Welcome to our new weekly feature on BETDAQ TIPS – The BETDAQ PUNTER. Each week our BETDAQ PUNTER brings you the latest racecourse gossip and some select tips for the coming days. Our BETDAQ PUNTER is a BETDAQ trading fanatic and shares his insights with you. The column is updated on Friday each week…..
The beauty of this sport is that you are never a million miles away from a story, and this week saw a punter place £120,000 in cash on a 5/4 shot to win, only for it to finish third with no real excuses. Just to put that bet in to perspective, my bank allows me to withdraw £250 a day from the ATM and it would take me a year and a quarter to withdraw that amount, even if I had it in there in the first place!
Why said punter didn’t bet online is beyond me (would you walk down the high street with your life savings in a bag?) and I’m sure he could have snapped up at least some of that amount at far better prices with BETDAQ if he (or she) had only bothered?
Looking back over the past week did anyone see an easier winner than Keys on his first attempt at two miles last Saturday? Still a maiden on the flat but a three time bumper winner, it was like a Harry Enfield sketch with Jamie Spencer taking the mick out of his fellow jockeys before letting out an inch of rein to win as he pleased, and although I doubt he will be much of a price, he turns out again under a penalty in the 3.55 at Ascot this afternoon and should prove difficult to beat though if he is too short he could well be a back and lay possibility in running. (trading at around 2.11 at 10am this morning on BETDAQ).
The next seven days see some of the best racing of the year, starting at Ascot Saturday with the King George plus a quality supporting card. Looking out the window there is still plenty of moisture in the air and with the ground already officially soft, this mile and a half will take more getting than usual which may change things.
I have been trawling the net on my tablet (during lunch break, of course) and there seems to be precious little confidence in St Nicholas Abbey, leaving Workforce at the head of the market. How owners expect sympathy from us punters with a lousy five runners looking for the million pound prize money is beyond me, and that leaves us with precious little pace in the race with the exception of Debussy who will presumably set the pace for stable companion Rewilding. As Frankie’s mount can take an eternity to get in to top gear I can see Workforce skipping away from his field at the two furlong pole and playing “catch me if you can”, but with the Sir Michael Stoute yard still a little out of sorts he is hardly a confident selection.
Moving on and next week we have the frankly awesome Glorious Goodwood meeting, which includes what many see as the race of the year in the Sussex Stakes, Frankel v Canford Cliffs. It really is too close to call with the added question of who makes the running but I see a simple tactical battle where Tom Queally attempts to make all on Frankel while Richard Hughes sits in behind looking for top gear to catch the leader. There is a question mark over the abilities of this year’s three year olds that make me wonder just what Frankel has beaten and I may just come down on the side of Richard Hannon’s four year old on the day – or change my mind between now and then.
Sadly, the big races do not necessarily give me/us the best betting opportunities but I will be looking to have a bet on Delegator in the Lennox Stakes on Tuesday. It appears from my web browsing that Richard Hannon thinks Strong Suit has an excellent chance so he will make the price for us here and although he has to give lumps of weight to his younger challenger, he is a class act possibly best over seven furlongs as seen last time out at Newmarket when everything seemed to happen a little too quickly for him over a furlong less.
Luckily for me, I have a few friends in the racing world and if Richard Hannon sends the unraced Eurystheus for the Goodwood maiden on Tuesday at 4.20 I will be having a bet. Part owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, he is reported to be burning up the Hannon gallops and is apparently highly regarded at home, and as that is not common knowledge, we may even get a good win and place on BETDAQ, depending on the quality of his rivals?
Summary of my bets this week:
4pts Win Workforce 4.30 Ascot Saturday 23rd July.
2pts Win Delegator 3.10 Goodwood Tuesday 26th July
1pt each way Eurystheus 4.20 Goodwood Tuesday 26th July
