Saturday review

Given the decent winning position on the week, some may accuse me of playing with "house money" given the ambitious 28 points outlay today. However Sandown, Chester and Beverley are three of my favourite punting tracks so to be faced with all three in one day was too much to resist!

We started with two seconds which was no good at all and then Bronze Beau made all @ 14/1 to take the pressure off (the other selection in the race finishing second). Rule four (20p) deductions means settlement was @ 11.2/1.

In the 16:25S Gown went off at 14/1 which surprised me but the price was generous partly because a well know web tipping company put up the eventual third in the race, which of course attracted market support. Lilyfire came second, so the recommended straight forecast was down but I was happy to settle for a 14/1 winner! (BOG). Good ride from RLM.

In the 17:10C Space Artist was the one of the two selections that attracted support and the market proved correct with Graham Lee just holing on in a close finish. Although 9/1 was the recommended price we are paid out 8.1/1 because of a 10p rule four deduction.

Total returns on the day 52.38 points for a profit of 24.38 and therefore around 75 on the week (will calculate exactly later). No horse bets tomorrow.

Tennis update: My 100/1 poke Simona Halep beats higher-ranked MaKiri 6-1 6-0 to cruise into the fourth round! (Now 16/1 Hills/Ladbrokes/Coral as I write).

Saturday horses

No good yesterday with just one placed horse (10.8/1 after rule 4) so a loss of 9.26 points. Over 50 points up on the week and no horse bets tomorrow so just these to worry about today (time order):

14:05S 3pts win Tidal's Bay @ 5/1 Paddy Power BOG

14:05S 1pt ew Ask The Guru @ 33/1 William Hill BOG

14:20C 2pts win New Fforest @ 5/1 Betfred BOG

14:20C 2pts win Doctor Parkes @ 11/2 William Hill BOG

15:05B 2pts win Rich Again @ 5/1 Betfred BOG

15:05B 1pt ew Bronze Beau @ 14/1 Bet365 BOG

16:15B 2pts win Copperwood @ 7/1 Betfred BOG

16:25S 1pt ew Gown @ 12/1 Paddy Power BOG

16:25S 2pts win Lilyfire @ 11/4 William Hill BOG

16:25S 1pt straight forecast Lilyfire to beat Gown (WH)

17:10C 1.5pts ew Hardy Blue @ 14/1 William Hill BOG

17:10C 1.5pts ew Space Artist @ 9/1 William Hill BOG

19:45B 1pt ew Brandywell Boy @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

Total 28 points.

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Friday horses

One thing is for sure it will be another winning week. We are 61.45 points up since Monday and there is no way I will be losing more than that in the next couple of days! Today's bets are:

14:10San 1.5pts win Mahlah @ 7/1 William Hill BOG

14:50San 3pts win Wooden King @ 11/2 Coral BOG

14:50San 0.75pt reverse forecast above with Angel Way (WH)

15:45T 2pts win Waseem Faris @ 13/2 Coral BOG

16:30Sal 2pts win 1pt place Shifting Star @ 11/1 Bet365 BOG

18:15Sal 1.5pts ew Aqlaam Vision @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

Total 14 points staked.

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Thursday results

Rambo Will cruised to victory for us at a short price, forecast was up to. Went to The Marches to listen to (mate) Benet Walsh and Sam Thomas which kicked off at 21:00. Had intended to pop into Betfred (which is next door) to watch the 21:20K. But forgot once I was immersed in the music/beer.

Amazed to see therefore that Ocean Legend had obliged for us at 14/1!

That means total returns on the day 45.7 points meaning 25.7 points profit (thanks of course to WH BOG as I'd recommended taking 9/1!)

Bets tomorrow from several meetings quite likely but must sleep now...

Benet and Sam in action at The Marches

Thursday horses 2

I have selected a (three-point) non-runner (Photography) at Kempton so have had this bet instead:

20:20K 3pts win Sebs Sensai @ 4/1 William Hill BOG

Thursday horses

17:10L 2pts win 1pt place Laura's Bairn @ 14/1 William Hill BOG

17:10L 1pt straight forecast Josefa Goya to beat Laura's Bairn (WH)

17:40L 3pts win Rambo Will @ 4/1 Coral BOG

17:40L 0.5pt reverse forecast above with Jay Bee Blue (WH)

17:15H 2pts win Crucis Abbey @ 7/1 William Hill BOG

17:15H 1pt win Remember Rocky @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

20:20K 2pts win 1pt place Photography @ 7/1 Coral BOG

20:50K 3pts win Lady Francis @ 3/1 William Hill BOG

21:20K 2pts win Ocean Legend @ 9/1 William Hill BOG

21:20K 1pt win You're The Boss @ 11/1 Paddy Power BOG

Total 20 points.

