Cheltenham 1:35
Emerging Talent a legitimate favourite here - wouldn't put you off 6/4 if that's your type of thing. I'll sit out and try to overcome my completely unreasoned sneaky liking for The Govaness.
Would have beaten SP had I played. Better still, money saved. And the Govaness did indeed run well.
Cheltenham 2:10
Prefer the shape of this race. Vibrato Valtat won cheekily at Warwick without having to come off the bridle. Doubt he'll have that luxury up the hill today. He's not exactly rated higher than some of these anyway. Doubt conditions suit Court Minstrel or Dunraven Storm either, so my prices made this one quite easy to sort out betwise.
Duke of Navan 8pts win at 7/2
Little Jon 4pts win at 12/1
Oh lord. Nice prices, oppose the favourite for the right reason and the only other horse running wins. It has definitely been that sort of Cheltenham.
Cheltenham 2:40
Went round in circles several times here, looking for a bet. Thing is, I priced the front ones 5/2 each of three as does the market. Happy to watch. I say that but this is exactly the sort of race I get pulled into late and regret afterwards. A good argument for going out, taping the racing and watching later.
Pleased with myself, even if one of my favourite horses wins - and how.
Cheltenham 3:15
As competitive as usual but, unusually, just the one bet for me. Exitas is 9lbs well in and proven on the ground. What price would he be if trained by Nicholls, Mullins or Henderson? A lot shorter than 8/1 that's for sure. I could make a case for plenty at bigger prices, but I'm in the mood for keeping it simple.
Exitas 12pts win at 8/1
8/1 was too big a price. Hardly any consolation! Not sure the race taught us anything new.
That is as bad as I can remember doing at the Open Meeting. Mighty frustrating that the one Hobbs horse I do back is the about the only one not to run well! And this meeting is usually good to me. So, a bit deflating after the nice start to the season. Take a breath.
Running Totals
Out 419 pts
In 398 pts