The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

[BillyHills]

For the ninth interview in our series we have a word with a young guy who should be living proof that you dont have to be around for years, or have loads of experience to make your mark and be a well respected member of the PL. Stewart joined the PL in May 2006 and 7 plus thousand posts later he his well know by all at the ATR and other sections of the forum. For reasons that will become clear in the interview, the first thread he started was a sign of things to come, it was putting some tips up and all with reasoning, showing he had learnt how we did things on the PL and came over as a guy who knew his stuff, quite remarkable considering. In Jan 2008 he was made a moderator on the ATR and is usually involved in all discussions regarding the way forward for the forum, every year he runs the Ascot Tipping Competition and he was instrumental in a new venture for PL members when he organised and set up the PL Racehorse syndicate. This took lots of time, effort and patience and those that joined have been rawarded with a share in Dhular Dhar who won over £9,000 in prize money this season. I'm sure Stewart will answer any questions regarding this subject. Thanks to Stewart for taking part, hope you enjoy it! _____________________________________ Previous Issues in case you missed them;

• Bowles10
• Ralphie7
• Fintron
• RussP
• Billy The Punter
• Chris34
• Mowgli77
• Spooner

____________________________________ BH

[BillyHills]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 The Punters Lounge 1. You joined the PL in May 2006, how did you come across the site in the first place? To be honest, I don’t have a clue. There have been a couple of times I have tried to think back to my first post etc, but I really cant remember. I have vague memories of coming across the place, with the likes of Carl and Bowles posting their selections. I remember The%Man and his systems, and also I remember there used to be the big Saturday Heritage handicap challenge, but as for how I got here – beats me ! Glad I did though. 2. Is Stewart your real name and what does the d14 mean? My name is Stewart Davidson, so that’s basically where the stewartd comes from. The “14” doesn’t have much meaning, just a random number I have after my username. To this day I still use it. 3. Do you think the PL differs or offers anything more than the many other betting forums out there? Does PL differ – in my opinion, of course it does and its probably the main reason why I have been here for over 3 years now. The quality and dedication of posters on here is second to none, and we always seem to have new people coming into ATR and giving it that boost. For example, right now we have Fintron, Trotter, tedthewolf etc who put so much into that site its unreal. I think the welcoming atmosphere helps a lot though, we get the odd problem when asking people for reasoning, but it’s the reasoning that differentiates this place. It means any Tom, Dick or Harry can come in and actually learn something about the way people on here pick their horses. 4. You organised the PL Horse Syndicate this year, whats your thoughts on this and any plans for the future in this sphere? I got great pleasure from this kicking off, and it was great to see so many members getting enthusiastic about the idea. Overall, I really feel that it has added another dimension to Punters Lounge at minimal cost. I am pretty certain that very few forums offer their members the chance to own part of one of the beasts they are usually betting on ! It took a painstakingly long time to get off the ground and gather enough opinions etc to get it going, but we got there in the end. As with anything, in the very first year, you always find a lot that can be improved on, and the treatment we have received from Middleham has been very disappointing, and we will definitely look to improve the flow of communication if we decide to do it for another year. However, the opportunity to go and watch Dhaular Dhar as an owner was an experience I will never forget, and I am sure the others that got the same privilege feel the same way. It really was an immense experience. As for the future, well all I can say is watch this space. I definitely want this to become a long running thing on The Punters Lounge. 5. You have a few systems threads in your time on the PL, do you enjoy working with systems and are you working on anything at the moment? To be honest, no, I am not enamoured by systems. I like to experiment with them, and test things out, but I don’t particularly like following set criteria. Every race is different, and I think there is too much qualitative things that need to be considered when deciding what horse to back. For example, I know of systems that say back all Mark Johnstone runners during x month – if you do that, you can end up backing horses that hate soft ground when its heavy etc. I think there are a time and place for systems, and I enjoyed working on one at the start of the flat season. However, again, I felt the constant need for tweaking. 