Rambling and Gambling

[Quixall Crossett]

Morning all,

I thought i'd have a daily post to give my thoughts, for what they are worth, about the coming days racing. As Typhoon said a week or so ago, its been a bit quiet here lately, so i thought i'd do my bit to keep it moving. This will definitely be a "rant free zone", i'll save all that whinging for the other thread. It will just be about todays courses, horses, jockeys or whatever and there will be some bets at the end of it all. And rather than put horses up at obscure prices that no one has real access to like Tom Seagulls, i'm going to stick to bet365 prices mainly because they are nearly always first up and they also bet on every race. And obviously, if i am putting a multi up, unless you are very well connected you will not be able to pick and choose prices from different firms and group them all together. Hopefully they will make a decent profit in the long run.
So, i am starting on tomorrows racing now and, time permitting, i'll be back on this evening with whatever catches my eye.

If you're getting involved today, good luck.

QC

[fridge]

Looking forward to reading your take on the day's racing good luck

[Quixall Crossett]

Hello fridge. I think i could have picked a better day to start on than the one i have. But, there has to be a winner in every race so tomorrow it is. I'm going to stake the bets in multiples of £5 with a fiver being the smallest bet and £25 the maximum.
Doing this will keep me occupied in the early evening and it should be a bit of fun if nothing else.

[Quixall Crossett]

Monday Feb 8th.

Fakenham looks very disappointing with such small fields and only 34 runners in total. In the 3-20 i had it between Lee Side Lady and Bishop Wulstan. The top weight could be the value call after a decent run at Ffos Las in December. He was disappointing last time out but the stable is now hitting form now and he may go well. In the next, the 3-50, Its Oscar gets into this chase 7lb lower than his hurdle win here last time out. The problem here is he has yet to convince me as a chaser and does go right at his fences. He will probably be thereabouts but i'd rather be on Entry To Evrywhere.
Over at Musselburgh racing looks fairly competitive albeit low class fayre. In the 3-30 So Satisfied wont be far away and Asuncion has a chance in the 2-30. I wasnt too keen on the likely favourite Mumgos Debut there. His chase record reads 0/7 and all his best runs have been left handed. Its a bad race i know but i couldnt have him. In the following race at 3-00 i thought Bescot Springs and Sky Full Of Stars looked interesting, the latter at a decent price. The 1-30 looked a race where you could cross a few out and narrow it down and Vision De La Vie looks the one to be on.
As i said earlier, not a brilliant days racing but we can maybe nick a few quid.

Bets - All B.O.G.
£5 win Vision De La Vie @ 7/2
£5 win Entry To Evrywhere @ 4/1
£5 Double.

£5 E.W. Bishop Wulstan @ 10/1

Typical that bet365 are bottom price the first two but thats the rules i've set and i have to stick to it.

Good luck if you're getting involved.

QC

[clancy]

Best of Luck - This will be a great thread.

[Quixall Crossett]

Afternoon clancy, i hope you're right.
I was undecided, i actually still are, how to do it. Today i've done it with some bets but just like the website i used to write for a couple of years ago, i feel slightly uncomfortable putting up bets when i'm not having a bet myself. I know its only a bit of fun but i may decide to go with my original plan and just highlight the horses which look to have a decent chance and those which i dont like for whatever reason. That might be the best way to do it and only put up a bet when i'm having it myself. I'd be happier that way. And also maybe highlight the ones which i think are under/overpriced. That seems a better idea.
Anyway, lets see how todays go. Best of luck if you've got involved.

[Jombo]

QC - A Profit/loss is the best way to go Although you should suit yourself as we all know its a bit different when you actually put your own money on your selections!

[Quixall Crossett]

I hear what you say jombo but it wont mean anything. It will not show my profit and loss because the only bets i will be having will be the max (£25) ones. And i very much doubt it will refer to anyone elses P+L because i dont think they'll be having five times as much on the max as they did on days like today for instance. That is of course assuming anyone has backed any of them.
I might just stick to positives (and very positives) and negatives.
Lets face it, its only a bit of fun to keep the banter going on here. If i'm typing away on here, she thinks i'm working and she doesnt give me a job to do.

[Jombo]

Sure do whatever suits you is the best of way to go, as long as you post more winners than losers I don't think anyone will complain! thought you might have selected sulatana belle today!

[Quixall Crossett]

Ha ha, i thought you might mention that one. First run for the stable today. A watching brief for me.

[Jombo]

good start!

[clancy]

Great start.

