Just thought I'd give everyone an update on things on the Betfair dispute (i.e. yours truly being harshly in my view banned for life from their forum). I should point out I'm not a raving Betdaq-ite though policies and dealings with people at Betfair have inevitably forced me that way over the last year or so.
I've happily offered olive branches to those at Betfair but for some reason they continue to prefer to be unreasonable and unapproachable which does seem pretty pathetic really given the standing of the company. Apparently if you infringe their forum rules they give you absolutely no room for resuming the status quo seemingly forever which seems draconian to say the least. I do believe everyone deserves a second chance and it only causes prolonged bad feeling. I really can't get inside these people's heads, they must be a different breed. But they lack the human touch for sure and in fact prefer to act like money hungry robots with pound signs in their eyes.
Anyhow I openly admit it was maybe a little infantile of myself to get so wound up about one or two of their policies I ended up saying the word "purple" a few times on their forum but no more so than their reaction to it, as they must have realised the introduction of the PC charging system in particular would cause some sort of furore.
Why victimise otherwise friendly and civilised folk for a mostly understandable reaction to something they stirred up in the first place. Of course they can do as they wish on their own forum but its sad they lack any empathy and person to person understanding and prefer to take the bully-boy or silent approach. Totally unnecessary and people don't forget it.
The hope is that when they have a turnover of staff the new incumbents will be somewhat more customer friendly than the current occupants, who seem to think we are still living in a Nazi state.
Not only that, but to simultaneously ban peoples relatives from the forum just because they are in some way kin to someone previously expunged seems to be totally prejudicied and discriminatory and not befitting of a global company who once seemed to be on the punters side. Somewhere along the line, it seems to have fallen into enemy hands and there is an under-current of greed and disregard for its patrons.
Indeed, my old Dad who seemingly got barred from the forum just because his surname is the same as mine, now has all his emails completely ignored with not even the courtesy of a reply.
I really don't know whats the matter with these people and I hope when I send a letter to the gambling press, it might stir them into some kind of answer as I do think by and large they have got off very lightly with some of their actions which for many people have left a nasty taste in the mouth.
On a lighter side, there is an excellent new snooker betting blog by my old mucker Snookerbacker at snookerbacker.com which is well worth a look and he does seem to make a consistent profit so hopefully you will come out of it alot richer too.
Good luck for now and keep the wins coming
Rick
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Friday, 31 July 2009
Blog on a sabbatical
I think I'm going to take a sabbatical from the blog for the time being as amongst other things, I've lost a bit of inspiration and of course I still need to catch up on the horse racing (as I've been saying for the last couple of years!!) plus I'm also getting around a few of the dog tracks, attended Sheffield last week and Perry Barr tonight each for the first time, so that leaves less time for the stay at home punting I'm afraid.
But its a bit dull being behind a computer screen all day so I feel its best to mix and match and get out there in the elements every now and again. Plus the football is starting too so will be out at a fair few of the Rams games on Saturdays from now on.
Anyhow its time to concentrate on the matters at hand so will maybe catch you later in the year or else on the Daq2Daq Forum, though dont worry, if Betfair announce an increase of their premium charge next month (a year on from its introduction) I will no doubt be back fairly pronto to voice my condemnation on here lol.
In the meantime good luck to anyone who's punting regularly and may the force be with you, keep it fun and hopefully you'll end up on the right side.
All the best for now
Rick
But its a bit dull being behind a computer screen all day so I feel its best to mix and match and get out there in the elements every now and again. Plus the football is starting too so will be out at a fair few of the Rams games on Saturdays from now on.
Anyhow its time to concentrate on the matters at hand so will maybe catch you later in the year or else on the Daq2Daq Forum, though dont worry, if Betfair announce an increase of their premium charge next month (a year on from its introduction) I will no doubt be back fairly pronto to voice my condemnation on here lol.
In the meantime good luck to anyone who's punting regularly and may the force be with you, keep it fun and hopefully you'll end up on the right side.
All the best for now
Rick
Monday, 20 July 2009
That "after the Lord Mayor's show" feeling
An inbetween sort of post this week, as I usually try to get the blog out around Friday or Saturday, so this might be the only one for the fortnight, thank goodness everyone says lol.
Yes I've definitely felt lacking in inspiration despite having a cracking punting week the one before last, perhaps its an "after the Lord Mayors Show" type of feel and its maybe easy to relate why some teams find it hard to lift themselves after a particularly impressive performance.
I'm also maybe feeling a bit melanchony as any sports you seem to win consistently on, the firms gradually make the slots where you put your money in smaller and smaller until you can hardly get anything on (I suppose understandably so in the circumstances). Though of course the ones you are no good at you can probably get a four figure sum lol.
Normally this is where the exchanges come in, who should be acting purely as a go between between interested parties, but nowadays of course Betfair seem to want to play bookmaker too, asking for a minimum 20% cut of any proceeds if you are a regular winner on top of the 3-5% commission that usually applies.
I still find it hard to believe they can target normal gamblers with this unforgiveable stance: more understandable if it was aimed at traders who are not taking big risks or people with an inbuilt advantage in the markets I suppose, but I really don't think its any of their business snooping around in my account and in effect stealing money out of it.
If this ever becomes the norm in exchange land I'll long remember the perpertrators thats for certain.
I suppose obstacles are there to be overcome and as quite a stats man its maybe feasible to operate a kind of break even strategy to go along with the bona fide money making account, perhaps running two separate strategies on one account to make sure you pay the 20% commission without anyone from Betfair putting their hand in your drawers.
Anyhow for the time being I'm at Betdaq and will see how it progresses, I just see a time when most of the business will have to be on the exchanges as the avenue of the bookies will be mostly closed off if we aspire to get where we want, fair enough theres always the option of visiting the big local shops in person though its not quite as convenient of course.
About the only result that didnt go my way the week before last was when old stager Jimmy White beat Barry Hawkins 8-6 in the Sangsom Six Red Grand Prix final in Thailand, which would have made me £625 if the result had gone the other way, and gambler that I am, I didnt lay off either as didnt see any value in the Whirlwind at evens.
Overall though perhaps my second best week ever in a couple of years, though a bit behind the one where the money from the 125/1 Walden windfall came in.
The last week has been pretty even, I lost a couple of my gaelic football outrights as Antrim and Galway lost out in their respective finals, the latter to an injury time point after staging a great comeback. Derry also bowed out of the All Ireland Championship qualifiers at Donegal in extra time.
That said, two or three of the match bets went my way so didnt do any damage.
The Sky dogs night at Sunderland saw Crown Rover land a 14/1 ante post punt in the Grand Prix but Droopys Bogart was knocked out of the Classic final so you win some and lose some.
Had got tickets for the Splendour in Nottingham show this weekend with headliners Madness the last on the bill but then found out one of my fave reggae bands of all time Third World were playing Derby Caribbean Carnival the same day for FREE!!
