Olympic Balance

Not saying this is entirely my view as well - but significant elements ring true!

"Here's a bunch of public money spent on restraining trade, shutting down free speech, littering the capital with white elephants, creating a two tier system in the public roadways, and providing a [free] jolly for for a cartel of self important shysters with an institutional history of corruption." 


Courtesy of Sam Leith of Evening Standard:

OVERALL STATS

3,111 naps (including 369 forced losers) for 508 winners and an overall loss of £765.74! about 18% win %
Clearly the loss is distorted by the search for long shots when players get a long way from the leaders.
We will be back for Comp #32 in September where we are expecting a massive turnout maybe even a first prize of £2,000 if we can get close to 100.

28jul12 ALL OVER

Summer holiday are here - phew!

Only 2 winners yesterday as everyone tried to hit a big winner and missed!  They were Jed Parramore 11-4, which moved him up just 4 places to 29th but the bet of the day was Michael Brook with a 12-1 winner to lift him from 20th to 11th on the final day just missing out on a prize.

Nice day at Ascot, strange to see the course so quiet so all very easy.  I think we did bring enough food to the car park picnic to cater for everyone we manfully plowed our way through it and the champagne!

Final excel on its way

NEWS FLASH FINAL RESULT

Jake Fifield's selection Riot of Colour finishes 2nd and so he just fails to catch Tom Feeney who holds on to win by £3.12 - CONGRATULATIONS. Rest of the leaderboard remained in the same spot.  

In the plate mega exciting finish after Steve Walton's horse can only finish 7th and Justin Wood's selection at Ascot missed the required 2nd spot in the big handicap by a short head leaving Justin only picking up two points and finishing 1 behind.   

FINAL DAY NAPS

Tom Feeney               - Desert Law ASC 2.55 

Jake Fifield                - Riot of Colour NEW 3.20

Kevin Wood               - Parisian Pyramid YOR 2.35

Jon Curtis                  - Downhillier ASC 2.20

Maurice Edgington - Samminder NEW4.00

Paul Evans                 - Gourdry Girl NEW 3.20

Ian Carpenter           - Russian Rave ??? 4.30

Bert Peart                   - Rebel Magic ASC 1.45

Justin Sercombe      -  Zero Money ASC 2.55

Gary Dighton            - ITlaaq ASC 4.50

FINAL DAY RULE REMINDER

All bets must be in a race before the last at Ascot i.e. 5.00pm

27jul12 opening and closing

This is before the following results as I'm going out in 15 minutes - all assumed to be losers!

Gary Pascoe Green Mitas NEW 8.45
Kevin Dighton Gunslinger NEW 8.10
Rod Brown Kool Henry YOR 8.30

So without the above just 2 winners today Paul Berg 8-1 to follow his 9-1 yesterday he's woken up far too late! and the leader Tom Feeney 5-2 to go £3.13 clear of Jake Fifield who will need at least a 9-4 winner and Tom Feeney to lose to overtake.

Vince Paige remains 44p ahead of Martin Long in their side bet and I am £28.22 ahead of Kevin Dighton in our side bet assuming the above loses

Everyone in the plate sat out.

27jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney               - Ninjago CHE 6.20

Jake Fifield                - Robbie SOU 4.50

Kevin Wood               - NO BET 

Jon Curtis                  - Montaff ACS 4.05

Maurice Edgington - NO BET

Ian Carpenter           - Municipal THI 2.10

Bert Peart                   - Western Prize ASC 4.05

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Justin Sercombe      - NO BET 

Gary Dighton            - Moone's My Name ASC 3.30

26jul12 fed up yet?

Just 3 winners today but some nice prices but most important was Jake Fifield's 13-8 winner to lift him to just £1.02 behind Tom Feeney the leader now on level bets 2 to go each.  Others were Robert Baker 28-1 to lift him into the top half on -£8.85 but he has the honour of the largest winner of the comp, and finally Paul Berg at 9-1 still nearer the bottom than the top.

In the plate all that is left is the finishing order of the top two and it will go to the final day Steve Walton just 3 points clear of Justin Sercombe.  

26jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney               - NO BET

Jake Fifield                - Bobowen UTT 5.10

Kevin Wood               - Ridgeway Sapphire BAT 5.30 

Jon Curtis                  - Muntasir SAN 2.30

Maurice Edgington - Cravat SAN 4.50

Ian Carpenter           - Taroum BAT 5.00

Bert Peart                   - Rayaheen SAN 3.05

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Gary Dighton            - Cosmic Wonder UTT 2.20
Justin Sercombe      - NO BET 

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Becky Lou DON 6.10 

25jul12 500 up

500 winners up! not great really from 2649 real bets so less than 1 in 5.  Today 6 winners of most significance was Jon Curtis 4-1 to consolidate in 4th and stay clear of me in 5th, Ian carpenter with his 2nd 7-2 winner in a row moved into 6th and hot on my heals - bad day all round for me then :-(.  Other winners were Steve Walton 1-6, Bert Peart 5-2 to move to 7th, Scott Bennett 5-2 languishing in the depths of the bottom half and biggest of the day 9-1 for Jimmy McGarrity who maybe just gives himself a sneak at cash if he follows up with the same again tomorrow.

In the plate as was inevitable Steve Walton with his 1-6 winner took over at the top 2 points clear still with 1 bet in hand  

25jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney               - NO BET

Jake Fifield                - Ghost Train LIN 5.10 

Kevin Wood               - NO BET 

Jon Curtis                  - Ferdy CAT 4.00

Maurice Edgington - Brog Deas NAA 9.00

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Gary Dighton            - Foxy Music CAT 5.00
Bert Peart                   - Great Run LIN 3.10

Ian Carpenter           - Tinseltown CAT 5.30

Justin Sercombe      - NO BET 

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Cape Express WOR 3.50
Martin Long              - NO BET

24jul12 A big one today

6 winners from 41 bets including the biggest winner (to date) in this competition 25-1 for Lee Constable, luckily for us who were above him he was £23 down so he leaps up to +£1.83 and in 12th spot.  Other winners were Jake Fifield to close the gap right up again to just £1.65 after his 7-2 winner which was also selected by Ian Carpenter to lift him back into 9th place on the bubble.  Gary Dighton went tactical and gathered a 3-13 winner to go above Bert Peart.  Martin Long picked a 4-1 winner to go back above Vince by 56p! and finally Danny Beaman 4-1 only his 2nd winner of the comp!

In the plate we saw Rod Brown drop off the 5 man leader board replaced by Martin Long who is on the same points total but gets 5th on number of winners count back.

24jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney               - Quaroma MUS 4.00

Jake Fifield                - Consider Yourself YAR 3.20 

Kevin Wood               - Errigal Lad YAR 4.50

Jon Curtis                  - Violets Boy SOU 3.40

Maurice Edgington - NO BET

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Bert Peart                   - Mick Slates MUS 5.00
Gary Dighton            - Mulligans Man SOU 3.40
Justin Sercombe      - NO BET 

Ian Carpenter           - Consider Yourself YAR 3.20

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - NO BET 
Rod Brown                 - Changing the Guard SOU 4.10

23jul12 new faces

A couple of decent winners that brings a couple of new faces top the bottom of the leaderboard Bert Peart now in 7th after his 14-1 winner & in 8th Gary Dighton after his 10-1 winner.  Only 2 other winners from 43 bets they were Steve Walton 1-5 clearly trying to make sure of the cash in the plate and Annette Berg 6-4 who brings up her 12th winner exactly 3 times as many as Paul :-).

In the plate Steve Walton in 2nd drew to within 3 points of the leader with 2 bets in hand, and Rod Brown has made the task of catching me in 4th a bit tough after another blank day he sits 28 behind with just 2 bets in hand.

23jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney               - Riskier CAR 5.05

Jake Fifield                - Chapellerie AYR 5.45

Kevin Wood               - Courage WIN 7.10

Jon Curtis                  - Mozovian SOU 2.10

Maurice Edgington - NO BET

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Justin Sercombe      - NO BET 

Ian Carpenter           - Stags Leap CAR 2.50

Julian Ciampioli      - Enery BEV 7.00
Alan Mabb                - Solfilia WIN 8.10

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - One Word More AYR 2.00
Rod Brown                 - Cool Hand Jake WIN 7.40

22jul12 leaders power on

6 winners from 47 bets and top action at the top.  Jake Fifield struck first with a 3-1 winner but quality reply from Tom Feeney 9-1 winner and goes £6.15 clear - could be decisive.  Other top 10 winners were Justin Sercombe 8-13, Julian Ciampioli 100-30 & Ian Carpenter 2-1.  Other winner was Michael Brook 2-1.

In the plate Justin Sercombe who just has his final bet left sits on top 8 points clear of Steve Walton with three bets in hand.  So all Steve has to do is score 19 points from those 3, in hand, bets and he will secure the win (well against Justin Sercombe anyway Kevin Wood may still have something to say).

22jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield                - Nassau Storm ASC 3.25

Kevin Wood               - Willie Gunn NEW 5.45

Tom Feeney               - Lansdowne Princess NEW 5.15

Jon Curtis                  - Light Shine ASC 4.30

Maurice Edgington - Caponata CUR 2.10

Paul Evans                 - Lady Gibraltar ASC 3.25

Justin Sercombe      - Dibayani CUR 1.40

Ian Carpenter           - Smalib Monerg NEW 4.45

Julian Ciampioli      - Ahzeemah ASC 4.00
Mark Nutting            - Dungannon ASC 5.05

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Willie Gunn NEW 5.45
Rod Brown                 - Royal Rayeh ASC 3.25

Late bets reminder

Hi

Now we are the business end of the comp I will need to be completely strict on the daily cut off.  I'm posting up the days selections immediately after the cut off and can't really amend that and the tactic adopted by some of saving spare days until the end counts for a lot when only 15p divides the top 2

AFTER 1.30pm will mean NO BET/LOSER

21jul12 only 2

47 bets only 2 winners but both of significance on the leader board, Tom Feeney 13-2 to go top by just 15p & Alan Mabb to move up to the last cash spot after his 9-2 winner.

Obviously not much action in the plate as there were no winners but Steve Walton who sat out gained over the others at the top.

21jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield                - Excellent Guest ASC 3.55

Kevin Wood               - Skyfire HAY 7.00

Tom Feeney               - Premier Dane MAR 2.15

Jon Curtis                  - LOSER

Maurice Edgington - Nathanial ASC 4.35

Paul Evans                 - Excellent Guest ASC 3.55

Justin Sercombe      - Carlton House ASC 3.20

Ian Carpenter           - Absinthe MAR 2.50

Julian Ciampioli      - Eton Forever ASC 3.55
Mark Nutting            - St Nicholas Abbey ASC 4.35

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - NO BET
Rod Brown                 - Lightning Cloud ASC 3.55

20jun12 couple of good winners

Dave Kingsbury 9-2 to go 11th +26p and best of the day 14-1 for Julian Ciampioli to go 9th, also 12-1 for Kevin Hall that moves him into the top half.  In total 5 winners from an almost max 49 bets other winners were Justin Sercombe 13-8 & Paul Evans 7-2.

In the plate the great 10 point winner for Justin Sercombe moved him back top and a second zero from Kevin Wood may well have ruined his bid for glory.

Luke Donald still 25-1 & he is always better in the last two rounds than the first two

20jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield                - Montaser ASC 3.20

Kevin Wood               - Secret Symphony PON 6.25

Tom Feeney               - NO BET

Jon Curtis                  - Farlow ASC 3.55

Maurice Edgington - Aliante HAY 4.50

Paul Evans                 - Diaminda ASC 2.10

Justin Sercombe      - Cheyneey Girl KIL 9.00

Ian Carpenter           - Hayek HAY 5.25

Mark Nutting            - LOSER

Gary Dighton            - Goldream HAY 3.05

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Blossom Gate KIL 6.30
Rod Brown                 - Martial Law ASC 3.20

19jul12 Hotting up

47 bets 7 winners but nothing of any great note.  Steve Walton & Justin Sercombe 4-7, Dave Kingsbury & I both 11-8, Dave Barker best of the day 9-2,  Martin Long 5-2 (to halve the gap Vince Paige on their side bet), Ian Carpenter 7-4 to take over from Mark Nutting in the final cash spot, 8th.