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Wednesday horses

Just Kempton today:

18:10K 2pts win Speronella @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

18:10K 0.75pts ew Borough Boy @ 16/1 William Hill BOG

21:10K 2pts win 1pt place It's Taboo @ 14/1 Betfred BOG

21:10K 0.75pts ew Fulney @ 25/1 Betfred BOG

Total stakes eight points.

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Monday results/Tuesday racing

A great start to the week with Osteopathic Remedy obliging comfortably @ 14/1 at Ripon. In fact if you have a VC account you may well of availed yourself of the 16/1 I mentioned was on offer with the legendary (non)-layer. Aside from this (10/1 SP) winner, Imaginary World also obliged, getting up close home to land the three point bet @ 11/2 (SP only 4/1).

Profit on the day 48.75 points.

A low key punting day for me tomorrow partly because I am going to the Presteigne Music Festival for most of the day. Just playing in one race as follows:

16:45R 1.5pts ew Daddy Warbucks @ 14/1 William Hill BOG 
16:45R 1pt ew Running Reef @ 10/1 William Hill BOG

Five points staked.

Monday horses 2

Further bets today - from Newcastle:

16:00N 1pt win Petergate @ 10/1 Betfred BOG

16:35N 3pts win Imaginary World @ 11/2 Coral BOG

16:35N 1pt ew Pivotal Prospect @ 20/1 Coral BOG

17:45N 1.5pts ew Indigo Blues @ 20/1 William Hill BOG

17:45N 2pts win Tajneed @ 11/1 Bet365 BOG

Not going to play at Chepstow after all. 

Total stakes above 11 points plus the four staked last night. 

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Monday horses

Will be having bets at Newcastle and Ripon. Possibly Chepstow too. Going to start the ball rolling in the mile handicap at Ripon. Osteopathic Remedy won this race last year as well as in 2010. He also ran well in the contest in 2011 and 2009. Currently 16/1 with VC if you can get that, if not it's still worth a play with WH as a couple of firms have reduced his price already. Connor Beasley, who won today for us on Captain Midnight, is good value for his five pound claim:-

16:10R 2.5pt win 1.5pt place Osteopathic Remedy @ 14/1 William Hill BOG

More wagers in the morning.

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Sunday/weekly wrap

A very good day today to finish the week. Fancied it a bit with 14 points staked across the three races (as compared to, say, unsuccessful Friday with 12.5 points across seven races). Ironically Hughes' mount did not go reducing the day's total stakes to 11 points and the 17:30G to seven runners thus making the ew poke on "Alpha" less attractive. No need to worry though as the latter obliged @ 7/2! Although we took 12/1 the bet is of course subject to a hefty rule 4 deduction (30p) reducing the odds to 8.4/1 - however we do get 1/4 odds for the place odds because of the reduced field. Return on the 2pts ew bet is therefore 25 points - far better than at 7/2 SP!

At Beverley Captain Midnight won comfortably @ 7/1 (SP 4/1) for a 12 point return. So 37 points back for 11 staked and a profit of 26 on the day. Total profit on the week around 48 points. Will post the full details on my website later or tomorrow, meanwhile enjoying a glass of Ludlow Gold to celebrate!

US Open starts tomorrow at 16:00 our time and there are loads of race meetings to sort through  - will have a look later.

Sunday horses 3

Final race today:

16:40B 1.5pts win Le Laitier @ 12/1 Coral BOG

16:40B 1.5pts win Captain Midnight @ 7/1 Coral BOG

No further horse racing bets today unless any of my selections in the three races are non-runners. Total stakes today 14 points.

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Sunday horses 2

At Beverley:

17:10B 2pts ew Time For Crabbies @ 11/1 Betfred BOG

More to follow.

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Sunday horses

Goodwood 17:30 my main focus today although I intend to have bets in a couple of races at Beverley soon:

17:30G 2pts ew Alpha Delta Whisky @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

17:30G 3pts win Best Be Careful @ 3/1 William Hill BOG

Tennis update: 100/1 Halep US Open outright all gone following last night's win. Still 66/1 with WH is value ew for small stake if you are not already on. Just 33/1 with Bet365, Coral and VC.

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Simona Halep

Inspirational creative tennis sees the Romanian dismiss Kvitova 6-2 6-2 in the New Haven final. Terrific watch. Her fourth tournament win - all in 2013. What an improver!

