Cheltenham

[jman]

The best jump race event around arrives tomorrow. 

Already started having a look, but I'll wait until we see how the going is before deciding who to bet on.  Got a pot of £100 this year to waste - but haven't got many bookies to sign up with anymore.. exhausted them all   Probably not going to have as much time to watch the whole festival at work this year, but will be doing my usual, posting my bets and results daily.  Definitely doing a few multi-bets every day this year too.. they worked out OK last year and I was one race away from netting a couple of hundred from a tenner on one day.

However, SkyBet are doing their usual (upto) £20 free bet if your horse doesn't win in the first race of every day.
PaddyPower are doing free bets if your horse finishes 2nd in any of the first 5 races of each day.
Betway are doing £10 free bets if your horse doesn't win in the first and last race of the day (only on win bets)

Anyone fancying a little bit of a flutter without having to think about who to pick.. sign up with BetVictor (before 5pm tonight) using this Link - Bet £10 on any sporting event - Chelsea to win tonight is pretty much guaranteed lol - then they'll give you £2 free bet for every single Cheltenham race (£56 worth) and I'll post my bets at the start of the day which you can follow.

[jman]

Day 1 Selections

13:30 Supreme Novices' Hurdle
Melon - £10 E/W @ 3/1
Labaik - £2.50 E/W @ 40/1
 
14:10 Arkle Novices' Chase
Forest Bihan - £2.50 E/W @ 5/1 (Betting without Altoir)

14:50 Ultima Handicap Chase
Noble Endeavor - £2.50 E/W @ 9/1
Viconte Du Noyer - £1 E/W @ 40/1

15:30 Stan James Champion Hurdle
Yanworth - £15 Win @ 11/4

16:10 OLBG Mares Hurdle
Vroum Vroum Mag - £7.50 E/W @ 11/4

16:50 National Hunt Novices' Chase
A Genie In A Bottle - £2.50 E/W @ 5/1
Arbre De Vie - £1.50 E/W @ 18/1

17:30 Novice's Handicap Chase
Itsafreebee - £5 E/W @ 8/1 (Free Bet)
Hammersly Lake - £1.50 E/W @ 16/1

Lucky 15
Melon, Yanworth, Vroum Vroum Mag, Itsafreebee - £1.50 E/W

Special Double
Melon & Douvan both to win - £4.34 @ 6/1

--------------------------------
Total Profit : -£85.34


Need Melon to win the first race to really kick-start the day.. as I've got him on my Lucky 15 and Double - he's the banker for me.  Also counting on Yanworth to do the business this year.. he let me down last year and was upstaged by Yorkhill.. but it was a close race.  If I get one of those come in and one or two of the outsiders I'll be back in the black.

[jman]

Day 1 Results

13:30 Supreme Novices' Hurdle
1st: Labaik,  2nd: Melon,  3rd: River Wylde
Whooahh.. nothing like a 1, 2 in the first race to settle your nerves.. especially when you backed the winner at 40/1!!  Great race, and in the profit already! SMASHED IT!
Winnings : £146.00 + £10 Free Bet + £5 Free Bet.


14:10 Arkle Novices' Chase
1st: Altoir,  2nd: Cloudy Dream,  3rd: Ordinary World
Damn, got dragged into a meeting so couldn't watch this, but Forest Bihan didn't place.  There was no point going on Altoir at 1/4 - he was going to win this race all day long, same as Douvan tomorrow.
Winnings: £0.00


14:50 Ultima Handicap Chase
1st: Un Temps Pour Tout,  2nd: Singlefarmpayment,  3rd: Noble Endeavor,  4th: Buywise
Wow, great race at the end won by a nose!!  Viconte did nothing, jumped badly and then pulled up half way round, Noble Endeavor came third, just didn't have enough stamina to keep up with the front two and finished a few lengths behind.
Winnings: £7.00


15:30 Stan James Champion Hurdle
1st: Buveur D'air,  2nd: Sceau Royal,  3rd: Petit Mouchoir
What a pile of wank from Yanworth.. did absolutely nothing.  Fair play to the winner, won it fairly easily.
Winnings: £0.00