In the plate the top two both had winners so Kevin Wood lost a bit of ground when his favourite pulled up in Eire, my 2nd winner in 2 days may well have sealed 4th place after Rod Brown has failed to score three times in a row.

19jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield                - Pharoh BRI 2.15

Kevin Wood               - China Goes Green KIL 4.25

Tom Feeney               - Gabrials Lad BAT 7.35

Jon Curtis                  - Victoire De Lyphar HAM 2.30

Maurice Edgington - Harasiya LEO 6.45

Paul Evans                 - Stag Hill BAT 6.10

Justin Sercombe      - Unanimous LEO 7.20

Mark Nutting            - LOSER

Ian Carpenter           - Ginger Goose HAM 2.00

Gary Dighton            - Wools Ton Ferry BAT 7.05

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Unanimous LEO 7.20
Rod Brown                 - Buster Brown DON 9.00

18jul12 best open bet

Rory not to win 1-25 and I consider that good value :-) seriously Luke Donald at 21-1 could look good if he has a good first round.

Just 4 winners today and no-one in the top 10 at all best by far was Julian Ciampioli 16-1 but as he was in the bottom 10 that just lifted him to 27th, also Gary Cawsey 5-4 Steve Walton 4-5 & Jed Parramore 5-4.

So a good day for Steve Walton in the plate all the top 5 had a bet and his 5 points were all that were scored, he returns to the top.

18jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield                - Llewellyn CAT 2.40

Kevin Wood               - Silent Moment LIN 4.00 

Tom Feeney               - Delgany Gunner UTT 3.20

Jon Curtis                  - Despatch LIN 3.00

Maurice Edgington - Beach of Falesa KIL 6.10

Paul Evans                 - NO BET

Justin Sercombe      - Silent Moment LIN 4.00

Mark Nutting            - LOSER

Ian Carpenter           - Silent Moment LIN 4.00

Gary Dighton            - Dovils Date SAN 8.35

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - Chamonix KIL 5.40
Rod Brown                 - Dovils Date SAN 8.35 

17jul12 Unlucky Vince!

Yes Vince Paige has had a nice winner 12-1 :-(  but opened at 22-1 so that knock the gloss off for him and gives us a laugh :-).  He was one of just 5 winners from 45 bets a sign of the increasing number of forced losers and the selection of long shots to try and fluke cash.  The other winners were Kevin Wood & Ian Carpenter with a 1-3 shot me with a 1-4 shot and Bert Peart 11-4 which moves him to 13th spot and only £4.26 from cash.

In the plate the top 2 only managed a single point each so Kevin Woods 5 point winner helped he is only 9 points from the lead 3 bets in hand.

17jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield               - Soopacal SOU 6.00

Kevin Wood              - Astra Hall FFO 2.45

Tom Feeney              - Alpha Tauri SOU 7.30

Jon Curtis                  - Kodatish FFO 2.15

Maurice Edgington - Drive Time KIL 7.10

Paul Evans                 -  Stag Hill YAR 7.50

Justin Sercombe      - Harangue KIL 8.40

Mark Nutting            - LOSER

Gary Dighton            - Mojolika BEV 4.00

Ian Carpenter           - Astra Hall FFO 2.45

Rest of the plate:

Steve Walton             - City Girl FFO 2.15
Rod Brown                - Future Security YAR 8.20

16jul12 top 10 class

Just 4 winners from 45 bets today and all of them are top 10.  Jake Fifield, Justin Sercombe & I all picked the same 3-1 winner and Gary Dighton's 8-11 winner was enough to scrape him into 9th spot.  So good day for Jake Fifield who goes a nice way clear at this late stage and is looking good getting the tactics right and making all of us in his wake look for more risky winners.  Jake, have a word with your dad and give him a few tips, he is £51 behind you :-)

Justin Sercombe took over at the top in the plate but not for long as the lead is only 1 point and Steve Walton has 2 bets in hand.  Kevin Wood put himself under pressure after only collecting 2 points.  

16jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Jake Fifield               - Dubai Dynamo AYR 4.05

Kevin Wood              - Sir Harry Cash KIL 5.50

Tom Feeney              - Tunnager Grove SOU 4.15

Jon Curtis                  - Relight My Fire SOU 2.15

Maurice Edgington - Dubai Dynamo AYR 4.05

Paul Evans                 -  Dust Whirl WIN 7.10

Mark Nutting            - LOSER

Justin Sercombe      - Dubai Dynamo AYR 4.05

Ian Carpenter           - Omid SOU 5.15

Alan Mabb                 - Kimbali AYR 3.35

15jul12 double whammy from Jon

For the second day in a row Jon Curtis picks a great winner 11-1 while it only moved him up one place, over me:-( it bridges the gap to the top 3 and gives him a realistic chance of top spot.  But the leaders responded with Jake Fifield hitting a 7-2 winner to regain top spot and also Kevin Wood 7-4 taking second - a bad day for Tom Feeney.  Other winners were Steve Walton 4-9, and joining Jon Curtis with the same 11-1 winner was Mark Quinn who despite only having 5 winners still is only just down and less than £5 from cash.

In the plate Steve Walton & Kevin Wood both posted 5 points while Justin Sercombe only 2 any one of them can still win.

15jul12 TODAY'S NAPS

Tom Feeney              - Airman's Friend STR 2.50

Kevin Wood              - Bondage SLI 5.25

Jake Fifield               - Spate River - SOU 4.40

Maurice Edgington - Faleena FAI 3.35

Jon Curtis                  - Sheepclose SOU 2.10

Paul Evans                - Osgood STR 3.20

Mark Nutting           - LOSER

Justin Sercombe     -  Curl Cat FAI 5.05

Ian Carpenter          - Avanos SOU 2.40

Alan Mabb               - Danimix Sou 1.40

14jul12 big winner

Just 3 winners on Saturday from 46 bets and the stand out was Jon Curtis with a 20-1 winner to zoom up to 5th place (rightly still behind me in 4th!) now on +£11.75, only other winners were Dave Kingsbury 9-4 & Gary Pascoe 13-2, both remain overall down.

In the plate a good day for Steve Walton who sat out and saw both his closest rivals use up a bet without scoring.  Rod Brown scored 2 pints and now sits 14 points behind the cash with only one bet in hand.

Now we are in the final two weeks I will try and start the updates at 1.30pm for the leader boards selections

13jul12 another tough one

Just 4 winners from 44 bets today they were topped by Alan Mabb with a very nice 10-1 winner to lift him loads of places to 9th and very much in contention for a cash prize.  Other winners were me 2-1 to consolidate in 4th Justin Sercombe 1-7 but enough to lift him into the cash & Martin Long with a 3-1 10 point winner to surge away from Vince Paige but also to just give himself an outside chance of featuring in the plate on 97 points OK 32 points off cash but still 11 bets to go.

I will be pretty much unable to update things tomorrow as a very close friend of mine is seriously unwell and I'm off to see him - will catch up Sunday morning

12jul12 spoke too soon

Tom Feeney's back he sits out and Jake Fifield loses so Tom returns to the top by 15p - all very exciting!

Remarkably ZERO winners from 39 bets so apart from a couple of swaps in the leader board as the bets unravel towards the end of the comp clearly nothing happened.

No-one even had a bet at the top of the plate at all.

11jul12 Tom reign ends

Jake Fifield responds from his holiday on Spain and reclaims the leaders spot by 85p after his 7-4 winner.  7 winners in total from 47 bets, others of significance were Kevin Wood 4-1 to close right in on the top 2 and Alan Mabb & Jimmy McGarrity who both hit the same 15-2 winner.

