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Backing Venetia Williams' Chasers In November with Andrew Mount

Slim said:
Simon is a nice person but he hasn't yet worked out that AK is a c***.
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I've never met AK so I couldn't comment.

My online impression isn't favourable, though.

Here's the thing: Having worked both sides of the fence (though not as recently as you) I never expect any bookie to tolerate any long-term winning punter for long - I expect them to play the punter, not the bet, cultivate those punters they know will give it back (if they ever won it in the first place) and shun anyone who can make it pay, especially just cherrypicking ricks and never sighted inbetween times (not a clever way to prolong the lifespan of an account, but that's another story).

It's business pure and simple.

What irks me slightly is those who pretends they're different to the rest.

Any bookie who ever tells me personally they'll take my bets I actually feel slightly insulted by, because they clearly think I'm not much kop.

When I eventually disabuse them of that notion, it's curtains sooner rather than later.

They're all the same, I'd be no different in their shoes, and he's probably no better or worse than any of them.

All IMO (standard).
 
Ian_Davies said:
I've never met AK so I couldn't comment.

My online impression isn't favourable, though.

Here's the thing: Having worked both sides of the fence (though not as recently as you) I never expect any bookie to tolerate any long-term winning punter for long - I expect them to play the punter, not the bet, cultivate those punters they know will give it back (if they ever won it in the first place) and shun anyone who can make it pay, especially just cherrypicking ricks and never sighted inbetween times (not a clever way to prolong the lifespan of an account, but that's another story).

It's business pure and simple.

What irks me slightly is those who pretends they're different to the rest.

Any bookie who ever tells me personally they'll take my bets I actually feel slightly insulted by, because they clearly think I'm not much kop.

When I eventually disabuse them of that notion, it's curtains sooner rather than later.

They're all the same, I'd be no different in their shoes, and he's probably no better or worse than any of them.

All IMO (standard).
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Let all that aside. AK gave out to me once for tipping a waitress. He's the definition of a c***. He never needed to be a bookmaker to highlight it.
 
Slim said:
Let all that aside. AK gave out to me once for tipping a waitress. He's the definition of a c***. He never needed to be a bookmaker to highlight it.
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What business of his is it whether or not you tip, or don't tip, people? Why would he even care?

I don't care what other people do (so long as it doesn't adversely impact me or mine) - not because I'm some easygoing, freewill-advocating, paragon of virtue, but because I'm just not that interested in most other people and the minutiae of their lives.

Anyway, I'd imagine the nature of Simon's work (delivering content that seems to me to be mostly advertorials for bookmakers who employ him) means he can't always be too fussy about who he associates with and, seeing as we've all got to put food on the table one way or another, I get that Simon has to be silently diplomatic on occasions.
 
Ian_Davies said:
What business of his is it whether or not you tip, or don't tip, people? Why would he even care?

I don't care what other people do (so long as it doesn't adversely impact me or mine) - not because I'm some easygoing, freewill-advocating, paragon of virtue, but because I'm just not that interested in most other people and the minutiae of their lives.

Anyway, I'd imagine the nature of Simon's work (delivering content that seems to me to be mostly advertorials for bookmakers who employ him) means he can't always be too fussy about who he associates with and, seeing as we've all got to put food on the table one way or another, I get that Simon has to be silently diplomatic on occasions.
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All fine but thankfully I get to say what I think and know to be true. AK is a c***.
 
Ian_Davies said:
Anyway, I'd imagine the nature of Simon's work (delivering content that seems to me to be mostly advertorials for bookmakers who employ him) means he can't always be too fussy about who he associates with ...
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Which is why I never read his stuff.

My default assumption is that anyone who works for a bookmaker and puts up anything under their banner is out to put us away somewhere down the line.
 
Anyone who calls a book The Skint Mob with regards to punters shows what they think of us.

I've heard some of his interviews.

He asks the right questions but lacking in any real emotion.

It's as if he's either disinterested or holds others in contempt.
 
Not that he's asking me to, I feel I have to defend Simon a bit here.

It seems to me he's just a bloke, trying to make a living doing something he presumably enjoys.

AFAIK, he's a freelance, with no security of employment, working, it seems, as a form of PR/content generator for various independent bookmakers.

