No racing this Sunday so just a few general thoughts regarding the blog, the season and future goals.
I was pleased to have a few quid on Andrew Balding's Gardening Leave yesterday. It is unfortunate I couldn't detail this juvenile as a tip but being a statistical bet it was impossible at the cut-off point at 12:30 and I only made a decision to bet myself with a few minutes to the off. I actually had a bet on Aultcharn, too. Thought a place was a near certainty while watching only to see Meehan's juvenile struggle in the soft ground and plod home 6th. There is such a fine line between winning and losing at times - and this season has proven that point time after time. Our recent second with Alan Swinbank's Fourth Generation was a disappointing day. In future, with potential substantial win bets, I will put a few quid to lay at 1/5 so I am guaranteed a decent win whatever the outcome. It is boarding on crazy to have a horse touch 1/33 in-running and not win money. I hadn't really considered such a thought before the race and not even as our horses battled for a win. I was shouting at the TV so much that I just didn't have a chance to think of anything but - win! I live and learn, as usual.
In general, I am happy with my thoughts. Next season will be a much better year and I am confident that supporters of the blog will benefit from a number of speculative bets. Our research has identified a number of trainers who not only win at speculative prices but do so on quite a regular basis. We are getting there. This year has been positive although I feel our points profit could have been much better. There is always something to consider but we have been quite consistent in our little way. I feel that we have shown elements of ability but trust me there is much more to come next season. Tony, my brother, will be forwarding a number of speculative bets. He has done very well over the past few seasons but with work commitments he hasn't been able to add to the blog as we anticipated this year.
There is little doubt we will be forwarding more tips next season. We definitely fell into the trap of trying to be too selective at the start of this season, which really caused problems in many respects. There is often no logic to why one bet wins and another loses. It is sod's laws that the seemingly better choice runs like a pig and the half-interest wins in style. There is certainly a lot to be said for pinpointing juveniles at a speculative price. We rarely give selections less than 11/4 and to be fair I feel more comfortable with 7/2 as a starting point. But the big money comes from those infrequent big price touches.
This season is drawing to a close and I will be pleased to have a well-earned rest. There is far too much racing these days and just following the two-year-olds is hard work. I haven't considered any nurseries this season and generally concentrated on the maidens, auctions and the odd stakes race. I can't say I have missed the handicaps or feel that chances have been missed. Each to there own. If someone can make their racing pay then good for them. We specialise with two-year-olds and there are few blogs/tipping services which do that. This season has been a learning curve, as they always tend to be.
I will probably update the blog and put forward a few tips when the turf season finishes although you can never quite tell what standard of horse or opportunities may appear on the all-weather. The general standard of juvenile last season was next to hopeless and I can't say I noticed many runners of note. I hope all of our followers will continue to support the blog next season as I feel you will be pleasantly surprised by our performance. There will be many more bets right from the start of the season and a focus on speculative bets which have the potential to offer very good returns. Gareth, youngest brother and our web expert, is looking to make H.C.E much more impressive and certainly developing this service. The key point is we want you to stick with us. I can only hope that all of the people who have followed our tips are satisfied with the service and feel they have gained from our knowledge of the two-year-olds. This season hasn't been anywhere near as successful as I hoped but we have proved we have the potential to progress. I would like to thank everyone for their support and interest in H.C.E and continue to follow the rest of this season but especially the new flat season in 2010.
As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the support from readers and other bloggers alike.
From 33 tips we gave 8 winners featuring a 24% win rate and 18 win/place attaining 54% place with over 25 points profit.
Regards,
Jason
