Highs and lows from the week

Euronymous said:
Royal Pegaille was rated 2 lbs higher than Minella Indo before yesterday. That just can't be right, not when the latter had been placed in a race that consistently throws up Gold Cup contenders.
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It's right based on the evidence.

The RSA often throws up Gold Cup contenders but it is a race for novices who are about a year short of maturity.

That said, it highlights something I've mentioned before, namely that the big handicapping organisations are slaves to their procedures and race standards. A lone wolf can rate them as s/he sees fit and really only has him/herself to answer to and will profit or lose by his/her figures and interpretation.

I had no problem with Royale Pagaille's big rating. He hammered some reliable handicappers at Haydock but the heavy ground (v) might have played a part. He had previously smashed the clock to bits at Kempton, form franked by Cap Du Nord. He got the first wrong yesterday, which put him on the back foot, and proceeded to hit several fences afterwards. It's a run I would be willing to put a line through. He's still only seven.

My figures going into yesterday were:

[TABLE="width: 393"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]Horse
[/TD]
[TD]OR
[/TD]
[TD]MON
[/TD]
[TD]Notes
[/TD]
[TD]RPR
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Native River
[/TD]
[TD]172
[/TD]
[TD]178
[/TD]
[TD]?? s
[/TD]
[TD]181
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Kemboy
[/TD]
[TD]169
[/TD]
[TD]177
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[TD]173
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Al Boum Photo
[/TD]
[TD]175
[/TD]
[TD]173
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]179
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Santini
[/TD]
[TD]167
[/TD]
[TD]173
[/TD]
[TD]+p nov
[/TD]
[TD]177
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Frodon
[/TD]
[TD]169
[/TD]
[TD]171
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]176
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Lostintranslation
[/TD]
[TD]167
[/TD]
[TD]171
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[TD]175
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Champ
[/TD]
[TD]165
[/TD]
[TD]171
[/TD]
[TD]? nov
[/TD]
[TD]174
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Minella Indo
[/TD]
[TD]164
[/TD]
[TD]170
[/TD]
[TD]+ nov
[/TD]
[TD]174
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Royale Pagaille
[/TD]
[TD]166
[/TD]
[TD]169
[/TD]
[TD]++ v
[/TD]
[TD]175
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] A Plus Tard
[/TD]
[TD]169
[/TD]
[TD]166
[/TD]
[TD]+
[/TD]
[TD]176
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Aso
[/TD]
[TD]158
[/TD]
[TD]161
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]166
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] Black Op
[/TD]
[TD]147
[/TD]
[TD]157
[/TD]
[TD]?
[/TD]
[TD]162
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

I had a good mark for Black Op relative to his OR and he did extremely well to stay with the pace for so long.

I had serious questions about Native River's Sandown win but it looked very good at the time.

I queried the mark I had for Kemboy but that was because it was his old OR which I could really 'buy' but left it there in the table for some element of possibility.

ABP's rating is based on his established form.

MI's and APT's are based on developing form.

The figures are there to help envisage how events might unfold as much as how they stand.
 
Highs: some fabulous races and some genuine stars on show both equine and human.
Lows: ITV's coverage shameful neglect of showing the actual horses before the races; not being able to go in person and Schiehalllion Munro not being entered. (Yes I'm still annoyed :( )
 
Much as I admire the huge amount of work that goes into compiling your ratings, DO, I was kinda hoping this thread was going to stick to the topic....:lol:
 
Plenty of highlights.fantastic racing.particulary Alaho and Honeysuckle. The shunter,what a plot.
Best moment for me personally was Vanillier.
 
Highs

- I haven’t seen such an utterly devastating performance since the 2011 Guineas than that from Allaho.

- Having people who don’t follow the sport texting me to say how brilliant Rachel is. Racing needed something like that more than ever and she was simply outstanding.

- Henry was gracious, humble and an absolute pleasure as always to watch in his success. I am so happy for him.

- The way racing (including wider coverage) overcame the negative publicity leading up to the meeting, and celebrated a truly great week..

Lows

- That I wasn’t there.

- The race planning that causes what is the best week of the year to end at c. 3:15 on the Friday. Because despite a great finish to the inaugural Mares, having a meeting that starts with two grade ones, a top class handicap and the Champion hurdle, to end with a Foxhunters, mares chase and conditional jockeys plot is borderline criminal.
 
