Ending on a low note

After a good few days at Goodwood it was back to earth with a bump today when I got the Stewards' Cup completely wrong and paid the price for going against the received wisdom of backing middle to high numbers.

Having said that, even if I had concentrated on those runners I would not have backed the winner, particularly after David Nicholls did not even put him up as the best of his three runners. At least my choice, Kaldoum Kingdom, had the first and second favourites among the half dozen who finished behind him!

Goodwood has always had a special meaning for me and when I was just turned 17 I hitch-hiked from my home in Plymouth to the meeting with weeks of savings from my meagre wages, convinced I was going to return home triumphant.

The truth was somewhat different and I had not realised that there would nowhere to stay in or around Chichester and neighbouring villages and the Monday night before the meeting opened was spent on a park bench until a member of the local constabulary took pity and stuck me in a cell for the night for somewhere to sleep! I then found somewhere to stay on Selsey Bill for the rest of the week but by the end of Glorious Goodwood 1974 I was totally skint and hitch-hiked back home with literally just one penny left in my pocket. Still it didn't put me off although thankfully I don't have to hitch-hike everywhere nowadays.

With this year's meeting now behind us I have been looking at the 4.30 at Newbury tomorrow which is a very tricky Listed fillies race and I am going to take a chance on Luca Cumani's Becqu Adoree at around 10-1.

This one turned up at Cumani's yard this year and was made favourite for her opening listed race but finished tailed off and then was second favourite when running only a little better at Warwick in June. She then went to Newmarket and finished behind two of Sunday's rivals in another listed contest but was impeded when starting to make a run and was then blocked again when keeping on.

She won twice as a two-year-old and showed progressive form last year and the fact that the Cumani team was obviously very keen on her suggests she is a decent sort who could finally be settling into life in England and about to show her true form. She is sure to get this 12 furlong trip so I am willing to give her a go, having not backed her in any of her previous three runs so have not had my fingers burnt. We shall see!

Stewards' Cup punt

Goodwood continues to go well for me with my main bet of the day, Webbow, finishing a highly creditable third in the big handicap to give a nice each way return. I also backed Wildcat Wizard each way at 25-1 and he was third in the 27 runner "consolation" stewards' cup race, coming with a late run from a seemingly impossible position.

A nice quiet afternoon on the home front meant a good stint in front of the telly and I finished Friday's Goodwood session with a 15-2 winner in Perfect Blossom. Three losers filled the rest of the meeting but a good profit on the day, including Redunderthebed at 8-1 up at Bangor.

The most frustrating result of the day by far was Tabaret in the 4.45 at Thirsk, who was the winner everywhere apart from right on the line. A classic choker.

Looking to tomorrow and it is the big one we are after, the Stewards' Cup with its 28 runners and everyone expecting a middle to high number draw being essential. I am going against the crowd on that score and my each way punt of the day is Kaldoun Kingdom at 20-1, who is in stall 4.

The key to his chances lies with Parisian Pyramid in stall 1 who is an out and out front runner and will ensure plenty of pace among the low numbers. He towed Kaldoun Kingdom along at York last week and K K took over inside the last and was headed almost on the line by Hawkeyethenoo, giving that one 5lb. Hawkeye has not got into the Stewards' Cup but if he was he would be very close to being favourite and in his absence K K is a cracking each way bet. He is trained by Richard Fahey who is in brilliant form and has top apprentice Lee Topliss on board claiming 5lb to further boost his chance. I am very keen on his prospects.

This is a race which has been good to me in the past, particularly when Soba won in 1982 with David Nicholls on board. It is hard to believe he was ever light enough to be a jockey but he became a hero to me on that day. I just hope he doesn't have the winner tomorrow!

Happy punting one and all!

A nice winner

Goodwood is not normally one of my better meetings but it is going well this year, particularly today when Beachfire won the opener after I backed it last night at 10-1. The race hardly went to plan with the horse missing the break and losing the advantage of his high draw and he was being pushed along before a furlong had been raced.

But he got the hang of things as they turned in towards home and flew down the outside to win on the line. A great result!

I followed that up with a nice win on Kalahag in the 4.35 at 11-2 but had three losers on the day. All in all though a very satisfactory day.

For tomorrow I have had another go at one of Goodwood's big handicaps, the Totesport Mile at 3.25, and I hope I have found a cracker at 12-1. The horse is Webbow, the bottom weight and ideally drawn in stall 21. He was fourth last year after being impeded and then running on strongly once in the clear and he is now 3lb lower in the handicap. The fact that he has not won for two years will put many off but his last two runs have been very encouraging, particularly when 5th of 26 in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and second of those racing on the near side.

