I keep on knocking
I am not usually one to bemoan my luck, the game is about ups and downs, but I have to say that I have not been blessed with good fortune lately. Of the last thirteen horses highlighted in this column only one has won. One was a non runner and three have come nowhere. Of the remaining eight three were third. The other five all finished runner up!
As I usually bet each way I am still slightly in front. “If only” is a common phrase in punting, as in life in general. But I am hitting the bar so I can’t really complain.
Even getting in the frame does give me a bit of a good feeling as it means that whatever process I am using is not totally wrong. And coming into the New Year with those results gives me a bit of confidence for the next meeting. So for now I will stick to the same formula. Hopefully one day the stars will align, and those seconds will turn into winners.
One of my old friends retired from the track this week. Alvarado was a horse for the big occasion. He was twice fourth in the Grand National and was also second and fourth in the Scottish version. In fact he was never out of the frame in chases in April so obviously peaked in the spring.
He helped me to profit in those two Aintree races. He earned £230,000 for connections with most of that from his placed runs in those marathon races. He ran his last race on New Years Day, the day he turned fourteen, and here’s hoping he will have a happy retirement.
One horse already long retired is Young Hustler. There were pictures of the now thirty two year old on social media and it took me back to the days when he raced against the likes of Dublin Flyer, Panto Prince, Deep Sensation and Barton Bank. He was fifth in both the Gold Cup and Grand National in 1996 which were decent efforts.
Staying on the subject of former greats I was leafing through this years Racing Post Annual and there was an article on two of the most popular from the last ten years. Cue Card retired last year and Denman joined his mate Kauto Star in that great winners enclosure in the sky. Reading it did bring a lump to my throat.
Here’s hoping for a successful start to the year.