6. Do you think the Glory Hunters section and the two System sections work as they should? I think the Glory Hunters section works well for those that like it. I rarely visit the systems and strategies section, so cant comment much on that. The ATR systems section was an interesting idea, and I do view some of the threads in there. I would question whether the systems get enough exposure now they have been moved into a sub forum though. 7. You always seem to support and help admin the competitions on the PL, do you think these are an important part of a forum? I think they are hugely important, and the fact we get a large number of posters that come on every day to post selections is fantastic. I remember the Best bet of the day from when it used to be the NAP’s, and it has flourished since, no small part due to the tremendous admin work. I know how awkward it can be to run these competitions, from past experience with the lay of the day, so it’s always nice to help out when it comes to the Ascot competition etc. 8. Is there anything that annoys you on the PL or improvements that you would make? Nothing annoys me really. We have a great core of excellent contributing members around the place, and apart from the odd big headed person we get on here, I think most of it runs smoothly enough. 9. Do you think the role of a moderator is appreciated by the members? I think on the whole it is. I got a lot of thanks for setting up the PL racehorse, and the admin is always appreciated in the best bet of the day thread. However, it should be said, I personally think in a lot of cases, that moderator status should be ignored. The quality of postings is much more important, and I believe that is what makes this forum so great. Everyone is viewed on the same level so to speak. 10. Although you live in Scotland is there any chance we might see you at one of the famous PL meet ups in the near future? YES ! Some will know, some wont, but I have purposefully been putting off coming to the PL meets, as I have just turned 18 (agewise !) not long ago. However, now there are no obstacles to stop me coming, I will be giving my all to be at Ascot for the next meet. I think I have received a death threat from Milen if I don’t go! Its one of these tricky ones though, in that I’m not the most outgoing person when first meeting strangers, but there seem a lot in the same boat, so I am going to make the effort to go. 11. Are you pleased with the way the ATR section has moved forward since you joined the team? Yes, I think there are so many things that have made it better than when I first joined. First of all, we have a number of great speciality threads, all of which are full of great selections and knowledge. Secondly, I thought the Cheltenham forum last year was a huge success, and showed how much ATR is moving forward. Finally, I may be biased, but I feel the PL racehorse has added yet another dimension to the ATR section of PL. 12. How many hours a week do you think you spend on the PL? Difficult to say, but I am often logged on and have the page open whatever. I tend to check the latest posts even if I am in a rush though, which has definitely resulted in me being late in the past! To answer the question, a lot. 13. Do you think there are enough 'discussion' threads on the ATR or is it all about tips and individual threads? I think discussion threads are very difficult in that people often think, “ach, I will reply later” and it never materialises. I do think the ones we have had have been brilliant though, and a great insight. There also seems to be more and more coming about, which is great to read and contribute to. Even the Breeders Cup thread ended up with some discussion about Zenyatta and STS, which can only be a good thing. 14. You have a Cheltenham thread at the moment, is this the meeting you focus on more than any other?Cheltenham ! The thrill of these novice hurdlers experiencing the big field, the thrill of sorting out the Irish challengers, the thrill of the weeks and months building up to Cheltenham and the thrill of the exciting finishers, the big races and the big stories. I love it ! With regard to the thread, there is so much information available before the racing, that I am sure there is money to be made on the ante-post market. If nothing else, it will give me some excitement leading up the big festival itself ! Horse Racing & Betting 1. What got you interested in Horse Racing? My father is a big horse racing man, so was his father, so I didn’t really have a chance in life! I remember placing my first yankee when I was young, and Smokin Beau was probably my first ever winner. The rest, as they say, is history. 2. How long have you been a serious punter? Honestly – not very long at all. 3. What type of racing do you enjoy the most and why, flat, NH, Big races, sprints, classics, AW? Jumps, without a doubt. The likes of Kauto Star, Denman and even the day to day hurdlers and chasers are what get me really excited about racing. I also have a big interest in US racing, especially financially, and I find it more exciting than UK flat racing. I don’t have much enthusiasm for the UK Classics. They just come too early in the season in my opinion. 