SimpleBet Blog

Solid start to August

2011-08-07T10:50:00.000+01:00

Just 3 bets so far this month and only 2 points profit so far but we feel its been a solid and slightly unlucky start to the month.

First bet was Mahadee, 1.5pt e/w @ 16/1.
Connections were on this one early so it was no surprise to see him drift out to 25/1 at the off.
We knew we could ignore his last 2 runs and an improved performance was expected this time.

He ran a cracker, even looking a likely winner inside the final furlong. Just getting run out of it close home he finished 4th. Hate it when each way bets finish 4th!

We have also backed Present Danger, 4pt win @ 11/4.
This was strongly fancied by the yard as they thought she was on a very good mark.

She ran a strange race, running in snatches and looked very green.
Not sure it was the best ride in the world but she may be a difficult horse currently so wouldn't want to moan too much about that.
She traded long odds on in running but could only manage 2nd.

One for the notebook though.

Yesterday we had to wait until 8.20 for our only account bet but it was worthwhile.

O Ma Lad, 3pt win @ 3/1 was fancied in a poor race now back on his favourite surface.
We were a bit concerned before the off when the favourite was backed off the boards (13/8 into odds on)
Annoyingly, as often happens with these evening markets where there are few on course punters our selection didn't drift from 3/1!

He was given a great ride to get up close home even though he had to switch round the pack in the home straight.

So 2 points in front for the month but with a 25/1 e/w finishing 4th and a win bet trading longs odds on and coming second we feel in decent form.

Unlikely there is a bet today although Dream Ahead looks a good thing over in France on going that will suit.
Too short for us at 11/10 or so though.

Quite a bit to look forward to this week providing the weather settles down and we get some stable going.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

July update

2011-07-28T18:44:00.000+01:00

July has been a very decent month for us.

13 bets so far and 30 points or so profit.

Pucking up where we left off, we had 2 eveing account bets which resulted in a decent double.
Dinkum Diamond, 5pt win @ 6/4 landed the money with little effort and George Baker, 3pt win @ 13/2 wore down the leaders with a sustained run to give us a cracking evening.

A few days later we had a big priced bet with Spring Stock, 1.5pt e/w @ 25/1.
He ran fairly well and looked like getting placed with a couple of furlongs to run but could finish only around 6th.
He is a lot better than he has shown recently and may well pop up at a big price soon...

2 bets last Saturday.
Ishbelle, 2pt e/w @ 7/1 was selected against a very well backed favourite.
She ran a cracker but could only get 4th. The worst place for an each way bet to finish when they pay 1,2,3 for a place!

Hoof It, 2pt e/w @ 5/1 restored order landing a massive nationwide gamble.
The result never looked in much danger, leaving us with another great SimpleBet Saturday!
Hoof It was available at 6/1 with Ladbrokes in shops but we prefered to take the 5/1 with Bet365 for a free bet as part of their 4/1+ Channel 4 offer.

That free bet ran on Tuesday.
Modun, 4pt win @ 7/2 was brought with a sustained late run and looked certain to get up. He traded at 1.07 in running but didn't quite get there.
Possibly not the best of rides by Mr Moore. His timing improved as the week went along!

Also that day we backed Warcrown, 4pt win @ 5/2.
The vibes have been very strong for this horse and although well supported he lost his race in the stalls.
He fretted up very badly, missed the break and then got bumped.
He never had a chance from there but this is a very nice animal and may even be classic bound next year.

A few emails from members after this run, suggesting the selection wasn't a wise one and in hindsight they were right.
Backing an unraced maiden at 5/2 at Goodwood wasn't a good move and wasn't great value however good he may be.
We live and learn and continue to improve through the help of our members.

A nice plot landed today as Teach Nua, 5pt win @ 5/2 was backed all the way into 6/4 before winning under a good ride.
He was given a prep race recently and this race has been the target for a while.
For a while he looked to be trapped behind a wall of horses with a double handful but when the gap came he powered through and did the job in style.

A much better month so far, much more like the form we should be in.

Just a final reminder that we are still half price to non members until 31st July. http://www.simplebet.net/join.htm
Prices will then revert to the normal £50 a month from 1st August.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Belated catch up!

2011-07-15T10:20:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the very belated post...

We ended June in profit, mainly thanks to the run we have expected for a while from Dominant, 3pt win @ 13/2.
This has long been thought of as a very decent horse and although he let us down badly last time when seeing too much daylight he put the record straight with a very easy win.

The same day Federation, 2pt e/w @ 10/1 ran a good race to get 3rd. He runs again this evening and has a very good each way chance for anyone interested...

Taqaay, 3pt win @ 7/1 ended the month with a poor run but we managed to end June 6.5 points in profit from just 11 bets.

July started very poorly with most of our selections running below par in the first week.
Collateral Damage, 2pt e/w @ 8/1 and Lady Del Sol, 3pt win @ 9/2 were disappointing but the former will be winning soon. Keep an eye out!

Our biggest bet for a while, Mijhaar, 6pt win @ 5/2 was well backed down to 13/8 and found one too good.
There were excuses that he hit the front too soon but we believe its more likely he just ran into a better horse on the day.

Saturday was interesting and almost very, very frustrating.

First Cat, 2pt e/w @ 7/1 and Tropical Beat, 2pt e/w @ 6/1 both ran well(ish) but could only manage 4th. The worst place to finish for an each way bet.
First Cat could be considered possibly unlucky but looks like he may be a difficult horse to win with.

Tanfeeth, 2pt e/w @ 7/1 finished the day in good fashion with a gutsy win.
He looked all over the winner in running but in the end we should possibly be grateful that the Cumani horse didn't run straight inside the final furlong, allowing us to get back up.

Hopefully that is a bit of luck coming back our way.

We have two account bets this evening at Newmarket.

We are still half price for non members although this will end on 31st July.
Members have until 31st August to renew at half price.

Thanks for reading and apologies for the brief hiatus.

SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Catch up

2011-06-06T09:04:00.000+01:00

A poor week overall in which our current run of luck was summed up by our latest bet.

We backed Sluggsy Morant, 3pt win @ 13/8, Goodlukin Lucy, 1pt e/w @ 16/1 and Fifty Moore, 1pt e/w @ 33/1 on Bank Holiday Monday.

All can be summed up as running similar. Poor.
No excuse for any runner. At least the latter two were decent prices so that could be expected but Sluggsy was particularly disappointing.

On Tuesday we backed Dare To Dream, 4pt win @ 15/8 and Art Thief, 3pt win @ 15/2.

Dare To Dream ran well to finish second but ran into a very decent one that was well punted.
Art Thief was itself very well supported but failed to handle the track.

A bad end to a poor month.

Two bets on Saturday.

Only Witness, 2pt win @ 12/1 and Crimson Cloud, 4pt win @ 11/4
Only Witness ran well and finished 3rd. In hindsight we should have gone each way but the feeling was that if the headgear worked a big race was in order but if they didn't he could run another flat race.

Crimson Cloud was desperately unlucky.
The formline of "held up, headway 2f out, switched left and got through to challenge going well over 1f out, soon led, headed post" fails to mention the fact he also stumbled inside the final furlong.

In other news we have made some improvements to our service judged on members feedback. This is as follows:

1. We have reduced our prices and are currently half price. We will hold this price for current members until at least 31st August 2011. This will be available to the general public for a limited time, yet to be decided. (see number 5.) http://www.simplebet.net/join.htm

2. Starting in June, if we don't make a profit in a calendar month we will give you that month free by adding one month to your membership period. See bold text on http://www.simplebet.net/how_it_works.htm

3. We have probably had too many bets of late so will be aiming at 3-5 bets per week. We will start to put some of what we consider to be weaker information on our twitter feed. http://twitter.com/simplebet

4. We will send round late information by text only if we get any we feel is strong enough. There will be at least 30 minutes notice if there is a bet. If you are interested in this, please ensure we have your mobile number.

5. We will limit membership numbers. Because of the current run we have lost a few shorter term members. As soon as these are replaced we will close our doors to new members to protect prices.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBetwww.simplebet.net

Weekly updates/June competition...

2011-05-31T16:32:00.000+01:00

We are looking at ways to cut down on our admin and one of those is to cut down on the amount of blogs we do.
The admin side of things is one of the least enjoyable parts of this job and we are cutting down on this in any way we can. Therefore we will be blogging once or twice a week with updates rather than almost daily.

On the plus side, we are running a June competition as our January one was such a sucess.

10 people will get membership until the end of 2011 for just £50 (the current cost of one month) and all you need to do to enter is email us quoting 'June'
Thats almost 7 months membership for the cost of just one month!

You have until midday on Sunday 5th June to enter and the offer is open to new and existing members.
Winners must pay within 48 hours of their place will be offered to someone else.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Weekend Catchup

2011-05-29T20:13:00.000+01:00

Three bets on Saturday and one on Sunday.

First up on Saturday was 2.15 Es Que Love, 4pt win @ 6/4.
This horse is the best two year old on the yard but threw away the race first time up when veering badly when the race looked sewn up.
If we could be sure he wouldn't do similar he would have been a maximum bet.

There was no real worry as he broke well and made all to win easily by just over 3 lengths.

Second up was 2.30, Triviality, 4pt win @ 9/4.
This one ran well on debut and was fancied to improve on that assuming he took to the turf.

He couldn't go the pace early on and despite staying on towatds the final furlong could only finish 4th.

Our final bet on Saturday was 4.45 Pink Sapphire 4pt win @11/8.
This horse is on of the nicer two year olds on the yard and was fancied tio make a winning debut.

Very well supported he went off an odds on favourite.
He travelled well and was in a strong position with a couple of furlongs to go but faded inside the final furlong.
A strange run and lots of money lost for connections on this one.

One bet for us today.

3.00 Baroque Star 1pt e/w @ 33/1 had been let down by his jumping of late.
He has been very well schooled and was expected to put in an improved performance today.

He started very sluggishly, jumping the first two fences slowly and was soon trading at 500 on Betfair.
However, he got the hang of things and was given a very good strong ride to get up for 3rd close home. A nice priced place bet landed.

A small profit over the weekend but we were hoping for a lot better.

Lots to look forward to the week including the Derby meeting of course.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Still not quite happening

2011-05-27T18:34:00.000+01:00

Two account bets today.

First up was Samitar, 2pt e/w @ 8/1.
This horse has been working very nicely with some of the beter two year olds in the yard and was expected to put in a big performance today.

She travelled nicely in the fronk rank throughout before being headed in the final furlong.
She stayed on well to get 3rd, beaten just under a length in 3rd place.

The first 3 home pulled 4 lengths clear of the remainder so the winner, Regal Realm and the second, Gamilati are worth keeping an eye on.

Second up was Blanche Dubawi, 3pt win @ 4/1.
This horse needed her first run of the season and was expected to run very well today, dropped in trip.

Another horse that travelled very nicely in running. She was with the leaders for much of the race and challenged for the lead inside the final furlong, trading 1.45 in running.
She veered under pressure and wandered over the track and could only finish second.

If she would have won the race had she kept to a straight line is questionable but it would certainly have been interesting.
Another one to keep an eye on.

We should have at least two account bets tomorrow.

In other news, we are looking to make some changes to the service over the next month or so.
Price, membership limit, late info by text etc.
If you have any suggestions please get in touch with us by email. The details are on our website.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Delayed catchup

2011-05-26T19:00:00.000+01:00

Running a bit behind with the blog, apologies.

Three account bets to catch up on.

On Saturday we backed Rose Blossom 2pt e/w @ 20/1
This horse is exceptionally speedy and if she could get an early lead had a great chance.

She went off a 14/1 chance and ran a respectable race to finish 6th even though she didn't get the early lead.
Keep an eye on this one as she will win a big race over 5 furlongs on fast ground this year.

On Monday we backed George Baker 4pt win @ 9/4
The penny has finally dropped with this horse and they yard thought he may still be handicapped. He was going to continue to run until he got beaten and then be rested for a while.

Its rest time as he didn't run much of a race and was well beaten.

Yesterday we backed The Nifty Fox, 3pt win @ 6/1
There was a good word for this consistent horse who was expected to put in an improved show with the headgear back on.

He ran a cracker and was just nailed on the line by Ginger Ted and beaten a neck.
The winner ran a great race and just squeezed through a gap with a furlong to run to stay on strongly and get up close home.
No excuses for our runner but on another day that gap might not have been there for the winner to squeeze through. Such is racing life!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No Rockin Good

2011-05-19T17:55:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

5.35 Rock My World, 4pt win @ 3/1 was thought to be on a nice mark for this handicap.
This lightly raced filly has filled out nicely over the close season and was expected to be too good for her opponents today.

The race didn't really go to plan and became a very bunched affair with a couple of furlongs to go. She got no run but in truth she wasn't travelling too well when the bunching happened so that may be clutching at straws for an excuse.

She is much better than she showed today and it might be worth not giving up on her just yet.

There is a chance of a bet tomorrow but we do have a bet lined up for Saturday that will probably be sent out on Friday evening.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

25/1 second

2011-05-19T09:19:00.000+01:00

Two account bets for us yesterday.

First up was 3.55 St Oswald, 3pt win @ 9/4.
This one had been gelded over the close season and was thought to have come on for his first run of the new season. The step up in trip was expected to be another bonus.

He went off a 15/8 favourite but was very slowly away and immediately in the rear.
He seemed to struggle to get into the race proper and was pushed along throughout, finishing mid division.
Missing the break made no real difference as he didn't look to be good enough, even with a level break.

Second up was 5.25 Twisted, 1pt e/w @ 20/1. (B.O.G. paid 25/1)
This one had come on for his first outing over timber and although he was up against a long odds on favourite, connections believed he was a great each way bet.

