AMATEUR PUNTER
Ben Morgan finds a way to come out on top
The week after Royal Ascot, or any Festival for that matter, is always a tough one for punters. The anticipation and the excitement that surrounds Festivals hits hard once they are over and it can be a difficult period for punters to operate.
I’m always looking to improve my punting techniques and become more efficient and I’ve found the best way of doing that is to bet less which sounds crazy from a man who writes a monthly column about punting.
So as you can imagine I didn’t get too excited about the week that came after the Royal meeting although I had to have a couple of bets on Northumberland Plate day at Newcastle out of courtesy more than anything else.
My old friend Cosmelli (£10 e/w) had to be worth supporting in the consolation race given his record at
Newcastle. He performed slightly flat but these staying races at Newcastle can be muddling affairs and I’m not entirely sure he was suited to the way the race panned out.
I thought Diligent Harry (£20 win) was better than what he showed in the Chipchase Stakes as he could only muster a third place finish. He had earlier looked a really smart all weather performer and I thought that form on the surface would see him go close but it wasn’t to be and I probably got out of the day what I put in which is fair enough.
The following Saturday I thought I better step it up a gear and try and turn some money over so I duly went to work on some good quality Saturday cards. The ground was pretty testing at Haydock so punters demanded mudlarks. With this in mind it was all the more surprising to see soft ground liking Young Fire go off 15/2 for the opener. I placed £10 each way with the hope that this bang in form horse wouldn’t be far away if all goes to plan.
It went to plan perfectly as he travelled kindly throughout and when asked to go about his business, duly kicked on and toughed it out to the line. A solid start to a busy Saturday.
I said last month that Kondo Isami is the sort of horse who would bounce back after his Royal Ascot flop and win next time out. Believing this quite strongly I invested £10 e/w at 10/1 as he lined up in the 1m 6f handicap for three-year-olds. However, he was tardy at the gates, again, and showed no intention of trying to put himself into the race, again. The soft ground is a possible excuse but the fact he has run like that twice on the bounce suggests there may be another reason why he isn’t performing. He went to the well twice earlier in the season and those tough races may just have left their mark on him. We will surely find out more next time but I’m not sure if I can follow him off a cliff.
The Old Newton Cup is always a belter of a race and I was pretty confident that Dark Jedi had been lined up for a crack at it. A solid, high end handicapper last year he certainly deserved to win one this time around. I didn’t envisage the soft ground being a problem so waded in £20 each way at 18/1. I couldn’t see him out of the places until about 3f from home when David Allan started to row away. These panic signals got worse and he eventually started to drop back through the TV. I couldn’t believe it in all honesty as I was pretty confident about his chance. It was a hard one to accept as I didn’t really know why he ran so badly.
I was forced to move on with Newmarket’s July meeting starting on the following Thursday. By the end of
Day 2, however, I was staring a weekly defeat in the face. The Organiser
(£10 e/w) disappointed again and is now beginning to look flattered by his
debut win at York. Abduction
(£10 e/w) looked the typical Richard Fahey handicap improver but never threatened to get involved. The Ralph Beckett pair of Lord Protector and Prince Alex both ran well below par and in the end I came to the conclusion that the Newmarket July course isn’t really my track and it was time to look elsewhere.
I had the opener on the Knavesmire nailed down to La Trinidad and Eagleway. £20 win wagers on both were struck in the hope that one would do the business. If I had to pick one, I’d have said Eagleway but as he began to run backwards, La Trinidad was scything his way through the field in eye-catching fashion. I jumped out my chair one furlong out and gave him a good bit of encouragement but he didn’t need it, he stormed home and enhanced his impressive York record in good style.
It was seemingly a day for two bets in one race as I backed both Significantly and Tis Marvellous in the 5f
Heritage handicap sprint at Ascot. This is something I rarely do so it was strange that I had done it twice on the same day but that’s how it worked out.
Again, I placed £20 on both their noses and I’m glad I did because at the two-furlong pole both looked prime contenders. Significantly, looking to back up his Royal victory, was doing the hard yards out in front but was still finding for Clifford Lee while Tis Marvellous and Kieran Shoemark were burrowing their way up the rail. As they approached the final half furlong it started to become clear that Significantly was my best chance. He was still in front approaching the line and crossing the line I was sure he had got there. It was a nervous minute or so waiting for the official call but replays allayed my worries.
My main fancy of the day was up next in the shape of William Haggas’ progressive middle distance handicapper, Dhushan. I was very impressed with him at Musselburgh as he brushed aside a poor position turning into the straight and won very comfortably in the end.
However, a slow early pace and a sprint for home didn’t suit this time. He steamed home up the inside but in hindsight he was given far too much to do and his move should have been made earlier. Those lovely bookies got £50 back but I was happy enough with how the afternoon went.
The final weekend before this went to Press was set to be a steady one after a couple of action-packed weeks. I was off out for a few drinks with the better half so thought I’d play it steady. Having said that, the whole platform at Ludlow station could sense my frustration as Vintage Clarets (£30 win) endured a horrid run through in the Super Sprint.
Thankfully the aforementioned Dark Jedi (£30 win at 11/2) paid for the weekend as he showed his true colours and took the Bell Ringer handicap at Ripon in great style. A very satisfying result and it just goes to show I am right…..sometimes…