Strangely enough I then noticed they were due to play the Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham the same night (how many bands would do that!) which surely meant they were going to be on quite early in Derby.
So it probably meant a straight choice between Third World and The Pogues, who were understudies to Madness, and it was always no contest really. For a start I've always preferred the clean cut type of image so Shane McGowan's rotting teeth didnt greatly appeal really. I always remember refusing to buy Dexy's Midnight Runners "Come on Eileen" in the 80s mainly cos the band were all showing their hairy armpits on TOTP, even though I thought it one of the best sounds of the time.
I eventually relented about 20 years down the line though and bought their "Best of" when I decided there were worse things in life than seeing a few pubic hairs on TV!!
Anyhow I set out to do both Derby and Nottingham and it couldnt have dovetailed better. Third World did about forty minutes in Derby from 7.30-8.10 before somehow embarking on their trip to the capital (what dedication - they even had to make do without their bass player who was denied a visa for some reason).
I must say the reception to most of the bands didnt seem overly enthusiastic though I suppose most of the people there weren't hardcore fans of the acts themselves which makes a difference plus for the most part it was torrential rain too.
The highlights of the set were as you would expect the big hits "Now That We've Found Love" and the Stevie Wonder collaboration "Try Jah Love" though was a bit upset we didnt get to hear "Dancing on The Floor" which was the track that first got me interested in the band.
At least they said they may be back next year. A word for the compere too, he really put on a fantastically enthusiastic display, I'm sure he would have been quite watchable on his own for the entire evening given his all round repertoire of singing, dancing and comedic ability.
I then hotfooted it to Woollaton Park and after parking up outside and a very long walk down the driveway, arrived just in time to see Madness starting their set at 9pm in front of an unbelievably large crowd, one of the biggest I've seen at a pop concert.
All the classics were reeled off and my particular favourites were "Bed and Breakfast Man", "My Girl", "House of Fun", "Our House" and "It Must Be Love" to name but a few.
All the best for now
Rick
Yes I've definitely felt lacking in inspiration despite having a cracking punting week the one before last, perhaps its an "after the Lord Mayors Show" type of feel and its maybe easy to relate why some teams find it hard to lift themselves after a particularly impressive performance.
I'm also maybe feeling a bit melanchony as any sports you seem to win consistently on, the firms gradually make the slots where you put your money in smaller and smaller until you can hardly get anything on (I suppose understandably so in the circumstances). Though of course the ones you are no good at you can probably get a four figure sum lol.
Normally this is where the exchanges come in, who should be acting purely as a go between between interested parties, but nowadays of course Betfair seem to want to play bookmaker too, asking for a minimum 20% cut of any proceeds if you are a regular winner on top of the 3-5% commission that usually applies.
I still find it hard to believe they can target normal gamblers with this unforgiveable stance: more understandable if it was aimed at traders who are not taking big risks or people with an inbuilt advantage in the markets I suppose, but I really don't think its any of their business snooping around in my account and in effect stealing money out of it.
If this ever becomes the norm in exchange land I'll long remember the perpertrators thats for certain.
I suppose obstacles are there to be overcome and as quite a stats man its maybe feasible to operate a kind of break even strategy to go along with the bona fide money making account, perhaps running two separate strategies on one account to make sure you pay the 20% commission without anyone from Betfair putting their hand in your drawers.
Anyhow for the time being I'm at Betdaq and will see how it progresses, I just see a time when most of the business will have to be on the exchanges as the avenue of the bookies will be mostly closed off if we aspire to get where we want, fair enough theres always the option of visiting the big local shops in person though its not quite as convenient of course.
About the only result that didnt go my way the week before last was when old stager Jimmy White beat Barry Hawkins 8-6 in the Sangsom Six Red Grand Prix final in Thailand, which would have made me £625 if the result had gone the other way, and gambler that I am, I didnt lay off either as didnt see any value in the Whirlwind at evens.
Overall though perhaps my second best week ever in a couple of years, though a bit behind the one where the money from the 125/1 Walden windfall came in.
The last week has been pretty even, I lost a couple of my gaelic football outrights as Antrim and Galway lost out in their respective finals, the latter to an injury time point after staging a great comeback. Derry also bowed out of the All Ireland Championship qualifiers at Donegal in extra time.
That said, two or three of the match bets went my way so didnt do any damage.
The Sky dogs night at Sunderland saw Crown Rover land a 14/1 ante post punt in the Grand Prix but Droopys Bogart was knocked out of the Classic final so you win some and lose some.
Had got tickets for the Splendour in Nottingham show this weekend with headliners Madness the last on the bill but then found out one of my fave reggae bands of all time Third World were playing Derby Caribbean Carnival the same day for FREE!!
Strangely enough I then noticed they were due to play the Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham the same night (how many bands would do that!) which surely meant they were going to be on quite early in Derby.
So it probably meant a straight choice between Third World and The Pogues, who were understudies to Madness, and it was always no contest really. For a start I've always preferred the clean cut type of image so Shane McGowan's rotting teeth didnt greatly appeal really. I always remember refusing to buy Dexy's Midnight Runners "Come on Eileen" in the 80s mainly cos the band were all showing their hairy armpits on TOTP, even though I thought it one of the best sounds of the time.
I eventually relented about 20 years down the line though and bought their "Best of" when I decided there were worse things in life than seeing a few pubic hairs on TV!!
Anyhow I set out to do both Derby and Nottingham and it couldnt have dovetailed better. Third World did about forty minutes in Derby from 7.30-8.10 before somehow embarking on their trip to the capital (what dedication - they even had to make do without their bass player who was denied a visa for some reason).
I must say the reception to most of the bands didnt seem overly enthusiastic though I suppose most of the people there weren't hardcore fans of the acts themselves which makes a difference plus for the most part it was torrential rain too.
The highlights of the set were as you would expect the big hits "Now That We've Found Love" and the Stevie Wonder collaboration "Try Jah Love" though was a bit upset we didnt get to hear "Dancing on The Floor" which was the track that first got me interested in the band.
At least they said they may be back next year. A word for the compere too, he really put on a fantastically enthusiastic display, I'm sure he would have been quite watchable on his own for the entire evening given his all round repertoire of singing, dancing and comedic ability.
I then hotfooted it to Woollaton Park and after parking up outside and a very long walk down the driveway, arrived just in time to see Madness starting their set at 9pm in front of an unbelievably large crowd, one of the biggest I've seen at a pop concert.
All the classics were reeled off and my particular favourites were "Bed and Breakfast Man", "My Girl", "House of Fun", "Our House" and "It Must Be Love" to name but a few.
All the best for now
Rick
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Just time to say hello, wave goodbye!
An interesting and busy week, just squeezing the blog in between watching lots of live sport, again missed my Friday deadline but I have an excuse honest.
We've been having a new boiler in at home and so the workmen have been here at the crack of dawn turning the electricity on and off in between occasionally falling through the ceiling from the loft above (honest).
