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Nick's Punting Diary w/c 26-08-13

Firstly, a big apology for my absence these last few weeks.  Unfortunately my punting activities were put on hold for a while but I’m now back and more eager than ever!

Before I crack on with the highs and lows of my punting weekend I just have to share this with you.

John, my boss and good friend, is a very shrewd punter.  He has an opinion on everything but only really bets on horse racing.  He actually winds a lot of people up as most of his opinions are on other people’s bets after they have lost!  This has led to the nickname “Johnny Hindsight”.  At one point we were thinking of creating a spoof website called “Hindsight Racing” that boasts a 100% strike-rate with all selections sent out 24 hours after the day’s racing has ended.

To be fair though, as a punter he picks and chooses his races very carefully and he does quite well with his small stakes.  He actually knows his stuff and will never ever back anything I put up as a tip.  In fact he usually goes out of his way to oppose my “good things”!

Anyway, as we work side by side I have watched John slowly but surely build up his William Hill account from a modest investment of £50 to a respectable £200 in a few months.  A couple of weeks ago he seemed quite sheepish and a little less eager than usual to discuss the weekend’s racing.  It transpires that, in a moment of madness, he had staked the lot on Telescope to win the Rose of Lancaster stakes @4/7.  Telescope was backed into 4/9 and duly finished second!

Cue immediate laughter, humiliation and “Telescope” jokes from everyone who works with both John and I.

I even arranged for a few staff members to phone him up and innocently ask “What optical device is designed to make distant objects appear nearer?”  The mickey-taking was merciless!  Things got even better when Telescope won 3 weeks later at the Ebor meeting, having been available to back at 2/1 in the morning.  Unfortunately for us, John was on a beach in Spain when Telescope trotted up.

To celebrate the occasion we have bought a small, plastic children’s telescope that we intend to get mounted and put on display in the office.

Back to the serious stuff and this weekend is my usual crack at the C4 races, another crack at Betfred’s Goals Galore Bonus coupon and a bit of football trading thrown in for good measure.

I have also decided to try and turn £100 into £1000 in 90 days.  To do this I have targeted a 2-3% daily increase in my bank which I must maintain for 90 days.  Any losses are recovered over 10 days by increasing the daily target by 10% of the total losses.

It’s not going to be easy but I will share with you here (bet by bet!) how I get on!

On to Saturday and a crack at the  Betfred Goals Galore coupon.

The trick with this is not to be too greedy  so I just go within the minimum multiple allowed, the treble, which pays a tasty 9/2.  That said, the current score is Betfred 2 Nick 0. I am quietly confident with this week’s selections and I plump for Barnsley v Huddersfield, Charlton v Leicester and Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen.

Channel 4 are showing 8 races on Saturday and I’m determined to find a few winners.  A quick look at the cards tells me this is going to be difficult.  First up is the 2.05 at Sandown and I dutch Burning Thread and Tidal’s Baby at 6/1 apiece.

I decide to give the 2.20 at Chester a swerve.  C&D winners aplenty but Free Zone is a non-runner, Al’s Memory (my bet of the year so far if you’ve read my earlier diaries) is badly out of sorts, Rusty Rocket is drawn in a different post code and Doctor Parkes may struggle off his current mark.  In true pessimistic fashion I imagine one of the aforementioned will win!

I take York Glory @5/1 in Beverley’s Bullet Sprint with a small each way interest in Stepper Point @11/1.  The 2.40 at Sandown looks a shoe-in for Kingman but I don’t want to repeat my boss’ exploits on Telescope so I decide it’s a race to watch.

Back to Chester and I really fancy Brae Hill in the Class 2 handicap at 2.55.  His running style should suit the tight turns of the Roodee and at 10/1 I’m on each way.  In the 3.15 at Sandown I can’t have Integral after she let me down last time so I go for the each way value with last year’s winner Lady’s First @9/1.

The penultimate race of C4’s coverage is a Listed race at Chester and I can’t see beyond Sun Central and Star Lahib and I duly back both at 7/2 and 5/1.  The lucky last for the TV coverage is the 3.50 at Sandown and I take two against the field in Danchai @12/1 and Whispering Warrior @10/1.  No each way here, straight win bets, but I’m hoping to be up by this time anyway!

And so to my first bet in the £1k Challenge.  I’ve got 90 days to turn £100 into £1000.  My target today is £3 or thereabouts so I have £5 on Peterborough to beat Crawley @3/5.  Hopefully a winning start!

All bets are placed by 11.30am and I’m heading to the Anglesey Sea Zoo for the afternoon with Mrs H and our two youngest ones.  Yes, I’m off to see some strange-headed aquatic monsters and this time that doesn’t mean a trip to my local pub.  I decide not to take my phone with me. There is nothing more annoying to my better half than me moaning I can’t get a mobile phone signal in rural North Wales to check the football and racing results.

After a day spent watching conger eels being fed, crabs fighting (at least that’s what I told the kids they were doing) and marvelling at a host of beautiful sea creatures, we arrive home and I switch the kettle on, fire up the laptop and then sit down to check the results.

I’m not one to gloat; it’s not in my nature.  In fact I am one of the most humble people you could ever meet.  I can’t recall the last time I had such a set of results, but anyway here they are:

Sandown 2.05 Burning Thread 7/1 WON; Tidal’s Baby 6/1 2nd

Beverley 2.30 Stepper Point 11/1 WON; York Glory 5/1 2nd

Chester 2.55 Brae Hill 10/1 2nd

Sandown 3.15 Lady’s First 9/1 WON (dead heat)

Chester 3.30 Sun Central 4/1 WON; Star Lahib 5/1 5th

Sandown 3.50 Danchai 12/1 7th; Whispering Warrior 10/1 8th

 

Days like these are there to savour. For every one of these there are usually 20 to 30 days where you feel you couldn’t even win a raffle having bought all the tickets.  I’m also fully aware that I may go another 3 weeks before I find my next winner.  But today, I’ll enjoy the moment.

A shot of reality follows as Peterborough lose at home to Crawley 2-0.  The first two legs of the Goals Galore come in as Charlton and Barnsley both win 2-1 and it now rests with Schalke and Leverkusen to put me up in my season long battle with Betfred.  Alas, the “banker” of the treble ended 2-0 to Schalke and it is 3-0 to Betfred.

Having got off to a bad start in my challenge I adopt a tactic I use often in the hope of trading back a bit of profit to reduce the opening loss on Peterborough.  I fancy Sunderland to beat Crystal Palace @21/10 and I back them for £4.  I also back both teams to score @5/6 for £5.  As long as Sunderland score I cannot lose my stakes.

With the score at 1-1 I get the opportunity to back Crystal Palace at 11/4 and the draw at 8/11.  It ends 3-1 to Palace and I’ve made £3.10 and I finish day 1 with a loss of £1.90.

Sunday morning and it is Japanese J League 2 football action. Bottom club Gifu have again been underestimated by the bookies and they are a tempting 9/2 to beat Tokyo Verdy.  It’s 8/11 that both teams score and that is more appealing as I expect Gifu to score but maybe not win.  £10 on the 8/11 and the game finishes 1-2.

The bank now stands at £105.37 on day 2 but I’m not finished there.  I back both teams to score @4/6 after 35 minutes in the Esbjerg v Midtjylland match with the score already 1-0 to the home side.

An 83rd minute equaliser brings home the bacon and the bank moves to £108.71.  Monday’s target is now £3.19.  I’m tempted to row into the North London derby which traditionally features a stack of goals, but I decide not to having reached my target for the first two days of my £1k challenge.

Two days down and 88 to go………………..see you in a week!

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