He was held up near the rear for much of the race and stayed on very well to finish second.
Although the winner (Odin's Raven) won fairly comfortably he made a couple of bad jumping errors including one at the last. Not the easiest of rides for anyone backing a 1/5 chance.

A small profit on the day on what has been a quiet week so far.

There will probably be an account bet today but not certain just yet.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Not so Dominant

2011-05-16T09:53:00.000+01:00

Quick catch up from Saturday...

One account bet for us, sent out early as we expected good support.

3.10 Dominant, 4pt win @ 5/2 was a very unlucky loser for us last time out when getting no run at a crucial time.
Although he went up 6lbs for that race he had improved for the run and was well fancied here.

He went off a well backed 13/8 chance although there was a small rule 4.

Signs were ominous early on when he pulled far too hard. He made some decent progress with about half a mile to run but didn't find a lot inside the last furlong and was well beaten.

The winner, Al Kazeem was thought to be a gallop or two short of full fitness so this was a very impressive performance by that one.

There is a chance of a bet today but nothing certain as yet.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Poor Dev, Super Miss

2011-05-13T19:10:00.000+01:00

Two account bets for members today.

First up was 1.30 Miss Work Of Art, 6pt win @ 6/4.
We sent this out last night as we expected her price to be smashed up.
A very impressive filly who worked superbly earlier in the week she was fully expected to put in a winning run today.

She was backed right down to 8/13 before surprisingly drifting out to 6/5 on course. There was a slight rule 4 from our 6/4 making the price almost identical.

She tracked the leaders and was shaken up with a couple of furlongs to run. She got down to her job in fine style and went away to win by a fairly comfortable length.
A nice 6 point bet landed, albeit at a fairly short price.

Second up was 5.50, Devlin 4pt win @ 2/1. (B.O.G. paid 11/4)
We are used to our selections being very well supported but this time we were caught at our own game.
Bapak Chinta was backed off the boards into a 1/2 favourite. It was clear we were up against a very smart newcomer.
It mattered not as Devlin was too bad to be true. He nevr travelled at any stage of the race and finished last of the four runners.

Bapak Chinta won with ease so the money certainly was well placed.

Overall another profitable day for us.

Most days now we could have up to five account bets, there is so much information flying about.
We are having to pick our punches carefully and are mostly getting it right even though the odd bad run is still happening like Devlin today.

We have one early account bet for members tomorrow that has already been sent. We are expecting another well supported horse.

There is a good possibility of another account bet. We will know more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

A good day, could have been superb

2011-05-12T18:26:00.000+01:00

Two account bets for us today.

First up was 4.10, Hadrians Rule 1pt e/w @ 16/1
This horse has been showing all the right signs at home and connections have waited for a 6 furlong race as he will get further in time. We sent our bets our at around 8.45 this morning as we expected them both to be well supported.

To say this runner was well supported is an understatement as he went off a 5/1 joint second favourite!The amount of money it takes to do this at a major meeting like York's Dante meeting should not be underestimated.

Unfortunately the racing gods still aren't looking down on us too kindly as the gates opened and all the horses started in a line... except ours.
He dwelt in the stalls and was left around 12 - 15 lengths. 75 on Betfair within 50 yards!

He showed a good deal of speed and although he had no chance of winning from that break he actually traded just 8.2 in running.
One for the notebook. Unfortunately everyone saw how unlucky this runner was and the cat is out of the bag. He won't be 16/1 next time out!

Second up was 4.55, George Baker 3pt win @ 11/4.
The original plan with this horse was to get some PR for the stable as George Baker could win the race, ridden by George Baker and owned by George Baker!
That plan was a while ago though and it took him 15 races to lose his maiden tag.

Now he has won the yard were keen to strike while the iron was hot and follow up in this race.

Another one to come in for a lot of money he went off the 11/8 favourite.

He broke well and from halfway the result was never in danger. The official formline was "tracked leaders, smooth headway over 2f out, led over 1f out, came clear final furlong, easily"

So a decent day for us but as we have said all too often it could have been so much better with some luck.

With Hadrians Rule today along with Haylaman and Beautiful Sound being beaten short heads we could easily be 50 points in profit for the month.
No point moaning about it though as we are boring ourselves, let alone anyone else!

Lots lined up including a strong account bet for tomorrow that has already been sent out to members. We expect this one to be well supported as well.
There will almost certainly be another strong account bet tomorrow, assuming the price is right.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Day 1 @ York

2011-05-11T17:32:00.000+01:00

One small account bet for us today.

1.30, Taqleed, 2pt win @ 11/2
We backed this one in the Lincoln when he was withdrawn. Connections have believed he was a group horse in the making for a while and the slight bit of cut in the ground was an advantage.

In short, its unlikely he is a group horse as he was mid division for much of the race and didn't show anything special.
The ground was possibly a bit faster that it was thought to be - with the hindsight of watching the full card - but thats clutching at straws for excuses for this run.

Fortunately we staked small, but a disappointing run all the same.

More good racing tomorrow and we should have at least one account bet including a probable big priced runner in the first..

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Big gamble, not landed though

2011-05-09T17:57:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

5.20, Dashing Eddie, 2pt e/w @ 8/1
The 8/1 went as soon as our email was sent so we settled this at 7/1 for our accounts. - Not that it mattered in the end!
This horse has filled out well over the winter and was well fancied by connections today.

Very well supported all day, he went off the 4/1 second favourite.
He broke well and was in a handy position on the near side. He looked to be travelling well with about 3 furlongs to run and touched 6/4 in running on Betfair in running.
He found very little from there though and could only finish mid division.

A strange run and there seem to be no excuses. Its possible the horse just wasn't as good as connections thought. Certainly a fair amount of money went astray on this one.

There is an interesting horse running tonight.
Benny's Well in the 8.30 is well fancied and has been supported accordingly. Unfortunately there is a good word for Flat Cap Thursday in the same race so no bets for us.

Some great racing coming up this week with a fair few bets planned.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Change of luck... for an hour!

2011-05-07T18:11:00.000+01:00

Two strong account bets today.

First up was Bounty Box, 5pt win @ 10/3.
This filly had much in her favour today. She was much fitter for her first run of the season, would be suited by the rain softened ground and was up against her own sex.
One of our strongest bets for a while. We were hoping this horse could start to change our flat season round with an impressive win.

Our selection broke well and bagged the rails.
She always looked in command and held on well to win by just under a length.

So, maybe the change had come? For an hour or so...

Second up was Beautiful Sound, 3pt win @ 3/1.
This one has narrowly missed the cut to run in the Irish Grand National.
Said to be still in fine fettle after running a decent race at Cheltenham a big run was expected today.

He was well supported down to 9/4 at the off and was up with the pace on the wide outside for much of the race.
He was kept to the outside throughout, even when making some decent progress with three to jump - now trading odds on in running.
With 2 to jump it just looked a question of if he would catch the leader, Shakalakaboomboom.
That horse made a bad blunder over the last and Beautiful Sound took up the lead, only for Shakalakaboomboom to battle back and do us on the line.

We have already had quite a few emails from members about the ride Davy Russell gave our selection. Unfortunately, the best horse came second on the day.

Very close to a fantastic day, again.
We seem to be saying this so often these days and are really trying not to sound like a broken record.

Our last 3 selections have seen a 10/3 winner, a 15/2 second by a short head and a 3/1 second by a short head. The onfo seems to be largely spot on, we are just a few centimetres away from some big payouts.

At some point these short heads will be on our side, we just have to remain patient.

On the plus side, we got the staking right today with a nice 5 point bet winning making for a decent profit on the day.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Wrong side of a photo finish

2011-05-07T11:04:00.000+01:00

One small account bet for us yesterday. Another 'close but no cigar' moment!

Haylaman, 2pt win @ 15/2 was fancied partly because there were strong negative vibes for some of his opponents. Of the 5 runners, we knew 2 weren't fancied at all because of the very fast going.
Our selection has wintered well and was expected to put in a good show despite being the outsider of the 5 runners.

Our selection sat in a handy 3rd place for the first half of the race and made some nice progress with 3 furlongs or so to go.
He chased after the leader inside the final furlong and looked like he was always going to just get there. He traded as low as 1.13 on Betfair in running but just failed to get up by a short head.

Yet another close run thing and things aren't quite going our way just now.

We had a few emails suggesting Tom (jockey) could have given him a much stronger ride and didn't seem to use the whip as much as he could have.
Thats possibly true but this was a lightly raced horse and he will improve for the run and a big season is expected to lie ahead of him. Doesn't help us in the short turn but thats the way it is sometimes.

Two strong bets for us today and hopefully the racing gods will look more kindly on us soon, starting at 3.30 today.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No luck in running at Chester shocker!

2011-05-04T17:57:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

Blue Jack, 3pt win @ 6/1 was strongly fancied by the yard today.
They were sponsoring some of the card and were looking to get on the scoresheet with this runner.
He runs well fresh and this race had been the target for a while now.

We played win only as the race can be lost in an instant round the tight bends of Chester but with a clear run our selection was expected to win.

Sure enough, our race was over within the first 100 yards as our selection was hampered coming out of the stalls and was soon in the last couple of runners, ruining what was a good draw.

From there he ran well enough on the inside and finished 7th, crossing the line on the bridle.
The official form line of "hampered start, towards rear, ridden and headway on inner over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, no impression" doesn't really him justice, not that it matters too much.

Another one for the notebook unfortunately.

Can't complain about bad luck because thats something you need to hope for when backing a horse at Chester. We knew that when we sent the bet out.
Given our run over the last few weeks we were probably a bit cheeky backing in a 5 furlong sprint at Chester. We were odds on to get no run!

There will possibly be a bet tomorrow but more than likely our next bet will be on Friday.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Yet again, almost...

2011-04-30T18:20:00.000+01:00

Very close to a decent winner again today.

We have 3 small account bets.

First up was Amadeus Denton, 1pt e/w @ 10/1 (B.O.G. returned 16/1)
We have been waiting for this one to run for a while now as he is showing all the right signs at home of being a decent prospect.
Connections were concerned by the potential bad draw but still fancied a place at minimum today.

He drifted before the off as many other horses were supported but was in the front rank from the off.
He made good progress on the outside inside the last 2 furlongs, hitting the front with a furlong to go.
A combination of running slightly green and being carried to the far rail by the eventual winner, Profile Star, meant our selection could only manage 2nd.
He traded odds on in running and although there was a stewards enquiry it was always unlikely he would be given the race.
Another frustrating run and that half a length he lost by would have made a huge difference to our month.

Our next 2 selections didn't run as well.

Our second bet of the day was Astrophysical Jet, 3pt win @ 3/1.
She is fancied to go on and be the big star of the sprinting scene this year and was expected to start the season in good style.

She went off an 11/4 chance but ran no race at all.
Its probably something went wrong and she may have finished lame as she will prove to be much better than this run.

Finally we had Legal Legacy, 2pt win @ 5/1.
This horse did us a few favours last season and put in a good run first time out this season despite not being fully fit.

He went off a 9/2 chance and was held up on the inside for the first half of the race.
He made some ground with 3 furlongs to run but it was clear to see that Imperial Djay was travelling ominously well. He went on to win the race well, showing the Ruth Carr yard are coming back to some form. (They also had a winner today in the shape of Dubai Dynamo)

So, a loss on the day and on the month.
It could have been a lot better with a bit more luck but 'could have beens' don't pay the bills.

Because we have had a poor run of late we will add a free month to any current members period when they renew.

Lots to look forward to in May and we are expecting to bounce back big time as the flat season gets fully underway.

Before we go it would be rude of us not to mention Frankel.
A stunning performance today. Possibly one of the finest performances we have seen for a while and we may not see better this season.

He may not stay the Derby distance and Henry has a decent alternative with World Domination but wherever Frankel runs next he will have plenty of people wanting to see him run.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No change in fortunes

2011-04-26T17:38:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

Corr Point, 3pt win @ 11/4 needed his last run and was fancied to run a big race today on ground that suited with that run under his belt.

He was well supported down to 7/4 at the off (although there was a slight rule 4) he settled in behind the leader Not Til Monday.
He was travelling well for the majority of the race but when brought out to challenge he found little.

A poor run and one we have seen all too often of late.
Many of our selections are running the same way. Well backed, travel well and then find little when push comes to shove.
Its strange as nothing has changed, they just aren't running as expected.

Things will pick up. Hopefully very shortly as writing the blog when we haven't backed a winner is much more difficult than when we are flying!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Blank Bank Hol

2011-04-25T18:59:00.000+01:00

Two account bets today but no joy.

First up was El Wasmi, 3pt win @ 5/1 (B.O.G. paid 6/1)
This is one of the yards nicest horses and big things are expected of him. Stakes were kept sensible as this could have been a hot race with many unknown horses in opposition.

He drifted to 6/1 before the off mainly due to heavy support for Amhran (7/1 into 11/2) and Regal Salute (11/2 into 3/1)
He missed the break slightly but was soon up in the front rank.
He ran green throughout, holding his head in the air for much of the race and wasn't given too much of a hard race finishing 3rd beating the two well supported horses.
This is a nice horse and the money will only be lent as he will come on a ton for this experience.

Second up was Beauchamp Yorker, 3pt win @ 5/2.
Another horse that is highly thought of at home, this lightly raced type was well fancied today.

Unfortunately he ran very green as well, especially round the bend, losing valuable ground.
He was switched to the far side on the run in and closed well but was never going to get there.

This is another horse that we probably won't give up on just yet.

A poor week or so for us means we are looking at a probable loss for April.
The next few days look to be quiet but we are hoping for a big turn around soon. As the season starts to settle down we will be staking slightly more and really expect a profitable few months ahead.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Weekend catchup

2011-04-24T19:51:00.000+01:00

Four bets to catch up on for us over the weekend.

Two on Saturday.