Well at least a whole leg was in view until the fall was broken by the refrigerator below!
Anyway will have to be a quick one today as I'm about to watch two of my outright picks Monaghan and Derry go head to head in half an hour which starts a back to back GAA marathon for around six hours of online coverage assuming I can get access to all the feeds.
I've also got a big interest in tomorrows matches with Dublin attempting to beat the improving Kildare in the Leinster final and Tipperary trying to justify favouritism against Waterford in the Munster hurling showdown.
Last weekend saw Cork (who I'd backed for the Munster football at 13/8 outright) fall over the line with a one point win over Limerick after being well adrift at one stage, and maybe they can thank the referee somewhat for the award of a slightly controversial penalty which kept them in touch early in the game when they couldnt find any rhythm at all. I'm glad I didn't take the 1/8 available on the day anyhow as there would have been more pleasant afternoons to be had!
In the match betting I claimed a winner through Wicklow who saw off the disappointing Fermanagh though the refs call rather went against me this time in my other pick when Monaghan conceded a highly dubious last minute late free to Armagh who forced the draw though ultimately losing out in extra time.
The aussie rules betting has picked up too lately and had a few more successes this morning. Carlton as they seem to do made hard work of landing the 3/10 against Richmond but always just held the upper hand while Essendon looked attractively priced on the road at Sydney and they justified support at 6/5 with a comfortable success.
Luckily I was just snooping around on a sports forum the other night and found that Geelong were likely to be missing several regulars for their match with Brisbane so armed with that info before most of the bookies I took the 33/10 that was available and also the 5/6 on the +20 handicap. Both were never in much doubt and it turned out the Cats had even more players missing than first thought, around half the team infact!
Most of that was down to the legacy of a bruising encounter with fellow Championship contenders St Kilda the week before, and I think I'll also take on Saints themselves in the handicap market with a long interstate journey to West Coast on the agenda tomorrow and being asked to give up 31.5 points. Not one I'm confident in, but the type of match where tiredness or an "after the lord mayors show" type of feeling may creep in.
It's been a pretty decent week on the snooker too, I seem to be doing better on these out of season events than I was actually doing all last year strangely enough.
I had a few Group bets in the Sangsom Six Red Grand Prix in Bangkok and landed three winners out of seven, though two of them were bigger stakes too so returned a modest overall profit.
John Higgins got off to a nightmare start with a 5-0 loss to unknown Pakistan cueist Mohammed Sajjad, but part of that was attributable to arriving late and having three frames docked. Eventually though he came through to head affairs by winning the rest of his games.
Shaun Murphy was always at the top in his section, and had already done enough by the time of a 5-1 loss to Nigel Bond in his last group game.
And Ryan Day also came up with the goods eventually with a 5-3 win over Supoj Saenla enough to see him narrowly overhaul Ken Doherty and Michael Holt.
Out of my four outrights, all at decent odds, I was hoping rather than expecting but thankfully Barry Hawkins at 25/1 has made it through to the final with an impressive 7-2 in over Judd Trump in the semis, and now faces veteran Jimmy White in tomorrow afternoon's showdown which can be seen live on the net on Modernine TV.
I probably struck one of my worst bets of the year on the cricket this week but got away with it luckily. I'd taken 4/7 about Essex to beat Glamorgan, knowing they were without three major players in Bopara, Cook and Kaneira but having consulted their fans website they seemed of the opinion the signing of South African international Amla would be what was required to stiffen up the batting. Also I noted that the youngster Maynard was on England twelfth man duty and would miss the match for the visitors.
However I somehow managed to miss the fact that the Dragons had also been active in the player recruitment area and Herschelle Gibbs unknown to me was making his debut.
He scored a half century and I was soon regretting my bet when Glamorgan amassed well over 500 and Essex were then skittled out for just 200.
Thankfully Amla lived up to the fans expectations second time around with a great knock of 180+ which somehow saved a game they looked certain to lose.
I've taken some 5/6 about Kent in their current match at Surrey. The home side knocked up just short of 400 which seems a decent total but it can be hard to tell sometimes until both teams have batted. I'll probably settle for a draw there now as well though thought the inclusion of Joe Denly after England Lions duty and South African Wayne Parnell, who had a successful World Twenty20 campaign might give them the ascendancy.
Last Sunday saw the end of my dreams of a big payout on Gloucestershire winning the Friends Provident Trophy when the 33/1 outright shots bowed out at the semi final stage despite a brave effort to overhaul a mammoth total set by Sussex at Hove.
And finally there was no Sky live dogs programme this week, I almost decided to go up to Sheffield's Owlerton Stadium on Tuesday for the first time but with heavy rain the order of the day decided against it, which was lucky as the hare stopped halfway through the night which meant a long delay, and also caused some angry scenes apparently with winning punters unhappy on the ruling about the lucrative Jackpot on offer that night (it was much reduced due to a void race).
I've still got a few active in the ongoing Sunderland festival but with throw in time looming for the gaelic football, I'll say adios and be lucky for now.
Catch you later
Rick
We've been having a new boiler in at home and so the workmen have been here at the crack of dawn turning the electricity on and off in between occasionally falling through the ceiling from the loft above (honest).
Well at least a whole leg was in view until the fall was broken by the refrigerator below!
Anyway will have to be a quick one today as I'm about to watch two of my outright picks Monaghan and Derry go head to head in half an hour which starts a back to back GAA marathon for around six hours of online coverage assuming I can get access to all the feeds.
I've also got a big interest in tomorrows matches with Dublin attempting to beat the improving Kildare in the Leinster final and Tipperary trying to justify favouritism against Waterford in the Munster hurling showdown.
Last weekend saw Cork (who I'd backed for the Munster football at 13/8 outright) fall over the line with a one point win over Limerick after being well adrift at one stage, and maybe they can thank the referee somewhat for the award of a slightly controversial penalty which kept them in touch early in the game when they couldnt find any rhythm at all. I'm glad I didn't take the 1/8 available on the day anyhow as there would have been more pleasant afternoons to be had!
In the match betting I claimed a winner through Wicklow who saw off the disappointing Fermanagh though the refs call rather went against me this time in my other pick when Monaghan conceded a highly dubious last minute late free to Armagh who forced the draw though ultimately losing out in extra time.
The aussie rules betting has picked up too lately and had a few more successes this morning. Carlton as they seem to do made hard work of landing the 3/10 against Richmond but always just held the upper hand while Essendon looked attractively priced on the road at Sydney and they justified support at 6/5 with a comfortable success.
Luckily I was just snooping around on a sports forum the other night and found that Geelong were likely to be missing several regulars for their match with Brisbane so armed with that info before most of the bookies I took the 33/10 that was available and also the 5/6 on the +20 handicap. Both were never in much doubt and it turned out the Cats had even more players missing than first thought, around half the team infact!
