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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] AND ANOTHER THING... April 2009 READING BETWEEN THE LINES I LIKE Reading Between The Lines  - as a title I mean. I thought I would try it out as an alternative to And Another Thing to see if my words flowed differently with a change of emphasis. This is merely a trial you understand; it does not mean that I am dumping my former epithet. I might even alternate between the two alter egos to see if it brings me out of my shell a little, allows me to emerge from the closet for a while. Not that I am gay, in truth I am not even[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] AND ANOTHER THING March 2009 An Irish Mystery THIS IS A QUIET WEEK for those of us working in racing - at least the early part of it is. Monday offers Claiming and Selling day at Wolverhampton. For jump-racing fans I am told several short-price and apparent good things line up at Kempton in particular, and to a lesser extent at Plumpton. Tomorrow there is Flat racing at Lingfield, but the fields small, as are the chances of making any money. There is already the mention of the dreaded words - Gosden, maiden and fancied, although not necessarily in that order. Southwell dishes up a diet of[...]

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Category - Free Tips

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] BREEDERS CUP SPECIAL October 2009 AMERICANS MAY HAVE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB  IN SANTA ANITA SANTA ANITA is often hailed as one of the most picturesque racecourses in the world. Set just outside Los Angeles with the San Gabriel Mountains casting a blue hue over proceedings, it is the ideal setting for the Breeders' Cup. This renewal will be a complete contrast to the messy slop that was Monmouth last year. Horseracing in America has never really shrugged off the Damon Runyan image. With the exception of Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park, most courses resemble enlarged dog tracks, with sheds and busy roads close by. Not so[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] And Another Thing October 2008 Drunk horse breathalysed FRIDAY NIGHT and it has been a wretched day. It looked tricky, typical backend stuff this morning and I managed to keep my head until about midday. I fancied a couple of big-priced horses a bit but to be honest I could not really see them winning. But what are you to do when horses you think might win are three times the price their chances represent? The answer is simple enough to be provided by your average schoolchild. If you only think they might or could win, you do not back them for serious money. The most you[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] And Another Thing October 2008 Arc Weekend at Longchamp IT MAY NOT have escaped your notice that it is Arc weekend. That means planeloads and coach-loads of Brits will be descending on Paris for two glorious days of racing in one of the culture capitals of the world. The mix of Anglo Saxon and Gaelic has not always worked terribly well. There has been some unpleasantness between our two nations over the past five hundred years or so, resulting in muskets, tanks and ships exchanging fire. These days altercations are more likely to be restricted to the hurling of glasses after a football match or the French[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] And Another Thing September 2008 Horse Racing and Jockey tactics FOUR ITEMS dominate the Racing Post today. Three of them represent the dark side of our game in my view. By that I don't mean to infer they are concerned with skulduggery, more that they are rather like the idiot who moons from the back of a coach when you are driving home after a long hard day losing money at the office. It is just the time when the last thing you want to see it a white bottom staring implacably at you. I have a mirror and a bottom so I know what one looks[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] And Another Thing September 2008 Mistakes RACING is a great leveller. Open your mouth and make a statement and if proved wrong, there is no hiding place. My comments regarding Jim Bolger's bid to win the Group 1 Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Stakes with Lush Lashes need repeating. I may as well draw attention to them rather than afford some one else with the opportunity. I felt sufficiently superior this morning to tell Mr Bolger that the ground was too soft for Lush Lashes and that in running her he ran a serious risk of Halfway To Heaven confirming Goodwood form. In which case, there was the possibility[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] The Bookies' role is to relieve us of money THERE has been some comment this week from that nice firm of bookmakers, William Hill, complaining that in 2009 there will be four blank racing Sundays. Such an oversight must be a body blow to Hills and all who sail in her. Their chief executive, one Ralph Topping, a man with whom I am not familiar and one that I suspect moves in slightly different social circles to myself, lodged the complaint. Judging by his photograph, he does not appear to be the sort of man who would be too perturbed if his gas boiler suddenly broke down. But[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] EXCHANGE BETTING THE YEAR OF 2008 was for many the year when the dress rehearsal stopped. They had earned their wings. Having taken the concept of exchange betting for various test flights, during which teething difficulties were adjusted, now was the time for lift-off. It is a fact that most people who open an account with Befair lose their initial deposit. There are good reasons for this statistic and for those not familiar with the pitfalls, allow me to elucidate. Faced with the sight of hitherto unheard of generosity as regards prices, the newcomer to exchange betting will feel compelled to bet more often and with greater[...]

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Category - Racing Thought-Provokers!

[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text] AND ANOTHER THING... September 2008 Youth is wasted on the young YOUTH is wasted on the young, or so they say. At least that well-known philosopher Robbie Williams said it! Actually, there is a paradox about growing older. You become wiser as you age but less able to utilise such wisdom as first the mind, then the body becomes a barrier. After a certain age, when we own two-thirds of our houses, appreciate fine wine, have paid for the car and have a suit for every occasion but never wear them, we yearn to play safe. So those most able to make sound, risk-based decisions find themselves[...]