           
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US Open - further bets

I am back from the casinos and have placed a number of bets both in-shop and online. The subject of my first bet is the massively improved Simona Halep who plays Kvitova in the New Haven final tonight. Yesterday she dismissed Woza in straight sets. The latter had been enjoying a good run. Co-incidentally SH is a potential qtr final opponent for Woza in the third section of the US Open. You could argue that Halep should be favourite to win this section ahead of Woza given her recent form. I backed Halep to win the section in the Betfred shop @ 5/1 but that has now disappeared. You will need to take 9/2 with VC if you want to follow my wager (unless you have an account with "You Win" who go 5/1). I have therefore booked the bet @ 9/2:

3pts win Simona Halep to win 3rd quarter US Open @ 9/2 VC bet

Also:

1pt ew Simona Halep to win US Open @ 100/1 Betfred (1/2 odds 1,2)

Simona could be Vika's opponent in the semi if both get that far.

In the first quarter I have backed Sloane Stevens with Coral. This is Serena's quarter of course and the youngster already has a win against the younger Williams' sister. The problem is even if SS beats SW again she will have play another match to land the following bet. Think it's worth a chance though:

2pts win Sloane Stephens to win 1st quarter US Open @ 18/1 Coral

In the second quarter, which looks open, I have had:

1pt win Jelena Jankovic to win 2nd quarter US Open @ 18/1 Coral 

In the men's event I have taken a view in the third quarter which appears wide open. The favourite is David Ferrer who has been out of form in recent weeks. Janowicz and Gasquet have chances but I have gone with these two:

 3pts win Gulbis to win third quarter US Open @ 9/1 Boylesports 

 2pts win Raonic to win third quarter US Open @ 5/1 Skybet

Good luck if you play any of the above.

Total 13 points staked.

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US Open tennis

Those of you just checking in to see today's horse racing selections may be relieved to learn there aren't any today following two days' losses. I was tempted by the Tony Martin plot in the Ebor which should love the ground but it's been backed off the boards and is now a very short price.

I am now just going to visit two high street casinos - sorry betting shops - to have a couple of wagers on the tennis. Will post later if I get the prices and they are still available when I return.

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Weekend bets?

A poor day Friday with no returns. However with winners at 20/1, 12/1 and 4/1 we are still ahead on the week. Total profit on Monday/Tuesday was 41+ points, no bet Wednesday but unfortunately losses on Thurs/Fri total 18.5 points. So 22+ points up going into Saturday.

Usually I have a stack of bets on Saturdays but at the moment I can't find anything. I will have one more look in the morning but if I don't post by 10am then it will be another blank day. There are a couple of possible races on Sunday to complete the week.

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Friday horses

From Goodwood and Hamilton:

17:10G 2pts win Jake The Snake @ 11/2 Bet365 BOG

19:20G 1.5pts win Commandingpresence @ 8/1 Bet365 BOG

0.5pt ew double above two at the prices

18:45G 1pt ew Strictly Sica @ 16/1 Coral BOG

17:30H 2pts win Angel Rosa @ 4/1 Coral BOG

18:05H 1pt win Alexandrakollontai @ 9/2 Coral BOG

18:35H 0.75pt ew Barkston Ash @ 11/1 Bet365 BOG

20:10H 0.75pts ew Magic Ice @ 14/1 William Hill BOG

Total stakes 12.5 points.

Thursday horses

At Bath and Wolverhampton:

17:15B 2pts ew Spic n Span @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

18:20W 1pt ew M J Woodward @ 16/1 Bet365 BOG

Six points staked.

Tennis news - Sharapova out of the US Open. Odds contracting a little on my two pokes in the ladies' event: Vika (11/2) and Stosur (33/1). Draw will be available late afternoon today, play starts on Monday. Would prefer Stosur to be drawn in Serena half....

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Tuesday wrap

I have not watched any races today and have only just seen the results in the last twenty minutes. Very pleased to learn we have had two winners - both heavily backed - I reckon I could have done better though, had I had more time to devote to Leicester this morning/afternoon. However I can't grumble - 4/1 chance punted into 9/4 and the 20/1 chance ends up an 8/1 poke. Both appear to have won comfortably reading the bare results. Thankfully no Rule 4s to affect our prices.

Stakes on the day were the same as yesterday - 10.5 points. Returns are 30.25. Yesterday's returns were 32.02 points. So it's Tuesday and we are 41.27 points up on the week.

