Racing Post: Amateurs

Irish Stamp

Irish Stamp

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Who does the Spotlight´s for the Racing Post?

Reading the Prix Gladiateur spotlight it told us that the Spanish horse Bannaby hadn´t run since winning at Maisson-Laffitte in June. A quick form search (ie. clicking his name on the website) would have told you he´d easily won at Madrid and San Sebastian since. From the number one (and only) racing paper you´d expect better research.

ps. backing three unlucky losers in the last two days (Mia´s Boy, Seek N Destroy and Bannaby) hasn´t helped this topic much.
 
Whoever maintains the RP database has a habit of only putting obscure form in at the last minute. I bet it wasn't there when the Spotlights were being written. Not that that's any defence!
 
Gareth Flynn said:
Whoever maintains the RP database has a habit of only putting obscure form in at the last minute. I bet it wasn't there when the Spotlights were being written. Not that that's any defence!
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That's about right ~ I noticed that when Signalman won for Peter Monteith at Ayr a few weeks ago, the Racing Post display showed only one line of form for him in his lifetime when he'd actually raced about a dozen times. Essentially, the database only includes form for certain tracks by default unless others are manually added. The spotlights for France should really be done by Desmond Stoneham, who is their French correspondent, but possibly not in this case.
 
Did anyone back Kasbah Bliss.I really must stop going on non racing holidays -they completely fcuk me up-worrying about passport,tickets ,money when I should be pumping at Longchamp.
 
LUKE said:
Did anyone back Kasbah Bliss.I really must stop going on non racing holidays -they completely fcuk me up-worrying about passport,tickets ,money when I should be pumping at Longchamp.
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I love it. You and me are quite alike. I nearly cried in Cyprus two years ago when I could not get on a 72 hole match bet involving an injured golfer! I also worried my friends my needing 56 phone calls and 200 texts in the airport to get on a horse in a Tipperary bumper.
 
I am away on a lads weekend to Dubovnik on Thursday -the guys I am going with are non punters -they would have me locked up if they knew what I did the rest of time.
 
Well I must admit, when I saw the thread title I thought it might be something completely different!!!

My biggest bug bear with them at the moment is the 24 hours it takes to get a French result up
 
LUKE said:
I am away on a lads weekend to Dubovnik on Thursday -the guys I am going with are non punters -they would have me locked up if they knew what I did the rest of time.
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Sounds like what a few of my friends who visited said to me recently :)

Luke,
This is worth checking out while in Dubrovnik (Cafe Buza)..
http://www.croatia-beaches.com/promenade/dubrovnik_beach_promenade.htm

Basically, it's a tiny bar outside the city walls, where the seats are the rocks with the water below.

Dubrovnik is fantastic ... well worth hiring a boat to take you around the islands.

Enjoy.
 
Just read their story on New Approach`s defection from the Arc, and in it they suggest that the Champion Stakes is at Newmarket on 25th October. My Stan James diary has the date as October 18th.:confused:
 
Euronymous said:
Just read their story on New Approach`s defection from the Arc, and in it they suggest that the Champion Stakes is at Newmarket on 25th October. My Stan James diary has the date as October 18th.:confused:
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Read that as well and nearly fell off chair. have flights etc. booked for one weekend earlier and thought for a split second I got it all wrong! Dairy + Newmarket homepage go fo for the 18th, thank god:o
 
Irish Stamp said:
Who does the Spotlight´s for the Racing Post?


They do come out with some bizarre things. Regarding one yard I know well, they said when a hurdler was running recently that the yard hadn't had a NH winner in over a year, when in fact their last NH runner in the spring was a winner. Then they said apropos a debut 2 yr old, that the trainer hadn't had a winning 2 year old in 5 years. He's only been training on his own account for 4 yrs max, and the horses are mainly NH/dual purpose or older handicappers. There have only ever been four 2yr old runners from the yard, one of which debuted today, another of which was 2nd, 2nd time out, a fortnight ago in a hot race, and another of which ran very well a few times at 2 a couple of years ago (the fourth 2 yr old was no good anyway)

I guess these Spotlights have to be done under pressure, but for flat races with 2 day decs, it shouldn't be that hard to get it right
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It's hard enough to be right in the racing game so when the opportunity arises to be right i.e facts, I would expect anyone involved in the game to cease that opportunity.Lazy buggers.....
 
