Regular readers will know that the flat is my
preferred betting medium so this was going to be a bit of a guess-up. I thought
I’d give the (four-leg) tote jackpot a go. My perm was 5x4x2x1 (40-euro). The
first leg was a tricky 18-runner handicap however one of my five was the
gambled-on Napoleon Blue (w 8/1). I included all four runners in the next in
the hope of a shock result - and got it when 5/1 outsider of the quartet
obliged. For the third leg I’d simply chosen the two morning market leaders.
Imagine my surprise when they finished 1-2, with the winner’s SP 8/1!
Sadly, my selection in the last leg was a NR so the
bet defaulted to the unnamed fav. The projected jackpot dividend on the fav was 1,000+
euro. This is when I had a brain freeze and backed the 2nd and 3rd favs instead of laying the fav on
Betfair. The 7/4 fav finished 2nd to the 14/1 winner: jackpot not won (by anyone!).
Security tight at the tote!
Compensation for a losing day was supper at the outstanding
Mitchel House restaurant – Thurles’ best restaurant (according to tripadvisor, see my review there). Deconstructed banoffee pie was the stand-out dish. Unfortunately, our
return train to Dublin was delayed for an hour because of track problems. Annoyingly, updates on the problems were few and far between so the option of going to wait in the pub was not available to us. Eventually the train arrived (on the southern platform) and we made our way back to the city. Fortunately we shared a table with a very friendly family who were returning from a weekend in Cork.
Naas
24 March 2019: admission charges 15 euro
(9-euro seniors/students) < 18s free
We had transport issues getting to
Naas too. Train to Sallins was OK but then there was no shuttle bus to the track.
Stranded, no taxis. Despite half-a-dozen calls to the track the shuttle bus didn’t
arrive. After an hour, a local chap phoned a taxi company and we got there just
in time for the 2nd race. Racecourse
office was most apologetic, apparently the bus met punters travelling north at the other
exit (rather than those travelling south from Dublin). Compensated with “Golden”
ticket (free racecard, food and drink vouchers).
The new circular grandstand, part of Naas' impressive upgraded facilities.
First day of the flat season. Free
tickets courtesy of Tote Ireland, the main sponsor. Pleased with softish ground
plus big fields for the two handicap races that interested me: 6f (16R) and 8f (20R). In the last three seasons, when 14+runners and soft, the majority of 6f handicaps had seen middle drawn horses at significant disadvantage
with winners drawn either high or low. I played the exacta combo top3 on both sides.
Draw result: 1,3,2,5. Exacta paid 130.70. Looked like a faster strip of ground
on the far side, a further boost to my 8f strategy.
Using same runner/going criteria as
above, four of six 8f handicaps had been won by traps 1,2 or 3. So my exacta play was a combo
top4 of the 20. Draw result: 3,4,6,5. Exacta paid 340.60.
One of my biggest ever winning days on-track.
Plus, free entry and racecard, free food and free drink!
Return train on time and back to
Dublin for celebratory drinks at the splendid Shelbourne Hotel (Guinness a snip
at seven euro a pint).