I will probably not have a bet tomorrow. If I don't post anything by 10am it will be a blank day. I will take the opportunity to watch a bit of York. The International Stakes (Juddmonte) looks an interesting contest but not my sort of race to have a bet. I can remember watching the first running of this race in 1972 when Roberto beat Brigadier Gerard, the latter losing his unbeaten record and the winner breaking the track record. And of course a mere 40-years later the race was won by the unbeaten Frankel.

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Tuesday horses 2

Further bets at Leicester:

17:30L 2pts win Dovil's Devil @ 4/1 William Hill BOG

17.30L 0.5pts ew Krackerjill @ 16/1 Betfred BOG

19:00L 1pt ew The Lock Master @ 16/1 William Hill BOG

19:30L 0.75pts ew Imperial Augustus @ 20/1 Bet365 BOG

19:30L 0.50pts ew Cheers Big Ears @ 16/1Coral BOG

Total above 7.5 points staked.

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Tuesday horses

We started with yet another second today. We had a bunch of these at the end of last week which contributed to a loss of 16 points on the week. Then George Fenton is punted from 12/1 to just 4/1 and gets up on the line! Gives us 21 points profit on the day.

I will be having three or four bets at Leicester tomorrow starting with a warm favourite in the 18:00:

18:00L 3pts win Gravitational @ 9/4 William Hill BOG

More selections in the morning.

Monday horses 3

The second selection from Thirsk is:

17:00T 2pts win 1pt place George Fenton @ 12/1 William Hill BOG 

The selection is only 7/1 with Paddy Power which looks nearer the mark.

Monday horses 2

The Wolverhampton selection is:

20:20W 2pts ew Captain Ryan @ 14/1 Betfred BOG

Probably one more race from Thirsk.

Monday horses

Will be at Thirsk and Wolverhampton. Starting with:

15:00T 2.5pts win 1pt place Daquonde @ 9/1 Coral BOG

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US Open

What an absolutely brilliant display by Vika to beat SW in the Cincinnati final. We already have coach-less Stosur for the last GS in our portfolio but I have to take Vika at 11/2 with Sky (6/1 with VC if you can get it). With the Sharapova camp in disarray this has to be the bet:

6pt ew Victoria Azarenka to win US Open @ 11/2 Skybet (1/2 odds 1,2) 

Twelve points staked.

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Saturday wrap and Sunday horses

A profitable day today to absorb some of the losses of the last couple of days. Quite messy with R4s, NRs etc so here is summary of returns:

Blithe Spirit w 13/2 Rtn 15 pts
Shebebi w 4/1 (5/1 but after 20p R4) Rtn 10 pts
Place dbl (R4s) Rtn 1.71 pts
Non-runner Rtn 1.5pts
No Poppy placed 12.6/1 after 10p R4, 1/4 odds Rtn 8.3 pts
Sleepy Blue Ocean placed 7.65/1 after 15p R4, 1/4 odds Rtn 2.8 pts

Total stakes 26 Total returns 39.31 Profit 13.31 pts

Could have been so much better with three close seconds: 13/2, 10/1 and 12.6/1

Not doing much betting tomorrow as the sun is forecast to emerge again so tennis will be on the agenda.

Just played the one race at Ponte:

16:20P 4pts win Mushaakis @ 11/4 William Hill BOG
16:20P 1pt win Hard Core Debt @ 14/1 Bet265 BOG

Five points staked.

 I will be looking for Mushaakis to lead all the way................

Saturday horses 2

One more race to be added:

16:15D 1.5pts win 1pt place Sleepy Blue Ocean @ 9/1 William Hill BOG

Brings the Saturday horses total to 26 points staked.

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Saturday horses

Plenty going on today. Bets at four meetings:

13:55D 2pts win Shaolin @ 9/2 William Hill BOG

15:40D 2pts win Shebebi @ 5/1 William Hill BOG

0.5pt ew double above two at prices.

14:35C 2pts win Blythe Spirit @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

14:35C 1pt win Lilo Lil 13/2 Betfred BOG

15:45C 3pts win Lastchancelucas @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

15:45C 1pt win Smart Daisy K @ 3/1 William Hill BOG

14:50R 1pt win Chooseday @ 12/1 Coral BOG

15:30R 1pt win Spinatrix @ 10/1 William Hill BOG

16:05R 2pts ew No Poppy @ 14/1 Betfred BOG

16:05R 1.5pts win Annina @ 13/2 Coral BOG

17:00L 2pts win Midnight Feast @ 7/1 Coral BOG

18:30L 2pts win Squirrel Wood @ 4/1 Coral BOG

Total stakes 23.5 points.

