http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/jewson-confirmed-as-target-for-peddlers/996189/top/ DONALD McCAIN has decided to avoid another clash with Sprinter Sacre in next Tuesday's Racing Post Arkle Chase and run Peddlers Cross in the Jewson Novices' Chase after spending the best part of a week agonising over his Cheltenham Festival target. The seven-year-old was beaten 16 lengths by Sprinter Sacre at Kempton over Christmas and had drifted out to 11-2 to run in the Arkle and McCain confirmed the news on his Betfair blog, saying: "After a lot of discussion between myself, Jason [Maguire] and owner Tim Leslie, it has been decided that Peddlers Cross will head to the Jewson Novices' Chase. "It has been a long road back from the setback he had at Kempton and we feel that at this stage the 2m4f event will be more beneficial to him in the long term. "Because of his problems after Kempton, we haven't been able to school him as intensively as we would have liked and feel that going half a stride slower in the longer race makes sense." Utter cobblers from McCain. There is no question this horse was going up in trip as his chase career progressed, but why it has taken this long for a decision I do not know. I feel sorry for the Arkle backers. But as for the 'problem' being his recovery, the problem in actual fact was Sprinter Sacre. If he's fit to run a Jewson, he is fit to run an Arkle. Bet365 go 11/4
I just wrote the same on the Daily Thread. It is disappointing but PC backers were supporting the horse on hurdle form only and made a huge error of judgement. Nothing he has achieved over fences could justify his position in the Arkle market.Frankly staggered how anyone backed him ante-post with a total lack of evidence. Full credit to the layers for reeling in those were so foolish. They don't often get praise!
Talk about "conspiracy theories!" A few weeks ago the bookies were going around 2/1 Sprinter Sacre (or is it 'Scare?') and as low as 3/1 Peddler's Cross. Ridiculous odds and now a ludicrous outcome! Has someone been taking the p-ss? Anyone who backs Peddler's Cross at Cheltenham needs a lobotomy!
Ante-post backers raped again. Could see this coming for a while though, their running scared of Sprinter Sacre which is a shame but I guess winning the Jewson has more kudos than coming second in the Arkle.
I am an antepost backer at 9/1 and I have no regrets at all. The horse jumped well on his first two starts and was immediately into 3/1 favourite for the Arkle. We (or at least I do) know that he has the engine to win an Arkle, we know he loves the track, and we know that 2m round Cheltenham is not a problem for him. Obviously things have not gone to plan since then but you accept these risks when you place an antepost bet. I am disappointed that he doesn't run, not so much for the money I've lost, but because it detracts enormously from the spectacle of the race. This development moves the race from one of my most looked forward to of the whole weak to middle of the road in terms of anticipation. I fully expect Sprinter Sacre to win well now, he might have done anyway, but it isn't the race it promised to be, that's for sure. However, I wholeheartedly disagree with the argument that backing him antepost was a mistake. I have lost my money but if I could back a horse with his chance in the Arkle every year at 9/1 then I would be pretty damn confident that I would be ahead in the long run. That is neither here nor there though because all I feel is a massive sense of disappointment and anti-climax.
Personally I'd rather they just pull him out altogether. If SDC turns up and this chap isn't at his best he will struggle to compete. I was a heavy PC backer since last years Champion Hurdle. I took 12/1 down to 8's and a single tenner on at 6's. I understand the nay sayers chat I.e Dex but that same strategy has left me with SS at 10/1 as a saver and Grands Crus at 10/1 as well as First Lieutenant at 12's as well as some 25's. My strategy has been to have £10 on each horse every time I had a winning bet since Cheltenham 2011. It's very easy to slaughter an ante post player but, although I'm gutted to lose on this years Arkle, I'm delighted with my overall portfolio and to be fair I don't think there's anyone on here who wouldn't want the prices I have about SS, GC and FL. The mistake I made about PC was not laying him off at 3's and 4's when I thought about it when SS won last time out. I am now laying off half my stake on FL as a lesson learned.
Previous post is misleading. I backed PC and FL after each winner for a tenner. I have just one bet for a tenner on SS and two tenner bets on GC. Don't want to be accused of after timing.
