Join Mark in his life as a punter battling to make ends meet
Mark’s seen it all before - but it’s not putting him off!
16 JANUARY
Night comes bringing frost to rainlashed ground, but the covers have been down at Warwick and the track passes an early inspection. Credit where it’s due.
I’m a guest of my friend John, who is an annual member here, at the course where we cut our teeth in the late 1970s, and the fellow at the front desk could not be more helpful in arranging a pass to enable me to access to the various facilities.
John and I escape from the cold to plan the Placepot over a cup of coffee in the members’ room.The first race is tough. Fourteen runners without much reliable form to their names. Back in those early days I’d have eagerly explored the small print in the hope of alighting on an edge, some shaft of hidden potential, but a certain world-weariness has taken over now.
What to do? Probably best to follow the money, but hardly anybody shouts the odds in the betting ring these days, and even if they were inclined to they wouldn’t be heard above the rock band strumming and strutting in an adjacent stand.
Mr Blobby can be seen casting a beady eye over the prices. Perhaps he’s intending to audition for the Ladbrokes Life, as the mature, intelligent one.
The Placepot fails at the first leg (not even close), but there’s one in the next (1.15),my sort of horse.It’s Laser Hawk for the excellent EvanWilliams/AdamWedgecombination. Just one run over fences and plenty to do on paper, but was good enough to beat Beast Of Burden in a novices’hurdle at Newbury 15 months ago. Plenty of hidden potential, it is hoped, and he looks good in the preliminaries. Classy in the context of this nine-runner race.
Top up an earlier bet with a few quid on the Tote, close to the off. Laser Hawk makes an error at the first fence, another at the fourth and is soon pulled up. I don’t know. I don’t intend to give up on betting but sometimes there is this feeling it is giving up on me.
Just over an hour and a half later, Born Survivor lines up for the Leamington Novices’Hurdle (3.00).A lovely stamp of a horse, who was so impressive on his hurdling debut over course and distance a month ago.He’s taking a huge hike in class here and I’ve been around long enough to know the early 5/2 and 9/4 wasn’t anything to get unduly excited about, yet at the same time I knew he’d start a deal shorter, if not as tight as the 6-4 flashing on the bookmakers’ boards as they line up. I wouldn’t have backed it if I wasn’t going racing, but since I am, I have (for small money).
Born Survivor runs well but isn’t good enough. Finishes tired. Perhaps the one to take from the race is the third home, Definite Outcome, a lengthy, handsome individual, with plenty of potential for improvement.
Just the big handicap to go, before we head to the car park. The younger self would have felt deflated now, with the entertainment over, and the wallet thinned, but perhaps that world-weariness is protection now. I’ve seen it all before but I haven’t stopped looking. I haven’t stopped trying.You must never stop trying.
23 JANUARY
Two hugely impressive novice hurdle winners within the space of a quarter of an hour late in the day. Duke Des Champs confirmed the promise of an earlier effort over course and distance when winning unchallenged for the Hobbs-Johnson combination over an extended 2m5f at Ascot (4.10), but this impressive effort was matched if not bettered by that of Bun Doran over the “fixed brush” hurdles at Haydock (4.20).
The well-backed second favourite powered away in the home straight to beat a good yardstick in Vintage Clouds by six lengths and is most definitely one to follow on this evidence. He got the extended 2m2f well in the heavy ground and trainer Tom George has the option of dropping him in distance or trying a little further next time.
26 JANUARY
A decent 2m novices’ hurdle to end proceedings at Wetherby (4.00), won in the
most determined fashion by The Dutchman, who saw off the challenge of the uneasy favourite No Comment after the last.The winner was confirming the promise of an opening effort over 2m4f at Ayr and looks a progressive type for trainer Sandy Thomson.
No Comment had chased home a promising type from the Henderson yard in his only bumper and it was probably lack of experience as much as raw talent which counted against him atWetherby.He ought not to be long in making amends.
Over at Leicester, Tara Flow proved too strong for The Organist in the novice hurdle for mares (1.55), landing a fourth career win from six starts in the process, all on a soft surface.
The six-year-old has the scope to jump fences but could be winning in a better grade than this over hurdles before the season is out.
28 JANUARY
Peter Bowen has an excellent strike rate with horses sent on the long journey east from Pembrokeshire to Fakenham and was successful with his only runner of the day, Minella Daddy in the 2m7f novices’ hurdle (2.00).The six-year-old was building on earlier promise and ought to pay his way when graduating to staying handicaps over the next year or so.
An hour or so later, Gwafa was an even more emphatic winner of the 2m maiden hurdle (3.05), proving himself on soft surface in the process.The five-year-old went close in a couple of competitive middledistance handicaps for Marco Botti in the 2014 Flat season and had far less to do here than on hurdling debut behind Altior on Boxing Day. Still lightly-raced overall, he ought to be capable of progressing again for trainer Paul Webber.
1 FEBRUARY
It is never easy for once-raced maiden winners to follow up on the next start in a handicap, yet the hype often leads them to start at a false price.It is thus to the credit of the much-touted Nezwaah that he was able to beat the good recent Southwell winner Ritasun in such good style in the 1m handicap for three-year-olds at Wolverhampton (3.40).
The Roger Varian-trained colt is likely to be seen in much stronger company as the months pass and is not to be underestimated, a judgement which also applies to High Grounds,who overcame minor trouble in running to win in tremendous style on his debut in the 1m2f maiden at Lingfield three days earlier (1.50). Two fine recruits for the time of year.
