I have just a week left before I join the ranks of the unemployed and can get back to having a lie in, watching the racing and playing poker every night. Ooooooo I can’t wait.
So what’s been happening while I’ve been away? Well, I managed to sell around 40,000 calendars in a little under 4 months, I’ve had two days off (one to go racing at Cheltenham and Christmas Day) since September 25th and must have walked in excess of 1000 miles carrying 1276 heavy boxes of calendars. I reckon I’ve eaten 100 Greggs steak bakes, drank 200 cans of coke, had 100 Krispy Kreme donuts and 50 BB’s muffins yet still managed to lose a stone in weight and 2 inches off my waist! The Calendar Club diet beats Weightwatchers every time. You can eat whatever you like and still shed the pounds!
Inter Penarth haven’t played very many games due to the weather but Dylan has kept up his record of scoring in every game he’s played and now has 24 goals in 9 games. He’s set himself a target of 50 goals for the year and really wants the Golden Boot awarded at the end of the season to the clubs top scorer. As he has scored more goals than the rest of the team put together he’s well on target to do that……..
So what of the racing?
From what little Ive seen it seems to have been all about Kauto Star so far this Season. He raised the roof when beating Long Run at Haydock, brought the house down when confirming form over that rival at Kempton in the King George and goes to the Gold Cup with the Cheltenham executives hoping he makes it 3 from 3 there. If he brings the stand down there it will save them thousands in demolition costs when they get around to re-developing the track. Another Nicholls favourite Big Bucks has brushed aside all comers in the stayers division with ease and looks a penalty kick for the World Hurdle at Cheltenham. Just hope Jermaine Defoe isn’t taking it. Carruthers came back to form to win the Hennessey, Synchronised showed improved form to win the Lexus Chase, Quantitaveeasing held his form to finish 2nd and first in the two big chases at Cheltenham, Binocular reversed form with Overturn in the Christmas Hurdle to put himself back in the Champion Hurdle picture and Prospect Wells lost his form and heads to Cheltenham with his reputation shattered. With so many good horses taking to fences this year the Arkle and RSA Chase look set to be the races of the meeting with some connections now thinking the Queen Mother / Gold Cup could be the easier options. Sam Waley-Cohen keeps picking up bans and Long Run supporters are praying this continues long enough for him to be banned for the Gold Cup. Tony McCoy got injured at Taunton at the end of last year and despite his best efforts to ride the following day will be out of action until at least the end of the month. For him to be out that long it must be really serious, maybe his arm or leg fell off. Le Beau Bai ground out the Welsh National in an absolute bog with the final furlong being run in slow motion. Chepstow have failed to race since as they still await the last few horses to finish the race. The Winter weather continues to be favourable with few meetings being abandoned although snow would have been most welcome last weekend when the terrible racing that was on offer deserved to be called off. Which brings us right up to date with todays Lanzarote Hurdle.
2.50 Kempton American Trilogy
I like the look of Paul Nicholls’ runner American Trilogy here on his return to hurdling. The last time we saw him on this sort of mark in a hurdle race he won the County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival by 11 lengths. He’s spent a couple of seasons chasing but has never managed to show the same form over fences as he did over the smaller obstacles. It’s taken Nicholls a while to realise that he’s not going to make it as a chaser and now he’s back over his preferred discipline I’m sure we’re going to see a different horse today. The 33/1 with Paddy Power looks too big to me.
12.50 Warwick Up To The Mark
Henry Daly’s runner should find today’s race a lot easier than his two previous starts where he has run with great credit at Cheltenham. Both times he tried to lead all the way but weakened on the run-in and I’m sure he’ll find Warwick more suitable for those tactics in this lower grade race.
I’d like to thank Gary for doing such a great job with the tipping while I’ve been away. He’s had a helluva lot of big priced horses get placed with enough winners to show a very healthy profit since October. This was despite suffering a lot of bad luck with plenty of horses trading at very short odds but managing to get beat (although he got a lot of that back when backing Plum Pudding at 20/1 a couple of weekends ago which has to be the luckiest winner of the Season). It’s a shame he finished on such a low with last weekends tips but I’m sure he’ll carry on giving his advice throughout the year and the next 20/1 winner is just around the corner. TTS finished 2011 with an amazing run of winners at some very decent prices which ensured we went into 2012 in front and well on target to make it our 6th consecutive winning Season. The trends haven’t been quite so good and the 4 guides we have done so far this jumps Season have yet to find a winner (though we did get the 3rd in the Welsh National at 25/1). But the Season hasn’t really started for the trends yet and we have plenty of time to put that right. On the subject, I have some exciting news regarding the service which I’ll reveal on Monday.
In fact he tells me he fancies two today which are………..
3.20 Kempton SAFARI JOURNEY 22/1 Corals: last twice the 3 mile trip has been too far, this drop down to 2m41/2f is ideal, has also dropped down to last winning mark, where he won a very competitive handicap at Ascot by 15lengths.
3.40 Warwick BLAZING BAILEY 9/1 Corals, WH and others: was a disappointment in the Welsh National, but I think that was predominantly down to the ground being too heavy. This better surface will see a different horse and with Alan King winning the last 2 runnings of this race, I’m very confident of a big run and I would be having my maximum 5pt ew bet on him.
Good luck,
Gavin.