4. If you could change one thing in Racing or Betting overnight, what would that be? Make fractional times readily available on the flat. Should be very high on the priority list of the top dogs in racing IMO. 5. Can you remember your first bet, how old were you and where did you put it on? Well, I certainly didn’t put my first ever bet on ! It was probably about 4-5 years ago, and it definitely included the horse Smokin Beau, who was my first ever winner. Loved the horse ever since, along with The Tatling who was in his prime when I first came into racing. Fayr jag, Fire up the Band, the Charlton sprinter (always raced against Fire up the Band, name escapes me. Raced in blue and white checks) – oh the memories. 6. Can you reveal your biggest win to date, you dont have to be specific about the amount but what was it on? In racing, 2 stick in my mind: First one was a 40 p Canadian about 1 year ago. In fact, very close to 1 year exactly I think. The flat season was drawing to a close, and I had 3 or 4 decent winners running onto Buccellati for William Buick in a handicap to end the card at around 4 or 5/1. He gave it a cracker, and I scooped around £800 The second one was a bit of luck, and it was in an evening Uttoxeter bumper. I hadn’t studied any of the form, but had the race on. One horse caught my eye staying on from the back of the field with about 4-5 furlongs to run. I remember the name only because it ran just the other day. No Principles. I couldn’t believe it when the odds were around 100 in running, and just kept backing it. I think I won about £500. I didn’t even know the horse was 66/1 on the off ! 7. What was the 'bet' that got away, the nearly bet that still haunts you? There have been a lot, but the one that sticks in my mind is Harchibald in the famous Champion Hurdle. As you may gather, I enjoy my multiples, and I had 3 winners running onto Harchi. I was counting the winnings as he came over the last (over £1200 if I remember correctly). Carberry was my enemy for a few weeks after that, but time has proven, Carberry wasn’t really at fault. 8. What was the last horse race meeting you attended? Perth’s final meeting of the season. 9. Do you bet on other sports aswell as Racing, if so which do you think brings you the most profit? I flirt with football, and enjoy betting on the big golf and tennis tourneys. US racing is definitely my big profit maker though, followed by UK racing. 10. Do you bet online or still visit the high street? Which do you prefer? Online. Just for the convenience really. 11. What form sites, books, aids do you use when making your selections? Sporting life and Racing post. Also a speed ratings site, but I don’t wish to plug the name due to them annoying me slightly. 12. In your opinion whats the most important factor when reading form, Going, Trip, Track, Trainer, Jockey, Price, Recent Form? I rate recent form as the most important thing. If a horse is out of form, I am happy to discount it. I then try to fit those with recent form with whether they will go on the ground etc. Jockey is increasingly more important. I have now refused to back any Richard Johnson horses over fences for example. 13. Do you think Horse Racing is 'clean' at the moment and does this effect the way you bet? I'm not overly keen on speculating on whether it is clean or not, but I don’t let it affect my betting. I think it is easy to get too tied up in whether horses are trying, that you can end up putting yourself off good bets. 14. Which racing channel do you watch and what do you think of the subscription charges to watch RacingUK? I watch both, and have paid for Racing Uk. I thought I could do without it, but I just cant. Listening to commentaries isn’t the same ! 15. Do you have any horses for us to watch out for this NH Season? Barber Shop. Strengthened over the winter, and will be a force throughout the season in my opinion. Quick Questions 1. What is your homepage at the moment? Google 2. Name a site on your favourites that may surprise us? Errrrrm, I do have the Lucie Silvas home page ! Don’t ask why. (Laughing smiley ) 3. Favourite Music, song, band? Meatloaf 4. Favourite TV show, not sport related? Gavin & Stacey 5. What was the last book you read? Currently reading Betting Thoroughbreds by Steve Davidowitz and For Kicks by Dick Francis. 6. What do you do for a living? Full time student, work from home web designer. 7. What Car do you drive or would like to own one day A 1.3 litre, 54 plate Kia Rio. 8. Do you have any hobbies away from sport? Not that much actually. I just play most sports, and a bit of poker. I am interested in computers though, but not in a big way. 9. Ryan Moore or Frankie Dettori? Hmm, Moore 10. Ruby Walsh or AP McCoy? Mccoy 11. Royal Ascot or Cheltenham? Cheltenham 12. How closely do you follow Aberdeen? Very closely, season ticket holder for most of my life. 13. What gadgets do you own, Ipod, Mobile, Xbox, etc.. Touchscreen mobile, PC. 14. Ambitions for the future? To be successful at whatever career path I follow, and to make a consistent income from gambling. BH