16:10 OLBG Mares Hurdle
1st: Apple's Jade,  2nd: Vroum Vroum Mag,  3rd: Limini
Didn't watch so unsure what happened, but can't believe Apple's Jade beat both Mullins horses.. must of been going some.
Winnings: £11.62 + £7.50 Free Bet


16:50 National Hunt Novices' Chase
1st: Tiger Roll,  2nd: Missed Approach,  3rd: Haymount
Didn't watch but Genie finished 5th and Arbre unseated his rider, so nowhere near really.
Winnings: £0.00


17:30 Novice's Handicap Chase
1st: Tully East,  2nd: Gold Present,  3rd: Two Taffs,  4th: Powersbomb
Didn't watch but both my horses pulled up.
Winnings: £0.00


Pfftt... after such a good start - it turned to shit.. so a bit of a let off.. £80 in with a few free bets for tomorrow, can't really complain.  Day 2 is usually the hardest to pick out of, but after a long day, my picks can wait until tomorrow.

--------------------------------
Day 1 Profit: £79.28 + £22.50 Free Bet

[jman]

Day 2 Selections

13:30 Neptune Novices' Hurdle
Neon Wolf - £20 Win @ 15/8
 
14:10 RSA Novices' Chase
Royal Vacation - £2.50 E/W @ 12/1
Aurillac - £1.50 E/W @ 80/1

14:50 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
Tin Solider - £3.75 E/W @ 9/1 (Free Bet)
Supasundae - £2 E/W @ 18/1

15:30 Queen Mother Champion Chase
Gods Own - £4 Win @ 11/4 (Without Douvan)

16:10 Cross Country Chase
Bless The Wings - £5 E/W @ 12/1 (Free Bet)
Any Currency - £2.50 E/W @ 18/1 (Free Bet)

16:50 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
Divin Bere - £4 E/W @ 5/1
Icario - £2.50 E/W @ 25/1

17:30 Champion Bumper
Cause Toujours - £2.50 E/W @ 15/2
Mountain Rock - £1.00 E/W @ 50/1

Lucky 31
Neon Wolf, Whisper, Douvan, Bless The Wings, Cause Toujours £0.10 per line EW = £6.20 stake.  (Max Return: £1,027.60)


--------------------------------
Total Profit : £17.08


Hard to pick much out of today - cant see past Douvan.. think Neon Wolf has a great chance in the first race - so hoping he can kick-start my day.  No idea how its going to pan out - but at least I will end the day in profit whatever.

Edit: Just realised yesterday that my lucky 15 should of paid out on 3 lines.. however being a dozy fucker I had it on to win instead of E/W - good job to be honest, because I wouldn't of made back anywhere near my stake on those 3 lines - so I lost less money basically.  I have checked today that its definitely an E/W bet and it is lol

[jman]

Day 2 Results

13:30 Neptune Novices' Hurdle
1st: Willoughby Court,  2nd: Neon Wolf,  3rd: Messire Des Obeaux
Bollocks, Willoughby Court won by a nose, led from the front as well.  Neon Wolf jumped the last fence really badly but Willoughby Court drifted across him which also put him off.. I think Neon would of won if it wasn't for that bad jump.  There goes my banker.
Winnings: £0.00 + £20 Free Bet


14:10 RSA Novices' Chase
1st: Might Bite,  2nd: Whisper,  3rd: Bellshill
Useless, Aurillac was last throughout and pulled up, Royal Vacation pulled up half way through.  Was a boring race, Might Bite led throughout with a massive length (12 lengths) and then fucked up the last fence and Whisper managed to catch up and then Might Bite fought back and won by a nostril hair!!  Exciting end to an otherwise dull race.
Winnings: £0.00 (2 Places on the Lucky 31 so far although Max Return has now gone down to £65ish lol)


14:50 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle
1st: Supasundae,  2nd: Taquin Du Seuil,  3rd: Who Dares Win, 4th: Monksland
Thats more like it!  Knew he would always have a chance if he jumped right because the going went for him - it was a great ride too.  Tin Soldier came 6th I think, got held up in the field too much and had too much to do towards the end.
Winnings: £49.00