Most of that was down to the legacy of a bruising encounter with fellow Championship contenders St Kilda the week before, and I think I'll also take on Saints themselves in the handicap market with a long interstate journey to West Coast on the agenda tomorrow and being asked to give up 31.5 points. Not one I'm confident in, but the type of match where tiredness or an "after the lord mayors show" type of feeling may creep in.
It's been a pretty decent week on the snooker too, I seem to be doing better on these out of season events than I was actually doing all last year strangely enough.
I had a few Group bets in the Sangsom Six Red Grand Prix in Bangkok and landed three winners out of seven, though two of them were bigger stakes too so returned a modest overall profit.
John Higgins got off to a nightmare start with a 5-0 loss to unknown Pakistan cueist Mohammed Sajjad, but part of that was attributable to arriving late and having three frames docked. Eventually though he came through to head affairs by winning the rest of his games.
Shaun Murphy was always at the top in his section, and had already done enough by the time of a 5-1 loss to Nigel Bond in his last group game.
And Ryan Day also came up with the goods eventually with a 5-3 win over Supoj Saenla enough to see him narrowly overhaul Ken Doherty and Michael Holt.
Out of my four outrights, all at decent odds, I was hoping rather than expecting but thankfully Barry Hawkins at 25/1 has made it through to the final with an impressive 7-2 in over Judd Trump in the semis, and now faces veteran Jimmy White in tomorrow afternoon's showdown which can be seen live on the net on Modernine TV.
I probably struck one of my worst bets of the year on the cricket this week but got away with it luckily. I'd taken 4/7 about Essex to beat Glamorgan, knowing they were without three major players in Bopara, Cook and Kaneira but having consulted their fans website they seemed of the opinion the signing of South African international Amla would be what was required to stiffen up the batting. Also I noted that the youngster Maynard was on England twelfth man duty and would miss the match for the visitors.
However I somehow managed to miss the fact that the Dragons had also been active in the player recruitment area and Herschelle Gibbs unknown to me was making his debut.
He scored a half century and I was soon regretting my bet when Glamorgan amassed well over 500 and Essex were then skittled out for just 200.
Thankfully Amla lived up to the fans expectations second time around with a great knock of 180+ which somehow saved a game they looked certain to lose.
I've taken some 5/6 about Kent in their current match at Surrey. The home side knocked up just short of 400 which seems a decent total but it can be hard to tell sometimes until both teams have batted. I'll probably settle for a draw there now as well though thought the inclusion of Joe Denly after England Lions duty and South African Wayne Parnell, who had a successful World Twenty20 campaign might give them the ascendancy.
Last Sunday saw the end of my dreams of a big payout on Gloucestershire winning the Friends Provident Trophy when the 33/1 outright shots bowed out at the semi final stage despite a brave effort to overhaul a mammoth total set by Sussex at Hove.
And finally there was no Sky live dogs programme this week, I almost decided to go up to Sheffield's Owlerton Stadium on Tuesday for the first time but with heavy rain the order of the day decided against it, which was lucky as the hare stopped halfway through the night which meant a long delay, and also caused some angry scenes apparently with winning punters unhappy on the ruling about the lucrative Jackpot on offer that night (it was much reduced due to a void race).
I've still got a few active in the ongoing Sunderland festival but with throw in time looming for the gaelic football, I'll say adios and be lucky for now.
Catch you later
Rick
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Anyone for a Lord Toffingham revival petition?
This hot weather is not much fun when your brain is working overtime trying to come up with the latest bets but then again suppose its the same whatever you're doing though there are plenty who seem to positively enjoy it.
I think its fine if you have nothing to do but it does make you feel very lethargic and I have the freezer stocked up with dozens of ice lollies to get me through this latest heatwave. What a pity they dont do Lord Toffinghams any more, think I might start a petition for a revival! That toffee bit in the middle was simply magical.
Anyhow enough of my longings, overall its been a pretty satisfactory kind of week.
Although the dogs haven't been as kind to me in the last few weeks as previously, I still managed to land the Irish Oaks winner last Saturday, Skywalker Queen (10/1) who became the fastest bitch ever to run the trip at Shelbourne Park. And then in a damage limitation exercise, Corporate Attack won the Corn Cuchuilan at 6/1 which meant in essence I was about even on both events (work that out lol).
Of course the reason being I had also backed a few losers too along the way and perhaps my staking plan wasn't the best either, with a host of each way dabbles out of the money in the latter event not helping the coffers.
Anyhow last night's 6/1 winner seems to have persuaded Mr Power to limit my bets on the dogs, even though I made a loss on the Corn Cuchilian as a whole which seems a strange reaction, though I suppose it may be a totting up process.
On the Sky dogs Cesarewich night Melodys Comet looked like landing a 6/1 punt after going clear at one stage but was agonisingly reeled in by the favourite He Went Whoosh on the run in much to my dismay, a good effort from the winner though to overcome early scrimmaging.
I'm also struggling to get on with the GAA bets in some quarters, the ones that are winning keep seeming to occur with the same companies which isnt helping matters though does perhaps show that some of the compilers are a bit out of sync with others.
Last week I quite fancied Antrim to continue the good work after their "shock" win in Donegal and backed them at 2/1 to win against Cavan in the Ulster semi final.
I thought it was a good price until I saw someone offering 3.65 on the exchanges!
Cavan were unimpressive in the main in the previous win against Fermanagh, but had the one quality scorer on the pitch in Seanie Johnston. This time around things were probably not alot different, but with them trading at odds on this time as opposed to odds against, it was time to take them on.
Even I wasn't quite expecting the dominance the Saffrons showed and it was amazing how the game was still in the balance until quite near the end given the amount of possession Antrim enjoyed. Anyhow they did enough to take the spoils and I also had a bit of the 5/4 on the +2 handicap as a bonus.
Dublin looked a stonewall banker against the hapless Westmeath and although I'm not normally in favour of taking such short odds I did have some of the 1/5 before it disappeared and should maybe have taken the -6 handicap bet too as they had already knocked it off within about ten minutes lol.
Instead of that one I decided to side with Sligo to stay within the +6 margin up against Galway and despite a sluggish start with only two points in the first half hour they upped the ante to the stage that they were level with only a couple of minutes left.
Things turned out well in the remaining minutes for Galway with a goal and a point sealing a narrow win and as they were my Connaught outright picks that suited me down to the ground and the handicap bet was won too.
So I'm still in a healthy outright position for the provincial football outrights - Galway, Dublin, Cork and Antrim (the latter at 125/1 though I dont expect to collect there!) are all through to their respective finals and I also have Tipperary at 7/4 contesting the Munster hurling showdown too.
The cricket action slowed down a bit this week with a return to County Championship action. After getting used to batsmens strike rates being over a run a ball, Steve Stubbings of Derbyshire took 110 balls for 19 runs in their match against Leicestershire this week so I am mighty glad I didnt make the journey on this occasion as it must have been something akin to slow water torture.