Zen, nail on the head mate. Well done for taking it with some dignity. Like you, the most disappointing thing is the spectacle. The 'rematch' could have been such a huge build up this week.
I don't feel sorry for antepost backers of PC as that is the risk they took. But I also would not criticise them - I don't think many were writing the horse off for the Arkle before Kempton. But I am annoyed at the Mccains and this is exactly why many believe the Festival has suffered from its dilution. Hope PC gets stuffed in the Jewson and SS runs below par in the Arkle - that would serve them right.
What ashame PC isnt lining up in the Arkle. It's unfortunate that guys like Zenyatta aren't atleast getting a run for there money. Im not into antepost betting but I'd be a little disappointed with Don McCain, as it's only in the last week or so that the Jewson has been mentioned. atleast Zenyatta you can make some money back with Paddy Power's money back special. Anyways onto reasons, I don't think it has anything to do with PC not being 100% they just want to avoid SS. Though don't be under any illusions that the Jewson is going to be an easy race, because it realy isn't. There is nothing as classy as Sprinter Sacre, but there are still some top class horse's likely to take there chance
Hugely disappointing, but thems the breaks. A little disappointed in Don McCain. Would have respected him more if he'd been honest and said PC had little chance of reversing the form with SS thats why he runs in the Jewson. If he's fit to race, then he's fit to race.
Trainers must do right by their owners, full stop. Some trainers are more open with the betting public than others but they have no responsibility towards us, if the owner wants to go a specific route then the bill payer will inevitably get his way. What's interesting is that Peddlers Jewson price has been nibbled at for the last 10 days on Betfair with his Arkle price drifting so someone knew. Also, I know it's a sensitive subject with some but the extended festival has created this. Instead of the Arkle, NH Chase and RSA there is now the Jewson plus a novices handicap chase over a very similar distance (Pulteney ?) - greater choice has created a minefield for ante post punters and big name diversions like this could well contribute to a slowdown/reduction in ante-post trading for the industry....
Would that necessarily be a bad thing though Grizzly? Might wipe a little off of the bookies profits but it might also force them to offer better prices to try and mop up more business?
Just gutted that he won't take on Sacre, thought he could beat him up the hill. I've lost a few quid, a bit gutted but more gutted that the race will be a touch less dramatic without PC.
Oddy, yes the bookies make plenty of free money every year with punters taking flyers and getting hurt by non runners, but I do think for some (not me) part of the fun is watching a novice hurdle hack up round Ludlow in November and snapping up 33s for the Supreme and watching him progress to graded company and shorten up in the betting, this may be as much a challenge as finding the winner itself. The problem is (and I'm afraid we keep coming back to it) the exchanges. I bet because I like the challenge of finding a winner, there are many people who sit on a laptop all day taking margins, and of course there are people who buy machines that do it all for you ! Betting on horses has change and I can't say it's been for the better. Plus, going back to your original point, remove ante-post prices from shops and what do they do with the spare screens, more cartoon racing ?
Understand mate, surely all these "racing for change" and BHA reviews should also be working with the bookmaking industry to identify a future strategy for the direction betting on horse racing should take? For both the sport and the bookies racing remains a key revenue stream and yet there seems to be no joined-up strategy or vision of how to best develop things. If you leave it up to the bookies they'll just try and squeeze more and more out of the current system. At least Cheltenham gets them thinking a little bit more "out of the box" with the specials etc but as someone observed yesterday high-street bookies are turning into the most turgid of places and generally feel really crap.
Oddy - it's almost a vicious circle. The exchanges now take 80-90% of money wagered on horse racing and make no contribution to racing, the betting rings are now a ghost town and the courses are losing money so they have turned to charging the on course bookies more and more. Fewer bookies are now attending courses because of the increased costs and those that do will be squeezing margins to compensate for their increased costs, forcing more people onto the exchanges. I was at Newton Abbot last Summer and saw almost as many people clicking buttons on their phones (Betfair App) as there were placing bets with bookies. The future is bleak for on course betting as we know it I'm afraid, not that that will impact ante-post prices the sheer number of options that exist will make punters think twice, and of course the better price will always be on the exchanges...