First up was Wells Lyrical, 1pt e/w @ 20/1.
This horse needs good going and has slipped to a nice handicap mark.

He was backed down to 14/1 by the off and settled in second place for the majority of the race.
He was pushed along with a couple of furlongs to go but found the pace a bit too hot in the rain softened ground and although trading odds on to place in running, was beaten just over 2 lengths for 3rd place.

Second up was Premier Grand Cru, 1pt e/w @ 20/1.
This was another horse that needed fast going and was on a handy mark.

He took the short way round and was held up at the back early on. He made some nice progress to get after the leaders with 3 to jump. He stayed on well inside the last furlong but couldn't quite reel the leader in and finished 2nd, beaten a length.

Two bets on Sunday.

First up was Ragdollianna, 1pt e/w @ 17/2.
This mare was in her first handicap on a reasonable mark and expected to be bang there with a decent round of jumping.

She was a little too keen early on but made some nice headway as the turned up the hill.
The race turned into a bit of a sprint inside the last couple of furlongs and she was tapped for toe finishing 6th, beaten around 3 lengths from second place.

Second up was Dominant, 2pt win @ 5/1.
This was another horse making his handicap debut and is very highly thought of at home.

This was almost certainly the unluckiest loser of the day.
The form line was "close up, effort on inside when badly hampered 2f out, soon switched left, ridden and ran on to go 2nd near finish, unlucky"

A slight loss over the weekend but we can consider ourselves very unlucky.

A 20/1 chance beaten a length and a 5/1 chance that lost about 6 lengths in running and was beaten 2 lengths.
Also this month we have had Club Oceanic beaten 2 short heads, Rezwaan caught in the last 50 yards and Ancient Greece miss the break by 5 lengths to be beaten 2 lengths.

We always say that luck comes and goes in equal measures so we are certainly due some.

No point dwelling on the past though, we have to get on with it.

Quite a few bets lined up this week and we are confident of turning things round big time.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Not too hot today, Billie

2011-04-21T17:09:00.000+01:00

One account bet today, a very disappointing one.

Chillie Billie, 6pt win @ 2/1 was fancied to run a very big race today.
He ran well first time up in a hot looking race and worked superbly with one of the stables recent winners recently.

We were tempted to go maximum stakes but as we knew nothing about the unraced horses we decided to play more sensibly.

There was a deluge of money for Chillie Billie up to the off as he was backed down to 5/4.
Gatepost (unraced) was also very well supported from an early 4/1 down to 15/8.

Our selection broke well and pulled hard. Given a bit of cover it was clear to see he wasn't travelling as expected after a couple of furlongs.
He was eased inside the final furlong to finish a disappointing 6th.

The feedback after the race was that he felt jarred on the hard going and was never travelling.
To be fair, he might not have beaten Gatepost anyway, as the winner looked fairly smart winning quite easily.

Poor stuff today but horses aren't machines and sometimes things don't go as expected.

No racing tomorrow so we will be back on Saturday.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Quick catch up

2011-04-19T08:21:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the brief post... we are running behind with things slightly.

Two bets to catch up on.

Saturday we backed Humbie, 4pt win @ 4/1.
If he stayed the extra distance he was strongly fancied to put in a winning run.
Despite travelling well on the heels of the leaders with 4 to jump he appeared not to stay and finished 5th.

Yesterday we backed, Ancient Greece, 4pt win @ 13/2.
The yard were trying to land a nice touch with this one and looked set to do so with a furlong or so to run.
He was in the front rank throughout and hit the front with around 300 yards to run, trading at 2.02 on Betfair.
Unfortunately he didn't have the pace to kick on from there and finished down the pack.

We have had many nice touches from that yard though so can't complain when the odd one goes astray.

The weather is settling down and the flat season is really starting to get going.
We have a list of over 30 horses to look out for over the next 6 weeks or so and are expecting a very profitable run. - Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Don't swallow your tongue!

2011-04-15T20:42:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

El Muqbil, 3pt win @ 5/2 was once thought of as a Derby prospect but didn't perform as expected last season.
He had wintered well and a big run was expected here.

He ran very poorly but was reported afterwards to have swallowed his tongue.

We will keep an eye on him for the future but he may be a horse that we wait until he wins before we follow him again.

One very interesting horse runs tomorrow.

World Domination goes in the 4.15. This one has been working with Frankel at home and the dogs have been barking about this for a long time.

Currently around 16/1 for the Derby, he will be interesting to watch.

One early account bet has been sent out to members for tomorrow.
We may well have another bet tomorrow as we are on course.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

No go Kangaroo

2011-04-13T17:04:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

Kangaroo Court, 1.5pt e/w @ 14/1 was fancied to put in an improved performance today with the ground and trip in his favour.
He has been jumping better at home and was thougt to have a good chance of causing an upset here.
A similar profile to Sir Harry Ormesher who was an account bet for us a week or so ago.

In a reformed market he went off a 12/1 chance and was held up at the back of the field for the first three quarters of the race.
He made progress with a couple to jump but had to be switched, costing crucial momentum and could only stay on at one pace up the hill to finish 5th.
He would have had no chance with the winner even without having to switch but as he was beaten just under a length for 3rd it may well have made the difference for the place money.

A small loss on the day but another account bet that ran well, just not quite well enough.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Caught close home

2011-04-11T18:34:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

Rezwaan, 1pt e/w @ 8/1 has been running well, with connections hopeful to complete a hat trick today.
He is still considered well handicapped and a place was the minimum that was expected in this tight handicap.

He went off an 8/1 chance as money poured in for many of his opponents.

There was little pace on early and our selection made the early running, something that wasn't initially planned.
He kept a steady pace but kicked on with just over a furlong to run and traded 1.26 in running. He looked to have put the race to bed!

Unfortunately for us, he was caught inside the last 50 yards, finishing 3rd.

A small profit on the day for us and another account bet that ran well. Could have been much better but we won't complain.

A good week of racing ahead and hopefully our account bets will carry on performing as well as they have been.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Nice touch landed

2011-04-09T18:32:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

All eyes were on Aintree but there was a plot horse running at Bangor.
Hazy Tom, 3pt win @ 7/2 was strongly fancied by connections to land a nice touch today.
Our comments were "While all eyes are on Aintree the yard are trying to land a little touch with this one today. He won a point to point race two months ago and looks a fairly decent prospect at home. Very little is known about the opposition so we are keeping stakes sensible but are expecting a big run today."

The 4/1 with Paddy Power and Hills went as we were typing the email which was annoying. It was still available with Sky Bet and Sporting Bet but it isn't fair to use those prices in our results as they aren't exactly known for taking a 'proper' bet.

Very well backed down to 7/4 favourite at the off, Hazy Tom was always in a decent position on the inside and although he was short of room with around half a mile to run could be called the winner by that stage.
He hit the front with a furlong to run and came away comfortably.

A decent day and that ended what has been a very nice week for us.

Some great racing lined up over the next week and the flat season is now really starting to get going.
Lots lined up and we are expecting a great time over the next few months.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Good run Sir!

2011-04-08T20:42:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today.

Sir Harry Ormesher, 1pt e/w @ 16/1 is finally more like his old self at home and was fancied to run his best race of the season today.

He went off a 14/1 chance and was settled in mid division for the first half of the race.
He was niggled along a few times inside the last mile but made some good progress with a couple of furlongs to run and traded just above evens in running. For a minute we were thinking we had landed a nice big one!
He lacked a turn of foot late on but stayed on gamely but under pressure to get 3rd place.

A nice run at a decent price.

No-one will need telling its the big one tomorrow. We are still more than happy with our ante post bet.
We may have another bet at Aintree as well as a possible interest at Chepstow. More will become clearer when the calls come in tomorrow.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Done in a tight finish

2011-04-06T20:04:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today, a close one.

Club Oceanic, 4pt win @ 7/4 (B.O.G. returned 9/4) was a strong fancy after wintering particularly well.
Connections were pleased with his handicap weight and he was fancied to run a big race.

Lots of money just before the off for Indian Jack saw our bet go off a 9/4 chance.

There was little early pace and our selection pulled slightly in behins on the rails but travelled nicely enough.
He didn't pick up instantly when asked the question but picked up well inside the final 100 yards to finish 3rd, beaten 2 short heads in a 3 way photo finish.

No excuses. He ran well, just not quite well enough.

Aintree's Grand National meeting starts tomorrow.
Great racing bit its unlikely we will be having a bet tomorrow. The first 3 races all feature odds on favourites and the remainder of the card looks very trappy.

We may have an interest at Ripon but will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Oh for a level break!

2011-04-05T17:48:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today, possibly an unlucky one.

Cape Melody, 3pt win @ 7/2. (B.O.G. returned 11/2) was fancied to put in an improved performance in cheekpieces in what looked a very tight handicap.

In the stalls, Sunset Kitty played up badly. This may or may not have affected our selection but when the stalls opened she missed the break by around 8 lengths.
After 50 yards she was trading at 75 on Betfair!

She ran well enough though obviously without having any chance of winning and was beaten around 4 lengths.
Would she have won with a level break?
Its hard to tell. Its not as clear as missed the break by 8 lengths, beaten 4 lengths so she would have won by 4 lengths.

Either way it doesn't matter as these things happen and we lost our money on the day.

Lots and lots to look forward to over the next month or 6 weeks.
We have around 10 horses that will be account bets when they run that should be out shortly. We are hoping for a great month or two.
The flat season is starting to get going properly!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Weekend catchup

2011-04-03T18:57:00.000+01:00

One bet on Saturday and one bet today for us.

Saturday's bet was Penitent, 3pt win @ 9/4
This horse landed a real nice touch for us this time last year when landing a decent gamble to win the Lincoln.
He was entered in the Lincoln as well as a race in France but connections opted for this race. It was felt that if he stayed he probably would win.

A huge gamble on the day, he started an 11/8 chance.
(At some point we need to write a gamble to cover what is a gamble and what isn't. Many punters believe a horse being punted from 33/1 into 14/1 at Wolverhampton on a Thursday night is a huge punt but 9/4 into 11/8 at Kempton on a Saturday isn't...)

Anyway,
Penitent settled well enough tracking the leaders and looked set to pounce with a couple of furlongs to run.
When Frankie asked him to quicken he found very little and could only plug on at the same pace to finish 4th. Whether he didn't stay, wasn't fit enough or just wasn't good enough is hard to tell.

To make matters worse, William Haggas won the race with his second string, Shamali.
This one wasn't fancied at all. (Opened 12/1, went off 12/1)
In fact, the trainer told the Racing Post "I'll be staggered if Shamali wins, as he's sure to need the run. He was never really right this year and hasn't run since May. He's had leg problems, so running here on an even surface was preferable to most other options"

Now, the cynics will say that he said that to get a better price on his second string, blah blah blah, but the amount of money that was lost on Penitent tells the true story. There were a lot of gutted punters at Kempton!

On to Sunday which was much better.

We backed, King Of Eden, 1pt e/w @ 10/1
This horse did us some great favours last year and had really grown and strengthened over the winter. That and the fast ground made connections hopeful he would stay the extra furlong today and if so, was fancied to run a big race.
The ground wasn't great, with lots of grassless patches at Donny so we kept our stakes sensible.

Our selection went off a 10/1 chance as money poured on Ivory Silk. (13/2 into 9/2)
He was always in a handy position in around 6th place and made headway with around 2 furlongs to run. He hit the front with a furlong to run and stayed on very well to hold Ivory Silk by a head.

A nice and very welcome 10/1 winner after a pretty difficult week.

This week is all about Aintree and our Grand National ante post bet continues to shorten in price. He could still go off favourite.
Connections are still very confident that with a clear round he is the one to beat.

There will probably be a few bets between now and the start of Aintree on Thursday with a couple of interesting runners lined up from one of our favourite yards...

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Panama At Sixth

2011-04-01T18:02:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today, a poor one.

Panama At Once, 2pt e/w @ 15/2 - B.O.G. returned 10/1 - was thought to be coming back to a bit of form after taking his time to settle into the new yard.
He ran an improved race last time and any improvement on that was expected to see him bang there at the end.

He ran up with the pace and sat in 3rd place for the first couple of miles.
Although he jumped well throughout he lacked the pace to go with the leaders when the pace picked up. He stayed on well enough inside the last couple of furlongs but could only manage 6th place.

The flat season starts 'for real' tomorrow with the Lincoln, the main piece of a good card at Donny.
We should be having at least one account bet.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No Dream from Whisperer

2011-03-31T18:51:00.000+01:00

One account bet today but we couldn't turn round a loss making month.

Dream Whisperer, 2pt win @ 15/2 is a nice filly who has been showing plenty at home.
With her being up against a field of unknowns we kept stakes sensible.

She was very well supported down to 9/2 at the off but did herself no favours by missing the start slightly.
She was always chasing the leaders and ran slightly green, only managing to finish 5th.

The winner, Jack Who's He ran a nice race and looks a fairly promising animal.

Our selection will be winning soon though and we probably won't desert her just yet. She is better than she showed today.

March ended 14.5 points down, unfortunately.

We will continue to play sensible stakes on the flat for the next week or two but we do have a few very interesting horses on the radar where we will stake appropriately when they appear.

Overall the flat season looks set to be an exciting one. Hopefully it will be a very profitable one as well!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Bump bump bump!

2011-03-29T17:47:00.000+01:00

One account bet for us today with no luck in running unfortunately.

Lemon Drop Red, 3pt win @ 10/3 was thought to be well handicapped and expected to take all the beating with a clear run.
Those last four words were key!

He went off the 3/1 favourite and missed the break but a length or two.

From there it didn't get much better as he was bumped consistently. The official form line of "slowly into stride, took keen hold, held up towards rear, steadied off heels and went left inside final 6f, hampered and shuffled back inside final 4f, pushed along and stayed on inside final furlong, never able to challenge" doesn't really tell the story.

