Juliette's weekly frolic
Tipsters, like dentists, doctors and stockbrokers, must instil faith in their clients and putting a cheerful face on the 100th losing nap is all part of the game. or confidence trick, if you prefer. After all, if you can't convince yourself that salvation's just around the corner, you'll have a tough job selling the idea to anyone else. Which is all very well except that I -am feeling quite wretched right now and wouldn't recommend me to anyone. Form, intuition and even the odd bit of information have done little for my bank balance these past few weeks and the only angle left appears to be statistics and permutations of the kind you're supposed to apply only to football pools arid Roll-ups.
This method can prove most frustrating when faced with 1(10year-old handicaps, from which no age or weight pattern can conveniently be deduced, but this weekend there is one race that even my enfeebled mathematical mind can manage. The William Hill Gold Cup comes up for its tenth renewal on Saturday, which ought to make the division sums simple enough and the ready answer is a four-year-old carrying 8st 61b. What could be easier? Nothing — except that there was only one entry (Pontam) blessed with the winning weight and he wasted his energies by winning at Thirsk last Friday and can't hope to come up
quite so fresh again. • 'A
At this stage, having got no joy from the law of averages, it would be as well to try another angle — say, a ' coincidence ' bet on Idiot's Delight. Besides being the name of one of Ian .Balding's colts, this is also a delicious concoction of beef, rice and tomatoes, regularly dished up at home. Alternatively there is that old standby.
' represented here by Royal Prerogative and Lester Piggott. But. given a little manipuladon, believe that Dawn Review could: well meet all requirements. He has scored four times in his last five starts which covers the form aspect; he carries 8 St 101b and has had fair birthdays, so he'll do statistically; and as for the intuition, sentiment side here he has a case second to none. My editor — who has an even unhappier betting history than I — was actually persuaded to part with some money on the horse at Ascot. Needless to say, it was the day hechose to lose.
The ensuing North Yorkshire Stakes is a conditions event that invariably mixes the best of the handicappers with the near-classic colts, but firmly excludes the fillies. I have eyes for only one fellow here, and that is Junsun, Some time ago he was ' cut ' from my copy and duly won, last week he made the pages of The Spectator, but not his race at Goodwood, so it surely must be third time lucky. True, he is required to carry 101b more than when winning last year, but gives 13 lb less to Peleid who beat him a neck in the Zetland Gold Cup over course and distance, and Ile would be much worse off in a handicap.
Confidence appears to be growing with every line and I've now regained enough of it to tempt you with two really safe suggestions for Wednesday afternoon. Multiple was 33-1 when just failing to catch Abwah in the Duke of York Stakes last May, but has subsequently sailed home .by ten lengths in an apprentice race and can repeat the performance in Pontefract's 4.15. As for the lightly-raced Aunt Charlotte, she couldn't cope with triple winner Kiyokazu at Leicester, but ran as though she'd appreciate the extra half mile of the Britannia Stakes at Yarmouth.
Assets: E78.26. Outlay: £2 to win Dawn Review, Jimsun. Multiple and Aunt Charlotte.
Previous page