[chris34]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Fascinating read and thankyou for all your hard work stewart ;) Also thanx again BH

[fintron]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 great read Stewart and cheers BH for banging in the question as usual :clap I always thought you were in your forties when I first joined PL ..wise head on young shoudlers :ok Again, thanks for the effort you put into the Middleham syndicate. The horse has let us down at times but the involvement was worth it for the days out we have enjoyed. A quick question if I may, have you given up on speed ratings you were playing with earlier in the season? if you have, would you consider digging them back up for the all-weather, where course specialists often emerge over the winter at certain tracks?

[Spooner]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Same as fintron, thought you was alot older. :$ :clap

[TheRat]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Nice one lads Just like to say again thanks for the hard work with the syndicate. Has been great owning part of the horse, and going to Ascot as an owener was excellent. Long may it continue!

[alexmac]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Nice one Stew - looking forward to meeting you at Ascot ;)

[devil tish]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 nice one stew:clap was the charlton horse patavellian??

[bowles10]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 another great interview & insight into one of our youngest members i recall the day you "came out" to a few of us about your age, we were all very surprised wise head on young shoulders thanks for everything you have done with the Middleham syndicate, i know its frustrating at times, but overall the experience was worth trying, hope to see this get even bigger next season either with the same horse & possibly another ;) We ran a GH together once i recall & made some money, was good fun for a few weeks! Cheeers Rob

[stewartd14]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

A quick question if I may, have you given up on speed ratings you were playing with earlier in the season? if you have, would you consider digging them back up for the all-weather, where course specialists often emerge over the winter at certain tracks?

Hey Fin, I certainly haven't given up on them - quite the opposite as a matter of fact. One of the main reasons I have been so quiet during this flat season is I was focussing a lot more on how to use speed ratings to the best effect, and I lost sight of the racing a touch. I am hoping I can come back with them next year and turn over a profit. Interestingly, from research, I have found them to be very unsuccessful on the all weather, which is interesting considering speed ratings work so well in America because they run on similar, dirt tracks all the time. For that reason alone, I would have thought they would work well here on the all weather, but so far, it seems not.

nice one stew:clap was the charlton horse patavellian??

:clap Thats the one !!! Thanks for the comments guys. They really are appreciated. :ok

[marron]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Any particular reason why you dont back Richard Johnson? A very underrated jockey by some in my opinion and there was great article in the Racing Post only a few days ago about how he often lives in AP's shadow. Another great article

[princecapri]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Stewart...may I ask how old you are? Just curious :)

[stewartd14]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

Any particular reason why you dont back Richard Johnson? A very underrated jockey by some in my opinion and there was great article in the Racing Post only a few days ago about how he often lives in AP's shadow. Another great article

I personally think he should be living in the shadow of young Rhys Flint ;) The reason I cant back him - Every horse he rides over fences loses at least 5 + lengths throughout the race as he just CANNOT present a horse to jump a fence, especially when they quicken up. Just start watching him try to get a horse to jump a fence, and note how often they get in close. Even more so, note how often his horses make an error at the last or 2nd last when they speed up. Its more often than not unfortunately and that is the reason I am now not backing Deckie Johnson, as someone appropriately called him.

Stewart...may I ask how old you are? Just curious :)

I think the clue was in the article ;) 18

[princecapri]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Well, I assumed you were a student, but I thought it might be uni ;)

[stewartd14]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

Well' date=' I assumed you were a student, but I thought it might be uni ;)[/quote'] I am at uni ;) Re-read question 10

[princecapri]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Argh...feel silly now, my apologies :)

[StuSimmy]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 I always presumed you were older as well! I am sure I read you from Aberdeen elsewhere but think I got you mixed up with somebody else. Few Questions, don't have to answer them all: Where in Aberdeen you from? Which stand do you sit in? Ever attend away games? I haven't missed a league game for around 3 years now it must be, sometimes wonder why I bother though :lol About the PL meet up, its a maybe for me just now, will have to see nearer the time in terms of cash, work etc etc. Would probably depend on the who The Dons have as well. If I was to go though we could always travel down together just to throw it out there.

