Thursday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
Here’s just one final vignette from Tuesday’s Grand National weights lunch. As night fell on the capital, my route to the exit took me past the bar, where I noticed a trainer, heartily refreshed, lecturing a gaggle of bookies’ reps. His point, made jovially but with force, was that their employers would soon have to pay more towards the sports’ upkeep, thanks to the machinations of Nick Rust and the British Horseracing Authority.
The trainer’s remarks, filtered for family reading, were roughly as follows: “You’re all filtered! Rusty’s the man. He’s going to make you all pay, you thieving bunch of filtering filters … ”
In response, one of the bookies’ reps declared that if racing would only sign a deal on the terms now offered, it would soon enjoy record levels of income. He suggested the difficulty would then be for officials to agree on how to spend the money, adding that fear of having to make such decisions might be why no deal had yet been done.
And thus is the debate between racing and bookmaking carried on. Who would bet on an early resolution, eh?
It’s Morebattle day at Kelso, bringing back memories of Zaynar getting turned over at odds of 1-14 six years ago. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that today may have a similar feel, since Zaynar’s trainer, Nicky Henderson, fields another odds-on favourite in Top Notch.
I like Top Notch but he has yet to actually win this season and no favourite is an entirely safe proposition on ground as testing as Kelso’s will be today, heavy and recovering from frost. He ran a stone below his best when last seen, on heavy going at Cheltenham last month.
Chic Name is not the most obvious of his three rivals but this race might work out well for Richard Hobson’s four-year-old, who travelled well on Chepstow’s heavy last time. If he happened to get a soft lead, he might not come back to the others and his second in a juvenile Grade One last time could yet prove to be quality form. He’ll do for me at 11-1.
Soll (3.05) appeals at 7-4 for the Ivan Straker, having stuck on impressively to win a good veterans’ chase at Sandown last time. I find him more convincing than Unioniste, who has won just one of his last 11 and has twice run miles below his best in his last three outings.
Tipping competition, day four
Our winners so far:
Monday
Billy No Name 9-4
Straidnahanna 9-2
Idol Deputy 8-1
Tuesday
Philba 7-2
Trust Thomas 15-2
Bernardelli 7-2
Wednesday
Streets Of Promise 8-1
Arch Villain 5-4
Teo Vivo 7-4
And our leader is …
DrClaw +8.50
… who had a winnerless Wednesday and is now hotly pressed by hubertfarnsworth (+7.25), who had Streets Of Promise and Teo Vivo.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.05 Kelso, 3.40 Kelso, 7.10 Chelmsford.
This week, thanks again to 32Red bookmakers, we can offer another £25 ante-post bet on any race (for which betting is available) at this year’s Cheltenham Festival. You can see 32Red’s Cheltenham markets here.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -9.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
Good luck!
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