I am not seeing any constructive criticism, but I am seeing someone who - in the politest possible way - appears to be confused about what I am doing in this thread. Nevertheless, I do not expect everybody to have read enough posts to understand why I am not a tipster and there may be some newcomers or lurkers who have just caught this thread recently. So for that sake, I will attempt to elucidate things.
Essentially, I want to understand this niche area of the sport in its fullest capacity. Writing about it is probably an effective way of going about things but if it isn't, then it is no great loss since I have fun doing the previews and other pieces all the same.
Regarding the "prospects list" thing, I am just going to lift this from the preview I posted on the blog for the 7th of Janurary contest at Wetherby;-
"First and foremost, I must make it abundantly clear that I AM NOT A TIPSTER. Nothing I ever write is a tip. Ever. I very seldom bet myself thus I would be categorically averse to suggesting anybody risks their money on the basis of my content. I write only to inform, never to advise. The prospects thing you see at the bottom is nothing more than a device to see how my analysis matches up to reality thus ascertaining my knowledge and understanding of the sphere. Indeed, while it is nice to feel like a smarty pants, I often prefer there to be errors in the assessments as it means I have more to learn about the discipline. "
The closest comparison I can make to my structuring of the list is someone creating a tissue from scratch. Indeed, this is done without my looking at any bookies' prices or the tissue of others since I do not want my judgement to be influenced by their thoughts - consciously or otherwise. So if those on the top of the "prospects list" match the bookies' favourite then we probably used the same processes to reach the same conclusions.
That I do not look at the prices beforehand ties in precisely with what I wrote on post #134 in this thread (where there is also a P/L table in case you are interested). Due to this process, I have absolutely no means of playing against the market and ascertaining value. My top prospects are who I would hypothetically have as favourite in each juvenile hurdle I preview. Nothing more. If they were tips then I would be much more selective in the races I choose, and much more conscious of whether they represent value. If I had any pretentions of being a tipster, I would like to imagine that profit would be at the forefront of my processes. Since it is essentially impossible to make a profit without being aware of the market, it would be equally impossible for me to be a tipster.
Insofar as the tone you have used is concerned, I can assure you that I am personally ambivalent. My esteem is my own responsibility. If I gave it much thought, I would guess that you are harbouring some unhappiness and this outburst is a symptom. Should this be the case then I wish you nothing but good and hope that you feel better before long. If I am wrong then this wouldn't be the first time and it certainly won't be the last! Either way, I'd suggest that you just be nicer to yourself and to others because there is nothing to be gained from being pointlessly antagonistic and considerably less from being erroneously antagonistic (apart from providing others with an accurate depiction of the idiom "tilting at windmills"). Although as with anything, this is entirely up to you. Have a nice day
had just posted this on the ante post thread but admit Gaelic Warrior could be anything.