The good run of form on the match betting has continued with Durham defeating Leicestershire in the last round of 20/20 matches at 4/6 and Somerset (4/7) somehow engineering a remarkable win over Yorkshire in the four day game thanks largely to a big hitting century from Peter Trego after it had seemed certain to be a draw earlier on.
And the aussie rules has joined in the fun too with a couple of winners this morning in Port Adelaide and West Bulldogs so I'm still keeping slightly infront overall in that sphere even though at more than one stage I've been thinking of curtailing that arm of betting.
The snooker is back this week with the Sangsom Six Red Tournament in Thailand for decent prize money and I've largely followed the formbook with a few bets in the respective groups while plumping for a few outsiders in the outrights. Have got online coverage lined up for the semis and finals but hoping something else crops up so we can see some of the rest of the event, its always better if you can see how your money went up in smoke rather than hear about it (or is it) lol.
All the best for now and apologies for being a day late!
Rick
I think its fine if you have nothing to do but it does make you feel very lethargic and I have the freezer stocked up with dozens of ice lollies to get me through this latest heatwave. What a pity they dont do Lord Toffinghams any more, think I might start a petition for a revival! That toffee bit in the middle was simply magical.
Anyhow enough of my longings, overall its been a pretty satisfactory kind of week.
Although the dogs haven't been as kind to me in the last few weeks as previously, I still managed to land the Irish Oaks winner last Saturday, Skywalker Queen (10/1) who became the fastest bitch ever to run the trip at Shelbourne Park. And then in a damage limitation exercise, Corporate Attack won the Corn Cuchuilan at 6/1 which meant in essence I was about even on both events (work that out lol).
Of course the reason being I had also backed a few losers too along the way and perhaps my staking plan wasn't the best either, with a host of each way dabbles out of the money in the latter event not helping the coffers.
Anyhow last night's 6/1 winner seems to have persuaded Mr Power to limit my bets on the dogs, even though I made a loss on the Corn Cuchilian as a whole which seems a strange reaction, though I suppose it may be a totting up process.
On the Sky dogs Cesarewich night Melodys Comet looked like landing a 6/1 punt after going clear at one stage but was agonisingly reeled in by the favourite He Went Whoosh on the run in much to my dismay, a good effort from the winner though to overcome early scrimmaging.
I'm also struggling to get on with the GAA bets in some quarters, the ones that are winning keep seeming to occur with the same companies which isnt helping matters though does perhaps show that some of the compilers are a bit out of sync with others.
Last week I quite fancied Antrim to continue the good work after their "shock" win in Donegal and backed them at 2/1 to win against Cavan in the Ulster semi final.
I thought it was a good price until I saw someone offering 3.65 on the exchanges!
Cavan were unimpressive in the main in the previous win against Fermanagh, but had the one quality scorer on the pitch in Seanie Johnston. This time around things were probably not alot different, but with them trading at odds on this time as opposed to odds against, it was time to take them on.
Even I wasn't quite expecting the dominance the Saffrons showed and it was amazing how the game was still in the balance until quite near the end given the amount of possession Antrim enjoyed. Anyhow they did enough to take the spoils and I also had a bit of the 5/4 on the +2 handicap as a bonus.
Dublin looked a stonewall banker against the hapless Westmeath and although I'm not normally in favour of taking such short odds I did have some of the 1/5 before it disappeared and should maybe have taken the -6 handicap bet too as they had already knocked it off within about ten minutes lol.
Instead of that one I decided to side with Sligo to stay within the +6 margin up against Galway and despite a sluggish start with only two points in the first half hour they upped the ante to the stage that they were level with only a couple of minutes left.
Things turned out well in the remaining minutes for Galway with a goal and a point sealing a narrow win and as they were my Connaught outright picks that suited me down to the ground and the handicap bet was won too.
So I'm still in a healthy outright position for the provincial football outrights - Galway, Dublin, Cork and Antrim (the latter at 125/1 though I dont expect to collect there!) are all through to their respective finals and I also have Tipperary at 7/4 contesting the Munster hurling showdown too.
The cricket action slowed down a bit this week with a return to County Championship action. After getting used to batsmens strike rates being over a run a ball, Steve Stubbings of Derbyshire took 110 balls for 19 runs in their match against Leicestershire this week so I am mighty glad I didnt make the journey on this occasion as it must have been something akin to slow water torture.
The good run of form on the match betting has continued with Durham defeating Leicestershire in the last round of 20/20 matches at 4/6 and Somerset (4/7) somehow engineering a remarkable win over Yorkshire in the four day game thanks largely to a big hitting century from Peter Trego after it had seemed certain to be a draw earlier on.
And the aussie rules has joined in the fun too with a couple of winners this morning in Port Adelaide and West Bulldogs so I'm still keeping slightly infront overall in that sphere even though at more than one stage I've been thinking of curtailing that arm of betting.
The snooker is back this week with the Sangsom Six Red Tournament in Thailand for decent prize money and I've largely followed the formbook with a few bets in the respective groups while plumping for a few outsiders in the outrights. Have got online coverage lined up for the semis and finals but hoping something else crops up so we can see some of the rest of the event, its always better if you can see how your money went up in smoke rather than hear about it (or is it) lol.
All the best for now and apologies for being a day late!
Rick
Friday, 26 June 2009
Going to the dogs!
Well not literally (though Hull was quite tempting tonight for possibly their last ever meeting before enforced closure), but easily the worst week I've had on the greyhounds since I started punting on them in earnest perhaps about a year ago.
Thankfully in the same period the cricket betting has taken an upturn helped by Pakistan lifting the Twenty20 World Cup at 17/2, though if I had waited until after their unimpressive warm up campaign I believe I could have got 10s.
That said, perhaps I wouldn't have fancied them then, though it was always likely they would improve as the event wore on due to their stark lack of cricket caused by external reasons prior to the competition.
Unbeknown to me, one of their star performers in both the semi and final, Shahid Afridi had an unproductive spell at Derbyshire early in his career according to the local newspaper but he certainly showed his worth last weekend as Pakistan upset favourites Sri Lanka in an absorbing final.
I've carried that success into the domestic Twenty20 markets with four more successful bets, mostly opposing my own team Derbyshire who have gone from bad to worse in recent outings though I think I shall keep my powder dry for their final game at injury ravaged Yorkshire who are now out of contention themselves.
At least Lancashire and Sussex have made it through to the quarter finals so still something to shout about in the outrights, despite the non-qualification of the Tykes and Gloucestershire - though the latter are giving me a good run at big odds in the Friends Provident Trophy.
Went to Trent Bridge for the first time in ages last night and despite the hammering the Phantoms took in the field after setting an initially respectable total, must say I was really impressed with the venue, it certainly puts the County Ground into perspective thats for sure!
Back to the greyhounds and unfortunately it seems to have been a week when little went right with some sizeable losses totted up from various ante post markets.
