Ben Morgan hit the crossbar plenty of times but still made a profit at Cheltenham and Aintree
Despite a profitable week at Cheltenham I was left a little frustrated as I was close to some big wins but unfortunately was just on the wrong side of some close finishes. All of my ante-post plays were underwhelming with Run Wild Fred proving nothing but target practice for Stattler, Nube Negra pulling out 10 minutes before the race, Stag Horn pulling up half way around and Protektorat proving no match for A Plus Tard. It was just one of those weeks which left me feeling a bit ‘meh'.
What I needed was the winner of the Midlands National to perk me up and although that sounds easier said than done, a £10 e/w punt on last year's fancy Screaming Colours yielded a healthy return as Willie Durkan's charge returned a 14/1 winner. You too could win at wizardslots.
If I'm honest I would have rather he won last year as I had a bit more on at a better price if I remember rightly but after a ‘nearly' week I was more than happy with a winner.
That certainly got the juices flowing again and if that wasn't enough I then landed a competitive handicap hurdle at Kempton, with Press Your Luck going in again at 14/1. After the times I have backed him and he has ‘nearly' won it was quite apt he won on this Saturday which culminated a ‘nearly' week for myself. A strong ride from Jamie Moore was key to this success and he timed his challenge to perfection as he stayed on powerfully up the straight to put me nicely up on the week.
Being in such a good position for the month I was keen to speculate further at Ludlow during the final week of March and I talked myself into a £20 e/w wager on Known. Once with Nicky Henderson, he had dropped to a mark now under the care of Jonjo O'Neill that will surely be capitalised on sooner rather than later and I couldn't resist the 20/1 available on first show. Still lightly raced, I thought the better ground would see him in a better light and after being backed into 4/1 favourite I was confident I was onto something. He travelled sweetly and turning out of the back straight I didn't think he could be out of the three. How wrong was I? He soon came off the bridle and dropped back quicker than Santini in a Nunthorpe. I was pretty miserable after that as I was sure I was onto a good thing.
Thankfully my blushes were spared as a tried and tested 2m good ground hurdler, Just The Man (£20 e/w at 4/1) sluiced up in his optimum conditions. Held up well off the pace early, he came through nicely up the straight under Kevin Brogan to win going away, beating a solid enough field.
I was keen to keep as much of the profit from March in my pocket as I could in the final few days of the month. However, I couldn't resist a £30 punt at 5/2 on Ballybeen, a horse who has been on my shortlist for some time. Sam Thomas' charge was sure to be suited to a step up in trip on good ground at Stratford as his form in the book suggested he was a lot better than his mark. However, a change in tactics (made all) took me by surprise and clearly didn't suit as he ran far too keen and was beaten turning in. A sour end to a good month.
The Scottish Grand National meeting was about to kick off but there was a decent card at Newbury on the same day. The standout bet for me was Annsam for the Evan Williams team who had proven himself to be a top class performer over fences having taken a big Saturday race at Ascot earlier in the season. He then finished third in the aforementioned Press Your Luck race over 2m 5f and with the step up to three miles sure to suit I made him a banker at 5/2. At no point during the race did I think he was in trouble and from a long way out he had the race tied up.
That was also the first leg of a rare Trixie. The second leg was Platinumcard running at Ayr on stable debut for Gordon Elliott. A 100 rated flat horse for Keith Dalgleish was the centre of market attention after the handicapper left his jumps rating of 99 unchanged despite a summer of improvement on the flat. A handicap good thing surely? He certainly didn't jump like one but that was maybe to be expected after such a time since his last hurdle start. Once shaken up he put the race to bed well and marked himself as one to keep on side in the coming months.
BEN'S BEST BETS
Moscow Spy Travelled like a winner in waiting at Southwell, should come on for the run and be competing next time out.
Welsh Charger Ran well on debut at Bangor despite showing attitude at start. Should learn from it and be a big player next time out.
Leroy Leroy Like Moscow Spy, travelled well at Southwell on his return but tired late on. Should be fitter next time and will go close.
The final leg of the trixie was Wynn House to place in the Mares Handicap Hurdle at 6/4. I was sure Alan King's mare would prove a different proposition on better ground and I couldn't believe how much she drifted in the market but jumping the last I was confident the trixie had landed. However, there were a couple of nervy seconds on the run-in where the world seemed to stand still (or at least Wynn House) and the closers were getting nearer. But, thankfully, she held on for third and landed a rare trixie jackpot. £265 from a £20 outlay, plus the single on Annsam got me off to a flier for the month.
A quiet Saturday ensued but I did fancy one on Sunday at Hereford. Kolisi boasted a similar profile to Platinumcard in the fact that his jumps rating wasn't all that different to his flat mark. He opened up at 9/2 and I thought as I had a quiet Saturday, why not give this a good punt and try and top the Aintree pot up. I stuck £50 on the nose and watched him get backed into 11/4 favourite before the off. Tom Scudamore saved every yard down the inside and entered the straight looking comfortable. Jumping the last he idled slightly but was definitely worth more than the winning distance he eventually won by.
That topped the Aintree pot up nicely but Day 1 on Merseyside didn't shape up as I expected it to and instead of backing horses I didn't fancy I thought I'd put a few doubles/trebles on for the week. This went hooves up immediately as Pied Piper was deemed a dead heat winner of the Anniversary juvenile hurdle but an ante post loser as the stewards took the race off him completely for a minor coming together about a furlong from home.
As it turned out, it didn't matter as Protektorat bounced after the Gold Cup and Edwardstone was surprisingly turned over on Saturday. A couple of decent each-way punts on Sceau Royal (£20 e/w at 18/1) and Garry Clermont (£20 e/w at 22/1) proved to be the highlight of my week on Merseyside but if they're not there, I'm not one to go chasing so I was happy enough to call it a day there and switch my attention to the Flat which I hope to report on next month. RA
