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CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL Thoughts, Advanced Tips and Value/Bad bets.


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Just having a look at the supreme novices with view to early bets 

Past 11 years all winners had recorded a rpr of 143 plus ....that cuts the field of 40 to 

Any news 144
Appreciate it 152
Ballyadam 147
Blue lord 144
Bob bollinger 152
Champagne gold 144
For pleasure 144
Grumpy Charlie 145
Irascible 145
Metier 153
Soaring glory 146
Tge devils coachman 145
Third time lucky 145

14 ......not bad at all 

12 of last 14 won last time .......leaves 

Appreciate it 152
Bob bollinger 152
Grumpy Charlie 145
Metier 153
Soaring glory 146
The devils coachman 145

I reckon the winner is almost certainly on this shortlist 

I dont want a hccapper they just aren't good enough so that leaves 

Appreciate it 152
Bob bollinger 152
Metier 153
The devils coachman 145

I'm almost certain the winner is one of these 4 .....I'll do more research before finalizing my bets

Edit ....think I can safely drop the devilscoachman ....doesnt look like a supreme novice ... probably a 145 at best so hes scrubbed 

Appreciate it 152 

Bob ollinger 152 

Metier 153

Appreciate it fails on both age ...7 yo ....and course form ...all previous winners had no form or a chelt win if they had run there...he finished 2nd....that makes his 7/4 quote crap so ... I think hes worth taking on with big bets ew on the other 2 at 7/1 and 20/1!!!.....fav could still win but hes got to buck 2 serious trends that total 24 of the last 27 winners .....that's just too high ......the other 2 have equally good form so yes I'll play big and hope to get the festival off to a mega,start ....especially if the big one comes in 

Edit ....bob olinger trainer has stated he might go for the bsllymore ....but collateral form with appreciate it suggests he could beat him so hopefully hell see sense and take him on ...I would lol .....if he runs I'd make him a 4/1 shot so the 12/1 nrnb is a shot to nothing .....I'll take 20pts ew ......also I'll take metier nrnb 20pts ew 

Edited by richard-westwood
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Can see Bob Olinger going to the Ballymore but that looks a harder race to win so he’d be better off coming here. If Ferny Hollow wouldn’t have got injured he’d be favourite for this and Appreciate It would be running in the Ballymore and possibly favourite for that. If Bob Olinger runs here I’ll certainly be having him as I think he’d be a genuine threat. Appreciate does have a couple of trends to overcome but I just think his form is head and shoulders above anything else by other horses(excluding Bob Olinger) . Don’t blame people for taking him on but luckily I’ve got him covered for a nice return if he wins. 

Edited by Villa Chris
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42 minutes ago, Villa Chris said:

Can see Bob Olinger going to the Ballymore but that looks a harder race to win so he’d be better off coming here. If Ferny Hollow wouldn’t have got injured he’d be favourite for this and Appreciate It would be running in the Ballymore and possibly favourite for that. If Bob Olinger runs here I’ll certainly be having him as I think he’d be a genuine threat. Appreciate does have a couple of trends to overcome but I just think his form is head and shoulders above anything else by other horses(excluding Bob Olinger) . Don’t blame people for taking him on but luckily I’ve got him covered for a nice return if he wins. 

I've really had a good look through the form .....metier beat shakemup harry by 12 lengths in the tolworth ....could have been 15 if wanted ....that equates to around 25 lbs so if you check other horses behind it all suggests hes potentially a 164 rpr horse.....that's almost champion hurdle level ....so I think hes more than capable of taking appreciate it on .....and the trends fit him better than appreciate it .....its metier for me 

Appreciate it beat ballyadam a rpr 147 ...by 3.5 lengths ....suggesting hes around the 156 mark .....I think metier has the beating of him  

Couple that with the fact in 3 races metier has destroyed his opposition by over 30 lengths in total ...on the bit ....all suggests he could be something special .....I think hes a future champion hurdle winner  ...maybe even next years ....what an exciting first race !!!