After reporting a good Friday afternoon win in last weeks blog, the good fortune didnt carry on into the evening when Magna Venturer my remaining ante post representative could only managed second behind Derby finalist Ballymac Ruso who I opposed mainly because of the extended trip but he had the race well in the bag long before the final stages as it transpired.
Then came the Sky TV meeting at Newcastle which proved an absolute graveyard for the inside boxes with the first bend appearing far too sharp to take at any kind of momentum and with the outside dogs cutting back across practically all the red jacketed dogs were having to check or be baulked at this stage.
This put paid to my biggest stake on Farloe Reason as he came out of the dreaded one box and to make matters worse I fancied the winner Ardkill Tunoco on the day quite strongly with two slow starting dogs inside but for some reason didnt back him as it would have eroded any winnings on my original ante post picks.
I should really have supported my later inklings with hard cash if only to break even rather than sit and hope like a rabbit caught in the headlights in the middle of the road on a dark country road.
In the Angel of the North Oaks, Was Not Me one of my picks was bowled over at the bend while the other Plan lost about five lengths when checking yet was only beaten about a neck into third place which shows how unlucky he was.
And in the TV Trophy, Bubbly Eagle showed nothing like the sparkle of his semi final win when arriving on the final bend with every chance but despite not really getting the clearest of passages, he made very little headway on all the way winner Midway Skipper who was discovering her best form again after a spell off the track when in season.
At least I landed a 5/4 winner when Brimardon Star took the stayers event on the night but things took a downturn again when Ferdia Bound had his legs taken away from him on the last bend in the big event at Harolds Cross when challenging for second place and ended up dropping back to last before rallying to only miss out on qualification by a couple of necks. Not much use to me though.
I did have a couple of savers last week on Corporate Attack and Hello Hippy but will still come out of the event with a loss now and an even bigger one if neither of those two win it.
Adding in the ill fated single bets on the first round and it has been a very costly competition for me indeed!
A couple of competitions are still ongoing as I speak, in tonight's Irish Oaks at Shelbourne I'm hoping for a Skywalker Queen or Lady Glenard win though have a saver on favourite Maireads Fantasy to cut my losses should things go wrong.
And in the Cesarewich at Oxford (on Sky next Tuesday) I'm represented by Romeo Turbo and Melodys Comet but kicking myself a bit for missing He Went Whoosh who I almost included originally but due to doubts about his stamina decided to leave him out - needless to say he is now trading at odds on in most places after two impressive wins in the heats.
In other sports, the Essendon/Mayo double on the aussie rules and gaelic football markets romped home at around 8/15 though Derry as I half expected couldn't overcome their injury and suspension woes against Tyrone despite having alot of the possession but still felt it worth a dabble at the odds.
Tipperary, a 7/4 outright pick, scraped through into the Munster hurling final with a rather unimpressive win over outsiders Clare but at least it keeps me in with the chance of a payout when they meet Waterford next month.
Thats it for now
Catch you later
Rick
Thankfully in the same period the cricket betting has taken an upturn helped by Pakistan lifting the Twenty20 World Cup at 17/2, though if I had waited until after their unimpressive warm up campaign I believe I could have got 10s.
That said, perhaps I wouldn't have fancied them then, though it was always likely they would improve as the event wore on due to their stark lack of cricket caused by external reasons prior to the competition.
Unbeknown to me, one of their star performers in both the semi and final, Shahid Afridi had an unproductive spell at Derbyshire early in his career according to the local newspaper but he certainly showed his worth last weekend as Pakistan upset favourites Sri Lanka in an absorbing final.
I've carried that success into the domestic Twenty20 markets with four more successful bets, mostly opposing my own team Derbyshire who have gone from bad to worse in recent outings though I think I shall keep my powder dry for their final game at injury ravaged Yorkshire who are now out of contention themselves.
At least Lancashire and Sussex have made it through to the quarter finals so still something to shout about in the outrights, despite the non-qualification of the Tykes and Gloucestershire - though the latter are giving me a good run at big odds in the Friends Provident Trophy.
Went to Trent Bridge for the first time in ages last night and despite the hammering the Phantoms took in the field after setting an initially respectable total, must say I was really impressed with the venue, it certainly puts the County Ground into perspective thats for sure!
Back to the greyhounds and unfortunately it seems to have been a week when little went right with some sizeable losses totted up from various ante post markets.
After reporting a good Friday afternoon win in last weeks blog, the good fortune didnt carry on into the evening when Magna Venturer my remaining ante post representative could only managed second behind Derby finalist Ballymac Ruso who I opposed mainly because of the extended trip but he had the race well in the bag long before the final stages as it transpired.
Then came the Sky TV meeting at Newcastle which proved an absolute graveyard for the inside boxes with the first bend appearing far too sharp to take at any kind of momentum and with the outside dogs cutting back across practically all the red jacketed dogs were having to check or be baulked at this stage.
This put paid to my biggest stake on Farloe Reason as he came out of the dreaded one box and to make matters worse I fancied the winner Ardkill Tunoco on the day quite strongly with two slow starting dogs inside but for some reason didnt back him as it would have eroded any winnings on my original ante post picks.
I should really have supported my later inklings with hard cash if only to break even rather than sit and hope like a rabbit caught in the headlights in the middle of the road on a dark country road.
In the Angel of the North Oaks, Was Not Me one of my picks was bowled over at the bend while the other Plan lost about five lengths when checking yet was only beaten about a neck into third place which shows how unlucky he was.
And in the TV Trophy, Bubbly Eagle showed nothing like the sparkle of his semi final win when arriving on the final bend with every chance but despite not really getting the clearest of passages, he made very little headway on all the way winner Midway Skipper who was discovering her best form again after a spell off the track when in season.
At least I landed a 5/4 winner when Brimardon Star took the stayers event on the night but things took a downturn again when Ferdia Bound had his legs taken away from him on the last bend in the big event at Harolds Cross when challenging for second place and ended up dropping back to last before rallying to only miss out on qualification by a couple of necks. Not much use to me though.
I did have a couple of savers last week on Corporate Attack and Hello Hippy but will still come out of the event with a loss now and an even bigger one if neither of those two win it.
Adding in the ill fated single bets on the first round and it has been a very costly competition for me indeed!
A couple of competitions are still ongoing as I speak, in tonight's Irish Oaks at Shelbourne I'm hoping for a Skywalker Queen or Lady Glenard win though have a saver on favourite Maireads Fantasy to cut my losses should things go wrong.
And in the Cesarewich at Oxford (on Sky next Tuesday) I'm represented by Romeo Turbo and Melodys Comet but kicking myself a bit for missing He Went Whoosh who I almost included originally but due to doubts about his stamina decided to leave him out - needless to say he is now trading at odds on in most places after two impressive wins in the heats.
In other sports, the Essendon/Mayo double on the aussie rules and gaelic football markets romped home at around 8/15 though Derry as I half expected couldn't overcome their injury and suspension woes against Tyrone despite having alot of the possession but still felt it worth a dabble at the odds.