Woza played well against Vika last night without ever looking like the winner. So we need a big performance from Janko to get past the improving Vika. A chance but not a big one.

Elsewhere Berdych was impressive in downing Mugray in straight sets. Likely to lose to Nadal next but is worth consideration @ 80/1 with Sportingbet for the US Open if you have an account (each way is a third 1,2 unlike every other firm however). 50/1 with some others not too bad with 1/2 odds to reach final.

Good luck today if you are getting involved.

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Friday horses

From Nottingham:

16:10N 1pt ew Song Of Parkes @ 16/1 Bet365 BOG
16:10N 2pts win Queen Hermione @ 9/2 Betfred BOG

16:40N 3pts win Ladweb @ 10/3 William Hill BOG
16:40N 0.5pts ew Frosted Off @ 22/1 William Hill BOG

Eight points staked.

The tennis went rather better than the horses yesterday, although no winning returns as yet.

Janko beat the more fancied Stephens - which I obviously thought she might, coming down after the Pova win. Incidentally the price was 80/1 for Janko with Fred and not 66/1 as I wrote on the blog. Those of you who backed her will know that of course as there were no price changes before the "off" at 16:00.

Vinci beat Errani, which was the preferred Italian result.

And Woza prevailed against Kvitova last night recovering from 3-1 down in the final set.

So we have three of the four qtr finalists in the bottom half of the draw. The missing one being Vika of course who I have not played because she was too short.

All we need now is for Woza to beat Vika tonight (a 3/1 chance) and we are guaranteed a finalist!

WTA Cincinnati

We have a similar situation to last week with an ofdds-on fav in one half of the draw - SW - and ew betting available. We are only at the last 16 stage whereas last week I placed my two bets at the qtr final stage.

Obviously Vika is the big favourite to face SW in the final but is at a prohibitive short price. I have backed the following outsiders:

1pt ew Jankovic @ 66/1 Betfred 1/3 odds 1,2

0.75pt ew Vinci @ 100/1 Skybet 1/2 odds 1,2 (125/1 Betfred but 1/3 odds 1,2 so shorter odds for the place element)

0.5pts ew Errani @ 33/1 Skybet 1/2 odds 1,2 (40/1 Hills but 1/3 odds 1,2)

0.5pts ew Woza @ 66/1 Paddy Power 1/3 odds 1,2 

Total stakes 5.5 points.

I may have another bet(s) at the qtr final stage if ew betting still available.Azarenka is on court at 16;00 UK time so if you wish to back any of the above you will need to do so in the next couple of hours.

Thursday horses 2

As I selected a non-runner earlier I have had:

16:30S 1.5pts ew Commandingpresence @ 7/1 Coral BOG

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Thursday horses

Very disappointing day yesterday, especially with Ypres at Beverley who just failed to get up. Three races today at Beverley, Salisbury and Chepstow:

15:05B 2pts win 1pt place Elusive Bonus @ 10/1 William Hill BOG

15:05B 1pt ew Mey Blossom @ 14/1 Coral BOG

16:30S 2pts win 1pt place Our Sweet Art @ 15/2 Coral BOG

17:45C 2pts win 1pt place Lambert Pen @ 20/1 William Hill BOG

17:45C 0.5pts ew Gifted Heir @ 40/1 William Hill BOG

Twelve points staked.

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Wednesday horses 2

14:50S 1pt win Mawzoona @ 10/1 William Hill BOG

21:15K 2pts win 1pt place Sheikh The Reins @ 11/1 William Hill BOG

21:15K 1.5pts win 1pt place Rocky Reef @ 11/1 Bet365 BOG

That's it for today unless any of this morning's selections are non-runners.

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Wednesday horses

A non-runner and 2/1 (after R4 deduction) winner yesterday. Possible bets from Beverley, Salisbury and Kempton today, starting with:

15:45B 2pts win 1pt place Ypres @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

15:45B 1pt ew Bronze Beau 16/1 William Hill BOG

20:45K 2pts win 1pt place Marmot Bay @ 16/1 William Hill BOG

More later.

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Tuesday horses

The selection yesterday managed to get boxed in on the rail and could not recover in time. Two selections at Nottingham today: 

19:00N 1pt ew Definightly @ 9/1 Coral BOG

19:35N 3pts win Beau Mistral @ 9/4 William Hill BOG

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Monday horses

Only Thirsk looks of interest tomorrow:

19:00T 4pts win Dusty Storm @ 5/1 William Hill BOG

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Leicester etc.