Edited by richard-westwood
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35 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

I've really had a good look through the form .....metier beat shakemup harry by 12 lengths in the tolworth ....could have been 15 if wanted ....that equates to around 25 lbs so if you check other horses behind it all suggests hes potentially a 164 rpr horse.....that's almost champion hurdle level ....so I think hes more than capable of taking appreciate it on .....and the trends fit him better than appreciate it .....its metier for me 

Appreciate it beat ballyadam a rpr 147 ...by 3.5 lengths ....suggesting hes around the 156 mark .....I think metier has the beating of him  

Couple that with the fact in 3 races metier has destroyed his opposition by over 30 lengths in total ...on the bit ....all suggests he could be something special .....I think hes a future champion hurdle winner  ...maybe even next years ....what an exciting first race !!!

Nice analysis there . I’ve watched his races back and he’s destroyed his opponents, jumps well, is quick etc. Harry Fry has said he goes best on testing ground, so we’ll see what it is at the festival. The Tolworth in which he won lto is generally a weak race for supreme winners . This years tolworth was very weak but granted he won well. Shakem Up Arry got beaten 12 lengths last weekend which also put me off Metier . I’m also put off by the yard, as Harry Fry isn’t a name you associate with supreme winners. Negatives for me are....

Yard

Form

Possibly ground on the day 

I’m being a bit biased towards the Irish this year because overall there seems to be a lack of quality especially here in England, but I won’t deny Metier is playing on my mind as he’s a bit of an unknown, where as Appreciate It has already beaten a lot of the horses that will be lining up in the supreme . 

Edited by Villa Chris
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13 minutes ago, Villa Chris said:

Nice analysis there . I’ve watched his races back and he’s destroyed his opponents, jumps well, is quick etc. Harry Fry has said he goes best on testing ground, so we’ll see what it is at the festival. The Tolworth in which he won lto is generally a weak race for supreme winners . This years tolworth was very weak but granted he won well. Shakem Up Arry got well beaten last weekend which also put me off Metier . I’m also put off by the yard, as Harry Fry isn’t a name you associate with supreme winners. Negatives for me are....

Yard

Form

Possibly ground on the day 

I’m being a bit biased towards the Irish this year because overall there seems to be a lack of quality especially here in England, but I won’t deny Metier is playing on my mind as he’s a bit of an unknown, where as Appreciate It has already beaten a lot of the horses that will be lining up in the supreme . 

Yes .....sometimes it's crazy to oppose Mullins in the first race .....but for me ...the favs have a terrible record in the supreme.....at 7y.o hes outside a huge weight trend ....I really think its neck and neck and timeform seem to back that up .....its going to come down to jumping on the day ....but at the odds its metier for me any day of the week ......really looking forward to this race now 

The age stat ....I think only 1 of last 13 have been 7 or older ....that's not good ....but then he could be number 2 ?

Edited by richard-westwood
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Metier has beat....

136 rated by 12 lengths (7 runners)

129 rated by 5 and half lengths( 6 runners)

123 rated by 10 lengths (13 runners)

Appreciate  It has beat ....

145 rated by 3 and half lengths (13 runners)

143 rated by 2 and half lengths (14 runners)

139 rated by 9 lengths (9 runners) 

Not basing this as an argument for Appreciate It. 

 

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On 2/24/2021 at 10:29 AM, calva decoy said:

Yep , I do .

A heart over head bet .

The Mullins horse looks a good thing but no value at odds on whereas bet365 are 8/1 second favourite with Politilogue who's been good this season after wind op third at 10's & as you say , replicate Sprinter Sacre performance who not many gave a chance & bow out on the top , just a shame only a few hundred & not 65k there to witness .

Was pondering Altior last night as i looked thru the races and yes he is a good price, now here's the thing, what logic applies to altior also applies to bouver d'air so a small stakes double would be a good play one of those things that after the event you say to yourself ffs i should have had a couple of quid on that double. 6/1 25/1 ==182/1

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2 hours ago, Villa Chris said:

Metier has beat....

136 rated by 12 lengths (7 runners)

129 rated by 5 and half lengths( 6 runners)

123 rated by 10 lengths (13 runners)

Appreciate  It has beat ....

145 rated by 3 and half lengths (13 runners)

143 rated by 2 and half lengths (14 runners)

139 rated by 9 lengths (9 runners) 

Not basing this as an argument for Appreciate It. 

 

Lol ....145 plus 7lb is 152 

136 plus,24lb is 160 ....

Thanks for clearing that up ???

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9 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

Lol ....145 plus 7lb is 152 

136 plus,24lb is 160 ....

Thanks for clearing that up ???

