Punters pal Formcast bows out

IT IS the end of an era for Racemail today as Nigel Taylor’s Formcast figures appear for the final time.

Taylor has proved repeatedly to be the punters friend since joining the paper in 1979 — the year Willie Carson won the Derby on Troy and Lester Piggott triumphed in the Ascot Gold Cup on Le Moss, trained by Henry Cecil. During his 43 years on Racemail, Taylor has gone through the card four times, twice on the Flat and twice over jumps, while his daily Special Bet — the blob 78 — has been one of the most reliable tips in the business. They included the 1991 Lincoln Handicap winner Amenable at odds of 22-1.

Taylor said: ‘Doing Formcast has been a labour of love for me and hopefully I have helped a few Daily Mail readers along the way to find a few winners. I have hated having a blank week of Formcast Special bets. That always put me in a bad mood!

‘The biggest challenge has been the major Heritage Handicaps. They are the hardest of all races. I always hope to find the winner of at least one every Flat season so I was delighted to tip Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup winner Dark Shift.

‘I am hoping to go out with a bang in the Wokingham Stakes with Marco Botti’s Silver Samurai, which should be a good price.’