Redcar Mon Apr 10 2yo race review

And so it carries on, this one might be decent...

Redcar 2yo Mon Apr 10
Class 5 Novice Stakes
5f, 58.72s (1.72s slow by RP standards)
Good to Firm

Inviolable Spirit, Mar 28. By flying 2yo sire Zebedee from a maiden mare, £20,000 yearling. Backed from 10/1 into 17/2. Dwelt, missed start and hustled up to stay in touch. Sat middle of the track just behind the pace. Thwarted for a run at least twice near/just inside 2f. Put them away in a couple of strides when he did get through. Not touched with the whip, quite a bit left in hand. Impressive but RPR figure not so enthusiastic.

Tember, Jan 30. Sold for 16,000gns as a yearling, sire Sayif hasn't set the world on fire with his first crop, but early days. Drawn widest, sat just behind pace. Jockey got busy at the 2f pole, took a while and a few cracks of the whip to get going. Wanted to hang left causing some interference, got past the chasing pack in final strides but margin to winner a tad flattering. Started favourite, will learn from that.

Rockin Fella, Apr 9. £56k yearling from ill-fated sire Society Rock, this is his first crop. Jumped well and pushed forward, settling just behind the lead. Made move at 2f, couldn't kick on as the winner did but stuck on well to finish the best of those on top of the pace.

Nobrassnolass, Apr 26. €38k yearling. Flew the gate, led on the inside rail side. Right with them inside the last furlong, given a couple of taps with the whip, every chance. Not pushed out in final stages. One of the youngest in the field, has time to improve.

Marnie James, Mar 30. £35k yearling. Jumped well, shared lead with Nobrassnolass, with jockey sitting confidently until the 2f when challenged. No acceleration but kept on OK.

Ventura Gold, Mar 27. The more fancied of the Fahey pair with Hanagan aboard, so could expect plenty of ability. €36k yearling, first-season sire. Outpaced early, settled towards the rear but in position to make his run 2f out. Blocked again and again trying to make his run through the middle. Should have been right in the finish. Watch next time - there's talent in this one.

Just For The Craic, Mar 25. Initially sold as a yearling for €30k then resold for £3k and now gelded. First runner for new season sire Most Improved. Wore noseroll. Jumped ok but soon outpaced. In touch at the 1f but soon emptied. Best performer of those beyond 10/1.

Lady Lintera, Mar 14. £5500 yearling. Sat on the pace, tried hard but couldn't keep up when others got serious. Looks limited.

Sandytown, Jan 18. Reared as gates opened, missed start by 6-7L. Drifted further back as the race went on, never pushed to chase the pack, but did make some ground late. Sold for 19,000gns as a foal, then €35k as a yearling. In decent stable, has age advantage on most, forgive.

Brandy Station, Apr 29. Jumped well, drifted into middle, then across to the nearside rail. Beaten at the furlong, finished a long way back. Limited.

Savannah's Show, Apr 26. Settled towards the rear, pulled out wide into space to make her run and only plodded. Saw some support, 33s into 20s, but did nothing to show it was deserved.

KEY POINTS
Liked the run of the winner here, had a bit up his sleeve. Tember must have shown a bit at home and Ventura Gold was very unlucky. Should see several winners out of this race, and sooner rather than later.

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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