A quick Kelso catch up from Monday first- apologies for lack of blog. Business dire, though the good news is that our Harry Potter run continues as we, yet again, wave our magic wand and half the projected crowd disappear, as the expected 2200 was conspicuous by its absence. We won modestly, we won't be going back next year.
Ayr today and we pitched up in the bongos. I have long been mystified by the name but our friend Colin told us that there was a Mexican themed food outlet down there a few years ago with massive bongos over their stall. Who knew? For the uninitiated it's basically the car park that is filled with tents for this meeting (and the Gold Cup) only but this year was gated off from the main ring with a separate entrance fee. The tannoy was excruciatingly loud and the whole area rocked with Broony's dulcet tones on Racing UK. The big screen showed highlights of Friday night Ballinrobe which was met with complete disinterest from all and sundry- apart from the bleeding ears.
1) 2 hour pitch in and the first hour was pretty dead. Those that did start their betting journey early wanted either Uncle Phil in the 1st or Mr Incredible in the National. There may very well be a slew of Phils in the west of Scotland who are, frankly, incredible. One of the early bets was a bloke casually rocking his can of gin and tonic- I told him he was supersonic. Simon groaned. I told him the blog was off to a good start. Uncle Phil continued to be our bogey along with Sans Bruit but we didn't fully cash in as Tommy's Oscar prevailed over our jackpot, Traprain Law which went very short in running. Fortunately there were fewer Tommys than Phils but enough to categorise the win as small despite the winner coming from the bottom of the market. We felt our bad run was continuing despite as little move forward.
2) And the heartbreak continued. The winner looked like it had to come from Ballycoose or Donny Boy who both traded short in running. Turned out it was the favourite Sharjah who had previously traded at something big in running. We were in a rut we wondered if we were ever going to escape from. The places wiped out the win loss but, like peak Nick Faldo, we remained in plod mode. We just wanted a little bit of Seve.
3) Stood the favourite Leau Du Sid plus Benson who always wins in Scotland and probably serves a mean gin and tonic as well and First Street in the middle. Won a wee bit more than we should on 2nd favourite Favour and Fortune but felt we were still way short overall. Places were suitable unkind.
4) And the treacle wading continued. Our colleagues were twirling but we eked out yet another moderate win on what looked like a result with Czech Her Out. Places switched in our favour though and, overall, the win was decent but, at that price, could've been spectacular.
5) And this, folks, is why I won't be sleeping tonight. Don't get me wrong, we had a good win on what was the overnight favourite and the places were so blisteringly good it virtually doubled our win profit, but the 2nd horse was a genuine skinner. It went past, hit something so short it's not true and was still massive odds on when they paused the betting as they crossed the line. Would've been our biggest winner in as long as I can remember if it didn't get done on the nod. But it didn't and I had to look away. Our dreams will be far from sweet tonight. And, as we know, dreams stay with you. Stay alive. I don't normally do requests but, if you're reading this Mr G, I have this time.
6) I don't do karma or bad luck or runs or whatever but we felt this had been, by and large, been going on for too long and we yearned to be on the right side of one for a change. And we were. Not as good a result as you'd think but finally we picked the right nose as Chosen Witness beat our bogey Major Fortune. And gave us 3 gags that our 12 year old will snigger at.
7) 6 runners and the main surprise was that we only had 4 losers instead of 5 and another decent result ensued on the jolly at odds on despite an alarming drift, from our point of view, on the off which looked even worse when it hit 2s in running before prevailing easily.
8) And a cracker in the last as well as we laid all round 2nd favourite Jazz de Cotte but avoided the winner itself. Great win supplemented by another good each way result.
And so, a very good day overall but the National heartache will linger long in the memory as the one that got away.
Quick turnaround for Musselburgh tomorrow. Until then...