15:30 Queen Mother Champion Chase
1st: Special Tiara,  2nd: Fox Norton,  3rd: Sir Valentino
WOWOWOW... Fantastic race.... Douvan fucked that right up, he pretty much messed up every single fence and was never going to get back in it!!! Gods Own was doing really well but jumped and landed on TOP of the 2nd from last fence, just before he was about to take the lead aswell and he fell back to 5th I think.. Special Tiara led from the front and won by a nose, best race of the meeting so far!
Winnings: £0.00 (Lucky 31 down the drain)


16:10 Cross Country Chase
1st: Cause of Causes,  2nd: Bless The Wings,  3rd: Cantlow
Didn't catch this race because I was driving home from work, but another place.. that keeps my Lucky 31 going lol.. If those 2nds were 1sts I would of been up for a LOT of money for the last race..as it is, this one has nearly broken me even for the day with 2 to go.
Winnings: £13.00


16:50 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
1st: Flying Tiger,  2nd: Divin Bere,  3rd: Nietzsche, 4th: Project Bluebook
Fuck sake, another 2nd.. and another one beaten by a head..so many close races today.  It looked like a good race but my feed was being proper dodgy, I had no sound and it kept skipping.  I saw Icario fell at the 2nd from last.. shame because it looked like it was flying up the field.
Winnings: £9.00


17:30 Champion Bumper
1st: Fayonagh,  2nd: Debuchet,  3rd: Claimantakinforgan, 4th: Next Destination
Didn't manage to watch this, but Mountain Rock came 8th and Cause Toujours must of been disappointing to come 9th.
Winnings: £0.00


Lucky 31
Winnings from 6 lines: £4.22


Pretty poor day.. pipped at the post in at least 2 of the races.. but a 20/1 winner made sure I made an overall profit of just over £10.  Looking for something much better tomorrow.

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Day 2 Profit : £13.02

--------------------------------
Total Profit : £92.30 + £20 Free Bet

[jman]

Day 3 Selections

13:30 JLT Novices Chase
Yorkhill - £20 Win @ 11/8
 
14:10 Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle
El Bandit - £4 E/W @ 12/1
Ballymalin - £2.50 E/W @ 25/1

14:50 Ryanair Chase
Sub Lieutenant - £10 E/W @ 7/1 (Free Bet)

15:30 Stayers Hurdle
Unowhatimeanharry - £20 Win @ 11/8

16:10 Brown Advisory Handicap Chase
Bouvreuil - £5 E/W @ 14/1
Road To Respect - £5 E/W @ 16/1

16:50 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
Let's Dance - £5 Win @ 7/4
Toe The Line - £4 E/W @ 18/1

17:30 Champion Bumper
Mall Dini - £2.50 E/W @ 8/1

Heinz 57
Yorkhill, El Bandit, Sub Lieutenant, Unowhatimeanharry, Thomas Crapper, Let's Dance - £0.1 per line E/W (£11.40 stake, max returns: £5,227.95)


--------------------------------
Total Profit : -£10.10


Fuck the bookies, they are making a killing this festival, I think its going to be a day of favourites today though and they are gonna get spanked.. I'm banking on Yorkhill (which looks a fantastic horse - hard to see past) and Unowhatimeanharry to come in today.  Ruby's had a bit of a mare this festival (pun intended) - so he better go some on Yorkhill this afternoon!

[jman]

Day 3 Results

13:30 JLT Novices Chase
1st: Yorkhill,  2nd: Top Notch,  3rd: Disko
BOOM, first winner of the day!  Had a few horses fall in front of him throughout the race, managed to side-step them and make it through to the front.  Thought he was idling at the front on the last stretch and Top Notch was going to nick it, but he won by a length at the end.  Ruby's first win too.. took him long enough lol.
Winnings: £50.00 (extra £2.50 with Best Odds Guarranteed)


14:10 Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle
1st: Presenting Percy,  2nd: Barney Dwan,  3rd: Jury Duty,  4th: The Tourard Man
El Bandit did bugger all.. never got out of 2nd gear.. Ballymalin leading till the 2nd from last and ran out of steam.. finished 6th or 7th I think.  The front 3 absolutely cained everyone else in the end.
Winnings: £0.00