[stewartd14]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

Argh...feel silly now' date=' my apologies :)[/quote'] :lol Dont. I could have told you right when you first asked! :ok

[StuSimmy]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Cool, do you visit any of the Aberdeen forums? Yeah was a very good first half performance on Saturday, was some goal from Aluko. Shame Paton's shot didn't go in, the one that hit the bar. My mate had 2-1 Aberdeen Miller to score last so he was pretty lucky. Sorry for all the questions :lol

[stewartd14]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

Cool, do you visit any of the Aberdeen forums? Yeah was a very good first half performance on Saturday, was some goal from Aluko. Shame Paton's shot didn't go in, the one that hit the bar. My mate had 2-1 Aberdeen Miller to score last so he was pretty lucky. Sorry for all the questions :lol

:lol No worries mate ! Nah, I sometimes browse 606 but I get so peed off at the mindset of the majority of the Aberdeen fans that I dont get involved. Nice scorecast for your mate. Paton and Pawlett were magnificent at the weekend. They are the 2 that are going to be key for the rest of the season I think, along with Aluko if he is at his best obviously. Where about do you sit - Dick Donald ?

[RuleBritannia]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Another cracking interview. :clap:clap:clap BH and Stew :clap 18?? :eek

[billy the punter]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 I knew you were young but not that young! Thought early 20's. Take it as a compliment! I thought I was the only 17yo Meatloaf fan. Got me through my 12-hour art exam. Good read Thanks fellas. :clap

[cc75]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Nice one stewart and BH - just to echo everyone else's comments... can't believe you're only 18!! Anyway, great interview mate, very interesting :ok

[Tedthewolf]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Great Stuff as always :clap:ok ....oh to be 18 again :\

[StuSimmy]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

:lol No worries mate ! Nah, I sometimes browse 606 but I get so peed off at the mindset of the majority of the Aberdeen fans that I dont get involved. Nice scorecast for your mate. Paton and Pawlett were magnificent at the weekend. They are the 2 that are going to be key for the rest of the season I think, along with Aluko if he is at his best obviously. Where about do you sit - Dick Donald ?

Yeah, I am on afc-chat but tend not to reply to most of the drivel but post in the game,bet sections etc. Yeah it was. I like Fyvie as well, he is superb for 16! Pawlett and Paton are great as well, sometimes have an off day but they are still young and learning, same goes for Aluko. I feel he is a bit overrated at times but he can be a hero when he wants to be. Yeah sit in the RDS mate. Upper deck.

[fintron]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 RE Aberdeen, has the Zander/Sander fella calmed down? When up in Aberdeen the other week I got a paper and there was a story in there saying he had smashed in the car of some boxer, who was dating his ex :lol

[StuSimmy]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14

RE Aberdeen' date=' has the Zander/Sander fella calmed down? When up in Aberdeen the other week I got a paper and there was a story in there saying he had smashed in the car of some boxer, who was dating his ex :lol[/quote'] Other way about :)

[Stevet1859]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Very interesting Stewart.....:ok and thanks again to BH And Stewart, I sometimes watch the American racing in the evening and I've read several of Andrew Beyer's books - and while they are a great read, I tried and failed to apply some of his ideas and thoughts to our racing. He also goes for exactas and trifectas and they can pay off big....You mentioned you are sucesssful when you bet on the American races, do you play those type of bets or do you do win place show - more the UK style? Cheers, Steve

[mowgli77]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Nice read and hope you can get to the next PL meet. Don't worry about being quiet or shy, we'll have you dancing on the bar naked by the end of the day. :lol (only joking, we leave that to Aliando ;))

[Woodie]

Re: The ATR Interviews (9) ~ Stewartd14 Coll read, with the others never new you were just 18, thought you were much older woh you make me feel old now!