Obviously, the plan will be to get the bookmaker's name out there and attract new business, which the bookie will retain if it's profitable (losing) business.

Simon can't be expected to comment on any restriction/closing down policy of someone who is paying him a fee, nor can he be expected to make negative comment about the individuals he works for.

Plus his material is free to view or not view.

I only read a tiny fraction of it myself - I've seen the interviews with Eddie Fremantle (had to, I'd heard I got a brief mention and I wouldn't be much of a narcissist if I didn't have a gander), Mark Hill, Mike Smith and Steve Noyce, all of who I've known at one time or another.

More recently, during a spell when I was getting grief (no doubt well deserved) off a chap I'd always rather liked when he was on Twitter, I watched an interview with a guy called Gearoid Norris and it reminded me why I'd always liked and been amused by him on Twitter/X.

It was possibly the catalyst for a far more pleasant - yet still cuttingly witty - metamorphosis into, I feel, more positive interaction with him here.

Simon's alright in my book so long as you don't expect too much, given who he works for.

And this particular item regarding Venetia Williams has been a positive for the forum, I think.
 
Martator out to 10s, surprisingly enough considering it went blue ahead of Saturday's race. I suppose if you got the BOG at the shorter prices you won't mind too much.
 
Slim said:
No BOG until 10am on the day with most firms.
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IMO you'd have to be losing a lot of money a year to be on an overnight BOG deal with any bookie nowadays.

Anyone who has half a clue what they're doing very quickly gets nothing and tbh every time anyone writes "Soandso offers this...." my standard private thought is: "Not to me, they don't - you just flagged yourself up to me as a long-term losing punter."
 
Frere banbou must have a chance off his mark,but is a funny old horse.
I thought he didn't quite stay 2m 5f and then he went and won easily over 3m.
 
Thistle Ask was 10/1 when the final decs came out on Wednesday.

Everybody else must have had their money on it...
 
8/1 for me on Thistle Ask. It’s obviously a good bet, if it wins at 3/1. But I totally get why the forum call Skelton a cheat, and worse.
 
I forgot I'd cancelled my RTV subscription and didn't realise it was on ITV so didn't see the race but I don't think for a moment that the Skeltons were cheating.

When it won the time before last the form book comment said it had the potential to be a 140+ horse (from a mark in the low 120s). It hacked up again next time and was obviously on an extremely steep curve.

That said, it was something like 9lbs wrong at the weights and up substantially in class. But all bar one of the opponents today appear to have run an incredibly long way below form, even the rank outsider.

I find it difficult to accept that the poor form of the others was just an off day but I would apportion no blame to the Skeltons for their horse winning (in the absence of concrete evidence that they induced the connections of the others to have their horse run below form).
 
I haven't until now said anything on this, but it's a stretch to say a horse that had won its last two races was an example of its yard "cheating."

It bolted in last time out, ok it was effectively up 11lb today, but it won with ridiculous ease at Wetherby, it was fit and the early prices were just wrong.

No aftertiming as I said it was one of my two against the field and I'd also said I had it on my mind for the Grand Sefton.

I just love how a 5yo handicapped to the hilt on what it had actually done on a racecourse could make the market and be 13/8 jolly based on a load of wishful thinking flannel from the trainer about how it could be the next Master Minded.

I'll take on those for the rest of "me natural."
 
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Yes, I’d go along with that. As I said on my blog My notebook runners the favourite was always doubtful and although I thought JPR One was the one to beat I also said there were four that could. Throw in the market move and it wasn’t really that much of a surprise. Certainly nothing to be crying foul about.
 
After Martator's plucky effort to get within 66 lengths of the mighty Thistle Ask today, two oppressed minority groups TVWNG* and TSEPA* have joined forces to have each-way doubles Alcedo four places and Frero Banbou six places at Aintree tomorrow.

(*The Venetia Williams November Groupies and *The SkyBet Extended Places Addicts)
 
I think Skelton will always be tainted by his ‘expert handling’ of Langer Dan. Every handicap winner he has now, will be judged on how Langer Dan was handicapped to win the Coral Cup twice.

Pocket-hurty punters never forget.
 

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