I think my anti English prejudice is getting in the way of backing Metier ? I’m in a decent position with the favourite but my main worry is Metier purely because I’m not sure how good he is . If he’s as good as he looks and what the stats say then yes massive danger. Part of me thinks he’s not that good though, certainly not good enough to win the supreme anyway. I’ve tried comparing his form to that of Fiddlerontheroof which won the Tolworth before Metier and many fancied, but flopped. I think Metier is better than him, I’ll say that much. 

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13 minutes ago, Villa Chris said:

I think my anti English prejudice is getting in the way of backing Metier ? I’m in a decent position with the favourite but my main worry is Metier purely because I’m not sure how good he is . If he’s as good as he looks and what the stats say then yes massive danger. Part of me thinks he’s not that good though, certainly not good enough to win the supreme anyway. I’ve tried comparing his form to that of Fiddlerontheroof which won the Tolworth before Metier and many fancied, but flopped. I think Metier is better than him, I’ll say that much. 

I'm certain now as things stand one of the two will win ....I cant see anything else other than devilscoachman(watch the betting) that woujd have a squeak .....my biggest negative is lack of prep run ....nearly all winners ran within 58 days ...hes only just over on 60 61 ....so I dont see that as too much of a diff so I gave him a pass on that 

Anyway 20pts ew on metier will pay 1.4 /1 for finishing top 3 .....that's 8pts profit overall just for placing .....168 pts if he wins .....I'm happy with that bet 

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2 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

I'm certain now as things stand one of the two will win ....I cant see anything else other than devilscoachman(watch the betting) that woujd have a squeak .....my biggest negative is lack of prep run ....nearly all winners ran within 58 days ...hes only just over on 60 61 ....so I dont see that as too much of a diff so I gave him a pass on that 

Anyway 20pts ew on metier will pay 1.4 /1 for finishing top 3 .....that's 8pts profit overall just for placing .....168 pts if he wins .....I'm happy with that bet 

Definitely see the value bet there . Can see Ballyadam running his best race yet if it’s G/S but whether it’s enough I don’t know. If it’s genuine soft ground I’ll end up covering up with Metier no doubt . 

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Champion hurdle bet 2

14 of last 15 were within 8lb of top rpr 

Leaves 

Goshen

Sharjah 

Silver streak 

Epatante 

Honeysuckle 

Sharjah form isnt good enough I think ......so omit ....goshen although fancied didnt run at grade1 track lto 15/15 and poor at chelt....I think he prefers right handed ....so happy to scrub .....this goes to a up and coming improving lightly races type so silver streak 25 runs is way out so scrub that too ...I know he beat epatante but hes lightly races and we all know hes better than that and a reversal at chelt wouldn't be a shock ....that leaves ....

Epatante 

Honeysuckle 

Personally I dont think epatante has shown their hand yet and is very capable of running a champion hurdle winning performance at chelt with good course form .....safest bet as I initially said is dutch the 2 

Honeysuckle 20ptsxwin 3/1 

Epatante 20pts win 7/2 

Outlay 40 ...minimum return 80 (+40pts ).....I'm happy with that bet 

 

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11 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

Champion hurdle bet 2

14 of last 15 were within 8lb of top rpr 

Leaves 

Goshen

Sharjah 

Silver streak 

Epatante 

Honeysuckle 

Sharjah form isnt good enough I think ......so omit ....goshen although fancied didnt run at grade1 track lto 15/15 and poor at chelt....I think he prefers right handed ....so happy to scrub .....this goes to a up and coming improving lightly races type so silver streak 25 runs is way out so scrub that too ...I know he beat epatante but hes lightly races and we all know hes better than that and a reversal at chelt wouldn't be a shock ....that leaves ....

Epatante 

Honeysuckle 

Personally I dont think epatante has shown their hand yet and is very capable of running a champion hurdle winning performance at chelt with good course form .....safest bet as I initially said is dutch the 2 

Honeysuckle 20ptsxwin 3/1 

Epatante 20pts win 7/2 

Outlay 40 ...minimum return 80 (+40pts ).....I'm happy with that bet 

 

Not sure we can say with confidence that Goshen doesn’t like Cheltenham. But for that freak accident at the festival last year he’d have won the Triumph by 10 lengths. 