Unfortunately, Matt Chapman of At The Races spotted the lack of luck and mentioned it a fair few times!

This horse will be winning soon. Unfortunately many more will know about it than they did today...

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

The flat is coming...

2011-03-28T20:40:00.000+01:00

Our first day back today after a week off but no account bets.

The racing today was pretty awful and with the fast going there were some strange races, especially at Plumpton where some fancied horses ran no race whatsoever.

There was a big gamble on Soccerjackpot in the first race and he was struggling early on as well as Ethiopia in the 4th race who was well supported but struggled throughout.

A good day to have no bet overall.

We are hopeful there will be a bet tomorrow and the flat season starts on Wednesday.

Lots to look forward to this flat season and we are hoping it will be our best one ever.
One of our main stables has a really nice intake of two year olds and will be landing some nice gambles for sure!

There are just over 3 days now to take advantage of our 33% bonus on memberships. This applies to both new and existing members - full details are here... http://www.simplebet.net/special_offers.htm

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Not quite Dermot

2011-03-19T19:58:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

Uncle Dermot, 3pt win @ 10/3 has really matured of late and with doubts about the fitness of the favourite was fancied to run a big race.

He was settled near the back early on and made good progress approaching the final furlong, trading odds on in running.
However, he looked to run into a fairly decent one in the shape of Aanna Heneeih who won by a relatively easy half a length.

We now have a much needed week off. Our first in well over a year!

We are back on the 28th March.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Cheltenham Day 4

2011-03-18T17:52:00.000Z

No account bets for us today, other than a small ante post bet in the Gold Cup.

The racing was very trappy and there really is little point in forcing a bet just because its Cheltenham. That does no favours to anyone in the long run.

A while back we had Kempes, 1pt e/w @ 16/1 mainly because of the doubts surrounding those at the head of the market.
It turned out that pretty much all those at the head of the market were on their A game and Kempes wasn't.
A fantastic race to watch though and a superb ride on the winner from young Sam.

As we thought, picking winners today was very hard although there were some great finishes.
Final Approach and Get Me out Of Here was a great finish with Ruby just spoiling a gamble on the runner up.
Sir Des Champs won another great race to watch, winning under another very good ride.

We had 5 bets over the 4 days, losing a point and a half.
We also had 2 ante post bets that saw 6 points going astray.

So, its back to 'normal' racing from now on and to be honest that suits us much better.
We were saying to a member not long ago we would rather have a decent bet on a maiden at Plumpton where we have a strong word for one rather than play heavily in a race where every horse is trying for its life!

We are hopeful of at least one account bet tomorrow and already have lots lined up for the flat season which is only a couple of weeks away!

We already have some interesting information for a horse at a big price in the Lincoln.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Cheltenham Day 3

2011-03-17T18:39:00.000Z

Two account bets for us today, a much better day for us.

First up was Chartreux, 2pt e/w @ 13/2.
This one had squeaked into the race on bottom weight. He had been put away after a run on New Years Day to protect his handicap mark with this race in mind.

He travelled well in mid division but made a couple of mistakes when push came to shove, including a bad one at the second to last hurdle. That cost him any chance and he was eased from there.
Frustratingly, David Pipe won the race with his second string runner, Buena Vista.

Second up was Junior, 2pt e/w @ 5/1.
Very similar to Chartreux, this one had been kept in cotton wool with this race in mind.

The subject of a huge gamble, he went off the 10/3 favourite and was always in the front rank.
He looked to be in slight trouble when the leader kicked clear with 4 to jump but Junior got after him and took the lead with 2 to jump.
Driven clear he won by a very comfortable 24 lengths!

So, much better for us, and many punters today.
A big relief to be off the mark after a tricky couple of days. It was getting quite stressful at SimpleBet HQ!

Some weather forecasts suggest quite a bit of rain for Cheltenham tomorrow so there could be a going change.

We should be having at least one account bet though, along with our ante post bet which runs in the Gold Cup.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Cheltenham Day 2

2011-03-16T19:17:00.000Z

Well, its definately 2-0 to the bookies as far as we are concerned after day two at Cheltenham.

We had one bet on the day and an ante post bet to run.

First up was So Young, 4pt win @ 5/2.
This horse has been the talking horse of the festival and there was a huge buzz about his chances today.
Backed all week, the money continued to come and he went off a very tight 2/1.

He was held up and started to make some headway with 3 to jump but was carried wide and bumped slighly with a couple to jump.
Meanwhile, Oscars Well was cantering. That one made a terrible mistake at the last but so did our runner.
So Young had a great deal of momentum approaching the last before fluffing it. Impossible to say he would have won but if the race were run again we would be backing the same selection.
He could only finish 3rd with Oscars Well finishing an also unlucky 4th.

Our second bet was an ante post bet on our idea of the banker of the meeting, Time For Rupert, 4pt win @ 5/2.
Anther huge buzz for this horse today and tons of money came for him all morning, leading him to go off a 7/4 favourite.

For some reason, he ran completely flat today. He just didn't pick up at all and finished a very disappointing 5th.

Not a great day and judging by many of the blogs, many punters were hit hard today.

Still, there are two more days to go and we are still hopeful of some big runs, especially on Friday.

Tomorrow looks very tricky but we are expecting at least one account bet. Lets hope for an upturn in fortunes.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Cheltenham Day 1

2011-03-15T19:27:00.000Z

Two account bets today and two poor runs unfortunately.

First up was a speculative bet on Magens Star, 1pt e/w @ 22/1 in the Supreme Novices Hurdle.
She could have done with a bit of give in the ground but was very much an unknown factor, having won both her races with ease to date.

Well backed into 14/1 at the off she didn't get the clear early lead she wanted as she was taken on by Dunraven Storm.
She led or disputed to 3 out where she weakened.
As we mentioned, a speculative bet but one that was worth a punt in our opinion.

Second up was Medermit, 4pt win @ 3/1 in the Arkle.
Alan King made no secret of the fact that he regarded this horse as his best chance of a winner at this years Festival.
The plan was to track the pace and try to take the lead up the hill.

He didn't jump too fluently and was never travelling as well as the leaders.
He finished a disappointing 4th, beaten around 10 lengths. We will try to find out the reason for this poor run as it certainly wasn't expected.

Annoyingly, Alan went on to win the next race with Bensalem under a great ride from Choc.

Day one didn't go our way but there are three more to go.

There should be at least one account bet tomorrow along with an ante post bet that runs.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Calm before the storm

2011-03-14T16:23:00.000Z

After a few quiet days the big one starts in less than 24 hours...

We have one small account bet to catch up with first though, from Sunday afternoon.
Hidden Crack, 2pt win @ 9/2 was an unlucky loser last time when he came down at the last.
He was thought to still be on a decent mark, providing he got the extra distance.

He went off a 7/2 chance, having touched as low as 5/2 and travelled nicely tracking the leaders for the majority of the race.
He didn't pick up at all when asked the question with 3 to jump though and stayed on at one pace to finish 6th.

A couple of poor runs from our last 2 bets, albeit small stakes at big prices.

So, it all gets underway at 1.30 tomorrow.
We won't be staking crazy but do have a decent few bets to look forward to including at least one bet tomorrow.

From a plot perspective we are more interested in a runner away from Cheltenham over the next few days. We may stake slightly heavier there than at the Festival if we get the right word!

If you are going to Cheltenham, staying at home to watch on tv, or going to another meeting over the next 4 days we wish you the best of luck.
Its sure to be a great 4 days of racing. Lets hope its a very profitable period as well.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No Way...

2011-03-12T15:31:00.000Z

One small account bet for us today on a very difficult one for the punters.

Old Way, 1pt e/w @ 18/1 was considered possibly well handicapped. Taking a big step up in class but getting in off bottom weight this improving horse was fancied to spring a surprise today.

He never really got into the race and by halfway we could see we were up against it.
Pulled up with a few furlongs to go this was a very disappointing run.

Not too much damage done overall and arguably worth a go at a big price but in hindsight we may have been better sitting the day out and waiting until Tuesday.

There is a chance of a bet either tomorrow or Monday but there will of course be at least one bet on Tuesday when Cheltenham gets underway.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

A good pancake day!

2011-03-08T16:31:00.000Z

Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) today and we had two account bets on what has been a pretty quiet month to date.

First up was Wheres Reiley, 3pt win @ 7/2 (B.O.G. paid 4/1)
We were close to putting this up as an account bet last time out as connections have felt he is on a winning mark for a while now.

He drifted slightly in the betting before the off as money came for quite a few of his opponents but broke very well and was in the front rank early on.
He led after a couple of furlongs and was pushed clear from there. Eased down inside the last furlong he won by a very easy 4 lengths.

A great start to the day.

Second up was Shaking Hands, 2pt win @ 11/2 (B.O.G. returned 6/1) in the Devon National.
This lightly raced horse won well last time out and was fancied to run a big race today if he saw out the extra distance.
Because of the doubt over the step up in trip we decided to go win only rather than each way.

Unfortunately the distance wasn't as much of a problem as the fences were!
He jumped badly at roughly half the fences and was never going to win with such a poor round of jumping.
He jumped well last time out, showing how important it is to get into a good rhythm early on. He never got into a rhythm and that really showed in his jumping throughout.

Fortunately a good decision to play win only there.

A decent profit on the day and we are now back in profit for the month. http://www.simplebet.net/11%20ResMar.htm

One week from now, Cheltenham will be underway. Can't wait!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Saturday Catch up

2011-03-07T17:37:00.000Z

Apologies, we are running slightly behind.
It's quite busy at SimpleBet HQ as we prepare for Cheltenham with lots of preview meetings up and coming.

Anyway...

One account bet for us on Saturday.

Minella Four Star, 2pt e/w @ 6/1 ran a great race for us last time out when an account bet and finishing second at a big price.
Still thought to be well handicapped, the yard were expecting a place at minimum.

He went off a 5/1 chance and was disputing for much of the early part of the race.
Unfortunately of us, Presenting Forever fell with 5 to jump and badly hampered our selection who was pulled up almost immediately after.

To be fair he would have been unlikely to win given how he was travelling at the time but a place was still a distict possibility.

In other news, a couple of our ante post bets have started to shorten up.
We look to have some decent value at the moment. Lets hope that value is turned into decent profit come race day.

Cheltenham is just over a week away and things are really starting to get exciting.
Lots of information flying around and we are hoping for a really profitable week.
We are looking at a couple of strong bets including one at a very big price. We won't be releasing them until the day though as there is rain forecast towards the end of the week so we will be keeping an eye on the going.

There is also the probability of a plot horse running during the week at one of the lesser meetings, while all eyes are on the big one...

We will be taking a week off after the Festival, our first holiday for well over a year!
Members will of course have that period added to their membership.

The good news for non members is that they can join now and, with the week off after Cheltenham to be added, their membership will also cover Aintree.
They will also get our two ante post bets for the Festival as well as our bet for The Grand National of course.

Everyone is a winner!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Betting percentages reposted

2011-03-04T17:39:00.000Z

As this is such an important part of betting and we wrote it over a year ago we thought it was worth a repost...

One of the most important areas of gambling is also one of the least understood.
Percentages.

So what is a percentage in betting and why do you need to know about them?

If you toss a coin there is a 50% chance that it will come up heads and a 50% chance it will come up tails. Both these outcomes added together = 100%

Likewise, if you throw a dice there is a 16.66% chance of throwing a six. 16.66*6 = 100%

So, how does this impact on betting?
Betting odds are simply a percentage chance of an outcome of a race. Therefore, an even money chance in a horse race has a 50% chance of winning the race. The same chance of a coin coming up heads. In a 100% book. (We will come to this later)

Bookmakers show odds, rather than percentages.
Decimal odds are now commonly used on line and these are very easy to work out from a percentage.
If you work a horse out to have a 25% change of winning a race simply divide 100/25 and you get 4. Therefore the decimal odds of this are 4, the fractional odds are 3/1.
A 3/1 chance is 25% of the total book.

If there were 4 runners in a race and they were all priced 3/1, the percentage of the book would be 100%. However, if bookmakers did this they would never show a profit.
They are more likely to go
2/1 (33.3%)
3/1 (25%)
3/1 (25%)
3/1 (25%)

This is called an overround book because the total percentage of the book is 108.3%. This is 8.3% in the book makers favour as you would need to stake £108.30 on the race to guarantee getting £100 back.

Percentages are essential as well as knowing how to calculate percentages because the bigger the overround book you are betting in, the more money you will lose.
There are some horse race meetings (Kempton in the evening for instance) where the percentage book is as much as 140%. Punters are still asking to 'take a price' in this instance when the odds as massively against them.

So, if you are in the bookies for an opening show for a greyhound race is 6/4, 2/1, 3/1, 3/1, 7/2 and 9/2 don't take a price. Its almost certain that at least five of these prices will increase as they simply have to for the bookmakers credibility if nothing else. (see the popular prices below and work this book out!)

Hopefully this all makes sense. If not, please feel free to get in touch with us. It really is very important that if you are having a bet you understand percentages.

Some of the most popular ones are:
1/4 (80%)
1/3 (75%)
1/2 (66.6%)
1/1 (50%)
6/4 (40%)
2/1 (33.3)
3/1 (25%)

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Reach down

2011-03-02T18:38:00.000Z

One small bet foir us today, a poor one.

We sent out Reach Out, 1.5pt e/w @ 14/1 early as we expected him to be well supported in his first handicap run.
The step up in trip was expected to help and connections believed he was fairly weighted.

He went off a 10/1 chance and raced up with the pace in the early stages of the race.
He started to struggle with just over half a mile to run though and finished a very disappointing 6th of 9. Not the run we were hoping for.

