racing at Nad Al Sheba

Watch out for this horse in future - Sun Classique. Scintillating win at Nad Al Sheba (Dubai) tonight. Was in all sorts of trouble down the straight, blocked in, had to check and come out wide to get a clear run, took a few strides to get going then really motored home to get up on the post. Brilliant win in a solid race, only very good horses can overcome that amount of interference and win. Amazing turn of foot (acceleration at key moment).

She's a 5yo mare trained by Mike de Kock of South Africa, watch for her chasing international prize races. De Kock won this race a few years ago with Irridescence who went on to win in Hong Kong and also race in Europe.

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Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also,

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

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lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

Sport is made for betting

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