2 FEBRUARY
A lowly Tuesday, with just the two meetings at Taunton and Southwell, yields a surprising number of horses to keep on the right side. Bloody Mary extended a lengthy winning sequence begun in France with a fluent success on British hurdling debut over 2m at Taunton (2.45), though hopes for the Festival would appear to be optimistic on this evidence, and maybe the Johnny Farrelly-trained Zero Grand is the one to take from the race, having shaped well to finish third.He’s now qualified for handicaps and looks the type to do better.
The well-backed Gallic Warrior was landing a second course success and opening his account over fences in the limited handicap for novices (3.15).He can probably do better provided his jumping holds up,but it is the other chase winner on the card who gets the underline in the notebook.
The Tizzard-trained Sonny The One also revealed a liking for the Somerset track when a good winner of the 2m7f handicap (4.15). The margin might have been only half a length, but the six-year-old always looked likely to score, jumping well in the main.He can surely improve and win more handicaps.
You wouldn’t normally expect a February all-weather maiden at Southwell to throw up a horse of great potential (3.30), but it will be a big disappointment if the winner Flymetothestars does not prove profitable to follow in the coming months.
By Sea The Stars out of a good winner at up to 1m4f, he did exceptionally well to overcome inexperience to get up close home to beat Hermitage Bay over a trip (1m) which was surely on the sharp side. Hermitage Bay started odds-on based on a promising first run at Kempton in December and surely did nothing wrong in going down by a narrow margin to such a promising rival, with 12 lengths back to the third.
3 FEBRUARY
She may not have beaten much but impossible not to be impressed by the manner in which newcomer Buying Trouble overcame palpable inexperience to run out an easy winner of the 6f auction maiden at Kempton (5.40),justifying market support in the process.The three-year-old might not be easy to place after this initial success but trainer David Evans clearly has a filly of potential in his care.
4 FEBRUARY
Another rewarding day for viewing if not financial purposes, with good winners in all the day’s novice hurdles. Lifeboat Mona had run a lifeless race on testing ground at Taunton at the end of December, but she was quite highly tried and the Nicholls stable wasn’t in the best of form then.
She handled testing conditions well to run out a fluent winner of the opening novice event for mares at Wincanton (1.30) and ought to get further than 2m5f on this evidence. Nicholls saddled the favourite for the next novice event in Crin Au Vent, but the French recruit ran a stinker behind the Jeremy Scott-trained Unison (2.30). The six-year-old, a minor Flat winner at 1m-1m2f, attracted support, won tidily.
There was another mares’ event at Towcester (1.40) won in impressive fashion by Caitys Joy, but the novice event run an hour later might be the one to repay study as the winner Flashjack, looks to have abundant physical scope, and Mahlers Joy ran a most encouraging first race over hurdles in The Giant Bolster colours.It takes a real eye-catcher for a bumper winner to earn a mention in these jottings and Chalonnial certainly looked the part when bolting up for the Fry-Fehily partnership in the last at Wincanton (4.50).
5 FEBRUARY
A double for David Elsworth at Lingfield, with both winners offering potential for further improvement. Sea Of Flames fol- lowed up a recent C&D maiden success with a fluent all-the-way win in the 7f apprentices handicap under Adam McClean (3.40) and Justice Lady, a newcomer from the family of Lochsong, overcame inexperience to land the 5f maiden (4.10).
7 FEBRUARY
Delusionsofgrandeur may have finished only third of the four runners in the Albert Bartlett Scottish Trial (3.40) at Musselburgh, but he deserves great credit for his slick jumping and the manner in which he kept on from the last. He is surely the type to pay his way for the Sue Smith operation. Supersta (3.40) and Theydon Grey (4.10) were underlining their liking for Chelmsford when returning with improved efforts to land their respective handicaps.
9 FEBRUARY
Backers of Charlie Wignut in the 2m4f handicap hurdle at Sedgefield (2.20) will have been disappointed he couldn’t repel the challenge of Chasma having established a nice-looking lead turning in,but it was still a fine first effort for trainer Sue Smith.
10 FEBRUARY
A fluent, sound-jumping chasing debut from Jonny Eager in the 3m novices’ handicap chase at Carlisle (2.20). The lightly-raced seven-year-old had some fair form over hurdles and will surely prove a deal better over fences, with his ability to get three miles in the mud a useful asset.
11 FEBRUARY
Value At Risk hasn’t hit the heights expected of him after a hugely impressive novice hurdle success at Newbury last season, but it was much more like it in a decent 2m4f handicap hurdle at Huntingdon (1.55). True, the seven-year-old couldn’t repel the challenge of the progressive Bauloet Delaroque after the last, but the winner was well in after his easy recent Wincanton success, and there were gaps back to the other runners. Value At Risk has a decent handicap in him on this evidence and probably wouldn’t be inconvenienced by a drop in distance. There was good money for Emerging Force for the 3m handicap hurdle at Doncaster (3.30), but not from this end, remaining puzzled by his failure at Newbury in December. As it turned out, the six-year-old needed every yard under the Johnson drive, nabbing the mildly unlucky Whatak night on the line. This was only his third run over hurdles, so there was much to admire, and he is a fine longterm prospect for Harry Whittington.
13 FEBRUARY
The gloom has gathered before the last at Warwick (4.25), but not for backers of Clyne, who won in the manner of a raw but highly progressive, hurdler for Evan Williams.