A very useful apprentice takes off a further 3lb tomorrow and he is my bet of the day for day four of Glorious Goodwood.

It is a busy time at the B&B with a full house of guests tonight so no time for further study tomorrow morning but the good news is that the wife has a hair appointment tomorrow afternoon so no interruptions!

Today's news

Day two of Glorious Goodwood and the first tip for this blog unfortunately was a total blow out, Sea of Heartbreak finishing plumb last after an abysmal run in which she was never travelling well and finished tailed off.

She had been pretty well backed into 13-2 but appeared completely unsuited by Goodwood's undulations and from an early stage that dreaded phrase "...and Sea of Heartbreak is having to be ridden along" rang out and we knew our fate. But we punters are a stoical lot and you don't back horses for the best part of 40 years without taking defeat on the chin and rising to the next challenge.

As it happens it was a busy afternoon here at the B&B which meant a couple of hours slouched in front of the TV was not an option with the Punter's wife threatening all out war at any moment unless he went and made some beds. Therefore the punting opportunities were somewhat curtailed, which is probably no bad thing.

There was still time to lose money on a rare Richard Hannon unplaced 2 year-old but the fightback got into full swing with the other two bets of the day, the first one coming in the 5.10 when Seradim was backed each way at 8-1 and was beaten a short head by the 7-4 favourite Dance East to give a small profit. Seradim was trained by Paul Cole, who is in brilliant form, and ridden by Tom Quealley who has an excellent Goodwood win ratio and was three lengths clear of the third after a protracted battle in the final furlong with the eventual winner.

The final bet of the day was another jockey inspired punt on Black N Brew in the opener at Sandown, which was ridden by Kieren Fox in an apprentice race. He is a cracking young jockey and with the horse having finished a close up second on his only other visit to Sandown it was a very appealing combination and he looked all over the winner from two out when beginning a relentless forward advance which swept him to victory. I backed him at 9-1 each way and as a bonus he eased to 10-1 and the superb Best Odds guarantee came into play to give a very nice return courtesy of Stan James.

Tomorrow's blog selection goes in the open looking 2.10 Turf TV Summer Vase Handicap where 17 runners go to post. Mark Johnston and John Gosden both have good records in this race and I have narrowed it down to two of their runners, Solicitor and Beachfire with preference for the latter.

Gosden's Beachfire has winning experience over this specialist distance of 1m2f and is well drawn in stall 13. The same could be said for Solicitor but he has disappointed too often whereas Beachfire is on a definite upward curve and hopefully can defy a 6lb hike in the weights. He is also ridden by one of my favourite jockeys, William Buick, and at 10-1 with VC Bet is my punt of the day, with a saver on Solicitor at 6-1.

Happy punting!

First day

Welcome to a new blog, setting out my life of punting and other things down in Cornwall, in the far south west of England. I run a small B&B which means that afternoons can often be spent following the racing on Racing UK or Attheraces. While no means a big player in financial terms I am a regular punter and currently am up in my accounts with VCBet, Paddy Power, Stan James, Betdaq, Blue Square and Coral but am showing a loss with Totesport and Bet365.

Today was the first day of Glorious Goodwood and I had just two bets at the meeting, the first was a small each way on Cat Junior at 33-1 in the Betfair Cup and the other was a win on Lord of the Stars at 9-1 in the Molecomb, with a straight forecast on Zebedee to beat that one.

Cat Junior ran a superb race, beaten only by the heavily backed Lord Shanakill to give a profit of 7.25pts. Lord of the Stars was one paced and finished well down the field behind the impressive Zebedee. If I liked to back favourites I would have gone in big on that one but I usually shy away from market leaders so missed out.

It was a superb day away from the punting, having spent the day with my son, daughter-in-law and grandaughter, who will be one on Friday. She is absolutely adorable and spent the day smiling and chuckling and has the most lovely nature and it was a real pleasure for my wife and I to spend time with her.

Back home in Cornwall now and have just tried to work out the very competitive Racing UK Handicap at Goodwood tomorrow (Wed). This is my kind of race and I fancy the very progressive Sea of Hearbreak at 9-1 generally.

This horse has defied the handicapper to win four on the trot and has been put up another 7lb for his last victory at Newbury. That was over 10F and I believe the extra two furlongs of tomorrow's race will bring about further improvement and she can defy the rise in weight; Timeform believe the opposite and feel that the 7lb rise will prove very tough to overcome but for me a very progressive three year old is always worth following and she won so easily at Newbury despite problems in running that I don't think the weight will stop her.

All the best to all punters having a go tomorrow and watch out for the next instalment from here in Cornwall!