Kevin Wood's 10 point winner was the most significant in the plate bringing him to within 14 points of the lead 3 bets is hand.

10jul12 pulling away

7 winners from 39 bets with the top two both scoring Jake Fifield with the slightly better odds, 5-2, and closed the gap to the leader Tom Feeney to just £1.90, other winners Martin Long 11-8 to go back above Vince Paige, Paul Berg, Paul Evans, Roger Dore, Steve Walton.

In the plate Steve Walton's 10 point winner pushed him back top now 6 points clear and Rod Brown continued to close in on me in 4th scoring 5 points with a 2nd today just 10 points away 2 bets in hand.

09jul12 Tom back on top

43 bets just 4 winners today, of most significance was Tom Feeney with a 7-2 winner to go £3.40 clear of 2nd, other winners were Rod Brown, 3-1 to go 3p up and rise to 15th place, Annette Berg 5-2, her 3rd winner in 4 days she is now +£5.45 and in 12th ("read'em and weep Paul", she might be saying!) and finally 3-1 for Adam Slater.

In the plate Steve Walton caught up his bet in hand with the leader, Justin Sercombe, and sits 2 points behind level bets, Rod Brown picked up another 5 points and so is now 3 bets and 15 points behind me I can afford to wait and see what he does before panicking, also I suppose I need to look out for Ian Carpenter as well he is only 27 points behind with 6 bets in hand.

TOP SPORTSMANSHIP

Significant error by me awarding an incorrect winner last week - spotted by Bert Peart on his own record so no 8-1 winner Wednesday it came 3rd!

Not sure how I got to that but thanks for the honesty Bert, nice one

If the racing Gods exist, and after Sandown Saturday that is in severe doubt! You should get a nice 25-1 winner this week.

That drops him from 9th to 17th and puts Gary Dighton back on the bubble

08jul12 had to be, Andy

8 winners from 41 bets today the notable results were best of the day 13-2 for Vince Paige & Dave Fifield.  Vince's winner moved him to 30th but £1.33 ahead of Martin Long in their side bet.  Other were Kevin Wood 6-4 & 10 points to move 2nd,  Bert Peart 7-4 to move 9th and on the bubble.

In the plate top two picked the same horse and so rather let Kevin Wood back into it 14 points behind 3 bets in hand.  Also good day for Rod Brown his 10 point winner while I sat out meant he closed to 20 points 4 bets in hand.

07jul12 New Leader

5 winners today from 41 bets still tough to find with this very bad ground.  Jake Fifield gets his 2nd 2-1 winner in a row to sneak back to the top by £1.10 although he is dormy and has to have 4 more bets than Tom Feeney in 2nd so he may find that tough to hang onto. Martin Long & Ian carpenter also picked that 2-1 winner taking Ian back into a cash paying position in 7th.  Best of the day was Jed Parramore with a nice 7-1 winner to move up to 20th & finally Alan Mabb moved closer to the top half with an 11-4 winner.

In the plate a bit of a slight setback for Steve Walton who used up one of his bets in hand on Justin Sercombe but only managed 1 point.  My odds on selection could only finish 2nd in a 4 horse race which just about sums up my day at Sandown which pretty much was the exact opposite of 25 years ago :-(

06jul12 washout

10 forced losers today as the abandonment's took their toll still 6 winners from the remaining 19 bets that made it.  Best was Scott Bennett with a 12-1 winner to move into the top half on -£5.25, others were me 2-1 to gain 2 places and move 5th, Annette Berg 7-4 now 17th and just 5p down, Jake Fifield away in Magaluf, Mallorca this week but still managed a 2-1 winner to move back 2nd just 90p off the lead good devotion to the cause.  Dave Barker brought up a double with a 5-1 winner but still sits in the bottom half and finally Julian Micklethwaite 11-4.

In the plate I was the only player so with my 5 points just consolidated my 4th position a little.

Off to the Eclipse at Sandown tomorrow, the scene of one of my best days on course in 1987 when Mtoto beat Reference Point, the Derby winner, and I cleaned up!