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Betting highs - using the 48 hour decs to get on mount ida at 11s , the shunter at 6s and vanillier at 25s

Betting lows - my saver bets beating my first choice selection on about 10 occasions and skyace just getting run out of third for what would have been one hell of a trifecta

General highs - the action being so enthralling I almost forgot there was nobody there,, Rachel, Jack Kennedy ride on mount ida

General lows - itv. poor coverage constantly and far to frequently interrupted by paddy power adverts that maybe mildly ammusing 9 am on Tuesday but rather irritating by Thursday afternoon
 
Betting highs - Well I had an OK week:
Winners were:
Tiger Roll :<3:
Allaho
Sky Pirate
Sir Gerhard
Put the Kettle On
Mount Ida
Quixilios
Porlock Bay :<3:
Placed horses were:
Come on Teddy
Craigneche
Milliner
Petite Mouchoir :<3:
Fusil Raffles
Streets of Doyen
Farclas

Oh and I had a CSF on Galvin/Next Destination/Escaria Ten (first time that’s happened!)

I really do bet in small amounts because that’s all I can afford but my two accounts are looking pretty healthy. And then yesterday my luck continued with another three winners and I also found out I had the RF up in the bumper at Kempton when I checked my account last night. Happy days.
 
Betting highs:

Galvin 10/1
Allaho 5/1
Flooring Porter
Belfast Banter 66/1 & 50/1
Minella Indo

Lows:
Bravemansgame
Blue Sari
Zanahiyr
Gentleman De Mee
Martinhal (I had it at 33/1 in an ew double with Belfast Banter for decent money)
 
Highs
Put the Kettle on
Flooring Porter
Vanillier
Rachael Blackmore

Lows
Failing to back Allaho (having backed the horse at the last two festivals)
Woeful performance by the English trainers
ITV coverage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Highs
Rachel
Tiger Roll
Spread of success across many stables/owners/young jockeys
Success of Irish p2p horses; it may help those with stables full of pointers unable to race to get them sold.
Comraderie of Irish in Best Mate enclosure

Lows
That I was not there especially for Chatham Street Lad/Getaway Gorgeous
Poor ITV coverage; even the opening shots of Cheltenham gates remind me of the gates into Auschwitz for some reason.
Lack of UK winners, anything that lop sided is not competition as we know it.
Cullentra stables and staff did not get credit for placing of horses or Tiger Roll's success.
That I backed no winner ( that I get over quite quickly usually)
 
High-doing what I said I was going to do and backing Minella Indo to win enough to pay for my daughters First year in University.

Low -my lack of ambition punting wise and missing the chance of a lifetime to win a life changing amount.
 
High - Backing Chantry House to win the Marsh, and the free bet that allowed on Mrs Milner.
Low - P*ss-poor efforts from Epatante and Champ.
 
LUKE said:
High-doing what I said I was going to do and backing Minella Indo to win enough to pay for my daughters First year in University.

Low -my lack of ambition punting wise and missing the chance of a lifetime to win a life changing amount.
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I think your High is a pretty damn fine result!
 
Thanks Jinny -typical punter no pleasing me.If I have learned one thing over the years regarding Cheltenham it's that there is money to be made from related bets -either trainers in peak form or horses with related form.I could go back to the 80's and talk about trainers exploding into form at the festival -David Nicholson,John Edwards,Pipe,Nicholls,NTD,Henndo,Mullins and HdB.I
I remember Slim being very strong on the Un de Sceaux /Vatour double a few years ago because they had to go for different races.Even though it wasn't successful the Allaho/Elimay double was a great bet.
if I was at my sharpest punting wise this week I could have won anything up to a quarter of a million but that's life I am fairly Zen about it now.
 
My betting highs were
Vintage clouds 25s,heaven help us 33s,vanellier 25s,and 33s, The shunter 28s to win at kelso/Cheltenham.and galopin des champs at 33s and 25s and I joined DO on Langer Dan 50/1.

Lows. Doing too many multiples trying to win thousands.
Having too much on losers and not enough on winners
Not following Luke on minella.
Having 5 2nds on thursday inc cloudy Glen 33s

But what a good weeks racing.some exceptional performances.
 
Highs - forum chat on the Sunday before Cheltenham; my best-ever Cheltenham (good treble on the Thursday); grasping the opportunity of online betting and finally spreading my bets.

Lows - being a twat after one glass of wine and one can of beer, messing up my bet on Oscar Elite in the AB. I have been in a Fantasy Festival competition for the last 15 years and have never won it. If I had have remembered to back Oscar Elite ew, I would have won the compo.
 
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Euronymous said:
Who were you light on?
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No multiples on the deBromhead horses -just hefty singles.Allaho is an integral part of the Minella Indo story -he drifted out to 16on the exchange and that was enough to stop me doing a Lucky 15 with the 3 main HdB winners.I'm a big fan of Hugh Bowman the Australian jockey -I was eyeing up a Lucky 63 with his mounts in the big Saturday races either side of the festival -First won at 10/1-second race abandoned.
My betting mainly revolves around singles but I suppose the moral of the story is you can't win the lotto without buying a ticket.
 
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