Tipperary, a 7/4 outright pick, scraped through into the Munster hurling final with a rather unimpressive win over outsiders Clare but at least it keeps me in with the chance of a payout when they meet Waterford next month.
Thats it for now
Catch you later
Rick
Friday, 19 June 2009
The agony and the ecstacy
Well I think I've been through the whole spectrum of different emotions this week, agony, ecstacy, despair and everything else in between, but at the end of the day its only a game, even though I'd rather things stayed a bit more on an even keel at times.
I knew it was a bad omen talking about drains last week, as thats where most of my money disappeared in the Corn Cuchulainn heats at Harolds Cross last Friday.
I usually play the ante post markets on the dogs but as nothing pricewise materialised as the event drew near, I decided to have a few single wagers and of course everything I backed seemed to get second or third-itis.
Even when I went down the dual forecast route, they contrived to finish second or third behind some hitherto unheralded winner but at the end of the day I was £370 down which was rather silly for saying I had only intended to have a few small bets earlier in the day.
Anyway with the first round out of the way, one of the firms finally got around to pricing up and in a bid to recoup some of my losses, and also encouraged by my overall record on the Irish stuff, decided to up my stakes a little and back a few of my fancies each way to try to maximise any profits, something I rarely do except on the odd longshot.
I've just watched the second round tonight and of course all my each way dogs have immediately exited the competition encountering all kinds of difficulties in running, meaning that another £300 has gone west though I do have a potential profit still if Ferdia Bound takes the event with £100 at 5/1.
He finished second after himself getting into all sorts of tangles after a slow start but he is my last representative at present unless I decide to delve into the market again as back up.
I paid another visit to Monmore on Monday to the ongoing Ladbrokes Summer Festival and enjoyed a pleasant day watching my ante post picks perform somewhat better and had a fair representation going into this afternoon's finals.
The day before I spent a couple of hours at the local Pikehall harness races, I went there last year but knowing little about the form I just stuck to backing some of the course winners from the past meeting and it seemed to come up trumps on that occasion but worked out less successfully this time around (although if I'd hung around until the last race I might have gotten into profit eventually).
However there did seem an interminable delay while they were drug testing one of the winners which seemed to drag on for around 50 minutes and my patience began to wear a bit thin, surely they could have carried on racing while they were having their inquest.
Anyhow I departed after the seventh race, only to see quite a few still coming in with six races to go on the marathon card. Actually this was quite a good tactic as you were getting in free and seeing the higher class horses at the end too (the meetings tend to start with the lowest class races and work their way through).
Anyway back to the Summer Festival at Monmore and I actually decided to watch the finals in the sponsors local shop rather than travel down to Wolverhampton again and despite missing the bitches race by getting stuck in traffic (my only contender had been withdrawn lame anyway as it happens) it turned out to be quite an exhilarating 45 minutes or so.
First up Eye Eye Pickle (5/1) held on to beat Mountjoy Gold in a battle of the two Mark Wallis runners which I had both backed ante post in the dogs-only race and I was off to a good start.
Then in the main event for the stayers, the sometimes rogueish Droopys Zach (again for Wallis) put his best foot forward to show them a clean pair of paws and never see another rival to land a 20/1 punt (I had four others in the final as back up anyhow lol).
And in the 416m race which has a kamikaze run to the first bend, Droopys Cadel scooted out to make all and hold off the favourite Hillcrest Orion in the process landing a 25/1 voucher.
Adding up the winnings and subtracting the losses from my roster of ante post bets I concluded that I was £900 up on the afternoon which was nice.
There was a hectic midweek schedule too, starting with the Sky TV meeting at Hall Green. Droopys Bogart did the business for me at 14/1 in the Gymcrak final to add to the coffers but I also had a strong fancy for Ard Beauty at 7/2 early doors in the staying event due to a lack of possible challengers for the lead. As it happens my fancy did lead up but got collared on the run in by Dessies Blueboy much to my dismay.
Thursday saw the Cesarewich get underway at Oxford and with the books going 8/1 the field, I could only restrict myself to a minimum of half a dozen picks who all qualified as it happened though I didnt have the fastest heat winner He Went Whoosh who is now the new favourite at 3/1. I had considered him beforehand but wasn't sure he'd stay the trip.
And up at Newcastle, three events kicked off on the same day. Firstly, the Angel of the North Oaks which saw Plan and Was Not Me both make it through to the final for me though both finished close up seconds in their heats.
In the Tyneside Derby, actual Derby finalist Farloe Reason was another of my picks and he qualified in the runners up spot too along with kennelmate Affleck Elite while Mill Pinpoint also made it through.
And in the main event the TV Trophy, I had to include Bubbly Eagle after an eye-catching recent win in front of the cameras and he was the most impressive performer of the night as it happens, and is now heavy odds on from the opening quote of 2/1.
By the way in last Saturday's Irish St Leger final at Limerick my saver on Bar Blackstone prompted by the draw came to the rescue and I broke even on the event though it was sad to see original ante post favourite Timor Blue get badly injured after being bowled over from an unsuitably wide posting.
Elsewhere, my gaelic football outright bets continued to bowl along nicely as 125/1 shots Antrim shocked their more illustrious opponents Donegal with a one point win in Ballybofey. They now meet Cavan in the Ulster semi final though in reality the chances of them beating Tyrone or Derry in the final itself would seem exceedingly slim - thats why I had been hoping initially for an each way option when I saw the price - the bookies aren't daft though lol.
Cork also did the business against Kerry with a comfortable win to land the odds of 6/4 and I also have 13/8 about them winning Munster with rank outsiders Limerick the opposition in the final.
I also had a bit of a dabble on the 4/11 for Kildare to beat Wexford as they were being backed down at all rates earlier in the week (best price was 3/10 at the off) and although it was no cakewalk they did eventually take the spoils.
Its unfortunate Derry have been clobbered by the disciplinary panel for their exploits in the brutal match against Monaghan earlier in the Championship, losing a couple of their main players, as otherwise I would quite fancy their chances against Tyrone at decent odds.
The balance perhaps has tipped against them now however, especially with the Redhands at pretty much full strength, though the odds of 11/5 are so tempting I will still have a small dabble but with far less confidence.
I've also got a double in progress as Essendon defeated Melbourne in the AFL today and that rolls on to Mayo to defeat Roscommon in Connacht tomorrow, both were quite shortish odds-on chances though.
And in the cricket Pakistan (backed at 17/2) are through to the final against Sri Lanka so hoping for a payout there, though they will probably need to get the impressive Dilshan out fairly quickly and then fend off their highly inventive bowling attack too.
Typically I had New Zealand each way but have got win only on the Pakistanis, but they are the sort of mercurial team who on their day can perhaps be a match for anyone though sometimes being capable of a complete implosion too.
