It's been a month. You forget stuff after a month. God knows how we ever traded that first meeting after Covid if you forget stuff after a month. So today I was meticulous. Batteries charged, leads checked, even got the LED board out from behind the sofa so I didn't miss it this morning. Buoyed by my organisational excellence I set off. By the time I reached the biggest hedge in the world (fun fact) "buoy" was replaced by "gnaw". Sure enough - a glance back confirmed no brolly in the boot. No rain in the forecast but it's Scotland in February and there was no way we were thumbing our nose at the Law of Sod so an abrupt U-turn and the knowledge that the 20 minute buffer I'd built in for the purchase of sausages and rolls for the Sunday morning breakfast had been frittered away on an absent mush.
This wouldn't, necessarily, be an issue but keen Cairn Bet subscribers will remember Kevin and Sausagegate last year. Cheltenham if I remember rightly. For those who missed it Kevin was sent into the Co-op for sausages and was unable to find sausages in a fridge stacked full of sausages. Apart from Richmond which doesn't count. Simon was on shift today and he'd never been trusted with ground pig entrails in a gelatinous skin purchase before but today was his day to shine or to crash and burn. And we all remember what happened last time when I gave up control of breakfast meat acquisition. I am immensely to relieved to report that Simon rocked up with Asda Finest Cumberlands along with home baked soft rolls. Mental note to put Simon on shopping duty at Ascot.
1) Close to max on jolly Maitre en Science and Lukers Tipple and we barely had a horse with an in running price turning in. Then it all changed as Solar Drive stayed on after looking beaten and it looked like we were in for a good start. Then St Pancras came from about a million in running and we didn't have a good start any more. We had a stunner. A bona fide skinner. A payout printout that contained no payouts on the winner. I asked Simon for permission to ey ey. Granted. I then asked Simon for permission to moan about the places. Refused. A monster start for us though.
2) Balhamber and Mack the Man and we looked like a bore draw on the fav Afadil until Welsh Charger came from much the same place as St Pancras and we had another monster result. Admittedly, not the Mary Shelley's Frankenstein monster in the first but still a Ray Harryhausen job. Who said you don't get results on the jumps? And, yes, I did say "you'll get out of jail with that one" on every bet on Norman Fletcher. Simon didn't have a clue what I was on about but an older chap with questionable teeth laughed like a drain and that was reward enough.
3) Me actually. You don't get results on the jumps. Kalooki Kid. Smashed up , won easily and a dent was made in both profit and mood.
4) That result thing? Thing of the past. 2 small-ish liabilities on the top 2 and a semi free hit at an unlikely result. Never really looked like much of a free hit as Intense Approach defied the late drift to always look the winner. Places were kind so the damage was more of the minimal kind.
5) Boomslang was around the max mark until a few bets on the off made it a half max. Looked like we were on for the half max loss as well as Boomslang traded at 1.01 for the thick end of a furlong until the fast finishing One More Stroke got us out trouble in the last 18 inches of the race. Solid win covering the loss of the previous two and bringing us back to where we were 90 minutes previously. 2 smashed up favs and a smashed up 2nd fav and we'd trod water. Sometimes it's the ones you don't lose on.
6) Another favourite giving us another score draw and we'd pretty much been exactly where we'd been 4 races ago. No complaints though, as we'd cashed in substantially on the first two results and not given up anything on 4 races we could easily have lost on. Same again tomorrow please.
Student day at the same venue tomorrow and we'll bask in the glory of £1 each ways on cards and more tweed than the Harris Tweed Mill on Peaky Blinders tweedy open day. Tune in same time, same place with the added bonus of Simon's sausages review.
Until then...
Kommentare