A non-runner at Leicester so I have changed to:

16:25L 3pts win Port Alfred @ 11/4 Paddy Power BOG

Plus a further bet in the penultimate race:

16:55L 1pt win Lean On Pete @ 8/1 William Hill BOG 

If the other Pete doesn't win maybe this one can!

Not playing any other race. 

At 6pm Cirstea plays Serena. Very little chance of winning - stats completely against us. SW leads H2H 3-0 (on clay, hard and grass). 6-0 in sets. Best Sorana has done is three games in a set. But we had the bet primarily for the place money. So feet up and a glass of wine and just enjoy the match - and not worry about a miracle happening! 

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Sunday horses

I am interested in the last three races at Leicester. A couple of provisional bets:

16:25L 2pts win Secret Weapon @ 6/1 Paddy Power BOG

16:55L 1.5pts ew Brown Pete @ 20/1 William Hill BOG

I may have further bets when I return this afternoon. If I do I intend to post them by about 3.30pm.

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Saturday wrap

Well it's been a good day. Came into it a few points down on the week. (About five I think but will need to check, too much Chablis consumed right now to calculate!).

The "daily" horses returned only 16.1 points from 20 staked (as there was just one winner and a place). However Europe's triumph in the Shergar Cup at Ascot (4/1 advised) and Mosse winning the top jock (16/1 advised) resulted in 22.5 points profit from the event (having deducted the 1.5 point late hedge).

Then there was tennis in Canada and the Sorana Cirstea each-way bet @ 66/1, struck earlier in the week. She has just knocked out Li Na in straight sets to reach the final and return around 17 points for the 22/1 place part of the bet (1/3 odds). That nets around 14 points for the tournament when deducting the Cibulkova losing bet and gives us a free (but highly unlikely) hit in the final tomorrow.

Those of you tuning in today for the Shergar Cup may possibly have picked up on Cirstea for the first time who was a top price 3.9 for today's match with Sportingnobet.com. The latter just seem to slavishly follow betfair even if there is very little liquidity so you may have been able to have a decently priced match bet.

In any event we are in excess of 30 points profit on the day and therefore about 25 on the week. Tomorrow we could add a further 50 points if Cirstea wins the Rogers' Cup final. Highly unlikely but should be an interesting watch. Let's hope A-Rad can beat SW tonight!!

I am taking part in Magnalonga tomorrow. This is an eight-mile plus walk in the countryside and includes five or six stops for local food and drink of the highest quality. Before I embark on this I hope to have had a look at the humble offerings of Leicester racecourse...........                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                  

Shergar shite update

Mosse will win Shergar top jockey (@ 16/1 advised) UNLESS Jadanna wins the last. Therefore I have had the following:

15:50A 1.5pts win Jadanna @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

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Saturday horses

From three meetings:

14:05A 3pts Racy @ 7/2 Coral BOG (4/1 with VC)

15:50A 2.5pts win 1pt place Barracuda Boy @ 8/1 Betfred BOG

13:45H 2pts win Lord Ashley @ 7/1 Paddy Power BOG

16:30H 2.5pts win  Gabrial's Gift @ 7/1 Bet365 BOG

17:15L 2pts win Polish Rider @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

17:45L 3pts win Oxlip @ 7/2 William Hill BOG

18:45L 4pts win Gung Ho Jack @ 3/1 Betfred BOG

Twenty points staked. No further bets unless any of the above don't go.

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Saturday wagers

A fine win by Cirstea to defeat Kvitova  2-1 in sets this evening. I thought the Romanian was going to burst into tears when Kvit came back from 1-4 in the second set to 4-4 but Sorana got a second wind after what appeared to be some shrewd on-court coaching. Anyway I don't expect she will be more than 9/4 or 5/2 to beat Li Na so a chance of a pick up if she could triumph on Saturday. The H2H is 4-1 to the Chinese  - Cirstea's win coming at Wimbledon. However the Romanian looks to be improving.

We are a few points down on the horses this week following the very good profit last week. Will be betting at Ascot, Lingfield and possibly Haydock in the morning. Meanwhile I have had a couple of bets on the Shergar Cup. I like the chances of several of the horses that the European team are riding so I have had the following:

2.5pts win Europe to win the Shergar Cup @ 4/1 Coral

2pts win Mendizabal to be top Shergar Cup jockey @ 14/1 Betfred/Totesport 

1pt win Mosse to be top Shergar Cup jockey @ 16/1 Coral

Total 5.5pts staked

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Ladies' tennis - Rogers' Cup

Don't you hate betting shops? I try and go to them as infrequently as possible. Won't bore you with the details.

