Aye, aye Captain!

Despite not posting a “firm” blog selection yesterday, the narrative put readers onto a winning thread. Of the 4 horses discussed on the blog:-
KING JACK – advised no bet at the odds, and it lost.
MAX BYGRAVES – advised a place-lay, and it came 6th @ 7/2 so, and odds-on place-lay at about 1.90.
PETE THE FEAT – advised to take note of this runner as trainer had good strike rate at Folkestone and also with jockey (Felix de Giles), and it won at 11/4.
PORTRAIT ROYALE – same trainer/jockey combo as PETE THE FEAT, but unfortunately ran unplaced.

To recap on this month’s blog selections:
8th Jan, SILVER BY NATURE, ½pt ew @ 16/1 LOST … (1.00pts)
8th Jan, EXMOOR RANGER, ½pt ew @ 16/1 LOST … (2.00pts)
8th Jan, FREE WORLD, ½pt ew @ 9/1 LOST … (3.00pts)
15th Jan, ZANIR, ½pt ew @ 22/1; placed 4th, +2.25pts … (0.75pts)
15th Jan, BINOCULAR, 2pts win @ 11/4; WON +5.50pts … +4.75pts
15th Jan, PLANET OF SOUND, ½pt ew @ 20/1; LOST … +3.75pts

The blog is showing a profit this month from 6 nominated wagers of 3.75pts on an investment of 7.00pts. That’s an ROI (return on investment) of over 53%. If you’ve been in this game as long as I have, then you’ll know that anything above 10% is good.

However, as you can see from the opening statement, the nominated selections are only half the story. If you read the blog, you’ll be rewarded with nuggets of information that (depending on your level of risk) can reward you with further profits. For instance, last Saturday (along with BINOCULAR) there was a good word for only one horse in the Lanzarote Handicap – the winner @ 8/1 James de Vassy (take a look at the actual blog, it’s in the adjacent column "History in the making").

Don’t forget to read the Antepost pages.
Regular visitors will already be holding antepost wagers on the likes of:
PEDDLERS CROSS @ 14/1 (now just 6/1) for the Champion Hurdle;
GHIZAO @12/1 (now just 6/1) for the Arkle;
IMPERIAL COMMANDER @ 9/2 (now just 7/2) for the Gold Cup

Onto today’s racing.
As I write, there is still some doubt as to whether Newbury will go ahead. So, I’m giving that meeting a miss (so as not to waste my time and effort).
Newcastle goes ahead, and the going is soft (heavy in places). There are a couple I like the look of, the first being CAPTAIN TIDDS in the 2:15. Today’s 3-mile trip and soft/heavy going will be right for him as it will give him time to measure his fences. I think he is much better than OR123 and hopefully today he will show it. Cavers Glen is up 11lb for his LTO win; Negus De Beaumont has also been raised 8lb for his latest run; FiftyFive Degrees is a course winner but may prefer 20f. The worry for me is Daldini who runs today over the same trip/going that he last won on in Feb ’10. Since then he’s run 8 times, either over trips too far or on going too fast. But it’s CAPTAIN TIDDS at 17/2 for a reasonable eachway wager based on some good form last season.
I was hoping we’d see BENE LAD chasing again, but he’s in the hurdle at 2:50. He holds a good chance as he’s probably an OR110 chaser, so off OR94 in this hurdle he’s well treated. But both Kings Guard and Tiger Line are no back numbers, so I’d be looking for 7/2 or more before having a wager.

Selection:-
Newcastle 2:15, CAPTAIN TIDDS, ½pt eachway @ 17/2 (Corals, Vic Chandler, 5th odds a place)
Total = 1pt staked

Thanks for reading this blog to all new visitors.

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Thanks from Wayward Lad