Anyone that's seen anything we've posted on Twitter in the last couple of days will know this blog title was 1.01. Great song, though for many years me and the wife had to develop a sudden cough at the end of the first verse when it came on the playlist in the car and the kids were in the back. Not as bad as Freak Scene (Dinosaur Jr) which was embargoed from the "Favourites" playlist for 10 years in the absence of a clean version. There are only so many coughing fits you can effect, even with the old "asthma" excuse.
Fighting Fifth and two pitches - one in the Premier, Colonel Porter, enclosure and one in a decent pick where the bar empties out and we were filled with optimism. I worked the Porter with Simon's mate Johnno, though it could easily be Johno or Jonno. Either way, even though I'd met him a few times, it was the first time I'd worked with him and his first name still remains a mystery. It may even be John, but I suspect not. I've put a reminder in my iPhone to investigate further with Simon.
Regardless of his moniker, I'm not sure what Simon told Johnno about working with me but the poor lad looked terrified for the first hour. I think he was relieved when he saw me nibbling on a Kit Kat (Chunky obvs) rather than eating kittens or babies or something for lunch. Did a good job and he'll always be welcome on the CairnBet joint.
1) No we didn't lay it on the machine, even though Gavin told us to on Twitter. Shout out to Gavin. He knows. 1/8 overnight, we opened around 1/3 which should've set off alarm bells. The drift to 1/2 should sent us scurrying for the big pink "EXCH LAY" button but we have our principles. Smashed up on the off and we hoped they were fiddling around for a price (they weren't or, if they were, they got it horribly wrong). 3 losers out of 4 as you would expect, joined by our colleagues next door with much the same book as us. Never going and just a case of which one of the bogeys won, all costing us the same amount, It was, appropriately, "Inappropriate". Turned out our principles didn't translate into actual cash. A quick check of the forecast market brought the blessed relief of a virtual skinner and we ended up taking no damage overall, tiny profit in fact, though the twirls of the vast majority of our colleagues suggests they did rather better than "no damage". I'll listen to you next time Gavin...
2) Didn't have to wait long for further heartbreak despite a reasonable win on drifting jolly Glory and Honour. We shoved the next 3 in the market (Shadows in the Sky, Step Above and WhoShotTheSheriff) in for the max and it looked like we were taking full advantage when Hawkseye View cruised to the front going well for the jackpot with (Christmas) bells on. The intervention of the last fence took away all momentum and the favourite took full advantage. A move forward but more "middle lane of the M6" than "outside lane of the Autobahn in a Porsche" in terms of velocity.
3) The betting suggested only two could win and the race bore it out. We knew we'd have one of them against us and, fortunately, it was Zanndabad that we stood to give us another solid win on a jolly (Skyjack Hijack) and, as you would expect, places were sensational as we stood the 4 rags for plenty each way. It may have been very different if Zanndabad hadn't lost 3 lengths at every hurdle as it finished like a train. No laying on the machine here helped us here of course but we were still morally in deficit by that measure.
4) ILikeDWayUrThinkin smashed up on course and off. We didn't like it much to be honest and the max loss was confirmed a mile out. Normal book with the bottom of the market worth fortunes but, when the nibbled at Elleon made mistake after mistake, we were out of it. Places helped a little but only a little.
5) Betting was very brisk on the big race. And, as favouritism flipped and flopped between Sir Gino and Mystical Power our liabilities followed suit with one, then the other, looming red seemingly every other minute. A late rush for Sir Gino nailed on our bogey, Mystical Power a modest winner and the rest of them worth a month's wages. Mystical Power was never going and when Sir Gino raced keenly we thought we had a bit of a sniff. Not to be as Sir Gino won impressively and we took another step backward, especially with Lump Sum being the worst place result in the book.
5 races down in one of the busiest meetings of the winter and we didn't have expenses. The mood was grim...
6) Goodness me, Blackwater Lily was popular. Every other bet and it was an easy max liability. Didn't get as much out of Jeune Prince as we would've liked but enough to make it a nil nil draw and we got a reasonable enough result on 2nd in Small Town Kid. We'd got the expenses and were a little ahead but, in the context of what we were taking, it looked like a long, long drive home.
7) Our friend SD popped over just before the last. Delighted to hear he was having a decent day, better than ours for sure. He had a cursory look at the book and declared he really fancied our biggest bogey. He's a good judge so our mood was hardly improved. At the off we had the top 3 in the market in for the max and there were only 4 who could win turning in. We had one of them. The Changing Man breezed to the front, hit 1/10 in running, the decibel level went through the roof for the 7th race running and I showed admirable restraint in not physically assaulting the joint. In a reverse of race 2 though, the jolly made a mess of the last, Frero Banbou went past and there wasn't enough time for The Changing Man to get back up and we had a bona fide, genuine, monster jackpot to end the day. We'd had so many looks and we finally hit one just in time to make the long trip up the A1 infinitely more pleasant than it appeared was going to be the case.
We were still a little behind par for a very busy day but it's always that bit sweeter to hit the big one in the last, despite what came before.
Kelso next up, next Sunday for us, weather permitting. Until then...
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