[Quixall Crossett]

Tuesday Feb 9th,

Not much rambling on this thread yesterday so i'll waffle on for a bit now.
Disappointing card at Market Rasen tomorrow with small fields similar to what Fakenham had Monday. I dont suppose many of you Irish lads have had a chance to go there but if the opportunity arises, take it. Its a lovely little town and the track is one i really like. Mrs Crossett and i were there about eight years ago on a weeks break going to a few tracks. We arrived the day before the races, stayed overnight, but had an evening at the local Indian Restaurant. I like a hot curry and asked for the vindaloo. As usual, just after starting on it, someone always comes over and asks if everything is alright. "Yes", i said, "really nice and hot as well, i'll need six pints after this". Five minutes later the same bloke turns up with his tray and starts plonking six pints on our table. I tried explaining what i'd meant but he was adamant i'd ordered them and i couldnt argue for laughing. Anyway, i drank three and give the other three to some lads on the next table who thought it was hilarious. Dozy twat !!
Anyway, i digress. Nothing for me at that meeting, very disappointing.
At Sedgefield i'm almost certain they will have an "Indian" but i havent been in it. They were always "famous" for their pies and mushy peas many years ago. In those days, wrongly in my opinion, it was always looked upon as a bit of a dump. I remember the jockey Ian Watkinson (he rode Tingle Creek a few times) saying it was the last racecourse that God ever built and he still hasnt finished it.
Anyway, enough of that, lets have a look at the racing. Its a more competitive card than "Rasen" but its definitely more quantity than quality. I thought Chasma would take some beating in the 2-20 and the plan was to keep an eye on Cadgers Hole. But after looking at Oddschecker earlier i see that its been smashed already. Mrs Siddall wont like that. It wouldnt be the greatest surprise to see it withdrawn if they havent got their money on and at this stage of proceedings i'm 99.9% certain they havent ! Whatever, its Chasma for me. The very aptly named Storm Alert has to go well in the long distance hurdle at 3-25 along with Heart O Annandale. The 4-00 i had between Roxyfet and Rupert Bear and the latter is yet another that has been well backed this evening. He's down to his lowest ever handicap mark here of 87. I spotted him last time out at Kelso and thought at the time that there was a bit of improvement there but whether i'd be wanting to take around 2/1 is a different matter. In fact, its a no brainer. No i bloody well wouldnt !!! And in the 4-30 i did have a bit of a giggle to myself over Hi Dancer. Which bright spark came up with putting first time blinkers on the 13 year old ? I'm not kidding ! Have a look for yourself. Do they think it will bring out some sort of improvement ? At that age ? That aside, he is not without a chance in what is a poor race and i have it between him and Copt Hill although i do fancy the latter a bit more.

I'm still unsure how to run this thread. What i mean is either put up bets, like Monday, or just putting fancies and negatives up. I'll do the bets for Tuesday and have another think. I know its not to be taken too seriously but i'd rather get a format and stick to it.
So, for what its worth,

All B.O.G as usual.
£10 win Chasma @ 9/4
£10 win Roxyfet @ 6/4
£5 Dbl

£5 E.W. Storm Alert @ 4/1

Have a good night all and best of luck tomorrow.

QC

[rasputin]

great thread and a lovely start well done QC, chocolate eclair and a nice cuppa for you sir.

[Quixall Crossett]

Ha ha rasputin but i'm trying not to think/talk/mention chocolate at the moment. Creme Eggs are everywhere and i'm anybodys for one. They come in boxes of five now (thieving, greedy sods) and the 2 boxes the good lady bought on Thursday are now gone. Final score - QC 9-1 Mrs C. And of course i'm in the bad books.

[Quixall Crossett]

Interesting to see that Rupert Bear has been declared for the 3-30 race at Carlisle tomorrow. Is this part of a plan ? Win easy here and run under a penalty tomorrow ? Or has somebody just forgot it was entered ? It does happen. I suppose we'll soon find out. If the plan is to run twice on successive days, the poor thing will be knackered come Thursday !

[Quixall Crossett]

