Tom Roper's Weblog

Carlisle, Haydock and Leopardstown

Carlisle 225: Underwriter
Haydock 335: Taratino
Leopardstown 400: Admiral of the Fleet

Newcastle and Ascot

Today's Lincoln, moved 110 miles north to Newcastle while Doncaster has the builders in, marks the start of flat racing, though there is still the National before I turn away from the jumps. So today's selections are taken equally from the two.
Newcastle 240: Dicoh
Newcastle 315: Steenburg
Newcastle 355: Gentleman's Deal
Ascot 415: Tamarin Bleu
Ascot 450: Dublin Hunter
Ascot 525: Warning Camp

Navan and Newbury

Newbury 255: Chamoss Royale
Newbury 330: Apollo Lady
Navan 400: Nickname
Navan 500: Royal Man

Cheltenham: the fourth day, Gold Cup day

So we arrive at the final day. Gold Cup day, and in the main race I take Kauto Star to improve my strike rate, as the statistics so far are these:
Selections: 18
Winners: 2
Placed: 1
Strike rate: 11.11%
2:00 JCB Triumph Hurdle: Freeze The Flame
2:35 Brit Insurance Novices' Hurdle: Wichita Lineman
3:15 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase: Kauto Star
4:00 Christie's Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup: Honourable Spider
4:40 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase Challenge Cup: Saintsaire   
5:20 Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle: Osana

Cheltenham: the third day, Ladbrokes World Hurdle day

I had one winner yesterday, which is one more than on Tuesday.

The story so far:
Selections: 12
Winners: 1
Placed: 2
Strike rate: 8.33%

Today's selections:
2:00 Jewson Novices' Handicap Chase: New Little Bric
2:35 Ryanair Chase: Taranis
3:15 Ladbrokes World Hurdle: Black Jack Ketchum
4:00 Racing Post Plate: Moncadou
4:40 137th Year of The National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup: Fair Question
5:20 Pertemps Final: Monolith

With the drier ground,  Black Jack Ketchum can lay the ghost of his January run. I take two of Paul Nicholl's entries for the first and second races, though New Little Bric carries top weight

Cheltenham: the second day, Queen Mother Champion Chase day

The first day could have been better, though this morning's Racing Post asks if today might not be "the day of the Bankers?". The score so far:
Selections: 6
Won: 0
Placed: 0
Strike rate: 0%

2:00 Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle: Silverburn
2:35 Royal & SunAlliance Chase: Denman
3:15 Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase: Well Chief
4:00 Coral Cup (Handicap Hurdle): All Star
4:40 Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase: Oodachee
5:20 Weatherbys Champion Bumper: Aranleigh

Cheltenham: the first day, Champion Hurdle Day

2:00 Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices' Hurdle: De Valira
2:35 Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase: Don't Push It
3:15  Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy: Hardy Eustace
4:00 William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase Grade 3: Rambling Minster
4:40 Sporting Index Handicap Chase (Cross Country): L'Aventure
5:20 Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle: Jayo

Cheltenham preview

I can't cope with giving you a considered opinion on four days of racing in advance. I have to take it a day at a time.
As I was putting all the races at Cheltenham into the calendar on my Powerbook, it occurred to me I could offer some sort of preview that others might find useful. So if you use the OS X Calendar, Google calendars, or any thing else that will accept an *.ics feed, here it is:
webcal://ical.mac.com/tomroper/Cheltenham.ics
or for a web view:
http://ical.mac.com/tomroper/Cheltenham

Technorati Tags: cheltenham, ical

Imperial Cup day

Our nerves are steady, our betting accounts bulge, we have abstained from strong drink for weeks and dieted carefully, all in preparation for Cheltenham next week. In the meantime:
Sandown 205: Otto des Pictons
Sandown 310: Farmer Brown
Sandown 345: Castlecrossings

Kelso and Newbury

315 Newbury: Flying Enterprise
355 Kelso: Bang and Blame
425 Kelso: Mohayer
455 Newbury: Procas de Thaix