Thursday January 11th

Review 

Dresden became the sixth consecutive winning Lunchtime Nap, at Catterick this afternoon.

I appreciate that non of them have been huge prices – but it’s still some achievement (even if I say so myself !).

I don’t suppose anyone has, but a £1 roll-up at BOG would now be sitting at £8,186.

My  target is to reach £100K, before the runs comes to an end 😉

I Just Know completed a good day for the blog – as he took the feature event at Catterick in convincing style.

I was only put off by his price – but he had drifted to 4/1 at the off – and I managed to get a bit of 5/1 on BF, about an hour before the off (you just need a little patience !).

Things didn’t turn out quite so well at Leicester…

Ballydine ran a fair race, but was no match for Acting Lass.

It was only a 4 runner race – but I suspect it will turn out to be decent form.

Finally, as I feared, Caprice D’Anglais didn’t manage to get home in the 2:50 race.

However, he traded at 3.7 in running – so with a BSP of 16, anyone who did play him in running, should have done OK…

I’m afraid that’s all for the blog this week.

It’s been another short one – but that happens at this time of year.

My focus will now switch to an excellent days racing on Saturday.

I’ll be providing tips and previews for the Main service, from this evening onwards (so those on the Main service need to keep an eye on their in boxes !).

Lunchtime Update

Dresden was backed early this morning – into 5/2 from 7/2.

However the timing and the nature of the market move, suggest it was tipster driven…

He’s back out to 7/2 now, in places – which seems a fair price.

Also at Catterick, I Just Know has drifted a little – and can be backed at 7/2.

That’s still not quite big enough to tempt me in.

Gonalston Cloud is as big as 12/1 in places – and each way, that has greater appeal…

Over at Leicester, I think Ballydine is reasonably strong in the betting – but it’s not easy to say for sure !

Ballyarthur has certainly been backed – whilst Cultivator is very weak – and the conflicting moves for those 2, confuse things slightly…

Finally, Caprice Danglais is definitely weak in the marke t- and I would want to see support for him, if I were to get involved.

That said, he could still make a decent in running play, as I suspect he will travel well, even if he doesn’t get home…

There are 2 possibles for the Lunchtime Nap today: Dresden and Ballydine.

Ballydine is a hard one to put up, because I think he will need to be strong in the late market (and obviously I can’t judge that at this point).
Consequently, the selection has to be Dresden.

Lunchtime Nap: Dresden 1:30 Catterick (Fair Price 7/2)

Evening Preview 

There are 3 NH meetings tomorrow: at Catterick and Leicester in the UK - plus Clonmel in Ireland.

It’s funny how the racing post Christmas, has a very different feel to that of the pre-Christmas period…

Maybe it’s down to the ground – which is now generally heavy: or maybe it’s down to the fact that most of the runners have now had a few runs – and so aren’t likely to show marked improvement.

Whatever the reason, things certainly feel different, which only encourages me to tread carefully ! (as if I need much encouragement !).

There is some reasonable racing tomorrow, with the best of the action at Catterick.

I like the look of Dresden in the handicap chase at 1:30.

He’s dropped in trip – but the booking of Brian Hughes look very significant – and he’s handicapped to win.

I can find reasons for opposing all of his rivals – so whilst he is not bomb proof, he’s probably not a bad bet at 4/1 this evening (bigger in places).

The big race of the day is the North Yorkshire Grand National – and a number of the runners appear to have been aimed at the race (which makes things tricky).

I Just Know was an eye catcher on his penultimate run –and if he stays tomorrows trip, he must have every chance.
However, with that doubt – and in a competitive race, I can’t get excited about a quote of 3/1.

Gonalston Cloud was second in the race 12 months ago – and looks to have been teed up to go one better.

He is potentially a bit of value at 8/1 – as is Itstimeforapint.

He was third last year – and strictly on the book, should just about beat Gonalston Cloud.

He’s a 10/1 chance…

Over at Leicester, I like the look of Ballydine in the handicap chase at 1:45.

There are only 4 runners – and Acting Lass looks the one to beat – but I think Ballydine may be able to beat him.

It will depend on how he’s come out of his recent run at Haydock.
That was his first for 18 months, so there is a chance he will ‘bounce’.

If he doesn’t he is likely to prove hard to beat - and 11/4 is a decent price.

Finally, I’m quite attracted to another Charlie Longsdon horse – Caprice D’Anglais – in the 2:50.

He’s making his debut for Longsdon, having previously been trained by Sam Thomas.

Based on his old form, the step up in trip on heavy ground, looks like it might be an issue – but I suspect that will be countered by the stable change.

The market will likely give some guidance to the Longsdon horses: if they are strong in the betting, I think they could both prove hard to beat...