Beverley Wed Apr 19 2yo Novice Auction Stks Div I review

Might be out of order with a few this week, but important to get them up before I get behind/they become less relevant..

Beverley 1415 Novice Auction Stakes Div I
5f, Class 5, 1m3.24s (slow by 2.24s)
Good to Firm

Almane - proved difficult to load then broke well to sit outside the leader. Urged along inside 2f and lengthened stride late to take control. Progressed nicely since debut run at Doncaster.

Emilia James - away well, crossed straight to the rail holding the lead. Challenged inside the 2f and kept on nicely, holding the lead until final 50 yards. Nice debut from strong yard, will be better for the run.

Just For The Craic - wore noseroll. Broke well, settled directly behind Emilia James on the rail. Outpaced inside 2f, kept on but never threatening the leading pair.

Floss The Hoss - dwelt at the start, settled about 5L from the lead. Gradually drifted to inside rail and made some ground in last furlong, best result of those coming from behind.

Mistress of Venice - dwelt slightly and checked at the start. Settled about eighth on the fence. Tried to get off the back of the weakening Kikini Bamalaam at the 2f but was checked as Floss The Hoss drifted inside, losing momentum and a couple of lengths. Stayed on reasonably well, making ground particularly in last 50 yards. Perhaps the best run outside first and second.

Mount Hellvellyn - given no hope in the betting at 200/1, does Cam Hardie ever get a ride these days on a horse with a chance? Showed early pace to cross from widest gate and sit just behind the lead, a little green. Didn't have much left in the tank for the final furlong but only given a couple of taps with the whip. Solid enough run considering his odds.

Magic Jazz - awful start, walked out of the gates, losing about five lengths and settled last, always urged along. Made some ground in closing stages to suggest some ability but needs to learn barrier manners or will never have any hope in a race.

Rock On Bertie - edged left at the start, checking Mistress of Venice. Kicked up to sit about fifth, mid-bunch just behind the pace. Dropped back a pair coming to the bend, not sure if outpaced or resented being surrounded by other runners. Urged along at the 2f and found little, plodded home.

Furni Factors - jumped OK, sat two pairs back in front of midfield. Under pressure at the 2f and found nothing.

Dyson's Girl - outpaced early and sat just ahead of last. Pulled down centre of track to make her run but didn't go past anyone, jockey gave a couple of cracks of the whip and didn't punish her after that.

Kikini Bamalam - jumped well, restrained to settle just ahead of midfield. Weakened from the 2f pole and jockey soon eased her out of contention. Well supported in the market, run too bad to be true. Shin sore perhaps?

Progressive Jazz - slowly away, lost 3-4L. Going backwards at halfway and never got into the race. Had support in the ring, track too firm for him?

KEY POINTS
The placings were in the first three throughout suggesting either a leader bias or a well-rated pace. It could just be that first and second were the best horses in the race, the market did suggest that. Those just in behind showed ability - Floss The Hoss ran on, Mistress of Venice overcame a couple of incidents, Mount Hellvellyn ran a solid race given his price, Magic Jazz blew the start and stuck to his task well. Those at the tail of the field were terrible and may improve with a bit of cut in the ground.

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, ...

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...

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

The Christmas Hurdle from Leopardstown, a good Grade 2 race during the holiday period. But now it will go into history as the race which brought Betfair down. Over £21m at odds of 29 available on Voler La Vedette in-running - that's a potential liability of over £500m. You might think that's a bit suspicious, something's fishy, especially with the horse starting at a Betfair SP of 2.96. Well, this wasn't a horse being stopped by a jockey either - the bloody horse won! Look at what was matched at 29. Split that in half and multiply by 28 for the actual liability for the layer(s). (Matched amounts always shown as double the backers' stake, never counts the layers' risk). There's no way a Betfair client would have £600m+ in their account. Maybe £20 or even £50m from the massive syndicates who regard(ed) Betfair as safer than any bank, but not £600m. So the error has to be something technical. However, rumour has it, a helpdesk reply (not gospel, natur...

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