little bit on VALMARI today 2.10.chepstow 11/4

impressed last time it won

couple of fancies for today

STRIKE A POSE.3.35.ling...think they have been messing with this one to get handicap mark 9/2
NUBAR BOY.4.10.ling..hopefully cards drop right today for him, def good enough 15/2

I did an straight accumulator of:

Warrington
Widnes
Hull KR

and sodding Leeds,

Stood to win £252. And I'm a Bradford fan.

going back to the stories that roonaldo and live wired used to post, here is my first one:

some idiot started talking to me and my mate on gold cup day while we were having a beer in the pub and watching the racing. bit of a regular in this drinking place by the sounds of it and reckons his phone is like a hot-line during the flat season, getting winners left, right and centre. claims he'd met sheikh mohammed and the other godolphin top brass, got given a team godolphin fleece and other goodies as he is that well linked to the yards, tried to tell me bin suroor and al zarooni were brothers , and that he has heard from 'inside sources' that frankel's target for this season is the derby . when i said to him that frankel had sidestepped the derby last year and wouldnt be eligible this year as it is a race for three year olds and frankel is now four, he immediately got his mobile out and, from what i could make out, was sending a text saying 'is frankel allowed to run in the derby?'. another cracker was him saying he had noticed a horse run well during cheltenham week, but to keep it to ourselves as he didnt want the info getting around before its next run - the horse? that little known hurdler overturn . "overturn ran well, watch for him next time" - second in a champion hurdle speaks for its self, while overturn is usually a reliable yardstick anyway - if we dont know where we stand with this horse by now then we never will.



i felt a little embarrassed for him by correcting the numerous gaffe's he made (countless more i've forgotten as the beer was in full flow by the time the foxhunters started) so we thought we would make the best of a bad job and leave for the place up the road. torn between two minds whether to pop back in one saturda afternoon and see what other pearls he comes out with.

Except this weekend. A few hundred down

bloody london and bradford

plenty pocket (hereford), first in command (southwell), and dawn commander (m/rasen) all look to have outstanding chances today and the treble looks tempting.

however, havent had a bet on this standard of racing for ages and my bank is reaping the benefits so will leave it and see which one of the three lets the treble down .

yeah i read that it'd been pulled out of a race not so long back when the money had came for it, looks interesting today.

too many bent trainers operate on the aw at such a low grade.

there are enough reasons for me to leave pp and dc at the prices too, will keep monitoring the racecards but hopefully will prove profitable having the patience to wait for aintree and punchestown.

something must be up with plenty pocket, drifted like a barge and finished last.


anyone else noticed that paddy power are taking bets on several matches at wrestlemania?

after plenty pocket got beat and the next one won i was tempted to have a look at dawn commander, but 1/3 on a horse running at market rasen in the chelt-aintree gap doesnt exactly set the pulse racing.

yeah, let's speak to some of the wwe scriptwriters and get a max stakes acca whacked on.

Not one for big betting on the all weather, but Lady Mandy (6.10 Kempton) could potentially be well treated off an opening mark of 48. Bit of a punt, but could be worth a small play at 4/1 early price.

wouldnt go steaming onto furners green at a short price. looking at the ballydoyle 3yo pecking order, there look to be a good few above him in it so dont think he'll prove top class. wont have to be to win this, but often o'brien's horses need their first run of the season - wouldn't have been as much of a factor had it been in three weeks time, as the coolmore machine doesnt usually get out of first gear til after easter. the third negative for me is joseph o'brien, which i may get a bit of flack for as he has already won a few races at the highest level, while still learning his trade, but when he cocks one up he does it in great style.

should win but would have to be braver than me to take odds on.

just a shame coolmore havent properly replaced johnny murtagh, think their group one horses would've fared a little bit better last year had he still been riding. not just on the track, but he has a wealth of experience off it too, o'brien seemed to get it right a lot more when murtagh was there, never really heard him with excuses such as he hadn't trained the horse properly or had went too easy etc, maybe murtagh wasnt the yes man that some of the others are and spoke up during preparation?

will be interesting to see how graham lee fares on the flat, didnt back him often but will never forget his ride on kalahari king in the maghull a few years ago - won me a good few quid that day taking on the overrated tatenen. shame he never really kicked on from a near miss in the arkle and winning the maghull, third in a champion chase and close second in the ryanair as close as he's came to a top race win.

Bet of the week has to be Bradford +14. Hull without their 1st choice fb, centre,so, hooker & props. only won by more then 14 on 1 occasion this season, Bradford playing for their futures... Lump on!