Way Bet 4 Places.
We have been treading water at the start of this month as the racing has been pretty dire, luckily we have held our own and are showing a profit.
I’m not concerned as I mentioned earlier we have some fantastic racing coming up and this is when we make our juicy jumping profits, as we did last year, November showed us nearly 87 points profit and December made just over the magic 100 points profit (for a soppy tenner a point that’s over 1800 quid profit) so it was a joyous Christmas for all my clients, hopefully I can do it again this year to the Greedy 1s disgust and detriment. If you’re not a member and need an extra few tax free quid maybe this is the place to be on past records suggest anyway, but who knows we can only try our best and if that’s not good enough, keep doing the lottery at a zillion to 1.
Incidentally if any of you are around I am at Huntingdon, and Cheltenham next week.
Be good, be safe and as my Grandmother used to tell me : If you’re going to do something tonight that you’ll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.
And always remember NEVER, NEVER, never get caught.
Back next Saurday.
Andy Bell
http://go.betfan.com/1000/258
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