Wednesday February 9th 2022

Global Acclaim obliged at 9/4.

Demi Sang won 2s

I suppose I am meant to post my winning bet at 14.45 at Fairyhouse today in the shape of Hms Seahorse at 8/11. A gentle nudge that I did the 14.45 at Market Rasen which was e.w. at 6/1.

After-timing, but i was going to do Getastar in 4.07 who won at 2/1, alas, a mix up at the dentists meant my mother's appointment was delayed and she didn't take kindly to someone trying to blame her for arriving at the wrong time! It was their fault and they later apologised, but I did not get an apology about missing Getastar!!! And I also had several encounters with a local traffic warden about my parking, he was quite reasonable, but i did have to do a few circuits of our local town...

So the Nap will be Light of Thunder EW in 7.00 at Kempton who is drifting alarmingly....

Get star won 2/1

Midnight Mary wins at 11 to 4.

Take a risk on Raecius Felix in the 1607 at Sedgefield. 14/1 EW.

Big jetaway won 6/4.

Interesting hunter chase at Ludlow (4.00). The Dellercheckout was one of those horses that was never as good as his name, and largely underachieved for Paul Nicholls. He liked him enough to pay a fair bit from the Irish pointing field, but it should be noted that he finished alone in his only point. However, he comes here as the defending champ so has to be respected. The classier types are the ex-Skelton handicapper Solomon Grey - one is never sure how much is left when a horse leaves that yard (similar to former Gordon Elliott inmates) - and PONT AVEN, a lower ranked horse in Willie Mullins' yard but had bits and pieces of form over there. However, he has taken well to English PTPs, falling when in the lead first time at Horseheath, then bolting up last time at Higham. James Owen seems to have found the key to this well-bred horse who enjoys better ground than he often found in Ireland, and I reckon he's a good bet at 11/8 in this company (I was expecting a shade of odds-on).

F me the way its going I am prepared to take money from those who want me to back a horse and see it beaten! Currently majoring in backing the wrong Mullins or Elliot beasts.

Nap Sedge 1537 Demi Sang

who was in form until today; the opposition look out of form so I expect a P

It's sad that Defi Du Seuil is being retired as a 9yo, but no surprise. They seemed unable to find any specific problem but just couldn't recover his va-va-voom. I wonder if, with hindsight, the decision to bring him back from two and a half miles in search of the Champion Chase was at the root of his decline. Do you remember those gruelling battles against the front-running machine that was Un De Sceaux in 2019-20? In both the Tingle Creek and the Clarence House he was between five and seven pounds wrong at the weights with UDS, and twice he did so with a heroic effort on soft and, at Ascot, very heavy ground. I think it was Dilton who said that day that the horse had never looked better in himself, and indeed Defi won with a degree of ease, making him the overwhelming favourite for Cheltenham. It's a sad irony that that race he was at the pinnacle of his career - he never won again nor looked himself in five subsequent runs. I really think there was nothing left to give after Ascot in January 2020. Perhaps the repeated wars on winter ground over the minimum distance took a toll that would have been less severe than the intermediate trip. But despite his sadly truncated career, the spectacle of those performances that winter will live long in the memory.

On another wise-head tip, I had two pound on Ceowulf in the first at Sedgefield. It's somehow especially galling to see your 20/1 outsider beaten less than a length by an 80/1 even-further-outsider. Get caught by the fav at least!

I did tip Schalke in the 14.45 at Market Rasen yesterday at 6/1.

I also specified e.w. as I know I can't fool this Forum that it was a win only bet.

I am sticking with 14.45 off times. Fairyhouse. My old mucker, HMS Seahorse.

In the "who will Joe nap?" market, I'll nap Kansas City Chief (15:52 Fakenham).

On my own account, there are a number of horses in my tracker running today. They usually end up there because someone smarter than me recommended keeping an eye, which means it feels a bit cheap to nap them myself. All the same, that's the extent of my reasoning some days, and this is one of them. So: Volkovka, 15:00 Ludlow, with apologies to whoever's work I'm copying (can't remember!).

Fred Bear (one for QuaiDB) 8.00 Kempton.

I see Nyoufsea trained by Aytach Sadik is running in the 13:30 at Ludlow. The horse's form is slightly better than his former stable mate, the famous Sussex Road, but still plenty of time to emulate the master.

Nap is Latino Fling in the 16:40 at Sedgefield.

Fairyhouse is in County Meath where my great grandmother was born, sometime in 1838. Consequently, I have made a number of bets there today, expecting the usual cornucopia of catastrophic losses (relatively speaking).

Over here, I note that Galah has drifted in the betting, all pundits apparently convinced that Henderson's Ile de Jersey has a walk over. (Ludlow 1.00.) We'll see.

Despite a couple of recent two 2's to his name I'll go for Dubai Guest in the 2:22 at Fakenham as today's nap

Innovated (nap) 14:15

NAP Black Sirius 2.15 Fairyhouse.