Cheltenham Today.

[Ricco]

Ah good stuff I was looking at Seefood, might be worth a pop now, actually, I'll go for him and Uncle Jimmy I think. Crazy race, even Vic's Canvas a 50/1 could win, but with the ew at 1/4 and paying out for the first 5, has to be worth a good go.

I've given up with the world hurdle now anything could happen, Annie power really should win, but at those odds I couldn't ignore Big Buck's. Nicholls has 4 horses in that race, he wouldn't commit that much if he didn't think Big Buck's had a chance.

Sometimes I go for one horse, occasionally I'll go for four horses in one race, just depends on the situation, the odds and your feeling I guess. I don't like only betting on one horse personally, if it's a favourite you don't get much money and if they're longer odds you may only pick one winner every day or two. The bookies know the favourites inside out, in the long run you'll just lose money on short odd bets, my decent wins have always come on picking 16/1+ horses, finding ones that have moved to a new distance or not been tested against good opposition, that sort of thing, I watch all their past races and usually have an ok eye for that kinda thing and it's so rewarding when you spot something the bookies hadn't. Benefficient running today, I put a lot of money at 20/1 on him last year, not feeling so confident today, he's out of the bookies blind spot now and at the price he should be, would just be nice to have him win again.

[Charnwood]

I must admit I'm not that good at finding longer odds horses and usually bet in the 3/1 - 8/1 range where usually if they're priced fairly you'd expect them to be in with a shout.

My seniors golf partner, another ex professional footballer who had a long career with Leicester City is a master at finding longer odds winners and rarely bets on horses less than 8/1. He bets most days of the week and nearly always on multiple bets often picking up significant winnings on quite low stakes, I've no idea where he learnt this knack, probably a lifetime of sitting in the Bookies Shop when he was a player.

For me, I'm much happier with online betting, much easier to bet and far easier to collect and bank winnings, and the cash doesn't burn a hole in your pocket or get wasted.

[Ricco]

Can't disagree there.

Would be interesting to see what your mate looks for. I reckon the best place to make money is on some horribly low quality races in heavy conditions over long distances, so much easier to spot stamina than speed, and the bookies don't look in to it as much as the big races because only 2 men and a dog bet on them, there are a fair few big price upsets up for grabs. Unfortunately it's like betting on and watching Forrest Green vs Salisbury, so isn't any fun

[Ricco]

Well there we go, had money on the first two winners thankfully. Thought Big Buck's would make a better fist of it, but there was always the possibility of that happening. Didn't see More Of That winning, should have looked in to him more, looks a cracking horse, interesting race.

[goldandblack]

Thursday Bets

1.30...10...WONDERFULL CHARM..£1. WIN
...........8...TAQUIN DU SEUIL........£1 EW

2.05.....1... FINGAL BAY..............£1...WIN
............14..TOP WOOD...............£1...EW

2.40......2..BENEFFICIENT...........£1...WIN
............1..A1 Ferof....................£1...EW

3.20.....11...ANNIE POWER .........£1..WIN
.............6...MORE OF THAT........£1...EW

4.00.......3...COLOUR SQAUDRON..£1.WIN
.............6...BALLYNAGOUR..........£1..EW

4.40......11..SPRING HEELED......£1...WIN
............13..BALNASLOW...........£1...EW


plus 6 X £1WIN Reverse Forecasts

with a bit of luck I'll get me money back

.30...10...WONDERFULL CHARM..£1. WIN ................
...........8...TAQUIN DU SEUIL........£1 EW..................7/1.....1st


2.05.....1... FINGAL BAY..............£1...WIN................7/1......1st

............14..TOP WOOD...............£1...EW................

2.40......2..BENEFFICIENT...........£1...WIN................
............1..A1 Ferof....................£1...EW..................

3.20.....11...ANNIE POWER .........£1..WIN.................11/8.....2nd

.............6...MORE OF THAT........£1...EW..................15/2......1st


4.00.......3...COLOUR SQAUDRON..£1.WIN..................5/1.......2nd

.............6...BALLYNAGOUR..........£1..EW..................12/1......1st


4.40......11..SPRING HEELED......£1...WIN...................12/1......1st

............13..BALNASLOW...........£1...EW.....................9/1........4th......


not a bad day for the Wolf,

[goldandblack]

I alway's used to do Hubbard's horses from Worlingworth , Suffolk, trained by F Murphy but not notices any of Murpthy's horse's running at Cheltenham this week.

he always had some good horses for ew bets.

