Excruciating pain from watching Frankie in the first, come 5th at 20/1 in a bunch finish, the first five covered by no more than 1¼l and well done the BHA handicapping team. I had the next winner on the shortlist and swerved it; the Voltigeur we didn’t bet, thank the Lord, as I would have…
York Ebor meeting Day 1
One of our brethren contacted me to say he was struggling to [a] send me an email and [b] understand my apparent support for Patrick Deenan’s definition of modern liberalism. I think I have repaired one of them, but I am also aware that I might have strayed from the path of simplicity, (aka tipping,…
Saturday 17th August TV Racing Tips
What Ho A generally quiet week behind me, but with many flurries on the political front. I have launched a petition, which might, inshallah, gain some traction. It simply asks that MPs who cross the floor or who lose their party’s whip because they have been bounders, rotters, cads, crooks, scoundrels or charlatans, face an…
The Diary
Only this time last week, I was recovering from being at Goodwood for four days and trying to find a winner on Saturday. Same-o same-o. The next day a drinks party, where I was told of a girl in Hungerford, who is a tailor. As I am in need, following the significant disruption to the…
Saturday’s Tips 10th Aug
The Shergar Cup provided me with a great deal of work, having handled the PR for Bluesq.com back in the day. We first dug them out of the disaster that was the first event at Goodwood, when ti was administrated by the great sports agency IMG. Had it been a Golf or Tennis event, they…
A funny thing didn’t happen on the way to work today.
I recently saw a Chinese factory owner say to the TV camera that two years ago, he employed 3400 Chinese from the local town. He recently installed two robots, has now doubled output and employs 800 workers. He will have paid off the investment within 18 months. A little later, another Chinaman, sitting astride a…
Midweek Tips – PMA
A Positive Mental Attitude is what is required as we try to recover from Goodwood, which was by no menas all bad, but actually lleft me physically drained. I spent yesterday with an eye-guy who confirmed that surgery is needed, if I am to avoid picking the wrong numbers off racecards when predicting £250+ winning…
Goodwood – The Facts
At lunchtime today, I met one of Raceweb’s subscribers, the ever fragrant Ms C. She suggested that – given my tips – I must have lost zillions. Thus for curiosity’s sake, (and to wipe out this foul slur), I wanted to evaluate Raceweb’s actual P&L after 35 races. Let’s face it, Goodwood provides more fun than…
As promised – a Courgette Salad to take up the bounty
I don’t seem to know anyone who doesn’t produce courgettes. You can quickly end up with a veg-basket of rotting marrow as you desperately try to find things to do with them. Even people in London seem to turn up with them, pickled, jammed, or just whole. So, what to do? I recently discovered Pul…
Goodwood Day 5
The entire Raceweb team has returned to the bosom of the Chateau d’If, and while Sidlesham, Bosham. Dell Quay, Lavant and Glorious Goodwood, have many siren calls, the weary traveller is always pleased to sleep in his own bed, bathe in his own marble bath and to have some eggs and bacon once more in…
Goodwood Day 4
1:50: BEYOND REASON was a decent G2 juvenile winner and she patent;y needed the run at Sandown for her seasonal debut. She meets all the trends and 25/1 is way too big, IF she has retained an interest. JUBILOSO has been trickier to place I suspect than Stouty first thought. A C3 AWT at Chelmsford, followed…
Goodwood Day 3
1:50: Historically, you can always dump a few runners in this race by avoiding, fillies, claimers and headgear… much like life .ALMANIA caught my eye at Ascot, but for me I;m going to have a go at THE TRADER, e/w who meets all the trends.. SINJAARI is high on my ratings.The King George V was…
Goodwood Day 2
Sorry folks, Trying to get the monty to you away from my desk is quite tricky, so forgive the lack of explanatory notes. 1:50: MANCINI or LIL ROCKERFELLER
Goodwood Day 1
No time for idle chit chat and fascinating insights into a delicious Courgette Salad, I recently had. (Oh alright if I have the time, I’ll post it up somewhere) 13:50 Unibet Handicap (4yo+, Class 2, 1m 1f 197y, 18 runners) The trends for this race are pretty strong, and I have narrowed it down to…
Goodwood coming,
The ability to catch a small steamer from Windsor Town station to the riverside racecourse, is a charming and must-do start to a pleasant evening at the course. Taking a boat to go racing however, isn’t the only quirk at Windsor, This still time-trapped track, has various idiosyncracies that allow one to make improved predictions…