14:50 Ryanair Chase
1st: Un De Sceaux,  2nd: Sub Lieutenant,  3rd: Aso
Wasn't sure on Un De Sceaux, but he actually went hell for leather.. fantastic horse and deserved winner.. kinda knew I would regret it.  Sub Lieutenant gets a decent 2nd though, so can't complain too much on my free bet.
Winnings: £16.00


15:30 Stayers Hurdle
1st: Nichols Canyon,  2nd: Lil Rockerfeller,  3rd: Unowhatimeanharry
Pissed off I couldn't watch this... but just as well, the heavy favourite only placing 3rd.. another banker down the drain
Winnings: £0.00


16:10 Brown Advisory Handicap Chase
1st: Road To Respect,  2nd: Baron Alco,  3rd: Bouvreuil,  4th: Thomas Crapper
Couldn't watch this one.. but get in!!!  1st on at 16s and 3rd at 14s.. pretty much sorted me out for the day now!
Winnings: £132.50


16:50 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle
1st: Let's Dance,  2nd: Barra,  3rd: Dusky Legend,  4th: Verdana Blue
Another one I couldn't watch... but another winner so I'm not complaining!!  Was the favourite.. told you it was the day of the favourites... apart from harry fucking me over in the 15:30 that is.  Fingers crossed for Mall Dini in the last race to cap off a good day.
Winnings: £13.75


17:30 Champion Bumper
1st: Domesday Book,  2nd: Pendra,  3rd: Premier Bond,  4th: Potters legend
My feed was terrible, such a shitty internet connection at home.. it looked like a great race.. didn't really hear Mall Dini's name much but I think that was as much down to the poor stream than anything else.  There were 6 fighting at the end and I think Mall Dini finished 5th. annoyingly.


Heinz 57
Winnings from 27 lines : £15.85
If only El Bandit would of placed aswell.. would of been in for a nice little bonus there... made profit on it at least.
Edit:  Just worked it out, El Bandit placing would of only won me an extra £20 actually, so not much actually, if he would of won it would of been around £140 though, go again tomorrow.


Pretty good day - but it was still one race that made up most of my profits - I'll finish in profit for the festival now though so that's good. 

--------------------------------
Day 3 Profit: £125.70

--------------------------------
Total Profit : £218.00

[jman]

Day 4 Selections

13:30 JCB Triumph Hurdle
Defi Du Seuil - £10 Win @ 9/4
Master Blueyes - £5 E/W @ 13/2

14:10 Randox County Handicap Hurdle
Ivanovich Gorbatov - £4 E/W @ 10/1
Diego Du Charmil - £3 E/W @ 18/1

14:50 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
Death Duty - £10 Win @ 2/1
The Worlds End - £4 E/W @ 9/1

15:30 Timico Gold Cup
Native River - £25 Win @ 9/2 (£5 Free Bet)

16:10 Foxhunter Challenge Cup Chase
On The Fringe - £5 Win @ 11/8 (Free Bet)
Salsify - £1.50 E/W @ 40/1

16:50 Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
Coo Star Sivola - £4 E/W @ 12/1

17:30 Grand Annual Handicap Chase
Dodging Bullets - £2.50 E/W @ 14/1
Solar Impulse - £2.50 E/W @ 28/1

Lucky 31
Defi Du Seuil, Death Duty, Native River, On The Fringe, Dodging Bullets - £0.1 per line E/W = £6.20

So many big fields today.. not feeling confident at all on the last day.. although Native River has a great chance and nicely priced for the Gold Cup too.