I met Ferdy Murphy a few years back in a pub where we were staying for a few days in West Witton, The Wensleydale Heifer which was his local and where he was a bit of a local celebrity and most definitely a character. After a few beers he invited us the next day to visit his Wynbury Stables just a walk from the pub, and we had our photograph taken with Cheltenham winner French Holly, I'm guessing that would have been 1998.
As you know used to specifically target the Cheltenham Festival where over the years he saddled 10 winners however he fell out of favour with the authorities in 2009 and was fined by the BHA for allegedly telling a jockey not to try so as to affect a horse's handicap rating.
More recently in 2013 he relocated his yard to Normandy in France where he trains and breeds and no longer enters races in the UK which is why we don't see him at Cheltenham anymore.

he used to drink in my pub back in the late 80s when he was with G Hubbard, that ban he got was at Sandown,
I was told to put some good money on all his horses that day but stay in the bookies and take each pay out straight away. after 3 wins they called for an enquiry and none of his other horses that day did any good, and they took the trophy's away from him.

as you say a real character, and a nice bloke,

Hubbards horses were all named after Suffolk Villages within 10 miles of his stables in Worlingwoth.

[Ricco]

Yeah fantastic day there, nicely done! 3 winners for me, sadly only put small bets on them and bigger bets on the losers

[goldandblack]

Yeah fantastic day there, nicely done! 3 winners for me, sadly only put small bets on them and bigger bets on the losers

I usually only put £1 wins and £1 EW at Cheltenham unless I go, it soon adds up. the R/F are good money spinners if you can get them. Cheltenham is great for R/F as these horses anywhere else would be less odds.
tomorrow is the toughest day I think, the bookie should get his money back, lol.

[goldandblack]

MY losers for Friday..


1.30...........Guitar Pete ..WIN .... …...Rutherglen ….. EW.
2.05...........Makari..........WIN …...... Diakali ….........EW
2.40 ... ...Kings palace..WIN......... ...Captain Cutter.. EW
3.20.........On his Own....WIN...........Triolo D' Alene EW
4.00.........Harbour Court WIN...........Oscar Delta …...EW
4.40.........Full Shift....WIN …...........Caid du Berlais .. EW
5.15.........Mr Mole ….WIN...............Next Sensation .. EW

[Charnwood]

A brilliant day for you Wolfy, far better than mine.

I missed the first race being out on the golf course, picked the winners in the second and third with a fiver on Fingal Bay at 5/1 and the same on Dynaste at 3/1.

I then lost on the next three races, £18.75 on Big Bucks and a further £13.25 on Colour Squadron & Cause of Causes.

Overall +£8.

In the golf club sweep I had 5 x £5 stakes and one winner with More of That in The World a Hurdle ... this broke me even in the sweep.

Although the worst of the three days at least I'm still up on the meeting and unless I do anything reckless this will a rare occasion when I come away from a Cheltenham Festival on top.

[Charnwood]

My bets today so far are;

2.05. Cheltenian 8/1 £5 win

2.40. Kings Palace 7/2 £10 win

3.20. Bobs Worth 5/2 £20 win & 2/1 £10 win


I'll probably have a fiver on Oscar Delta in the 4 o'clock , an each way on The Skyfarmer in the 4.30, and maybe Next Sensation in the last race if I've had a decent afternoon.

Hope you guys pick up a few decent winners too.

[Ricco]

Good luck to you both! Gold cup's already annoyed me, I had Cue Card at 8/1 before he pulled out, think he would've done it too.

Looking for Lindenhurst or Rutherglen to get me off to a good start.

[Charnwood]

Good luck to you both! Gold cup's already annoyed me, I had Cue Card at 8/1 before he pulled out, think he would've done it too.

Looking for Lindenhurst or Rutherglen to get me off to a good start.

That's interesting I've just placed some bets for one of my golf mates who's working today, 4 x £10ew

1.30 Rutherglen
2.05 Master of the game
2.40 Mosspark
4.00Divine Intervention

I couldn't stop myself having a tenner on Royal Irish Husar

[Ricco]

Both were spooked by the faller My next choices were 2nd and 3rd, so thankfully I didn't part with money for them

I shall check those others out!

[Charnwood]

Both were spooked by the faller My next choices were 2nd and 3rd, so thankfully I didn't part with money for them

I shall check those others out!

I wouldn't worry about looking too closely as my pal is hundreds down over the 3 days so far.

It looks to me like he's trying to dig himself out with some high priced outsiders in there.

[Charnwood]

I should have stuck with my gut feeling and stayed well clear of The Triumph Hurdle.