We will continue to play sensibly as we approach Cheltenham but there is a fair chance of a bet tomorrow.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Gamble not landed!

2011-02-28T16:47:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

One of our favourite stables sent out the quietly fancied Oscar Close, 3pt win @ 3/1
The selection was briefly available at 7/2 (for about a minute!) but the price disappeared as our message was being sent out.

We have a fantastic record with our George Baker bets when we are given the nod and expected this horse to be the subject of a big gamble and put in a big run.

He went off a well backed 9/4 chance and would have been much shorter but for the money for Beau Lake.

He was held up in 3rd place, tracking the front two and always looked to be travelling very smoothly. He traded slightly odds on coming to two out but didn't pick up well and could only manage 3rd to the also well backed Beau Lake.

Disappointing not to have backed the winner but the yard owe us nothing and have a couple lined up for the next week or two so we are very confident this will be 3 points just lent.

Elsewhere we released 2 ante post bets for Cheltenham and a bet for the Grand National to full members today.
With Cheltenham just over 2 weeks away and Aintree just over a month away things are getting very exciting now. If you are thinking of joining, don't delay as we are getting very busy with lots of interest in our service in the last few months in particular.

February is now at a close and we finished the month 22.4 points in profit although that does include the 10 points we have just placed on our ante post bets.
We have now shown a profit in the last 4 months and 9 of the last 10 months although a few of these months were very marginal!

The next few days look fairly quiet although we are hopeful of an account bet tomorrow all being well.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Small Hitch

2011-02-26T18:27:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

Hitchens, 3pt win @ 3/1 has always been well liked by the stable and is working nicely at home after finishing last season in fine form.

He was backed down to 5/2 at the off and broke well to be settled in around 4th place.
He had to travel pretty wide around the bend but was still in a decent position and we were hoping he would kick on and put the race to bed from there.
He didn't pick up as well as expected though and could only manage 5th, beaten around a length in a bunched finish.

We will probably be releasing two Cheltenham ante post bets tomorrow as well as a Grand National bet to members.

Anyone interested in backing ante post at Cheltenham will be interested to know that Bet365 have now gone non runner no bet on all Festival races.

Its unlikely there will be a bet tomorrow but we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Gamble landed and 1.03 beaten

2011-02-25T17:48:00.000Z

Another decent day today but again it could have been much much better.

Two account bets.
First up was Qalinas, 4pt win @ 2/1 (B.O.G. paid 5/2)
This horse was thought to be well weighted in his first time handicap and with a clear round was expected to take all the beating.
We were on course where there were many whispers for Rajamand as the race approached resulting in this horse being very well supported.

Qalinas touched 7/2 on course but was backed back in to 5/2 at the off.

He raced freely in the front pair and was always travelling smoothly. He took a clear lead with 3 to jump and was already trading well odds on.
He seemed to hit a soft spot of ground on landing after jumping 2 out and although he started to hang slightly he traded at 1.03. Still a length or so jumping the last but he tired in the last 100 yards to be nailed in the run in by Kadouchski.

Very frustrating to have another account bet trade so short and look all over the winner again but you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Our second bet was better.

Far View, 3pt win @ 3/1 is one of George Baker's who was fancied to show a lot more today.
Not an easy horse, he was fitted with cheekpieces in a bid to liven him up somewhat.

Another one of George's to be well supported he went off a very well backed 15/8 favourite.

He broke well from his poor draw and was pushed into an early lead.
He was kicked on into a clear lead with just over a furlong to go and although Loyal Royal close on him on the run in he never looked likely to be caught, running out a winner by just under a length.

The info from the Baker stable rarely lets us down and one member emailed in to say that it is worth the subscription fee alone!

So, another decent day where the info was spot on and really close to a nice double.

Of our 15 bets in February, 5 have won with 5 finishing second.
Three of these seconds (Kingsmere 1.04, Ackertac 1.18, Qalinas 1.03) have all traded very short without winning.

No point moaning about that though as luck does tend to come and go and if we are over 30 points in profit for February and still classing it as an unlucky month it says something.

We are hopeful of a bet tomorrow but with lots of rain forecast its not certain.

We are looking at a couple of ante post bets for Cheltenham and a possible Grand National bet which we may release on Sunday. Again, not certain but probable.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Another close one

2011-02-23T18:25:00.000Z

One account bet today, a close run thing.

Ackertac, 1.5pt e/w @ 15/2 was fancied to put in a big run after a poor run last time.
There were excuses for his last run and previously he was brought down when going well. A place was the minimum that was expected by connections today

Well backed all day, he went off at 11/2, touching as low as 9/2 five minutes before the off.

He was always in the front rank and travelling well. He took a clear lead with 4 to jump and with 2 to jump was trading at 1.18 on Betfair. It was looking like we had landed another nice touch!

However, Seren Rouge rallied well and Al Co started to make good progress.
It was a war of attrition with Al Co getting on top close home to win by just over a length. Ackertac finished second.

Another very good run and a small profit on the day but another bet where it could have been much much better.

We remain over 30 points up for February though and it now looks certain to be out 4th winning month on the trot.

Its unlikely there will be a bet tomorrow but there should be one on Friday as well as Saturday.

We hope to have a nice one to look forward to a week on Friday as well, ground permitting.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Muddy Monday

2011-02-21T16:27:00.000Z

One account bet today; a poor one.

Old Wigmore, 3pt win @ 13/8 (B.O.G. returned 11/4) is a course and distance winner and was fancied to go in again today in a lesser race than he contested last time out.

He drifted to 11/4 before the off as the money came for the front two in the market.
He was sent off into a joint lead and was travelling well enough although Choc was clearly going well in behind on Simply Wings.
Our selection was headed with three to jump and faded from there to finish a very remote 4th.
A poor run. Connections reported after the race that he hated the ground and was never really going well.

A few things to look forward to this week although we are only expecting 3 or 4 bets. Lets hope they are good ones!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Another great Saturday, just!

2011-02-20T12:52:00.000Z

Lots of information flying around yesterday but we decided to stick to just one strong account bet.

Mille Chief, 6pt win @ 7/4 (B.O.G. paid 15/8) landed a maximum bet for us last month and in the middle of the week it looked like we would be going maximum here again.
However, the race cut up badly down to just 5 runners and for one reason or another we concluded there wasn't enough value to justify a maximum bet.

Money had come for Silviniaco Conti all day and that one was supported down to 7/4 favourite at the off, hence the drift in our selection.

Come the race Mille Chief travelled supremely well in the middle of the pack and moved up to second place on the bit approaching 2 out. Already trading around 1.4 it looked as though he would win in the same fluent style as he did last month when landing our max bet.
He took the lead and we were expecting him to go clear but Celestial Halo wouldn't go away and rallied really well and took up the lead again.
Fortunately for us, Celestial Halo made a real hash of the last, handing the upper hand back to our selection.
It was nip and tuck all the way to the line as Mille Chief prevailed by the minimum distance.

Possibly a lucky winner but in all fairness we have deserved some luck with a few going against us already this year.

That winner puts us just over 35 points in profit for February http://www.simplebet.net/11%20ResFeb.htm and just over 50 points in profit so far this year.

Lots of discussion after the race on how good or bad the performance by Mille Chief was and if it was true Champion Hurdle form.
Feedback from connections was that he pulled a bit too hard in the early stages and he didn't get on too well with the tacky ground.

Given that Silviniaco Conti was so well supported (it turns out connections believe this horse wants 3 miles) this could be a much better performance than it looks on paper.
True, Mille Chief only won by a nose but the front pair were 18 lengths clear of the third horse home and it may well be that Celestial Halo overachieved slightly.

If the ground is ok on the first day of the festival there is every chance we will be sticking with Mille Chief for an account bet on the day.
We are slightly biased though as he has now landedthe two biggest bets of the year for us this year.
We also have a small ante post bet at 110 on the exchanges ourselves!!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

The dreaded bounce...

2011-02-18T15:00:00.000Z

One strong account bet for us today that was sent out last night as we expected it to be well backed.

Walkon, 4pt win @ 5/1 was an account bet for us a few weeks ago when running a great race and coming second at 12/1.
He was a bet last Saturday but the unfortunate incidents there saw to the abandonment of the meeting.
The six days in between and the rain was thought to be a further advantage and the main concern from connections was the possibility of the 'bounce factor'

Because of this and the fact there were just 15 runners prompted us to go win only.

As expected, he was very well backed down to 3/1 at the off.
As feared, he did appear to 'bounce'.

He never seemed to be travelling too well and you could call the fact he wouldn't win with almost a mile to run.

A disappointing run but there was always a chance of this.
However, if we continue to back 3/1 chances at 5/1 we will be fine in the long run, as our results show!

We were hoping for a maximum bet tomorrow but the race has cut up badly and it looks like the price won't be right.
However, we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Caught a good one

2011-02-16T18:04:00.000Z

One account bet for us today, our first one of the working week.

Round Turn, 3pt win @ 5/2 was thought to be on a fair mark in his first handicap.
There had been plenty of money on early and there was a chance of a drift before the off.

He drifted to 3/1 around ten minutes before the off but was then supported again and went off a well backed 13/8 chance.

He broke well and settled in 3rd on the rails. He was pushed through a gap to go into the lead with a couple of furlongs to run and was soon trading around 1.4 on the exchanges.
Unfortunately for us, Mrs Neat was travelling very well in behind. She went by to win by a fairly comfortable half a length.

A decent run by our bet but we ran into a decent winner on the day.

Lots to look forward to over the next 3 days or so.
We definately have a bet on Friday and are hoping for a maximum bet on Saturday.
This is price dependant though and we won't have a max bet if the price isn't right. Fingers crossed for a decent price!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Not that 'good again'

2011-02-13T13:25:00.000Z

One account bet yesterday, reduced from two after the desperate scenes at Newbury.

Good Again, 3pt win @ 4/1 didn't get any kind of a run last time out and she was fancied to compensate for that with a clear run.
She drifted slightly to 9/2 at the off and was held up near the rear of the pack in the early stages of the race.
She made some progress with a couple of furlongs to run but didn't get the clearest of runs. She closed on the leaders inside the final furlong but looked to be hanging and was never going to reach the front rank.
She finished 6th, beaten only a length or so but can't really be classed as an unlucky loser.

She will probably win a race of this kind soon but we might let her win before we back her again.

Some decent stuff to come this week and Cheltenham is just over 4 weeks away now.

A small reminder that we still have a 33% bonus to all memberships of 3 months or over until 31st March. http://www.simplebet.net/special_offers.htm
Existing members can extend their membership and take advantage of this as well if they wish to extend their membership.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Another cracking day!

2011-02-11T18:08:00.000Z

Another day, another decent plot bet landed!

We ended up having two account bets - reasons to follow.

First up was Pere Blanc, 3pt win @ 9/2.
This runner, similar to Jack's Revenge earlier in the week, had shown little in his three runs to date. Stepped up in trip and first time in a handicap that was expected to change today.
This was a Bet365 bonus race and members were advised to place their bet with them as a winner would bring a free bet in the 4.10.

Backed down to 10/3 at the off the result was never really in question. The official form line probably says it better than we could...
"took keen hold, chased leaders, went 2nd and challenged 7th, led soon after 3 out, came effortlessly clear from next"
Pere Blanc won by 15 lengths.

That gave us a free bet in the 4.10.
There was a word earlier in the day that Dark Ben, 3pt win @ 9/2 had been showing a bit more at home recently and if he could get an easy lead he could run a big race.

The word wasn't strong enough to be an account bet but as the majority of our members have a Bet365 account we sent a message out.

Dark Ben did get an easy lead and jumped well throughout.
He wasn't really under too much pressure and came home a winner by four and a half lengths.

The added bonus of this is that we will also bet a free 3pt bet in the first Bet365 bonus race of the day tomorrow!

So a great day today and we are now 34 points in profit for February.
Our account bets have been placed 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, Upl, 1st, 1st, 1st.

There will be at least one account bet tomorrow with a possible interesting runner lined up at Warwick.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Huge gamble landed

2011-02-08T17:41:00.000Z

Two account bets since our last blog.
One poor, one very good!

Striker Torres, 3pt win @ 5/2 was fancied to lead all the way on a track he loves.
He had been running against some fairly decent horses for the grade and with an easy lead he was expected to be hard to catch.

Missing the break wasn't part of the plan!
He was rushed up to take the lead but was never really at ease and after three furlongs it was clear we were on a loser.
He was eased once headed inside the final furlong and finished 6th of 7 runners.
Our first poor run so far this month. One member likened the run to Fernando Torres performance on Sunday!

Much better stuff today with a massive gamble landed.

Jack's Revenge, 3pt win @ 4/1 was a proper George Baker lined up gamble.
The yard won this race last year when we had a 5pt win bet on another huge gamble landed by The Blue Dog.
Jack's Revenge had only been seen on the racecourse three times and shown absolutely nothing. That doesn't always matter though, as we know.

Going off a very heavily backed 5/4 favourite he was soon racing in the front rank.
Tony pushed him into the lead with half a mile to run and although we were given a few nervous moments when he didn't immediately pull away, he stayed on well enough under a strong ride to win by just over three lengths.

Few yards can pull off a gamble as well as George Baker's yard and our contact there has done us proud over the past few years.
Now they have moved to Whitsbury Manor Stables and the horses are starting to settle in there is a lot to look forward to from this yard over the next few months.
They have some decent horses this year and should make a real impact over the Spring and Summer.

There will probably be a bet tomorrow and it may well be sent out early again as there could be another gamble to look out for. We will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

The big one is coming!

2011-02-06T17:10:00.000Z

One account bet on Saturday, hitting the bar again.

Minella Four Star, 2pt e/w @ 10/1 had been off the track for a long time but was fit and ready to do himself justice. A place was the minimum that was expected.