--------------------------------
Total Profit : £118.80

[jman]

Day 4 Results

13:30 JCB Triumph Hurdle
1st: Defi Du Seuil,  2nd: Mega Fortune,  3rd: Bapaume
Wow.. what a race from Defi, head and shoulders above the rest there!  Master Blueyes was mid-pack for most of it and didn't have the stamina to keep up with the front 5/6 towards the end.
Winnings: £35.00 (Best Odds upped to 5/2)


14:10 Randox County Handicap Hurdle
1st: Arctic Fire,  2nd: L'ami Serge,  3rd: Ozzie The Oscar,  4th: Air Force One
Very close race, about 10 horses all had a chance in the run-up.. unfortunately Ivanovich finished 6th and Diego wasn't too far behind.  But luckily SkyBet were paying out on 6 places so I still managed to win a little bit!  Haven't managed to pick out a top 4 placer in any of the 2nd races this festival.
Winnings: £11.20


14:50 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle
1st: Penhill,  2nd: Monalee,  3rd: Wholestone
Death Duty did bugger all.. and he fell at the last.. The Worlds End was looking like he had a fantastic run in and then bloody fell with 2 to go too.  Both horses OK though.  Crap!
Winnings: £0.00


15:30 Timico Gold Cup
1st: Sizing John,  2nd: Minella Rocco,  3rd: Native River
Bollocks... fair play to Sizing John.. just sneaked it at the end.. think Native River ran too quick for the race.. and it was neck and neck between him and Djakadam who made a mistake at the 2nd last.. it was worth a punt but Sizing John just flew past them.  Cue Card fell at the same fence as last year.  Think its gonna be a loss today
Winnings: £0.00


16:10 Foxhunter Challenge Cup Chase
1st: Pacha Du Polder,  2nd: Wondeful Charm,  3rd: Barrel Of Laughs,  4th: On The Fringe
Didn't get to watch it but On The Fringe came 4th and I think Salsify came 10th.  Crapola.
Winnings: £0.00


16:50 Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle
1st: Champagne Classic,  2nd: Verni,  3rd: Runfordave,  4th: Coo Star Sivola
Managed to watch some of this, Coo Star came into 13/2 (2nd favourite) and it led for most of the race but just couldn't make it in the end, could of done with a winner here.. but at least it stayed on for 4th and I got some money back.  A winner in the last race is the only way I'll end up in profit today, a Dodging Bullets win would also activate a nice return from the Lucky 31 too.
Winnings: £16.00


17:30 Grand Annual Handicap Chase
1st: Rock The World,  2nd: Gardefort,  3rd:Theinval,  4th: Dandridge
Pile of shit, both horses right at the back for all of the race.. never got going, Dodging Bullets came in to 3rd favourite too.  Was a good race to watch despite my feed being crap again.
Winnings: £0.00


Lucky 31
Winnings from 8 lines : £1.88


Ah well, it wasn't to be, a poor Day 4 which ended in the biggest loss I've had on a day (I think).. it looked like a tough day today and I just couldn't get one of those outsiders to win like I did on the other days and banked too much on Native River coming home.. disappointing, but I'd of taken £180 profit overall before the start of the festival, especially since I didn't really rely on free bets like I have the previous years.  This years festival hasn't been as good as recent ones I feel.  Saying that, I haven't been able to watch as much of it as I'd of liked.  ITVs coverage was crap compared to Channel 4 aswell.  Well, that's that for another year.. now I get to look forward to losing a ton on the Grand National next month


--------------------------------
Day 4 Profit: -£35.12

--------------------------------
Overall Profit : £182.88

[jman]

Cheltenham 2018 starts tomorrow..  I might "work from home" on Friday so I can watch The Gold Cup

Won't be doing in-depth day-to-day commentary this year, just don't have the time or inclination anymore.. but I'll let you know how I get on (providing I win some mullah )

[jman]

Worst Day 1 for a long time - got two 2nds and a 3rd... Lost £30ish lol

[harv]

You should have put that money on United getting knocked out instead

[jman]

Day 2 - two 2nds, a 3rd and two 4ths.. no bloody winners yet - so close on a few races to actually being in profit... as such, another £20 down.
Some cracking races so far.. was hoping Douvan might spring a surprise - but as soon as Ruby went in an earlier race, that had to hurt his chances.

[jman]

Day 3 - another day with no winners.. just one 2nd today..
Shower of shit - upto £100 lost so far...

Surely tomorrow can't get worse..

[harv]

You should have put the money on each way!