Festival Highs and Lows

Euronymous

Euronymous

Senior Jockey
Joined
Jan 6, 2005
Messages
19,066
Location
Leyland
Punting High:

Sizing Europe. If someone had told me pre-Festival that I would have one winner and asked me which would I choose I wouldn't have said SE even though it was my biggest wager, cos let's face it it's all downhill if your only winner triumphs in the Arkle.

Punting Low:
Getting turned over in the RSA despite having nice positions on Long Run and Punchestowns.

Sporting High:
Big Bucks almost winning the World Hurdle on the bridle.

Sporting Low:
Citizen Vic's fatal fall.
 
Punting High
Pigeon Island - great ride

Punting Low
Long Run getting turned over

Sporting High
Katie Walsh's double

Sporting Low
Equine Fatalities
 
Punting High
Finishing up three days out of four

Punting Low
Fionnegas brought down at the last when running into a place

Sporting High
Imperial Commander

Sporting Low
Kauto Star falling
 
Punting High
Sizing Europe And J'y Vole ew


Punting Low
Go Native, Punchestowns, Quel Esprit and Enterprise Park


Sporting High
Binocular


Sporting Low by a distance
Citizen Vic's demise
 
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No punting High's or Low's, because I don't want money to influence how I feel on what I love.

High's:
Big Bucks and Sizing Europe, Paddy standing up for his fellow jockey.

Low's:
Emotionally seeing Kauto fall :(
Citizen Vic and Mac's criticism of the young jock on Dunguib
Channel 4 racing teams bull.
 
Highs: The 4 major champions all putting up brilliant, clear cut winning performances.

Lows: The deaths.
 
If i'm worried about losing money I cannot enjoy something fully. I'd of hated to have felt angry toward kauto if he'd fallen and i'd have had money on him when he could have been hurt. I know some people do feel like that.
 
Punting high was Spirit river. Only bloody high....

Sporting was the brilliance of binocular, closely followed by IC. It was a bit of a lazarus festival with Binocular, Denman and Albertas run springing to mind. Pidgeon island too i suppose. Fair point that the major race winners were all very deserving and all can be highly rated and appreciated

Low. The deaths of course and perhaps the feeling that we may not see the very best Master minded again (i am more confident that Kauto will be back winning the KGV)
 
So many!

I'm very relieved to report I ended up about 7pts ahead but that's not very good considering I punted about 50! I don't think I've ever punted heavier over the meeting but I got 33/1 ante-post Albertas Run and 28/1 Pigeon Island today (as well as Soldatino and Baby Run), otherwise I'd have been right up sh*t creek.

I can say I was unlucky to some extent in that a few fallers looked like winning.

Note to self: screw the bobbin next year and don't go in heavily ante-post. Especially on pigs like Celestial Halo.
 
Hi - Buena Vista. (personally AND punting!!) and watching Mr McGoldrick.

Low - of course the deaths, and I also have a feeling I can count myself "unlucky" the same way DO is - I should think we had the same horses !!

Still - finished £90 up - so Im a happy bunny !!!!
 
Didn't punt a bean, so no probs with the lows - if my comp entries are a marker of what they'd have been like, so much the better!

Highs - definitely the unbridled glee of first-timer jockeys winning. Seeing the best horses duking it out, even if many favourites failed. Seeing most fallers get up, especially KS and RESTLESS HARRY, who ran a corker 'til then.

Lows - the obvious.

Good fun on the forum, too - always interesting to seeing agreement and conflict in fairly equal measure!
 
Punting High:
Pigeon Island - biggest win I've had. Soldatino quite satisfying as had backed him after his Kempton win.

Punting Low:
Najaf not following through when looking all over the winner. Had him backed at 34, and in an each way double with Soldatino.

Sporting High:
Really enjoyed the Gold Cup, but probably the Champion Hurlde - Binocular was brilliant.

Sporting Low:
The comments about Brian O'Connell. The deaths were awful. That second last fence, great as it can be, needs to be reviewed (again).
 
Punting highs - all 7 winners I managed to back - Sizing Europe, Binocular, Weapon's Amnesty, Albertas Run, Santuaire, Great Endeavour & Soldatino. All for a win and all on Betfair at luverly prices.
Punting low - none really I was on such a high but could have done with The Package getting there.
Sporting High - has to be Binocular and APs real delight - it was a treat to watch.
Sporting Low - that the Big Showdown didn't happen (not that I want to take anything away from Imperial Commander & Paddy Brennan - they were thoroughly deserving!)
 
High was seeing KS back up on his feet.
Low was those who did not get back up on their feet.
Rest is academic and meant to be a peripheal part of the experience.
 
Punting high: I did not have a bet on the cross-country chase or the Foxhunter.

Punting low: Long Run, Najaf, J'y Vole, Alaivan.....no, I did not back any of them each-way.

Sporting high: The Gold Cup, its build up and the race itself despite the result not being what I might have liked, Big Buck's.

Sporting low: those deaths - not convinced I can shrug and move on describing it as "just part of the game" for the rest of my life - and some ugly flouting of whip rules.
 
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I was shouting for Najaf to get beat. I was trying to back it when Betfair froze on me and by the time it unfroze the race was off! I think it was 74 at the time.
 
Punting high: Cue card

Low Faasel, Package

Racing High: Brennan proving he is a top rider and the Gold Cup being won by different connections for a change to stop the circus

Low Dunguib's bubble bursting
 
Punting highs - basically just Cue Card and Time For Rupert and those are the two horses I would take away from the Festival as potential stars.

Punting lows - virtually everything else - particularly Get Me Out Of Here, and the departures of Wishfull Thinking and Hey Big Spender.

Quality performance - Big Bucks, just superb.

One to watch - Adrian Heskin.

Other disappointments - moving that hurdle (see Get Me Out Of Here), Katie Walsh's ride on Poker De Sivola, AP's ride on Burton Port, and the failure to give the same level of credit to Cue Card as was given to Dunguib for a similar performance, and finally a real shame Barizan couldn't hold on in the Triumph.

This year's Cheltenham was a punting minefield. Well done to anyone who came out with any sort of profit and those that lost hope it wasn't too much.
 
See you at Lingfield's Winter Derby tomorrow, Prufrock? But surely the big draw will be Flame's ride in the Charidee Race there?

For anyone needing to come down a bit after so much adrenaline, the day is also supporting the HEROS (racehorse re-homing, not soldiers) charity, so anyone who's had it off large, please come and contribute!
 
Punting Highs. EW returns on large bets Somersby and Kalahari King.

Punting Lows. First time in almost 40 years, no wins.:surrender:Very big EW bet on Restless Harry.
Racing High Restless Harry upright when screens removed.

Too shocked for more comment tonight. About to hit the bottle now home.
 
Punting High - Buena Vista followed by Alberta's run

Punting Low - today ouch

Sporting High - Binocular

Sporting Low- Kauto's fall

I don't regard equine deaths as a sporting low they go well beyond that and they were as awful as always .
 
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