Going off a 9/1 chance he quickly took the lead and jumped well in the main despite a bad mistake at the 10th.
He was joined for the lead with 2 to jump by Blazing Bailey but rallied well.
The Alan King yard thought the steep rise in weights for Blazing Bailey might stop him and we were hoping they were correct but he stayed on better than our selection in the run in to win by two lengths.

Another good run and a profit on the day but again it could have been so much better.

Walkon, Sebastiano, Kingsmere and now Minella Four Star have all run very well in the last couple of weeks without quite winning.
With a bit more luck we could have been at least 50 points better off!

We certainly have the feeling that a big day or two is just around the corner though. Lets hope we are right...

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

1.02 beaten

2011-02-04T17:51:00.000Z

One account bet today and you may be able to tell by the title it was a close one!

Kingsmere, 2pt win @ 9/2 was thought to be well handicapped now taking a much needed step up in distance.

He went off a 5/1 chance but was always travelling smoothly and was clearly going the best of the pack with a mile to run. He continued to make smooth progress and was trading well odds on with 4 furlongs to run.
He took the lead with about 3 to jump and but Pie At Midnight battled on very gamely and regained the lead with 2 to jump. He idled in front though and our selection, Kingsmere regained the lead, only to be caught again by Pie At Midnight on the line and go down by a short head.

Our selection traded at 1.02 in running (50/1 on.) Needless to say, not many get beaten when they trade that short so we can consider ourselves unlucky.
Once again, the info was spot on we just ran into one today that battled a bit too well for our liking!

An interesting day tomorrow and there will almost certainly be at least one account bet.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Slow motion 3rd

2011-02-03T16:51:00.000Z

One account bet for us today, a disappointing one.

Mr Emirati, 3pt win @ 5/2 is a lightly raced horse who was fancied to improve beyond his rivals today.

Backed down to 2/1 at the off, he was held up at the back for the early part of the race.
He made some progress with half a mile to go but made little ground as the whole field seemed to be running in slow motion.
He plugged on to finish 3rd but never looked like winning in all honesty and must go down as a disappointing bet.

Elsewhere we have a couple of new contacts we are very excited about.
We won't be releasing their info as account bets just yet as we need to thoroughly test them but the early signs are very promising.
More on this over the next few weeks.

We also have a special offer available until 31st March 2011.
Full details are here... http://www.simplebet.net/special_offers.htm

There will almost certainly be an account bet tomorrow.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Soggy Sunday

2011-01-31T10:59:00.000Z

One small account bet for us on Sunday.

Celtic Ballad, 1.5pt e/w @ 14/1 had suffered a complete loss of form but is showing a lot more at home now. He is an improving horse who will be winning soon.

He travelled well for much of the race and traded quite short on Betfair (around 3/1 in the win market) with 3 to jump.
He didn't jump that hurdle too well though and seemed to lose momentum as he rapped the hurdle. He didn't pick up well from there and could only plug on at the same pace to finish 5th of 15.

A slightly disappointing run but this horse is better than he showed here and is one to keep an eye one.

Lots of exciting things happening at SimpleBet HQ, some of which will come to light quite soon.

We have lots to look forward to over the next couple of weeks including another probable maximum bet in February.

There is a chance of a bet today but the rest of the week looks more promising as the weather looks set to warm up slightly so we should soon be back to a full house of fixtures.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Profitable but unlucky...

2011-01-28T17:49:00.000Z

Two account bets for us today. A profit on the day but could have been much better.

First up was Sebastiano, 1pt e/w @ 20/1
This horse had started to be come frustrating and connections were hopeful the cheekpieces would work the oracle and spark him back to life.

Going off a 16/1 chance he race wide and up with the pace throughout.
Arguably going the best of all he was badly hampered going round the last bend by the loose horse, losing about 8 lengths as well as vital momentum.
He rallied well and still looked a possible winner but could only manage 3rd, beaten just 4 lengths.
The official form line was "raced wide in touch, headway to chase leaders when badly hampered and carried wide by loose horse after 3 out, rallied to 2nd and every chance 2 out, no extra and lost 2nd last"

A profit on the bet but could have been much better with some luck. There is no question in our mind he would have won with a clear run.

Our second bet was in a race where the setting sun caused many of the hurdles being dolled off and turning the race into a virtual NH flat race.

Rudanphast, 1pt e/w @ 14/1 was expected to put up a better show today after some extensive work at home.

He went off a 10/1 chance and although he was always in the front rank he was never travelling the best.
When asked to pick up with half a mile to run he did so moderately but only plugged on at the same pace to finish 4th, beaten about 6 lengths.

Five of our last six bets have run very well including Walkon, beaten just half a length at 12/1 and todays runners.
Ironically, the only one of those that ran poorly was Desert Icon who ran a cracker today, getting beaten by just a nose in second place.

We feel that we are close to another massive day happening soon as the luck does generally equal itself out. Hopefully that day will be soon, possibly tomorrow...

Thanks for reading.
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Where the heart is?

2011-01-26T19:12:00.000Z

Home is where the heart is but he wasn't quite good enough for us today!

One account bet for us and you may have guessed what it was...
Home, 2pt e/w @ 8/1 had a breathing operation before his last run and was fancied to put in a much improved performance today, having stripped fitter for the experience.

In a race where many of his opponents were well supported before the off he held his price well and went off at 7/1.
He was well positioned throughout the race in 4th place on the outside and traded 3.1 in the win market and 1.22 in the place market with around 300 yards to run.

He didn't quite have the pace to quicken inside the last furlong though and could only manage 5th, beaten just 2 lengths.

Its unlikely there will be a bet tomorrow but we have one lined up for Saturday along with a possible bet on Friday.

Speaking of Saturday, its Cheltenham trials day.
The festival is just under two months away; time seems to be flying by.

Bring it on!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Best horse sometimes isn't enough

2011-01-25T15:36:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

Night In Milan, 4pt win @ 15/8 was fancied to follow up his last time out win under a penalty.
He was running again quickly as connections are aware his handicap mark may go up considerably.

Very well supported down to 11/10 at off time he was settled at the rear of the field for much of the race.
He started to make progress with 3 to jump but approaching the final couple of furlongs it was becoming increasingly apparent that his rider, Colm McCormack, had given him too much to do.
He closed well inside the last 150 yards but was never going to catch the leader and finished 3rd, beaten just over a length.

A poor ride but when you back a horse with a 7lb claimer on board that is always a possibility.
There is a reason they are given an allowance so there is no point moaning about it.

Elsewhere, a very unlucky incident cost Alan King a winner.
Invictus could be called the winner a long way from home and jumped into the lead over the last. Starting to pull away on the flat, Choc lost his irons and the horse jinked unseating Choc.

Now that was an unlucky loser!

Fortunately for us he was too short for an account bet but we would have been slightly frustrated if we were on...!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

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Weekend catch up

2011-01-23T17:04:00.000Z

Almost another suoerb weekend for our members but in the end just a small profit...

On Saturday we backed Walkon, 1.5pt e/w @ 12/1
Alan King had done us a massive favour two weeks ago when we landed our maximum bet on Mille Chief and this one was fancied to run a very big race.

He was always travelling well in the rear of the pack and started to make some decent ground with 3 to jump.
He moved through smoothly and led jumping the last, only be to caught on the run in and beaten half a length. A superb run for a horse that had been off the track for so long and almost a lovely touch landed.

Alan suffered a torrid year last season and that is one of the reasons our profit was reduced from pervious years. He now has his string in superb form and they are only going to get better. His horses will be a fine asset to us over the coming months.

One small bet today, a poor one.
Desert Icon, 2pt win @ 4/1 is a very difficult horse to win with but it was hoped the softer handling today might just work the oracle.

In short, it didn't and he was pretty much in last place from the outset.
We wont be backing him again although he will probably pop up at a big price when least expected.

Lots to look forward to this week and we expect quite a few decent bets.

The season is really in full swing now and there is under two months to go to Cheltenham.
Speaking of which, we will probably have an ante post bet (or two) towards the end of the week for members as we start to look forward to the big one.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Withdrawn after a huge plunge

2011-01-18T17:09:00.000Z

Almost one account bet today!

Tornado Force, 3pt win @ 9/4 was backed right down to evens at the off before throwing off Luke Morris at the start.
Luke looked to take a nasty whack in the face and unfortunately the horse was withdrawn.

The race itself didn't look like it would have taken much winning with the 50/1 rag finishing a close second but you can never really tell.

One to look out for in the future though...

We have a few bets lined up for later in the week, Friday and Saturday at this stage.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Bogged down

2011-01-14T09:09:00.000Z

Two small account bets for us yesterday in the heavy ground at Hereford.

First up was Doctor Disny, 1pt e/w @ 14/1
This one was going in first time blinkers and connections felt it could make a difference.
He ran well for three quarters of the race and was always in the first four but faded with 3 to jump and dropped back.

Second runner was Bathwick Quest, 1pt e/w @ 18/1
She ran well last time out and would love the heavy ground. Connextions were confident of a place at least.
However, it was almost a copy of Doctor Disny's race. She was in the front rank and jumped well throughout but faded with 3 to jump.

Elsewhere, we had some very interesting news about a runner a week on Saturday (22nd)
There is every chance that we will be having another maximum bet. Just like buses, we had no maximum bets last year and may end up having two in January!

Just a few hours left to join our Jan100 competition that closes at midday today. (Details below)

We are also donating 50% of any new members fees to the Australian floods appeal for anyone that joins before Saturday.

Lots going on!

There should be an account bet today. Just waiting on a call or two.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Rough stuff!

2011-01-10T17:49:00.000Z

From the sublime to the ridiculous today!

We had one small account bet.
Rough Sketch, 1pt e/w @ 16/1 is new to the yard and hadn't run for a very long time.
However, he was showing something at home and although a speculative bet, there was the potential to shock a few today.

Our fun was pretty much over within half a mile as he raced very keenly and pulled throughout when forced to lead.
He was never in with a chance as soon as the race started in earnest and finished a remote last.

Not the end of the world as we staked very cautiously but you are only as good as your last bet and all that...

We have a couple to look forward to this week and are hoping for another very good week.
Its unlikely there will be a bet tomorrow but we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Maximum bet landed... and some!

2011-01-09T19:00:00.000Z

Two account bets for us on Saturday, a superb day!

First up was Arrayan, 5pt win @ 5/2.
The message for this one was very strong. He had travelled well for a long while last time out but tired and made a few jumping errors close home. He had been schooled extensively since that run and was well fancied here.

He was always in a handy position and ridden to make some good progress with a couple to jump. He looked the winner a long way from home and took the lead with around 300 yards to run. He was pushed out but won pretty easily. A great start to the day.

Our second bet was a very rare maximum bet.
Our last maximum bet was in November 2009! That won at 7/1.

The message for this one was:
3.45 Sandown, Mille Chief 10pt win. Take 5/2 BetFred, VC

Alan believed this horse was the best hurdler he had ever trained and we were on at a very nice ante post price at Cheltenham. Connections were gutted he went lame and couldn't take part and he has been eased back into things. Met a well handicapped horse last time out and that run has put him spot on for today. This horse looks an absolute picture at home and although he has to carry top weight here in heavy ground connections will be gutted is he isn't different class to his rivals today. The money for Zazamix is a slight concern as that one has had a wind operation but if the Mille Chief that works so well at home turns up it shouldn't matter.

There was a ton of money for Zazamix, forcing our runner out to 10/3. (4/1+ on Betfair)
However the money was badly misplaced as Mille Chief could be called the winner with over a mile to run.

He cruised through to take the lead on the bit and quickened away to win by a very easy six lengths.
In the heavy ground, carrying such a huge weight this was a very impressive performance and just how a maximum bet should win!

45 points+ profit on the day and another super Saturday for our members.

We were inundated with emails from members with both thanks and many sharing how much they had won. Quite a few also backed a sneaky double on both selections. Good work!

Its always great to hear from members, especially when they are happy!

We have also had a huge response to our "6 months membership for £100 competition"
So much so that we have decided to give away 10 memberships instead of the original 5.

Its not to late to try your luck. Just email us quoting 'Jan100' and we will put you in the draw. The competition ends at midday on Friday 14th January.

We have a few to look forward to this week, mainly towards the end of the week.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

£100 for 6 months competition

2011-01-06T20:39:00.000Z

Due to the success of our free January competition we now have another competition.

We are giving away 5 six month memberships for just £100 - less than half price!
Email us quoting 'Jan100' to enter.

The competition is open to new and existing members and ends at midday on the 14th January. Good luck!

Thanks for reading!
SimpleBet

www.simplebet.net

Beaten by a good ride

2011-01-05T18:15:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

Brave Prospector, 3pt win @ 11/4 was an account bet for us last month when he didn't get a run throughout and is a winner waiting to happen.

He was well supported down to 9/4 favourite at the off and broke well to nail a spot on the rails.
After 2 furlongs he was trading at a very short even money on Betfair.

Just before the home turn, Silaah was kicked into a lead and went clear.
Brave Prospector put up a brave chase but the winner had shot clear under a very good ride and there was no catching him.
There could be an argument that our selection was caught out and should have stayed closer to the pace but sometimes you have to put your hands up and say we were beaten by a good ride.

Weather permitting we have a probable maximum bet over the weekend planned.
It could be either Saturday or Sunday at this stage but we have been waiting for this one for a while.

Fingers crossed the weather behaves itself and all goes to plan.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Small profit to start the year

2011-01-01T17:21:00.000Z

One small bet for us today, starting 2011 with a small profit.

The message for Buffalo Bob, 2pt e/w @13/2 was a simple one. If he stayed he would probably win.
Our Kim Bailey contact has done us proud over the last couple of months and another big run was expected today.

