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Greetings All.
I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this forum back in December and have been amazed at the consistent quality of information and opinions. I have been playing the Cheltenham antepost markets for the past 4 years but only really the graded races (from about January onwards, usually with NRNB). I have thoroughly enjoyed following the antepost handicap markets for the first time this past season. Thank you to everyone for your contributions, I hope I can add something to discussions going forward.
What was your best bet? (No monetary figures please)
Column of Fire - Absolute heartbreak but it was an unreal spot from Kev (I think?). As I mentioned above, this is the first season I have been involved with the handicaps antepost so it was incredibly satisfying (also extra devastating) to be sitting on a nice price watching the price tumble in the lead up to the festival, hearing Olly Murphy's comments at the Betfair preview night etc.
Worst bet?
Cashing out Ravenhill at 14s just before the off. I had backed Ravenhill blind for the Kim Muir when the news about Codd riding broke, then did the same when the news about him switching to the NHC came out. I was put off by the pre-race drift and had a nice position on Lord Du Mesnil but still not quite sure why I cashed it. Annoying.
Favourite race of the Festival
A frustrating race for me betting-wise having been on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th finishers but I thought the Albert Bartlett was a great race to watch, especially with all of the “big players” battling it out at the end. Early days, of course, but I’m very excited to see how the form works out from that race.
Worst race of the Festival?
Kim Muir. Perhaps because I didn’t have an antepost position heading into it but I wouldn’t mind if they switch out this or the Boodles to make room for the Mares Chase.
Best Performance?
Champ. Brutal at the time being on both Minella Indo and Allaho (also relying on both for multiples) but there’s no denying Champ’s engine at the end was mightily impressive.
Biggest disappointment?
Chacun Pour Soi pulling out on the back of Altior being ruled out. Gutted.
Dark horse for next years Festival?
I am still intrigued to keep an eye on Copperhead going into next year. It has been well documented the Tizzard horses, for whatever reason, underperformed this year. Sporting John and Riders Onthe Storm (who also won races on the same day at Ascot in February) underperformed at the festival as well so I think it’s fair to conclude the testing conditions that day took a lot out of all of the horses.
Biggest irritation of this years Festival?
The dumbed-down ITV coverage. I imagine they are in a difficult position (similar to UK NFL coverage) with producers constantly in their ear “How can we appeal to new viewers?” but I don’t think wasting time on the fashion or social stable nonsense is going to bring in any new NH fans. Ruby has been a great addition this year imo but I would also like ITV to utilise a form expert rather than a collection of ex-jockeys...and the orange man.
Underdog performance of the Festival?
Put the Kettle On. Was happy enough with my position for the race heading into the festival but for whatever reason, didn’t really consider PTKO. Excited to see what she does next season.
Biggest regret?
There were a few situations this year where I had most of the prominent horses covered in the market however ended up with one uncovered, who sure enough went on to win (Monkfish, Champ and Samcro). Going forward I need to review whether it might be worth a small cover bet on horses such as these.
What would you do differently for next years Festival??
Being my first time playing the Handicaps antepost there were a couple of times I hesitated with the thinking I might be able to get better place terms on the day. I certainly won’t be doing this ahead of next year’s festival as it was apparent this year waiting can lead to a large loss in price value when you might only gain a single place (if you’re lucky) as most of the big boys seemed to be offering 5 places antepost.
I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this forum back in December and have been amazed at the consistent quality of information and opinions. I have been playing the Cheltenham antepost markets for the past 4 years but only really the graded races (from about January onwards, usually with NRNB). I have thoroughly enjoyed following the antepost handicap markets for the first time this past season. Thank you to everyone for your contributions, I hope I can add something to discussions going forward.
What was your best bet? (No monetary figures please)
Column of Fire - Absolute heartbreak but it was an unreal spot from Kev (I think?). As I mentioned above, this is the first season I have been involved with the handicaps antepost so it was incredibly satisfying (also extra devastating) to be sitting on a nice price watching the price tumble in the lead up to the festival, hearing Olly Murphy's comments at the Betfair preview night etc.
Worst bet?
Cashing out Ravenhill at 14s just before the off. I had backed Ravenhill blind for the Kim Muir when the news about Codd riding broke, then did the same when the news about him switching to the NHC came out. I was put off by the pre-race drift and had a nice position on Lord Du Mesnil but still not quite sure why I cashed it. Annoying.
Favourite race of the Festival
A frustrating race for me betting-wise having been on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th finishers but I thought the Albert Bartlett was a great race to watch, especially with all of the “big players” battling it out at the end. Early days, of course, but I’m very excited to see how the form works out from that race.
Worst race of the Festival?
Kim Muir. Perhaps because I didn’t have an antepost position heading into it but I wouldn’t mind if they switch out this or the Boodles to make room for the Mares Chase.
Best Performance?
Champ. Brutal at the time being on both Minella Indo and Allaho (also relying on both for multiples) but there’s no denying Champ’s engine at the end was mightily impressive.
Biggest disappointment?
Chacun Pour Soi pulling out on the back of Altior being ruled out. Gutted.
Dark horse for next years Festival?
I am still intrigued to keep an eye on Copperhead going into next year. It has been well documented the Tizzard horses, for whatever reason, underperformed this year. Sporting John and Riders Onthe Storm (who also won races on the same day at Ascot in February) underperformed at the festival as well so I think it’s fair to conclude the testing conditions that day took a lot out of all of the horses.
Biggest irritation of this years Festival?
The dumbed-down ITV coverage. I imagine they are in a difficult position (similar to UK NFL coverage) with producers constantly in their ear “How can we appeal to new viewers?” but I don’t think wasting time on the fashion or social stable nonsense is going to bring in any new NH fans. Ruby has been a great addition this year imo but I would also like ITV to utilise a form expert rather than a collection of ex-jockeys...and the orange man.
Underdog performance of the Festival?
Put the Kettle On. Was happy enough with my position for the race heading into the festival but for whatever reason, didn’t really consider PTKO. Excited to see what she does next season.
Biggest regret?
There were a few situations this year where I had most of the prominent horses covered in the market however ended up with one uncovered, who sure enough went on to win (Monkfish, Champ and Samcro). Going forward I need to review whether it might be worth a small cover bet on horses such as these.
What would you do differently for next years Festival??
Being my first time playing the Handicaps antepost there were a couple of times I hesitated with the thinking I might be able to get better place terms on the day. I certainly won’t be doing this ahead of next year’s festival as it was apparent this year waiting can lead to a large loss in price value when you might only gain a single place (if you’re lucky) as most of the big boys seemed to be offering 5 places antepost.
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