As is becoming common now, Met Office forecast is wildly optimistic all week then you wake up on Saturday morning to discover there's a 4 hour rain window due to start as betting begins and finish as the last winning punter goes home. Waterproofs, towels and brollies packed we headed off more in hope than expectation. The hope was that we could sponge some cakes off Mike, the expectation being a different matter.
The 12:25 wasn't a thriller from a punter's perspective with the 4/9 shot not as comfortable as expected but probably always doing enough. I say probably as, uniquely (for us at least) we don't see a horse all day at Kelso being positioned behind the stand. No major damage done, mainly due to absence of any significant betting and we didn't really get involved. The best news being that the printer was still working having been swathed in bath towels as the rain hosed in at a 90 degree angle. Frantic prodding revealed the satellite forecast that gave us hope there'd be a gap somewhere around 2:00.
In the 1:00 we couldn't get enough in on the jolly which led to our book having another small loser. Unsurprisingly it turned out to be the well backed winner, with one particularly chunky bet before the price collapse doing a small amount of damage. This would really be the theme for the day.
1:35 brought about the same issue with the jolly. Small loser for us but, given it was smashed up off course it didn't look a disaster. The winner was, yet again, the other small loser. Early drift, late smash up and I think we knew our fate from the start. We were treading water, literally and figuratively.
2:10? See 1:00 and 1:35. As next door was getting out the oi ois there was a synchronised shoulder slump on the CairnBet joint as the treading of water felt more like a slow shuffle through treacle. The P&L was still firmly (if still small) in the "L" column
2:45 Drifters do win. Sadly, in this case it was the drifting fav. The ois were notable by their absence from the bookmaking contingent. The stands were shaking with noise, though it might just have been the rain. Or the wind. Or possibly both. Still, optimists that we are, at least the punters had plenty of (our) cash to play with.
3:15 The rain had subsided. The wind howled however and we were relieved that we'd tied the joint down before we started. And had the extra pie for lunch. The market was horribly against us. The ones they bet shortened, the ones they didn't drifted. The value of the book at the off was in minus figures and we had a bingo book; 3 losers, all smashed up- the particular lowlight being Stoney Rover who we'd laid at 12s going off at 11/2 with a late price collapse. Given we'd had good (ish) books all day and not even made a dent in the expenses it was no surprise that, finally, we got a result in a shocking book as the 16/1 shot won easily. The trainer could offer no explanation for the improvement; frankly we didn't care. It would be churlish to complain about the guy who rolled up his previous win each way on the off at 16/1 to make a dent in the winnings so I won't.
3:50 Normal service resumed. Small loss on the jolly in the last but the places were kind so, as for most of the day, no real damage done.
The winters are hard to work and just as hard to win but today ended up with a moderate win and enough for chips on the way home. We might even get fish next time. A 3 week hiatus for us now as we return at Newcastle for The Fighting Fifth on 27th November. Report to follow. Maybe even with pictures.
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