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It’s unlikely both of the mares won’t run to their mark, so it looks unlikely they will get beat with receiving 7Ibs. One may run below their rating(Epatante maybe?) but then you’ve got Honeysuckle. For how good Goshen looked last year and lto, he’s not good enough to give the mares 7Ibs on a going day for them. Personally think it should be knocked down in Grade 1 races to 3Ibs . 

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1 hour ago, DanV89 said:

Not sure we can say with confidence that Goshen doesn’t like Cheltenham. But for that freak accident at the festival last year he’d have won the Triumph by 10 lengths. 

It's TRUE he might turn up and run a big race ....but his 2 runs there have yielded 10th and unsaddled ....not really inspiring....so personally I'll be surprised if he gets round .....and at age 5 he is a little immature for my liking ....that may well be the problem ....even so ....is he 7lb better than honeysuckle and a fully fledged epatante ....I'd be very surprised if he was but its Cheltenham lol

Like I said I think its epatante year .....shes only had 5 or 6 races so is a baby but when shes ran really well at chelt and I think the course suits ......this tends to go to that type ....a lightly raced improver ....I think shes a lot better than shes shown yet 

https://www.racingpost.com/news/latest/henderson-has-epatante-in-champion-form-with-back-issues-remedied/475118

Edited by richard-westwood
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6 hours ago, DanV89 said:

Not sure we can say with confidence that Goshen doesn’t like Cheltenham. But for that freak accident at the festival last year he’d have won the Triumph by 10 lengths. 

Personally even though i wont be backing goshen for those that back shortish prices i think to dismiss goshen is a very grave error, if it was trained by Mullins or Henderson it would be odds on.

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On 2/28/2021 at 2:59 PM, richard-westwood said:

I've really had a good look through the form .....metier beat shakemup harry by 12 lengths in the tolworth ....could have been 15 if wanted ....that equates to around 25 lbs so if you check other horses behind it all suggests hes potentially a 164 rpr horse.....that's almost champion hurdle level ....so I think hes more than capable of taking appreciate it on .....and the trends fit him better than appreciate it .....its metier for me 

Appreciate it beat ballyadam a rpr 147 ...by 3.5 lengths ....suggesting hes around the 156 mark .....I think metier has the beating of him  

Couple that with the fact in 3 races metier has destroyed his opposition by over 30 lengths in total ...on the bit ....all suggests he could be something special .....I think hes a future champion hurdle winner  ...maybe even next years ....what an exciting first race !!!

Genuine question for you Richard, I am not trying to be a clever dick......

I always used the 'Rule of Thumb' theory that over jumps 1 length= 1 pound........ there are obviously other factors to take into consideration, but on your calculations I see 1.5-2lb per length? In the Appreciate it example above 3.5l=9lb which is  2.5lb/length.

Have I been miscalculating all these years??

To be honest, although I do take into account figures, I do base my gambling decisions on the 'eye test', but it would be interesting to know If my pounds v lengths understanding has been skewed all these years!!!

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12 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Genuine question for you Richard, I am not trying to be a clever dick......

I always used the 'Rule of Thumb' theory that over jumps 1 length= 1 pound........ there are obviously other factors to take into consideration, but on your calculations I see 1.5-2lb per length? In the Appreciate it example above 3.5l=9lb which is  2.5lb/length.

Have I been miscalculating all these years??

To be honest, although I do take into account figures, I do base my gambling decisions on the 'eye test', but it would be interesting to know If my pounds v lengths understanding has been skewed all these years!!!

Well all I can say is I've always used 1 length is 2lb .....i suppose it's down to the individual but I've always found it's worked for me ...I have heard of people using 1lb per length but when I've done calculations using 2lb the races have come out perfect so I stick to that  ......on the flat its 2lb too apart from 6f which is 2.8lb ....and 5f which is 3.6lb as more weight is needed to effect dist covered 

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5 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

Well all I can say is I've always used 1 length is 2lb .....i suppose it's down to the individual but I've always found it's worked for me ...I have heard of people using 1lb per length but when I've done calculations using 2lb the races have come out perfect so I stick to that  ......on the flat its 2lb too apart from 6f which is 2.8lb ....and 5f which is 3.6lb as more weight is needed to effect dist covered 

Fair play.

I guess everybody has their own ways...there is nothing which is 100%. As long as we get enjoyment and hopefully make a little bit along the way, alls good!

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Just now, Wanderlust said:

Fair play.