Lies, damn lies and The Tissue
So near and yet so far. The poor old Tissue, gave one of our travelling bretheren a sensible forecast, but didn’t back it himself; highlighted just one trainer with some 10% of the runners in a field of 30 odd, and who produced a magnificent first and third – but suggested the loser! Overall he…
Saturday’s Tips
Having been to the theatre again last night, back to The Bodleian, to see The Globe’s “Comedy of Errors” touring production, I was wide awake at 11:30 pm on what was still a dry night. I did the form for today, retired and awoke to find course inspections changing everything. Curses! Not only has this…
Favourites? No, not really
From my small selection yesterday, each carefully researched and selected, we achieved the following results. Apologies. Too many of them were perhaps affected by the heat. 14:50 Sandown Space Walk 3rd 11/8 – 16:15 Yarmouth Tone The Barone 2nd 11/8 – 19:05 Newbury Incredulous 2nd 5/2 – 19:55 Doncaster Lucky Number 3rd 15/8 – 20:10…
Scarred and demoralised
Sorry about Saturday. I wish I could say we came close, but we were undone by the heat, horses, tipster, jockeys, distance, weather, lack of lump wood charcoal and a very rickety email system that only appears to work intermittently. In brief, we suggested: FOX CHAIRMAN who won at Newbury at 8/13. I did say…
Racing Tips for Saturday
I am sadly unable to go to Newbury and see Tom Jones post-racing today. I just feel as though TJ’s voice is now better-heard in some New Orleans blues bar, sitting at a table with a beer, Katherine Hepburn and Jools Holland, rather than surrounded by Doris’ Hen Night and some leery lads, in the…
The Open already providing plenty of heartache.
The one thing we should have known, as sensible sporting people, was that Rory McIlroy could no more win The Open than Ayatollah Khamenei. The intense pressure of being an Ulsterman, on an Ulster Course, in a tournament that he and his fellow Ulstermen had worked hard to have held in Ulster was always going…
Well Done Henrietta
It is a recognised fact in the QI Book of Who Knew that tipping your horse is the kiss of death. What is less well-known is that tipping your wife’s horse – which then loses – results ultimately in the kiss of death but only after the administration of the exquisitely painful, Death By A…
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
It has all been said, and it has all been gone over, but for what it is worth, here is my tuppence-worth, on the most exceptional days sport ever witnessed. I had on Saturday decided to lose a packet on X-Court sets in the Ladies Final. Essentially I reasoned this was going to be close….
No more Big Mac and that’s a crying shame.
There is a tale told in Channel 4’s corridors of power, that the reason behind John McCririck’s removal from C4 racing, was that he had upset the “right-on”, liberal, feminist, wife of a senior C4 executive and that she had simply demanded that her husband, if he knew what was good for him, have him…
Moving swiftly on, or not in some cases
Perhaps the least said about yesterday the better. EXCITING DAYS needs further, different ground, retraining, cutting and then sold to Turkey. BARTHOLOMEW J suffered from a race in which pace was at a premium. He started to make a move 4f out, but he wasn’t picking up in what turned out to be a tight-packed…
A trio for 4th July
By no means a complete waste of time yesterday. I had a small Trixie on yesterday’s selections, (as shown on the slip), and cashed out after the first two came home. This relatively new offering from many bookmakers of a cash-out on multi-bets doesn’t often make financial sense, but in the case of a Trixie…
Three Tips for 3rd July Tips
7:40 Bath Willie Haggas’ LISTEN TO THE WIND is going to be hard to beat, he’s odds on, but please think on this. If a horse is 8/15 on and having placed your stake at 7:38 pm and at 7:43 pm you received a profit of 66% would you carp? Why? That is a 66%…
At last – Boeuf Bourguignon the way it should be
Raymond Blanc is a little French genius. He deserves to be made Duke of Burgundy although I suspect it would require the restoration of the House of Bourbon. He marked my card in a little video which can be found here…. ….and which has the worst transcription of any recipe ever made. However, carefully listening…
Well Done Ladies
Apart from being outplayed and out manoevred by an extraordinarily tough team, England Women played a blinder. OK they focused far too much on a narrow ten metre strip down the right wing. OK, England’s keeper was playing as though she had lost the use of her hands and seemed incapable of clearing a ball…