Buffalo Bob was very well supported down to 4/1 at the off and lead pretty much from the start, as expected.
He traded at around 2.3 with 3 furlongs to go and it looked like we were really going to start the new year with a bang. Blazing Bailey was travelling ominously well though and to be fair, even if our selection had seen the trip out he probably wouldn't have beaten that one.
Buffalo Bob did struggle to see the trip out but plugged on well to get the place money in 4th place.

So, a slight profit to start the month and new year.

We currently have 5 January memberships to give away.
To enter all you need to do is to email us quoting 'January'

5 people will be picked at random and given memberships until the 31st January. The offer is open to new and existing members and ends on the 5th January.

Why not give it a go? You have nothing to lose...

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

2010 ends on a high

2010-12-31T15:08:00.000Z

A good finish to the year for our members with one account bet today.

Mallusk, 3pt win @ 7/2 has been waiting to run for a while now with the weather causing the delay.
Kim Bailey's yard continue to be in fine form and our connection there has done us proud over the last couple of months.

Mallusk raced in second position for the first part of the race and was always travelling well.
He joined the leader with a couple to jump and stayed on in impressive fashion to go away and win by 10 lengths.

That ended December in profit, our 9th profitable month from the 12.
Although we only ended the year just over 80 points in front compared to 300 points in the previous two years we feel its still an excellent performance.

Many tipping services have really struggled this year for various reasons and we have had a couple of bad runs in the year.
However, we have come through as we always will and its been a decent year overall.

Happy New Year to all who read this.
May the year ahead bring you peace, health and wealth.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Results catch up

2010-12-30T15:46:00.000Z

4 bets since we last blogged so a quick catch up.

On Tuesday we backed Secret Asset, 3pt win @ 5/2.
An impressive winner for us recently as an account bet this one fancied to follow up.
Unfortunately the rise in weights seemed too much for him as he didn't pick up as expected and could only finish 4th.

On Wednesday we had a bet in Ireland.
Skippers Brig, 2pt e/w @ 10/1 was expected to love the heavy going but never really travelled in the ground and was mid division throughout.
A disappointing run.

Today we had two account bets. Both ran well without winning.
Douryna, 3pt win @ 5/2 (B.O.G paid 3/1) was a faller for us when looking the likely winner last time out.
She had been given some time off the track to regain her confidence.
She was running a big race and looking a comfortable leader until a bad mistake with about 4 to jump. That seemed to affect her and she didn't jump well from there, fading back to finish 3rd.

Dream Esteem, 2pt win @ 13/2 (B.O.G paid 7/1) ran far too freely last time out but had come on a ton for the experience.
She was much too free again for the early part of the race and was under pressure with about half a mile to run. She stayed on very well close home but could only manage 2nd, beaten just under 2 lengths.

A disappointing few days since Christmas with 2 of our 4 bets running poorly and 2 running well but not managing to win.

The weather seems to be more settled now and hopefully it will stay that way as we head into the new year.
There should be a bet tomorrow but nothing certain at this stage.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-24T11:26:00.000Z

Just a quick one to say we wish all that read our blog a happy, healthy and wealthy Christmas.

We really appreciate all who read this blog regularly and wish you all the best.

We feel we are in a great place currently as a service and have many excellent long term members.
We lost a few in October when we had an awful run but are now close to filling our quota and will consider operating a waiting list for new members again at some point in the New Year if things continue in the same vein.

Happy holidays to all.

Thanks again for all your support
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Nice easy winner

2010-12-21T16:03:00.000Z

One account bet today, our first bet of the week because of the weather.

Dubai Hills, 2pt win @ 3/1 came with a pretty straightforward message this morning. "If he stays, he wins"
On normal Southwell ground we would have staked much larger but with the ground certain to run slow because of the ground we were very sensible.

We shouldn't have worried!

Dubai Hills was soon in the lead and always travelled comfortably.
When asked to put the race to bed he did so easily and drew away to win by 13 lengths.

We are hopeful there will be a bet tomorrow but, as with today, we won't force a bet just for the sake of it.

Weather permitting we have at least one strong bet lined up for Boxing Day and one to look forward to on New Years Eve.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No good Thursday

2010-12-16T18:23:00.000Z

Two account bets today but no winners.

First up was Gordy Bee, 2pt win @ 4/1.
He ran poorly last time but there were excuses for thst run and he was expected to put that showing behind him today.

He played up in the stalls and missed the break slightly.
If he damaged himself slightly in the stalls or if the experience made him sulk is unknown but he didn't run his race at all.
He was under pressure with half a mile to run and finished tailed off, eased home.
We will find out if he went lame tomorrow and report back here.

Second up was Baile Anrai, 2pt win @ 6/1. B.O.G. paid 7/1.
This one was bought after winning a point to point in Ireland and looks a nice prospect on his homework.
His trainer had the favourite in the same race, Upthemsteps, but our runner has been working at least as good as that one and we were twice the price.

Baile Anrai travelled very well throughout but was badly hampered when Be True fell in front of him. That possibly affected his confidence as he made a mistake with 3 out, effectively ruining his chance.
He stayed on quite well to finish 4th behind the winner which annoyingly for us was Upthemsteps.

Baile Anrai is another one for the notebook though as he will be winning very soon.

Lots of snow around where we are based and it looks set to have its affect on racing over the next few days.
Hopefully we will get a few meetings on though as we have lots to look forward to.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Poor draw = no luck in running

2010-12-15T18:14:00.000Z

One account bet for us today and fortunately we held back on our staking.

Brave Prospector, 2pt e/w @ 7/1 (B.O.G. paid 10/1) has been working supremely well at home and is a winner waiting to happen.
Unfortunately he had the worst of the draw today and needed to find a way through.

George Baker is one of the best jockeys at riding this track and connections knew the only option was to drop the horse out at the back and hope for luck in running as he tried to weave his way through.

Unfortunately he had no such luck, getting consistently blocked at he looked for an angle out with 3 furlongs to go.
There is no way of telling where he would have finished with a clear run but he is a lot better than this run. One for the notebook.

We have around 5 bets we are waiting for before Christmas.
Hopefully the forecast cold snap will fail to materialise and racing will go ahead as planned.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

No show stopper

2010-12-13T18:13:00.000Z

One small account bet today.

Stop The Show, 1pt e/w @ 12/1 had been away from the track for 6 months in the hope it would freshen him up. Reports were that he had been showing a lot more at home and a big run was expected today.

He raced at the rear of the main pack for the majority of the race and was making some good ground to race a couple of lengths from the leader when he hit the second downhill fence on the final circuit. Thats always a difficult fence to jump and it knocked the stuffing out of him.

He rallied and stayed on pretty well but when it was clear he couldn't be placed he was eased down inside the final furlong and finished 6th.

Not a great run but one a horse that will be winning soon when his jumping improves. We will keep him in the notebook.

We have a decent bet lined up on Wednesday, weather permitting.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

One outta two

2010-12-11T15:21:00.000Z

Some great racing today at Cheltenham but out two account bets were at Lingfield.

First up was Secret Asset, 3pt win @ 5/2.
This horse has been very consistent all season and is better than ever at home. He had to take the long route round last time and was well fancied to win today.

He went off a well backed 15/8 favourite and the race panned out perfectly.
He was well settled at the back of the pack and came round the outside to win with relative ease. A good race to watch as he looked the winner for much of the race. Not much concern throughout.

Our second bet was Baylini, 4pt win @ 2/1.
This horse has been hard to win with but the drop in grade and step up in trip was expected to work the oracle today.

For much of the race we seemed to be watching a replay of Secret Asset's race as Baylini was settled at the rear of the field and started to make ground with a couple of furlongs to run.
Unfortunately he didn't pick up as well as expected and although he plugged on well, could only manage 3rd, beaten about a neck.

Two good runs and a profit on the day again though so we can't complain.

There is a horse we were interested in tonight but not strong enough to be an account bet.

In the 6.20 at Wolverhampton, Taurakina is well fancied.
The money in the race for Sunset Kitty has to be respected though from this yard and we will leave the race alone.

There is a good chance of an account bet tomorrow but nothing certain just yet.

The week ahead looks promising with a few bets already planned including a Christmas plot horse, weather permitting...!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

All about the jumping

2010-12-10T18:12:00.000Z

One small account bet for us today. Possibly an unlucky one.

Carrickboy, 1pt e/w @ 7/1 ran a great race last time and has improved a great deal for that run. He was thought to be well weighted today and a place was the minimum that was expected.

He went off a 6/1 chance and was always in the front rank. Going well, he made a mistake with 4 to run and unseated his rider.
There was too much of the race to run when he parted company with his rider to say he would have won but its a fair bet that he would have been placed at least.
That said, its all about the jumping so its not an issue!

More great racing tomorrow and we should have at least one bet.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Nice place return

2010-12-07T13:51:00.000Z

One account bet for us today at a big price.

Edgeworth, 1pt e/w @ 28/1 was fancied to run a big race today with a drop in grade along with a decent draw and the application of cheekpieces.
The price didn't last long and only 25/1 was avaliable shortly after our email was sent out so we have returned the horse at this price.

He was very well backed on course right down to a tight 14/1.

He broke well but was dropped in near the rear of the field on the rails. He was switched to the outside with a couple of furlongs to run and traded under 2/1 in running.
Although he was tapped for toe he stayed on well inside the last 50 yards to grab 3rd place close home.

A decent run at a decent price and another profitable day; our 4th on the trot over the last week and a half.

Things continue to look to be quiet because of the weather but Cheltenham looks set to get the go ahead to race on Friday and we have a potential bet lined up there.
There may be a bet before then, weather permitting.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

A profit is a profit!

2010-12-04T17:48:00.000Z

Our first bet of the month today and a very small profit from it.

Imprimis Tagula, 2pt win @ 6/1 (B.O.G paid 13/2) loves it round Southwell and gets on well wth todays jockey. He ran well last time out at Wolverhampton and continues to look well in himself at home.

He went off 13/2 from 6/1, mainly due to good support for Love Delta who was backed down to 3/1 favourite.
Cape Vale set a decent pace and made all the running. Despite looking to come under pressure a couple of furlongs out and our selection starting to make some ground he stayed on well to win by a length and a quarter.

A small profit of 0.6 points on the day but any profit is better than a loss!

The week ahead still looks to be fairly quiet and we won't force a bet for the sake of it.

Many of our trainers have had trouble working their horses in the current conditions and we will step carefully until things are back to normal.
That said, we are expecting at least two or three bets in the coming week if all goes to plan as we are waiting on quite a few to run when the time is right.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Poor Friday, great Saturday!

2010-11-28T13:29:00.000Z

With the weather affecting the racing in a big way at the moment we have plenty of time to catch up on the past few days action.

There were two bets on Friday and two bets on Saturday.

First up on Friday was Noble Citizen, 1pt e/w @ 14/1.
This horse has been running well recently without winning and continues to work well at home. He didn't get a clear run last time out and was fancied to run a decent race despite his wide draw.

He was held up and travelled wide throughout and ran ok without ever looking like winning.
He will win a race at some point but might need a slight drop in the weights before doing so.

Second up was another disappointing run.
Mavalenta, 3pt win @ 4/1 is going to the sales on Thursday and connections were desperate to get a win into her to boost her value.

She travelled well enough but when push came to shove with a couple of furlongs to go found little. A poor run.

On to Saturday which was much better.

First up was Sarde, 3pt win @ 9/2.
Kim Bailey has his horses in superb form right now and connections were pleased with the 5lb rise in the weights after her earlier win.

She travelled well throughout, racing on the inside. She made steady ground on the leaders and went into 3rd place with three to jump. She stayed on well under a good ride to lead on the run in. A brave and much needed win.

Secondly we had another runner from the Kim Bailey yard.
Regal Approach, 1.5pt e/w @ 11/1 desperately needed his first run of the season. An improved run was expected today.

This one travelled well throughout and always looked to be going best in running.
He led with a couple to jump and traded very short in running as the rest of the field started to all look like the race was in slow motion in the desperate ground!
In The Zone made up a bit of ground though and jumped into the lead over the last.
Under another great ride though, Regal Approach rallied and regained the lead inside the last half furlong.

Two great rides from brave horses giving us a superb Saturday.

We are now back to 17 points or so in profit and look certain to end November in profit after a very poor October.

We have a few to look forward to this week, including a couple from Saturday's hero Kim Bailey.
This weeks racing does look like it will be seriously affected by the weather though but we are also waiting for news of a 'Christmas money plot horse' on the all weather.

Here's hoping the improved run of form continues to keep us all warm in what looks like being an Arctic feeling week or two!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Would she have won?

2010-11-24T16:10:00.000Z

One account bet for us today; a very unlucky one.

Douryna, 3pt win @ 4/1 isn't the fastest of animals but has been working well recently and was fancied to go very well in this race with a decent round of jumping.

She was well supported all day and sat prominently throughout the race.
She lacked a bit of toe with half a mile to go but stayed on very well and was about half a length behind the leader when she fell at the last.

Would she have won or would she have finished second? We will never know.
She was trading around 1.7 on Betfair when she fell but that doesn't tell us much either way and in truth it doesn't matter because she fell!

So, we are still waiting for a change of luck but it will come soon.

There may be a bet tomorrow. We will wait and see what the weather brings if nothing else.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Seconditis!

2010-11-23T06:55:00.000Z

Second, lame, second, second has been the run of our last four account bets!

On Friday we backed Arrayan, 4pt win @ 7/4.
This one has improved for the switch in scenery and was given a fairly easy time on his first run for the yard. He was thought to be well handicapped.

Well backed, he was always travelling well and traded long odds on in running.
However, when asked to go after the leader and put the race to be he put in a couple of poor jumps and lost all momentum. He plugged on ok but could only manage second.

On Saturday we had two account bets.

