Aintree/Newcastle 6/4/25 - Let Down/Paranoid Android

Radiohead double header for what was a CairnBet double header and I simply had no other band option this week, as me and the infinitely better half left the kids at home and had a date night down in sunny Carlisle last weekend to see Radiohead. Well, "Just Radiohead", but didn't matter as they were fabulous. I'm becoming more and more partial to a tribute band (saw Stipe last November as well) - they sound pretty much the same as the real thing, they're a tenth of the price, you can get served at the bar and stand 5 yards from the stage without fear of your pint ending up all over your neighbour. And, most importantly, tribute bands play all the stuff you want to hear without doing 5 straight tracks off their new experimental 23rd album whilst everyone nips out for a smoke. And I don't even smoke. I saw the real Radiohead donkeys years ago in, if I remember correctly, a massive, massive marquee type thing somewhere Warrington way and, whilst they were brilliant, they were specks in the distance and I could just about see the top of Thom Yorke's head. Though it could easily have been John Simm as they are, essentially, the same person. Yes, yes, I'm getting old.

We have a mammoth 14 races (in approximate time order) to get through so let's crack on! I was at Newcastle with the delightful Sharon who stepped in to help, the boys were at Aintree for their day 2.

1) Newcastle. Ballyhiho, which had been doing the hokey cokey price wise overnight was popular and was joined in the liability stakes with Maura Jeanne and Blame Rose who gave us another couple of "done on a name" options. Heather Honey gave us a good start as we looked slightly abashed for winning on a favourite.

1) Aintree. We'd done loads of work on where to stand at Aintree and concluded we should be in West Tip Seat area. Colour me surprised when Simon called and told me we were 3rd in at The Chair Enclosure. I muttered something about them being on the ground and knowing best, but privately I thought they'd messed up the pitch royally. I hoped I was going to be proved wrong. A slowish start did nothing to assuage my fears though the absolute skinner on Deep Cave lifted spirits in the North East as well as on Merseyside. Catch Him Derry, Bill Joyce (double done on a name option in the same horse) and Dinons the bogeys.

2) Newcastle. Jolly onside again, though small, but not for want of trying to get it in. Meant the next two were losers and second in Small Town Kid duly obliged to rub out a bit of race 1's profit. The jackpots at the bottom are still running now.

2) Aintree. I was spewing. I checked in to see how they were doing and the bet numbers were abysmal. Truly abysmal. They'd clearly picked wrong and were paying the penalty for not heeding my extensive research. I was trying to rein in my frustration but it was a tough job. It's a long 12 months until we could right the wrongs of the disastrous pick. Texts to Steve flew back and forth. Steve said the money was good but it clearly wasn't. I felt let down and was hanging around just staring at the screen of doom. I sent him a screenshot of the book I was looking at, on the off, at my end but, as I was sending it, I noted they hadn't done a bet in about 20 minutes. Then I noticed that their prices looked miles out. Then I noticed that our network link had dropped out 20 minutes ago. Network restored and all of a sudden a stack of bets popped up and texts of apology sent from Gosforth to Aintree. We lost on Honesty Policy though- when my screen froze we were winning on it- though the 200 quid each way I laid at Newcastle on it may have contributed to our downfall.

3) Newcastle. Another loser (Luminaries) and this time double the last loss and we were back to square one at Newcastle. The only comfort was that at least we hadn't actually picked wrong at Aintree. Doesn't put bread on the table though.

3) Aintree. Four losers at Aintree and the worst of them, Cruz Control, won as if it was, well, you know the rest. 4 losing races on the run between the two CairnBet pitches. Separated by about 100 miles but united in misery.

4) Newcastle. A bit of worm turning as outsider Flic Ou Voyou gave us a result but not as much as you might think. We wanted Special Rate for the jackpot who flatly refused to go past. Places were utterly rubbish and shoulders still slumped despite the first bit of good news in 5 races.

4) Aintree. That's a bit more like it! The second best winner in the book (HiddenValley Lake) and a virtually skinned place book gave us a stag like leap forward and the sun came out, metaphorically at least.

5) Newcastle. And the good news trundled on- thanks for asking- as AnyHarmAsking gave us a solid enough win on a joint favourite. Eyes down look in at both tracks now though for the biggest betting heat of the year.

5) Aintree - Grand National. The bets flowed at Aintree, and how they flowed. We topped up nicely from Newcastle and we had our biggest turnover of the year. All that work, all those bets and, as they came over the last, it was all for nought as I Am Maximus was going to do a Red Rum/Tiger Roll to us. I wasn't Maximus. I wasn't even Spartacus. I was Miserableness. Our profit looked like it was Mimimus. But Nick Rockett kept finding and finding. My teeth kept clenching. For the second time in a couple of weeks bookmakers were rooted to the spot, doing the 1000 yard stare. Nick got home. We all sighed in relief, and the place book was the cherry on the icing on the Victoria Sponge. And you shouldn't even have icing on a Vicky Sponge but I'm mixing my metaphors. 6) Newcastle - And the good news rolled over to us as the outsider of 4, Pure Surf, led all to give us another good move forward. It was a take around 1/10 of the National take so we weren't in the same ballpark but still much appreciated. 7) Newcastle - delays at Aintree so the lucky last at Newcastle was next up. Freddie Steady for another half decent win sullied by a place book of rancidity. Still, a move forward on a well backed jolly. Don't stop me now.

At this point me and Sharon headed for the exits and had no clue how the last two at Aintree went though the texts from Steve looked encouraging.

6) Aintree - after the Lord Mayor's show turnover wise as is so often the case. An hour gap is just a hair too long- 45 minutes probably a better option to keep engagement. I knew we'd done ok when Steve's "we stood the jolly" message came in and so it was as a good win on Kalif Du Berlais was slightly chopped by outsider Brookie placing. In Liverpool. Of course it did. 7) Aintree - as all the best news reports say - and finally. Great work from the lads here as an unexpected surprise awaited me to discover a highly respectable result on winning favourite Green Splendor and an even bigger unexpected surprise as the place gods smiled down upon us again. What looked like a potential disaster at around 2pm turned into quite the opposite by tea time. As it turned out, Simon got it very right at Aintree and, in glorious irony, I picked wrong at Newcastle. Let down, but at my end not theirs.

Ayr next weekend for us as the National double header rolls on.

Fade out again, until then...