05jul12 two big ones

Only 3 winners today from 44 bets so must have been a tough one, apart than for Mark Nutting 12-1 to zoom back onto the leader board in 4th and Mark Quinn 16-1 to just scrape into the top half, the other winner was Dave Barker 6-4.

In the plate top two sat out the the others all failed to score.

Thanks to the two further players that paid today 17 to go! - I'll set Vince on to you :-)

04jul12 Stars & Stripes

Winners very sparse on the ground today just 3 from 32 bets they were Paul Evans 9-4 to move up 2 places from 6th to 4th, Gary Dighton 6-4 to also move up 2 places to 8th but by some distance the best of the day was Bert Peart with an 8-1 shot to go 11th just 89p away from the cash!

In the plate only Justin Sercombe had a bet and only managed a single point to sit 8 points ahead but Steve Walton has 2 bets in hand.  

03jul12 NEW LEADER

Tom Feeney takes over at top after a 8-1 winner to lead by just £2.37, but best of the day was the 10-1 found by Jed Parramore to move back to mid table.  Another nice winner was Pat Quinn 6-1 to join Jed in a mid table position.  Other winners were Steve Walton 4-11 Kevin Hall 6-4 and Gary Cawsey 6-1 making progress after a bad start but still a way to go.

In the plate a good day for Steve Walton who picked up 5 points and the leader, Justin Sercombe, failed to score, so back in Steve's hands now - 1 bet in hand and only 7 points behind.

END OF COMP EVENT

Hi, final day is Saturday 28th July at Ascot (not Diamond Day just an ordinary meeting).  We are thinking of maybe a bit of a picnic and get together in one of the Ascot car parks (probably #1)  around noon or so for drinks eats chat etc. before racing.

Anyone interested Steve Walton, Kevin Dighton, Joanne Hutson, and me with all my family are planning on doing this (anyway) would love to make a bit of a bigger event and get a group together, can you let me know if this is something that appeals?

When we have numbers we would divide out who brings what agree a spot in the car park to meet and celebrate the new champion, probably even crack open some bubbly after racing when we do photos and presentation.

Vince Paige is away on holiday, not sure if that makes it a more attractive proposition or not :-)

02jul12 Ordinary

6 winners from 36 bets a total severely damaged by the late abandonment of Ffos Las.  Best of the day was Roger Dore with a 9-2 winner, Mark Sharman 9-4 winner was enough to move him up one place into 8th, Steve Walton & Justin Sercombe both picked the 1-5 shot that won, Martin Long 7-4, and Ian Carpenter consolidated a little with a 8-11 winner.

In the plate only the top 2 had a runner so they both maintained their lead, just a suggestion that they are breaking away from Kevin Wood in 3rd clearly he needs to concentrate on the main prize as cash is secure for him in the plate.

01jul12 performance of the day

No not Spain but Hartani in the G3 race at the Curragh - beat, well demolished, Midnight Soprano she was unbeaten in the last 5 and had looked the one to beat especially in the ground.  So general view from the commentators was 14f in the heavy at the Curragh only one thing for it Doncaster 15sep12 for the Ledger. I have to think that he will be a no show if Camelot pitches up so only play in non runner no bet markets. FYI 16-1 on Betfair but NR = loser.

Some might argue (probably Martin Long as he napped it) that Izzi Top in the Pretty Polly Stakes (Group1) was a better performance but I never trust form from a 4 runner race too easy for it to be false.  So she is going to have to do that again in a bigger field for me to be convinced, win the Nassau at Goodwood and then I'll change this!

01jul12 Italy just maybe

But deep down not really bothered who wins! Maybe would like to see this ridiculous pass count statistic where they pass it around for no purpose debunked.

So today just 5 winners from 33 bets although 9 of them were forced losers.  Winners were Scott Bennett 11-4, Matthew Long 15-8, Martin Long 6-4, Best of the day 6-1 for Dave Barker, and 7-2 for Julian Ciampioli now 3 from the last 4 but still a long way behind.

In the plate Steve Walton picked up 2 pints and me just the one that sort of opens up the way for Rod Brown sneak into 4th - I need to concentrate :-).