Several of the "experts" on the various bookies radio offerings are responsible for spotlights information. Some do read form figures better than others, but any actual insights in the race are coincedental. Frank Carter still does the odd few. Thankfully their initials are placed after their offerings.
 
If anyone here wants a job writing Spotlights, I'm told Emily Weber would be delighted to receive your Curriculum Vitae. Sometimes Spotlight writers do an excellent job ~ take these two recent examples:

Vicky Pollard: Yeah but, no but, needs to improve.

Carnt Spell: Carn't run very fast either.
 
Headstrong said:
Irish Stamp said:
Who does the Spotlight´s for the Racing Post?


They do come out with some bizarre things. Regarding one yard I know well, they said when a hurdler was running recently that the yard hadn't had a NH winner in over a year, when in fact their last NH runner in the spring was a winner. Then they said apropos a debut 2 yr old, that the trainer hadn't had a winning 2 year old in 5 years. He's only been training on his own account for 4 yrs max, and the horses are mainly NH/dual purpose or older handicappers. There have only ever been four 2yr old runners from the yard, one of which debuted today, another of which was 2nd, 2nd time out, a fortnight ago in a hot race, and another of which ran very well a few times at 2 a couple of years ago (the fourth 2 yr old was no good anyway)

I guess these Spotlights have to be done under pressure, but for flat races with 2 day decs, it shouldn't be that hard to get it right
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I know you get accused of namedropping Heads, but in this instance at least, I believe you can say Alistair Lidderdale! Regarding the five year stat, that is the standard measurement of the RP database; they are not suggesting that the last winner he trained was six years ago, but that the RP database from 2003-08 list him as having no winners under a certain code. It's been suggested that the RP database is not always correctly maintained which may have some truth in it.
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For the sake of objectivity, I've checked the Spotlight comment on Litenup yesterday, and referenced the record of Alistair Lidderdale; Frank Carter states that the yard has had "no winners from few 2yo runners" which seems fair to me, especially given that the horse was a massive outsider. The interesting aspect is the difference between HS's recollection of the trainer's career and what the record books state.

Alistair Lidderdale has held a licence for seven years next January and has sent out 27 2yo runners in that time, none of whom have won. I'm not knocking him (I've met him and he's a lovely bloke who trains cheap horses perfectly well) or Headstrong; it's just a little ironic that a thread slagging off the Post for its inaccuracies should be slightly short of the mark in terms of its figures.
 
rorydelargy said:
If anyone here wants a job writing Spotlights, I'm told Emily Weber would be delighted to receive your Curriculum Vitae. Sometimes Spotlight writers do an excellent job ~ take these two recent examples:

Vicky Pollard: Yeah but, no but, needs to improve.

Carnt Spell: Carn't run very fast either.
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Rory, lets not get too defensive about the spotlight pieces. When it used to be Man on the Spot or Augur in the Sporting Life, which if i remember correctly, were full-time staff, you could tell that the opinions were those of an expert. Frank Carter still does some Spotlight pieces.

If Spotlight can afford me, I'll do them, as they require little or no care. Just make sure that any facts that you do say can be backed up by the RP database. How much do they pay per race? If you pay peanuts you get monkeys or something like that.
 
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I'm not getting defensive ~ a friend of mine used to write Spotlights but can earn much more money now doing other things. He told me recently that Emily Weber (who runs the team) is desperately looking for people capable of doing the job. I'm not sure if they can afford you though ~ they are looking for freelances and pay peanuts which might explain that the quality is sometimes lacking (which I don't deny).
 
I'm sure the opinion of spotlight holds sway with a lot of the £2-£5 punters in the betting shops each day. Maybe even more than that.

I have wondered how influential the BAGS meeting previews are in determining the profits made by bookies on the races shown in shops. Not that I would have a clue how expert the opinions are on the dags.
 
rorydelargy said:
I'm not getting defensive ~ a friend of mine used to write Spotlights but can earn much more money now doing other things. He told me recently that Emily Weber (who runs the team) is desperately looking for people capable of doing the job. I'm not sure if they can afford you though ~ they are looking for freelances and pay peanuts which might explain that the quality is sometimes lacking (which I don't deny).
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Probably explains why she is desperately seeking people who can do the job as well.
 
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