The above competition has reached the quarter-final stage. Serena is a prohibitive 2/5 to win the event. However three bookmakers are still offering each-way terms so I have had a couple of bets on the outsiders in the other half of the draw. Boyles are 1/4 odds and Ladbrokes don't take bets and I have no Ladbroke shop near me. So it's Betfred.

Li Na v Cibulkova

Head to head is 3-0 to the Chinese. However Cibulkova has had two consecutive good results beating Kerber and Vinci. Li Na had a long and hard match against Ivanovic, squeezing through in a final set tie-break.

Kvitova v Cirstea 

H2H is 3-1 Kvitova. Latter looked good against Stosur last night but, like Li, can throw in a bad performance now and again. Cirstea has beaten Woza and Janko back to back.

In any event two small ew bets as follows:

0.75pts ew Cibulkova to win Rogers' Cup @ 25/1 Betfred 1/3 odds 1,2

0.75pts ew Cirstea to win Rogers' Cup @ 66/1 Betfred 1/3 odds 1,2

Long explanation but just a small interest - three points invested.

Friday bets

Don't like the look of the racecards today. Just one small bet in the last at Haydock. This one was narrowly beaten by Bondi Beach Boy on its only run this season:

20:30H 1pt win Ballarina @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

It's the Shergar Cup nonsense at Ascot tomorrow. I may be having a bet there. 

Elsewhere I may have a bet in the tennis but it involves going to betting shops to be accommodated so will post later (12.00 noon?) if price(s) still available.

Ladbrokes

"Richard Glynn, chief executive of Ladbrokes, delivered the warning on gaming machine revenue as the bookie reported a worse-than-expected 48.5pc decline in pre-tax profits to £55.1m for the six months to June 30, down from £106.9m at the same point last year." - Source Daily Telegraph online. 

Good news - decline in FOBT use, long may it continue. Ladbrokes' shares down nearly 4% as I write. 

But BOG re-instated with a 9am threshold! (Not available to me though).

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Thursday horses 2

15:10H 2pts win Azenzar @ 7/2 Paddy Power BOG

A reader informs me that BOG from Ladbrokes is from 12:00 noon. When the market has settled therefore and all value has often gone. A little worrying as other firms could follow.

That's all for today unless there is a non-runner in the selections.

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Thursday horses

Two losing days and unfortunately Monday's profit at Wolverhampton has almost evaporated. Pressing on at Haydock and Sandown tomorrow as follows:

16:10H 2pts win Bop it @ 5/1 Coral BOG

18:10S 2pts win Entwined @ 7/1 William Hill BOG

Not that I am allowed to bet with them but has Ladbrokes withdrawn BOG from their horse racing markets I wonder? The concession seems to have disappeared from Oddschecker listings. But then there was a time when they wouldn't even appear on the odds comparison site so nothing would surprise me. In any event we will hear from Mr Glynn tomorrow as their interim results are announced. That should be amusing, with plenty of squirming, as they are performing poorly apparently. So William Hill will no doubt be powering even further ahead.

May have another bet tomorrow but not certain at this stage. But it certainly wouldn't be with Ladbrokes!

Wednesday horses

15:40N 2pts win George Fenton @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

15:40N 1pt win Durham Express @ 25/1 William Hill BOG

16:30P 2pts win Paramour @ 9/2 Paddy Power BOG

16:30P 1pt win Junket @ 7/1 Paddy Power BOG

Six points staked.

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Tuesday horses

20:30K 3pts win Agerzam @ 2/1 Betfred BOG

21:00K 2pts win Elusive Gold @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

18:40R 1.5pts win Secret Applause @ 8/1 Paddy Power BOG

Total 6.5pts staked.

May play one more race at Ripon later.

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Monday result

Nice start to the week with 14 points profit from the Wolverhampton wager. Had very little time to bet or indeed watch any races today. I see the selection was backed into 5/1 and lead all the way. Will review tomorrow. Will also review the Ripon card. I may well have got involved here had I been at home.

In any event there are possibly bets at Ripon and/or Kempton tomorrow so will take a closer look in the morning.

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Monday horses

Not much today:

15:00W 1pt ew Little Eli @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

(14/1 Stan James)

That's it.

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Ladies' US Open

Sam Stosur, is starting to run into a bit of form having just beaten Azarenka in California. Stosur is of course a huge underachiever having only won four (now) singles tournaments in her long career. One of those four tournaments - in fact her last winning tournament - was the US Open which she won two years ago surprisingly beating Serena comfortably in the final.

