Backed from 8s into 11/4 or 3/1, missed the break by 5 and ends up losing 3 parts of a length having gone longest way around too. No doubt would have won as it liked barring the poor start but that's racing for ya.
To some extent I was just grumbling because this is a meeting that (certainly this year) features no races of the type that I want to bet on. As I have said previously, I do not bother with the two year olds until at least the July Meeting as there is no collateral form so the betting is dominated by horse pedigree and names of connections. Also as everyone wants a runner at Royal Ascot, the handicaps are always ridiculous sized fields and pretty much every year they go like scalded cats and set the finish up for something coming from the rear. My idea of a decent handicap to bet on is sixteen runners or less and fairly open betting. The pattern races have turned out to have two or three at short prices and the rest are outsiders, so since I do not back odds on and anything less than 2/1 has to be a racing certainty there is precious little to be enthusiastic about. I do not play craps tables (friendly or otherwise), casinos, one-armed bandits or any other form of random chance gambling. Years ago I used to be in a friendly poker school but that was only every other month or so. Not sure if Wetherspoons do a Ploughman’s – will have to look on the menu next time I am in...
Delighted for you that you have managed to win something. You will be part of a small group of people judging by results. The fact that at the time of writing I had four bets (and four losers) from twenty one races was not my complaint (although obviously not happy to have lost). My complaint is more about not having had many bets because so many of the races are unsatisfactory betting opportunities. In the middle of next week there will be two or three ordinary meetings a day and I can probably find a half decent betting race. I never went to the races for betting anyway but I am not going to travel any distance to view mediocrity, so a 340 mile round trip to HQ on Saturday is a non runner.
Swanny, I am afraid that if you want a Ploughman’s Lunch you will have to look somewhere other than Wetherspoons. It is not on the menu so I Googled it and it appears they dropped it from the menu some years back when they introduced a selection of Deli plates where you can make up your own combination of three for a fixed price. Perhaps the Ploughman’s Union can organise a strike to get it reinstated as it must be the fault of the Tories or that horrible Tim Martin has got it in for the peasants.