Paquet Cadeau, 2pt win @ 5/1 was another one who was expected to put up an improved performance as lots of things weren't in his favour last time out.
He got the early lead we were hoping for and was travelling very well until hitting the 6th hurdle. From there he went lame and was eased home.

We also backed Summit Surge, 3pt win @ 7/4.
There was a bundle of money for this one before the off, seeing him go off the 5/4 favourite.
Of the three horses that finished second in our last four bets this is the only one we could really claim to be unlucky.
He was travelling well throughout the race but Fallon got him in a poor position on the bend and he was shuffled back. When he did get some daylight the winner was gone and although he made up some decent ground he was never going to catch the winner by this stage and wasn't given too hard a time.

Summit Surge will now go to Sha Tin and shouldn't be ruled out based on this result.

On Sunday we had another second placed runner.

Fine Parchment, 3pt win @ 7/2 is a runner in fine form at home and was hoping to get an early lead.
Another of our selections to be well supported he went off the 9/4 favourite.
He didn't get the early lead he wanted but travelled well enough throughout the race.
He was driven along to chase the leader with a couple to jump but always looked held and could only manage second.

A disappointing few days but all three of our second placed bets were very well supported and ran well. Its only a matter of time before the racing gods are smiling on us again and these second places are turned into winners.

There will probably be an account bet today but not certain at this stage.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Averted

2010-11-17T14:44:00.000Z

One account bet for us today.

Avertor, 3pt win @ 5/1 works alongside much better horses at home but has been a constant frustration to connections of Roger Charlton's yard all season.
He showed a bit more on the track when finishing well over 6 furlongs last time out and the step up in trip was expected to be an advantage.
The plan was to drop him in and pick them off late.

He was certainly dropped in but failed to find anything and although trapped behind a wall of horses was never likely to win at any stage.

Its probable they will try some kind of headgear with this one next as he would pick up the kind of horses he is racing against and carry them on his homework but he just fails to do it on the track.

Either way, we will probably let him run without any of our money on him until he wins another race.

A couple of bets lined up, including a decent sized bet planned for Saturday.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Weekend catchup

2010-11-14T19:16:00.000Z

A quick catch up on where we have been at over the weekend.

We had one bet on Saturday and one bet on Sunday. A 1 point loss over the weekend.

Saturday's bet was American World 1pt e/w @ 28/1.
This horse has had a win operation and desperately needed his last run.
If the wind operation had worked as required he may well have caused a bit of a surprise.

Basically, it didn't appear to as the horse didn't really show.

A speculative bet but one that may have been worthwhile and not too much damage done overall.

On Sunday we backed Manyriverstocross, 2pt e/w @ 6/1.
This horse has a decent season last year which is more than can be said for Alan King's stable overall. He was unlucky in running a couple of times and was thought to be well handicapped with connections choosing this race instead of the November handicap last week.

He travelled pretty well throughout but ran into a decent one in the shape of Menorah.
Manyriverstocross managed to finish 3rd and get us the place money but was never travelling as well as the winner.

Menorah has to be a decent price at 12/1 for the Champion Hurdle, given how well he was travelling on a track that clearly suits him.

We have a couple lined up for the week ahead and the weather looks to be relatively settled.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

In a happy haze

2010-11-11T18:33:00.000Z

One account bet for us today, a winning one.

Midnight Haze, 3pt win @ 7/2 always runs well fresh and although he was on his highest mark of his career, was fancied to continue improving.
He has been putting in some great work at home and any further rain would only have been a bonus.

Like the majority of our selections this month he was well supported and went off at 9/4.

He led from the start and in all honesty never looked like getting beaten.
He had to be put right at a couple of fences but won by a fairly easy 5 lengths, having most of the field hard at work for the last half a mile.

He will improve for the run and may well go in again next time out.

We have only had 4 bets so far in November but all have run fairly well.
Hopefully this will continue as the awful October is still fresh in our memory.

Some good racing tomorrow with the start of the 3 day Cheltenham meeting.
It doesn't look a great card to bet on but as always we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

SimpleBet Tuesday

2010-11-09T18:02:00.000Z

Some awful ground and conditions but we had one small account bet.

Croan Rock, 1.5pt e/w @ 12/1 (sent out at 14/1 but that only lasted 10 minutes) was a very interesting runner today.
An expensive purchase after a win in a point to point in Ireland he was expected to be suited by the very soft going.
The plan was to use his stamina to come from off the pace.

He was very well supported, right down to 6/1 by th off time.

Come race time there was very little early pace and our selection was a bit too keen, running right up with the pace.
He took second place with three to jump and looked to be set for the place money at the very least.
However, he tired badly from there and could only manage 6th place despite still being in with a shout of 3rd when jumping the last.

Some great racing to look forward to towards the end of the week.
We have a few lined up although some more horrendous weather is forecast on Thursday so we will play things by ear.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

A bit better

2010-11-06T16:48:00.000Z

One account bet for us today, a much better run.

Iver Bridge Lad, 1pt e/w @ 20/1 ran a great race for us when an account bet last month when nabbed on the line at 10/1.
He needs some give in the ground and 7 furlongs and although the ground could have been softer, he was fancied to be at least placed by connections today.

He went off a 16/1 chance and tracked the pace on the outside of the pack.
He was switched to the outside with around 3 furlongs to run and came with a sustained run to take the lead with around 300 yards to go.
Near the line he was worn down and could only manage 4th, beaten a short head, a head and a neck.
A great run and one that looked like a winning run for a long time.

Some great racing tonight with the Breeders Cup meeting.
We won't be having any financial interest in the card but will watch the races all the same. Good luck to anyone who is playing tonight though.

Unlikely there will be an account bet tomorrow but we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Close one Junior

2010-11-02T16:50:00.000Z

One account bet for us today. A decent run but not a winner.

Galpin Junior, 3pt win @ 2/1 (B.O.G. returned 11/4) had been an unlucky loser when an account bet for us a couple of runs back.
He has since switched yards and settled in well.

Our selection drifted to 11/4 at the off and this was mainly due to support for a couple of the bigger priced runners in the race.
He broke on terms but was pushed along inside the first furlong, which isn't too rare considering his style of running.
He started to get on terms with a furlong or so to go and was switched from the rails into the middle of the track.
He looked to be getting up inside the final furlong and traded very short odds on but failed to get up with George Baker's Avonvalley holding on by half a length.

A decent run but not a winning run unfortunately.

Lots to look forward to this month as the flat season comes to a close on Saturday and the NH season gets underway properly.

There may well be an account bet tomorrow as there are one or two interesting runners. We won't be sure until we have made a call or two in the morning though.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

TFI November, tomorrow

2010-10-31T16:39:00.000Z

The best thing that can be said about October is that its now over!

In complete contrast to last October (where we showed over 100 points profit) we ended this month 35 points behind.

A couple of results to catch up on since we last blogged.

We had two account bets on Friday.
Cloudy Too 1.5pt e/w @ 10/1
First time under rules over hurdles this one was fancied to put in a big run after working very nicely at home.
Unfortunately he went lame with around a mile to run and was pulled up.

We also backed Tweedy, 2pt win @ 11/2 in the evening over in Ireland.
An impressive performance from this filly last time out was fancied to be repeated as she had improved further for that run.
She was well backed into 7/2 at the off but couldn't get the eraly lead she required and finished mid division.

On Saturday we had one small win bet.
Elas Diamond, 3pt win @ 3/1
She was another one who was very impressive last time out and had improved further for the run. The 3/1 didn't last long after our message was sent so we recorded her at 11/4 for our results.
Another of our selections to be supported very well in the market, she went off the 7/4 favourite.
She looked set to win, travelling well and taking the lead inside the final furlong. Unfortunately she edged right under pressure and was caught in the final 100 yards and could only manage second.

One small account bet today.
Hatman Jack, 1pt e/w @ 14/1 was a horse who could surprise at a big price.
Fitted with a tongue tie and cheekpieces as well as a return to his favourite surface made connections hopeful taht he would regain some of his old zip.
Unfortunately this was another horse that finished lame, being virtually pulled up with a couple of furlongs to go.

A really poor month is now at a close.
We have at least 12 horses earmarked to run in November as well as one plot horse to pay the stable staff's Christmas bonus money. (Last years one won at 7/1)

We are both hopeful and confident November will bring about a big improvement in results.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Much welcomed

2010-10-27T19:04:00.000+01:00

A very much needed winner from our only account bet today.

Kack Handed, 3pt win @ 5/1 was fancied today after his run last time out was under the wrong conditions.
He hates going right handed so was expected to put up a big show on todays left handed track.
Given the recent form we have been in we thought long and hard about putting up a maiden as an account bet but fortunately we did!

Kack Handed jumped pretty poorly throughout but was given a very srtong ride to get up close home to win by half a length.
There were a couple of small rule 4's but today still yielded a much needed profitable day.

Hopefully this is a corner turner. Fingers crossed!

They may well be an account bet tomorrow but we will know more in the morning.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

More rubbish...

2010-10-26T15:39:00.000+01:00

The bad run continues with two more account bets today.

First up was Durante Aligheiri 1.5pt e/w @ 12/1
This is thought of as a high class horse at home and has been showing up well with some of the yards better runners.
Quite simply he hated the ground and ran no race whatsoever.
He is a lot better than this and is one for the notebook.

Secondly we had Woodlark Island 3pt win @ 3/1
The yard were hoping to get an uncontested lead for this one who ran into a well handicapped sort last time out.
Unfortunately he was taken on for the lead throughout and although he traded just above evens with one to jump could only manage 3rd.

The awful October continues. We have said this quite often over the last few weeks!

Credit must go to our members through this terrible run though as we haven't had one member complain.
Many (over 80%) have been with us for well over a year so are obviously playing with decent profits but a run like this is felt by everyone. Hopefully we will be through it soon.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Same story...

2010-10-23T16:39:00.000+01:00

October continues and so does our poor run.

Two small account bets today but no good.

Madawi, 1pt e/w @ 12/1 was given one last chance today.
Highly thought of by the yard this horse has yet to produce the goods on the track.

He was well supported into 7/1 at the off but struggled to get into the race until the final furlong.
He finished well but was never in contention, grabbing 4th on the line.
Maybe this horse may be seen to be as good as the yard believe he is next season when stepped up to a mile or further.

Our second bet was from the same yard. Zaidan, 1pt e/w @ 20/1 put in a poor run last time out but there were plenty of excuses for that.

He went off a 16/1 chance and dwelt at the start slightly.
There wasn't a fast early pace and he was soon close enough but when asked to make an impression approaching the final furlong he found little.
It could be argued that he was on the slowest part of the track but that may be clutching at straws.

So, the horrible run continues.
This is probably our worst run since last summer when were couldn't buy a winner.

We will keep at it and things will turn round soon. Hopefully very soon!

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Wake us up when October ends!

2010-10-20T17:15:00.000+01:00

Our horrible run is October continued today with two small account bets.

First up was Sworn Tigress, 2pt win @ 3/1.
A fairly decent horse on the flat, she has schooled fairly well. Although her jumping will improve in time she was thought to be too classy for the opposition today.

She was held up in midfield and not jumping too badly but hit a hurdle 4 out and faded quickly from there. She was eased down and returned slightly lame.

Next up was Starshine, 1.5pt e/w @ 10/1.
This filly has been very slow to come to hand this season but was showing more at home and the step up in trip was expected to help.
She was well supported down to 7/1 at the off but the lack of early pace didn't do her any favours.
She struggled to pick up when some pace was injected with 3 furlongs to run. Once she got going she picked up well but could only manage to finish 5th. beaten just over a length for 3rd.

So, the extremely difficult October continues.
Ironically last October was our best month ever but October 2010 has been very poor.

Hoping for a big change in fortunes very soon.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

Almost better...

2010-10-17T19:18:00.000+01:00

A slight improvement on Saturday in that both our selections ran well enough.

First up was Delegator, 4pt win @ 2/1
He won well four weeks ago and had come on a lot for that run which was his first outing of the season.
He was very well supported and went off the 6/4 favourite.

He travelled well enough early on and was switched to the outside with a couple of furlongs to run. He didn't get the clearest of runs from there but in all honesty didn't look to have the turn of foot that would have been expected from him to put the race to bed.
He could only manage 4th, beaten about 3 lengths.
In hindsight he was running on the slowest part of the track and this run wasn't as bad as it first appeared. He may now go to the Breeders Cup meeting.

Second up was Buxted 1pt e/w @ 20/1
This horse had a very hard race in tricky going at Longchamp in May and was given a long time off to recover from that race.
He was in desperate need of his comeback race and was in much better shape for this run.

He went off a 12/1 chance and was settled at the rear of the pack to try to ensure he got the distance.
He stayed on well inside the last half a mile and although he was never going to catch the winner he managed to get us the each way money and get 3rd.
The ground was softer than he would really want and hopefully if the ground comes up right we might get a winner from this horse before the season.

Overall a break even day and both horses ran ok considering different 'excuses' for their performances.

We have a few interesting runners lined up this season as a few trainers are desperate to get wins from certain horses before the flat season comes to an end.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/

SimpleBet Friday

2010-10-15T17:38:00.000+01:00

Close to a small change in fortunes today with one account bet.

Lamasaas, 1.5pt e/w @ 10/1 was expected to improve on recent showings today.
An account bet for us a few months ago when he ran very green, he had been given some time away from the track to grow and mature.
A much better run was expected today.

He didn't break too well and pulled very hard, thus being held up at the rear of the pack.
He was produced on the outside inside the last two furlongs with a good run and although he never looked likely to catch the impressive winner, Desert Law, he looked set to be placed.
However, he couldn't quite get 3rd place and only managed 4th.

Some great racing tomorrow and we have at least one account bet lined up.

Thanks for reading
SimpleBet

http://www.simplebet.net/