Before today she was 0-8 H2H with Azarenka so today's win could be significant. Stosur is not one to get with at a short price but with Serena odds-on for the final grand slam of the year, it's worth having an interest in SS as follows:

2pts ew Sam Stosur to win US Open @ 33/1 Boylesports (1/2 odds 1,2) 

(Also available at VC bet)

No good at Chester today. Intense Feeling was fourth and that was the nearest we got to a return. Still a good week overall with around 58 points profit. All figures on the website have been updated.

Sunday horses 2

One more race at Chester to complete the week:

16:15C 3pts win Orton Park @ 6/1 William Hill BOG

16:15C 2pts ew Intense Feeling @ 12/1 888.com

That's it for the day unless any of the selected horses are non-runners. 

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Sunday horses

One race at Chester for now. The favourite is a warm order and has solid claims but there is still some 11/4 with Boylesports. If you can't get that then 5/2 (in several places) would do. Could easily start 2/1:

15:05C 4pts win Ballista @ 11/4 Boylesports BOG

Will probably have a couple more bets in the morning.

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Successful Saturday

To be honest with you I was concerned about the betting prospects today. I woke at 6am and started to look through the cards and was rather overwhelmed with the opportunities. Six meetings became five as I eliminated Galway. That proved a good decision. Equally I thought it was quite possible that I would lose the 35 points accumulated on the week if I didn't stake carefully. It was a sticky start. And then:

17:35G Pal Of The Cat w 33/1 (Jillnextdoor 2nd 20/1 - massive forecast if you were brave!)

19:00L Commandingpresence w 8/1

19:15H Perfect Pasture w 7/1 (R4 40p)

About 34 points profit today and therefore now around +70 on the week. Tomorrow a more relaxed day with just Chester to look at.

Saturday horses

No good yesterday - loss of 9.5 points. Still about 35 points up on the week fortunately but a very challenging day today. Could have bets at six tracks but limiting it to five!

The Stewards Cup (and the first at Goodwood) look impossible. Just one small bet in the big race:

15:50G 1pt ew Face The Problem @ 25/1 Bet365 BOG (1/4 1,2,3,4,5)

17:35G 0.75pts ew Pal Of The Cat @ 33/1 888.com 

17:35G 0.5pts ew Jillnextdoor @ 20/1 Betfred BOG

Elsewhere:

14:30T 1pt ew Marine Comando @ 16/1 Betfred BOG

14:30T 0.5pts ew Kuanyao @ 14/1 Betfred BOG

15:05T 1pt win Blithe Spirit @ 8/1 Betfred BOG

17:50D 1.5pts ew Charlemagne @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

19:00L 1pt ew Commandingpresence @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

18:15H 2pts win 1pt place May Whi @ 8/1 Coral BOG 

19:15H 2pts win 1pt place Perfect Pasture @ 7/1 Coral BOG

19:45H 2pts ew Black Annis Bower @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

Possibly a couple more bets later....

Total 23.5 points

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Friday horses 2

Paul Hanagan has not had a great week at Goodwood (one winner so far). Maybe he can win on the improving Tanseeb:

16:15Go 2pts ew Tanseeb @ 11/1 Wiiliam Hill BOG (12/1 VC)

16:15Go 1pt win Major Crispies @ 8/1 William Hill BOG

15:30T 3pts win Lorimer's Lot @ 13/2 William Hill BOG

18:20T 1.5pts ew Secret City @ 10/1 Coral BOG

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Friday horses

Small profit yesterday thanks to the Goodwood winner. Two selections at Bath tonight:

20:10Ba 3pts win Small Fury @ 7/2 William Hill BOG

20:40Ba 3pts win Spic n Span @ 7/1 William Hill BOG

More from Thirsk and Goodwood in about 30 minutes.

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Thursday horses

A well disciplined day yesterday and very pleased with the outcome. Hope you were all on Bajan Bear. Thought I gave plenty of notice that a bet was on the cards and posted it at the advised time. It's important to keep the eye on the ball in the face of attractive racing at Goodwood and Galway. However would not have wanted to be at the latter yesterday as the conditions looked desperate. Have been there many times but the weather sounds even worse for ladies' day today - just hearing on Lyric FM that it's absolutely hammering down. Anyway back to the task in hand and today's focus is Nottingham:

16:30No 2pts win 1pt place Imaginary World @ 12/1 William Hill BOG

16:30No 0.5pt ew Skyfire @ 14/1 Betfred BOG

17:30No 1.5pts ew Master Bond @ 16/1 Bet365 BOG

Not leaving Goodwood out completely, small bet in race two:

14:45Go 1pt ew Saayeer @ 6/1 William Hill BOG

Total nine points.

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