I guess everybody has their own ways...there is nothing which is 100%. As long as we get enjoyment and hopefully make a little bit along the way, alls good!

I think what it was ...I did some research into time and distance behind in two milexraces and it was averaging 1.6 lbs per length sometimes more ....maybe a touch less for the very best races ....but 1.6 is nearest 2 so I use that  ..  maybe I should drop to 1 for the longer dist races .....its probably somewhere in between ....but I might try 1 in some races and see how that fairs ....I'm always open minded lol 

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41 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Fair play.

I guess everybody has their own ways...there is nothing which is 100%. As long as we get enjoyment and hopefully make a little bit along the way, alls good!

I've had this exact conversation over a few beers with my mates and its always highly debated lol ......I mean take the champion hurdle ....the mares get 7lb ....so does that really mean they get a 7 length head start ??...really??....or is closer to 3.5 to 4 lengths ( approx 2lb ).....also the other argument that always rises ....can the equiv weight to half a bag of sugar (1lb) really stop a half ton horse 1 whole length....or does it take the whole bag of sugar ...lol ....this has been debated since the beginning of time lol ?

Cos if honeysuckle has a 7 length head start then I need to get to the bank and withdraw my life savings .....?

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3 minutes ago, richard-westwood said:

I've had this exact conversation over a few beers with my mates and its always highly debated lol ......I mean take the champion hurdle ....the mares get 7lb ....so does that really mean they get a 7 length head start ??...really??....or is closer to 3.5 to 4 lengths ( approx 2lb ).....also the other argument that always rises ....can the equiv weight to half a bag of sugar (1lb) really stop a half ton horse 1 whole length....or does it take the whole bag of sugar ...lol ....this has been debated since the beginning of time lol ?

Thats why I am not a Stats man. Because even if you CAN agree that for example 1L = 1LB ( to keep things simple), obviously that changes as the distance increases, but then other factors have to be considered, such as the ground, the class of horse, whether each horse gave its true running,, whether it was still full of running at the end etc etc etc. So many imponderables.

I think stats are still important, but I trust my eyes more in judging what I see.

Then the question is....is what you see reality?  In other words was the horse trying? Was it fit? Was another horse not trying a couple of runs ago? And so it goes on and on....!!

THats why we all love the game. AND why there is no such thing as a poor bookie

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9 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Thats why I am not a Stats man. Because even if you CAN agree that for example 1L = 1LB ( to keep things simple), obviously that changes as the distance increases, but then other factors have to be considered, such as the ground, the class of horse, whether each horse gave its true running,, whether it was still full of running at the end etc etc etc. So many imponderables.

I think stats are still important, but I trust my eyes more in judging what I see.

Then the question is....is what you see reality?  In other words was the horse trying? Was it fit? Was another horse not trying a couple of runs ago? And so it goes on and on....!!

THats why we all love the game. AND why there is no such thing as a poor bookie

Never a truer word ......I personally think there is no way a fully fit 750lb horse who can run 3 mile with his eyes shut will be stopped 3lengths  for a 3lb rise ,..just doesnt seem reality to me .....possibly in the grand national yes ...I can see that .....but I cant see adding 3.5 bags sugar to a saddle is now going to cost that horse 7 lengths !!!.... I just dont see it .....that's my own opinion anyway lol ....

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I’m not one for lengths, although I take note just out of interest . Too many things to take into account for my liking. Even for example a slight mistake at a fence/hurdle will make a horse lose ground. The logic is there I suppose if horse X beats horse Y by 4 lengths but horse Y is 10Ibs better off this time round, but even then you’ve still got to take into account conditions of race and even course . 

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I love this debate on distance/length/weight debate (rhymes at least) so hope you don't mind my two penneth worth.
"Confounding variables" far too many of them in this debate, think of all your picks and then think of the successfulness of your picks, usually you find a common denominator. but it is more important to try to find out why your pick got beat because you probably made a mistake and like they say if you keep doing the same thing over and over you get the same result. I do speed figures for 2 yo. if a horse got beat 1 length it gets minus 6 points, and -1 point per 1/4 length thereafter i wont go into reasons why 1 length = 6 and not 4 points but trust me it works, so beaten 1l = -6 points, 1 1/4l = -7, 1 1/2 = -8  2l would be -10 points and so on, (beyond 8l is pointless and just a waste of time)

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