Not looking good for Ruby, but maybe my Top Jockey bet on Barry Gerighty now has a chance.

[Ricco]

Yeah great bet on Barry Geraghty, he's had a great time, partly helped by A P picking the wrong horses

No not good for Walsh and I had money on Arctic Fire that he was due to ride in this race, not going to be my day I feel

Yeah, Master of the Game looks a bit slow for this race, you mate might've spotted something though, Makari is my outsider.

[Ricco]

Oooh, real nasty injury for Walsh, they made it sound like the wrist at first.

[Charnwood]

Yeah great bet on Barry Geraghty, he's had a great time, partly helped by A P picking the wrong horses

No not good for Walsh and I had money on Arctic Fire that he was due to ride in this race, not going to be my day I feel

Yeah, Master of the Game looks a bit slow for this race, you mate might've spotted something though, Makari is my outsider.

He's not really a racing man although he loves gambling. He's an ex Premier League pro footballer and has more money than sense sometimes. He's a very good golfer and I suspect he's chosen it for the name.

He's much better at betting on golf tournaments than he is on horses.

I must say I was pretty tempted to stand his bets but only one needs to come in to be a bit costly.

[Charnwood]

f*ck knows what happened to Cheltanian, it looked like he ran out of gas!

[Charnwood]

Two out of two places for Wolfy, he's doing ok and must still be ahead at the mo.

I'm £15 down already, not looking good, Kings Palace in the next.

[Ricco]

Yeah he's having a great time this week by the looks of it!

I've just got a few quid on Deputy Dan as he's done it for me before.

[Ricco]

Hmmmm thought I'd made a load of money for a while there Had 16/1 for Deputy Dan.

Strange that King's palace fell away so early. Once Briar Hill had gone we had a good chance.

[Charnwood]

Hmmmm thought I'd made a load of money for a while there Had 16/1 for Deputy Dan.

Strange that King's palace fell away so early. Once Briar Hill had gone we had a good chance.

That's two of mine now that have been out in front travelling well and looking in with a shout that have then fallen away badly. Kings Palace was a real surprise especially given it had Tom Scudamore onboard who would have gone into the lead for the Top Festival Jockey Prize.

Minus £25 on the day and in need of Bobs Worth doing the business, if not it will be -£55.

[Ricco]

And I've gone for Silviniaco Conti and Last Installment ew, so surely one of us will be in luck after this

I'm not sure Silviniaco will stay, Last Installment probably won't have the pace on this surface so Bob's Worth should win, but I don't know much about the other horses and the way things have gone for favourites so far and with a 33/1 in the last, who knows!

Yeah I'm about £20 down today and need Last Installment to come home, or even Houblon Des Obeaux at 100/1 ( ) to get back in the black.

[Charnwood]

And I've gone for Silviniaco Conti and Last Installment ew, so surely one of us will be in luck after this

I'm not sure Silviniaco will stay, Last Installment probably won't have the pace on this surface so Bob's Worth should win, but I don't know much about the other horses and the way things have gone for favourites so far and with a 33/1 in the last, who knows!

Yeah I'm about £20 down today and need Last Installment to come home, or even Houblon Des Obeaux at 100/1 ( ) to get back in the black.

I've just had a rare 2nd bet on Hendersons other horse with McCoy on board £5 ew

[Ricco]

What a ridiculous day for the bookies!

Knew Silviniaco wouldn't last and Last Installment was pushed very wide and unsettled by another horse before unseating, who knows what he would've done.

[Charnwood]

And I've gone for Silviniaco Conti and Last Installment ew, so surely one of us will be in luck after this

I'm not sure Silviniaco will stay, Last Installment probably won't have the pace on this surface so Bob's Worth should win, but I don't know much about the other horses and the way things have gone for favourites so far and with a 33/1 in the last, who knows!

Yeah I'm about £20 down today and need Last Installment to come home, or even Houblon Des Obeaux at 100/1 ( ) to get back in the black.

I've just had a rare 2nd bet on Hendersons other horse with McCoy on board £5 ew

Well that's -£65, and a bad day in the office..... I'm now wishing I'd played golf, at least then I'd be slightly better off on the day.

[Charnwood]

What a ridiculous day for the bookies!

Knew Silviniaco wouldn't last and Last Installment was pushed very wide and unsettled by another horse before unseating, who knows what he would've done.

The bookies are definitely cleaning up today.

[Charnwood]

I bet Wolfy's having a sweat.... He's on the nose on "On His Own" at 16/1 .... Stewards Inquiry..