Rollercoaster Week

DAY 3 REVIEW

This week flies by!? A much better day for me on Thursday despite not much confidence ahead of racing. It means I need to break the sequence of the week with a profit on Tuesday, loss Wednesday and profit Thursday. It has been a great week of racing and the worst I can do is come out a few quid down, so all is good!

Although I did not find the winner of the first yesterday, I did get payouts from Diva Luna (3rd) and Karoline Banbou (4th), so I only made a small loss on the race and that was quickly taken care of when Caldwell Potter produced one of the most impressive rounds of jumping from the front that I have seen for ages.? It was an absolute pleasure to watch and even more so when it was delivering me a 10-1 winner.? With Es Perfecto also sneaking a place, it was a nice race for me.

I had three bets across the next two races and all were losers.? Il Est Francais was well and truly put in his place by a very impressive performance from Fact To File in the Ryanair Chase.I was back counting the profits in the Stayers Hurdle, though, as Bob Olinger put in a great run to win well.? He went off at 8-1 but I was on at 16-1 overnight, which was a nice result.

No joy for my three in the next or Sine Nomine in the last, although I got a late bet on Johnnywho in the last thanks to a tip on the course.? He went very close to winning before failing in a close finish and claiming the runner-up spot.

DAY 4 PREVIEW

Triumph Hurdle

The market is headed by East India Dock and Lulamba, but the third in the betting is an unbeaten Irish raider, Hello Neighbour, who cannot be ignored.

Normally, I would avoid all three on the prices, but I backed East India Dock for this at 13-1 just after his debut, and therefore, I will be firmly supporting him in this one.?

Having had a fresh look at the race overnight, the one that strongly appeals as an each-way bet is Lady Vega Allen.? I will go with that one and East India Dock in my bid to start the last day on a high.??

County Hurdle

A big field two-mile handicap hurdle.? This will be a tough race to predict, but the Irish have the top of the market with the first four in the betting before we find the first British-trained runner, Valgrand, trained by handicap expert Dan Skelton.

I am looking a little further down for my two bets in Irish Panther and Cracking Rhapsody.? The former is an Irish raider who would be winning his first race if he was to win here, but he has solid place form under all of these conditions and should go well.? The latter won the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso recently, and his last four wins have all come at that track.? He was down the field here in November, so it may be that his best form will not come here, but at a big price, I was happy to give him another chance.

Mares Chase

I will admit that I struggled to find a betting angle here.? In the end, I decided to go with Allegorie De Vassy to win, but she would not be a confident pick.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle

A race I have always affectionately referred to as "The Potato Race" as sponsor Albert Bartlett is an Irish potato and crisps producer!? It looks wide open this year, and in Wendigo, there is another live chance for a syndicate/racing club winner.? I was very impressed with Jet Blue when he won here in December, and I have had a small bet on him.??

I did, however, find plenty of value lower down, so I am going into this mob-handed with each-way bets.? I have backed Ballybow, Flicker of Hope, Derryhassen Paddy and Yellow Car along with Jet Blue.

Gold Cup

I already have a losing bet here as I backed Gerri Colomber each way before he was injured!? Gallopin Des Champs will probably win, and I would not begrudge him that.?

I have an each-way bet on Monty's Star and have also backed The Real Whacker each way at a big price.? The latter ran well when caught out by the pace in the King George and he seemed back in form before that.? At his best he is up to this level, and I am happy to speculate as you never know what might happen to the favourite.

Hunters Chase

I might be tempted to head home after the Gold Cup if it is cold, as I don't have much in the last two!? The market leader is Angels Dawn, and that one looks solid, but I went for Itsontheline as if in doubt, back Derek O'Connor to win this kind of race.? Not a strong view, though.

Martin Pipe Hurdle

A Willie Mullins unbeaten favourite and a Gordon Elliott unbeaten 2nd favourite means we might be playing for place money.? With no degree of confidence, I have backed Nurse Susan and Doyen Quest each way.? Both are trained by Dan Skelton and you can rely on him to prepare horses well for Cheltenham handicaps!

I hope that you have enjoyed the daily posts this week. I will be back to focussing on shared ownership and our horse Bella Cavalla should be back on the track soon.