Wednesday Feb 10th

Sad to see Ludlow fall by the wayside because there isnt a great deal to take out of tomorrows offerings.
For those of you who havent been to Southwell, it is rather bleak. And for those of you who have been, dont you find it bleak ? And before someone has a go at me for dissing it, although i've only been four or five times, i've always done well and i'm quite fond of the place. If only it wasnt so bleak.
Anyway, that game mare Pass The Time runs in the 1-40 and she must go very close. She has won over C/D and ran a great race at Doncaster a week and a half ago when only beaten 5L in the Doncaster Mares Hurdle. She was only half a length behind Morning Run and it will take a good one to stop her here.
Up at not quite so bleak Carlisle there are a couple of very competitive handicaps. The 3-30 is a cracker and its got me completely bamboozled. When i first went through it i sided with Morning Royalty. On the second look i was beginning to favour Freddies Portrait and then Moscow Me and Dr Moloney started to look ok. I started again and got back to Morning Royalty and then it dawned on me that i was never going to suss it. So i applied Occams Razor, (thats impressed you hasnt it), and worked out that the simplest answer was the first one i.e.Morning Royalty. But would i have a bet in the race. Not on your nelly !!!
In the last there, the 4-35, i thought two decent price ones in Hartside and Diamond D'Amour had decent each way chances but again my money stays firmly in Mrs Crossetts pocket.
Finally, there is a race, the 2-20, where a selection can be made because in the field of ten i had negatives for six of them. The one i came down on was Spring Over. The trip and ground wont be a problem and he races off a 4lb lower mark than his Ayr hurdle win last year. Granted, the pair in front at the time both came down at the third from home but he wasnt far behind and he was staying on. He has ran ok in his two chase starts to date and was only a length behind yesterdays Musselburgh scorer, Vision De La Vie, when they were third and fourth. Its not a great race and he has a chance.
Again, for what its worth,

£10 - Pass The Time @ 5/2
£10 E.W.- Spring Over @ 9/2

Best of luck if you get involved and lets keep those fingers crossed for the weather to improve.

QC

[clancy]

You are up against this 'alleged coup' on Shane Kelly's four today - Southwell 1.40 and Kempton 5.25 5.55 7.55

[Quixall Crossett]

Morning mate. Yeah i saw that. Doesnt interest me one bit but good luck to them. Apart from the first one eh .
The gamble that caught my eye was in the second at Carlisle. I've put up Spring Over but the one thats been backed, Under The Red Sky, was one of the four positives i had in the race. Lets hope it runs a good second.
Plenty of decent size fields tomorrow. I've just started wading through them now. Its going to take me all afternoon but it keeps me off the streets

[Quixall Crossett]

Thursday Feb 11th

Doncaster isnt in my good books at the moment. I was there a week and a half ago and i've never been right since. Mrs Crossett reckons i've never been right in my life. I've had aches and pains and more aches and more pains and then just as they started to go, Doncaster rears its head again and i'm suffering again.
I was moaning a week or two ago about the small fields and the limited opportunities they bring. Now the field sizes are getting bigger and i cant make head nor tail of them.
This supposed gamble today made me laugh. Was it a gamble ? Was it a "cash out" hoax. Was it a dummy run for a forthcoming gamble ? Whichever it was, i hope nobody on here lost money because of it. Unless you're Barney Curley you're not going to get the info first hand, second hand or even twenty fourth hand. You'll be getting the dregs, the scraps. And apart from "that" gamble of his a few years ago, how many successful recent gambles can you recall ? You can probably count them on the fingers of one finger !!! Dont fall for it ! Pick out your own selections and do your own thing. Its much more fun that way.
I found it really hard today to come up with anything for tomorrow. In the first at Doncaster, the two at the top of the handicap, Willoughby Hedge and St Johns Point, looked nailed on to go well but i thought at a bigger price Under The Phone wouldnt be far away. The 3-30 race was definitely a "stick a pin in" job and is best left alone. In the last, the 4-40, the first thing i thought was will Notebook consent to start. He did look a little unsure in his two starts before he refused to race last week and, for the moment, looks one to steer clear of. The one that caught my eye was Bertie Lugg out that great mare, Flakey Dove. Its true he has shown very little since his fourth on his racecourse debut in a bumper in 2014 but he is now with Henry Oliver, who has had two winners in the last week, and the combination of that and a nine month break may well bring about the necessary improvement. But at the current odds of around 7/2 - 4/1 i am not interested in the least.
Over at Huntingdon I'll be interested to see how Vazaro Delafayette goes on his chase debut after a break of 16 months. He was a comfortable winner at Newbury from Spookydooky when last seen and if taking to fences he should pick up a few races. In the 3-40 i thought Classinaglass would go well with Genstone Trail the obvious danger but that one does have a near two year absence to overcome.
After an afternoon of getting stuck into those two meetings it was disappointing to say the least that there wasnt a great deal to glean from it. But as i have said many times on my whinging and moaning thread, its a marathon not a sprint. The good news is, Friday looks better. Just need the fields to hold up.

Bets -

All bet365 and B.O.G as usual

£10 E.W. - Classinaglass @ 5/1
£5 E.W. - Under The Phone @ 10/1

Best of luck if you're playing,

QC