Sad to see that Setanta's rescue bid has seemingly failed tonight with the Russian investor unable or unwilling to conclude a deal and with the Premier League football package now taken away too, its hard to see how they can carry on from here which is a great shame. Whatever some may say about their experiences with the customer service, the channel did offer some diverse sport and for me it was quite refreshing to get away from an almost never ending diet of non stop football.
Anyhow thats it for now
All the best Rick
I knew it was a bad omen talking about drains last week, as thats where most of my money disappeared in the Corn Cuchulainn heats at Harolds Cross last Friday.
I usually play the ante post markets on the dogs but as nothing pricewise materialised as the event drew near, I decided to have a few single wagers and of course everything I backed seemed to get second or third-itis.
Even when I went down the dual forecast route, they contrived to finish second or third behind some hitherto unheralded winner but at the end of the day I was £370 down which was rather silly for saying I had only intended to have a few small bets earlier in the day.
Anyway with the first round out of the way, one of the firms finally got around to pricing up and in a bid to recoup some of my losses, and also encouraged by my overall record on the Irish stuff, decided to up my stakes a little and back a few of my fancies each way to try to maximise any profits, something I rarely do except on the odd longshot.
I've just watched the second round tonight and of course all my each way dogs have immediately exited the competition encountering all kinds of difficulties in running, meaning that another £300 has gone west though I do have a potential profit still if Ferdia Bound takes the event with £100 at 5/1.
He finished second after himself getting into all sorts of tangles after a slow start but he is my last representative at present unless I decide to delve into the market again as back up.
I paid another visit to Monmore on Monday to the ongoing Ladbrokes Summer Festival and enjoyed a pleasant day watching my ante post picks perform somewhat better and had a fair representation going into this afternoon's finals.
The day before I spent a couple of hours at the local Pikehall harness races, I went there last year but knowing little about the form I just stuck to backing some of the course winners from the past meeting and it seemed to come up trumps on that occasion but worked out less successfully this time around (although if I'd hung around until the last race I might have gotten into profit eventually).
However there did seem an interminable delay while they were drug testing one of the winners which seemed to drag on for around 50 minutes and my patience began to wear a bit thin, surely they could have carried on racing while they were having their inquest.
Anyhow I departed after the seventh race, only to see quite a few still coming in with six races to go on the marathon card. Actually this was quite a good tactic as you were getting in free and seeing the higher class horses at the end too (the meetings tend to start with the lowest class races and work their way through).
Anyway back to the Summer Festival at Monmore and I actually decided to watch the finals in the sponsors local shop rather than travel down to Wolverhampton again and despite missing the bitches race by getting stuck in traffic (my only contender had been withdrawn lame anyway as it happens) it turned out to be quite an exhilarating 45 minutes or so.
First up Eye Eye Pickle (5/1) held on to beat Mountjoy Gold in a battle of the two Mark Wallis runners which I had both backed ante post in the dogs-only race and I was off to a good start.
Then in the main event for the stayers, the sometimes rogueish Droopys Zach (again for Wallis) put his best foot forward to show them a clean pair of paws and never see another rival to land a 20/1 punt (I had four others in the final as back up anyhow lol).
And in the 416m race which has a kamikaze run to the first bend, Droopys Cadel scooted out to make all and hold off the favourite Hillcrest Orion in the process landing a 25/1 voucher.
Adding up the winnings and subtracting the losses from my roster of ante post bets I concluded that I was £900 up on the afternoon which was nice.
There was a hectic midweek schedule too, starting with the Sky TV meeting at Hall Green. Droopys Bogart did the business for me at 14/1 in the Gymcrak final to add to the coffers but I also had a strong fancy for Ard Beauty at 7/2 early doors in the staying event due to a lack of possible challengers for the lead. As it happens my fancy did lead up but got collared on the run in by Dessies Blueboy much to my dismay.
Thursday saw the Cesarewich get underway at Oxford and with the books going 8/1 the field, I could only restrict myself to a minimum of half a dozen picks who all qualified as it happened though I didnt have the fastest heat winner He Went Whoosh who is now the new favourite at 3/1. I had considered him beforehand but wasn't sure he'd stay the trip.
And up at Newcastle, three events kicked off on the same day. Firstly, the Angel of the North Oaks which saw Plan and Was Not Me both make it through to the final for me though both finished close up seconds in their heats.
In the Tyneside Derby, actual Derby finalist Farloe Reason was another of my picks and he qualified in the runners up spot too along with kennelmate Affleck Elite while Mill Pinpoint also made it through.
And in the main event the TV Trophy, I had to include Bubbly Eagle after an eye-catching recent win in front of the cameras and he was the most impressive performer of the night as it happens, and is now heavy odds on from the opening quote of 2/1.
By the way in last Saturday's Irish St Leger final at Limerick my saver on Bar Blackstone prompted by the draw came to the rescue and I broke even on the event though it was sad to see original ante post favourite Timor Blue get badly injured after being bowled over from an unsuitably wide posting.
Elsewhere, my gaelic football outright bets continued to bowl along nicely as 125/1 shots Antrim shocked their more illustrious opponents Donegal with a one point win in Ballybofey. They now meet Cavan in the Ulster semi final though in reality the chances of them beating Tyrone or Derry in the final itself would seem exceedingly slim - thats why I had been hoping initially for an each way option when I saw the price - the bookies aren't daft though lol.
Cork also did the business against Kerry with a comfortable win to land the odds of 6/4 and I also have 13/8 about them winning Munster with rank outsiders Limerick the opposition in the final.
I also had a bit of a dabble on the 4/11 for Kildare to beat Wexford as they were being backed down at all rates earlier in the week (best price was 3/10 at the off) and although it was no cakewalk they did eventually take the spoils.
Its unfortunate Derry have been clobbered by the disciplinary panel for their exploits in the brutal match against Monaghan earlier in the Championship, losing a couple of their main players, as otherwise I would quite fancy their chances against Tyrone at decent odds.
The balance perhaps has tipped against them now however, especially with the Redhands at pretty much full strength, though the odds of 11/5 are so tempting I will still have a small dabble but with far less confidence.
I've also got a double in progress as Essendon defeated Melbourne in the AFL today and that rolls on to Mayo to defeat Roscommon in Connacht tomorrow, both were quite shortish odds-on chances though.
And in the cricket Pakistan (backed at 17/2) are through to the final against Sri Lanka so hoping for a payout there, though they will probably need to get the impressive Dilshan out fairly quickly and then fend off their highly inventive bowling attack too.
Typically I had New Zealand each way but have got win only on the Pakistanis, but they are the sort of mercurial team who on their day can perhaps be a match for anyone though sometimes being capable of a complete implosion too.
Sad to see that Setanta's rescue bid has seemingly failed tonight with the Russian investor unable or unwilling to conclude a deal and with the Premier League football package now taken away too, its hard to see how they can carry on from here which is a great shame. Whatever some may say about their experiences with the customer service, the channel did offer some diverse sport and for me it was quite refreshing to get away from an almost never ending diet of non stop football.
Anyhow thats it for now
All the best Rick
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