WHAT A WEEK: With the Cheltenham Festival getting underway at 1.30pm on Tuesday, Shamrock is deep in research into the Irish angles for this week’s extravaganza and notes on BETDAQ ‘more than 9’ Irish trained winners is trading as favourite. Shamrock’s remit is to find out which ones so don’t miss his first day preview tomorrow.
You have to feel for Stratford, Taunton and Plumpton. No matter what fare they offer on the eve of Cheltenham it pales into the fog that has immersed most of the UK this Monday morning.
Jockeys with big Cheltenham rides are also brave individuals – fingers crossed there are no accidents today and all jockeys get to Prestbury Park for the real action of the week.
I suffered my own accident yesterday by tipping up Bog Warrior – 65 lengths last of three behind Flemenstar. There are times in this game when you just have to put your hands up and say you got it wrong. I was confident going into the race, so no excuses, and the market couldn’t split them as they were sent off 10/11 joint favourites. It was clear from an early stage we were in trouble. Bog Warrior travelled well for a long way but lost ground at his fences, failing to take a cut at them and jockey Davy Russell Russell reported after the race that the gelding had run flat while the racecourse vet found the gelding to be blowing hard after the race. Whatever the reasons – a shame we didn’t get to see the head to head clash that it promised.
Slightly different bet for me to start the week. My nap is a place bet in the final race at Stratford, the bumper, on Irish bred Toot Sweet who I didn’t think did an awful lot wrong when second at Bangor on debut. There are question marks about the market leaders here too. The odds on favourite Spirit of Shankly was eye catching on debut at Kempton but that was on Polytrack not turf and the form of Hugo Drax’s debut fourth was badly let down when the winner of that race ran a shocker next time out.
We could be looking at 2/1 on BETDAQ for the place on Toot Sweet which will do and hopefully get some Euros in the bank for this week. Toot toot, Cheltenham is almost here.
SHAMROCK’S BETS
NAP (PLACE) Toot Sweet (Stratford 5.10)
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