Cheltenham 2012 - Day 3

In Amongst the Action

The Palphabet Pals (without our other pal, Alpha, who arrived later)
Left to Right: Norbet, Me, Simon, Paolo

Apologies in advance for the permeating hangover dribbling out of my supine position in a Cheltenham guest house.  I say guest house, I’m basically staying in someone’s family home, in their attic spare room.  But it’s fine – the family who inhabit this fine tenement, nestled just 15 minutes from Cheltenham’s bustling Montpellier district, are warm and welcoming, reflecting the overall vibe of festival week.

Last night the only downside of an otherwise pleasant evening was the disappointing service in Indian Voojan.  The food was decent but after a memorable meal last year, they certainly let themselves down this time.  Aside from that, the afternoon spent watching races in the familiar surroundings of a pub, with free WiFi allowing online gambling transactions to flow swiftly and without complication, made me realise that time has flown by so quickly since last Cheltenham Festival Thursday (when I was doing much the same as I’ve just described).

P&L was healthily restored by Big Buck’s triumphant defence of his World Hurdle crown.  As if it needed confirmation, he really is an all-time legend of staying hudlers and I just love his lazy attitude to a race – Ruby really had to work hard to get him over the line, but only because Buck’s wanted him to.  Watching the re-run of the exciting contest in a pub later was just as thrilling, and was punctuated with the audio backdrop of the Kaiser Chief’s “Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby – ahhhhhahhhahahhhh” and the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”.  It was Thursday, but fine.

Today I cannot describe how special it will be to see Kauto Star win back the Gold Cup title for a second time.  Surely it will guarantee his status as the greatest race horse of all time.  I’m on antepost at prices ranging from 4-1 to 11-1 (during “the scare”) and will top up at the track.  Burton Port is my alternative selection at 7-1 e/w.

Our hosts are making breakfast for us now so I have no time to go into great detail about the rest of my Friday bets.  In short they are:

1.30: Baby Mix (backed antepost at 22-1 and now 6-1) and either Grumeti or Balder Succes – not sure yet – both 8-1 .. also like Dodging Bullets and 24-1 looks big

2:05 Raya Star 12-1

2:40 Lovcen 17-1 and Fox Appeal 28-1

3:20 as discussed above

4:00 no selection yet

4:40 I’msingingtheblues 25-1

5:15 Tanks for That 14-1 and Kid Cassidy 13-2

Anyone know any other good curry houses in Cheltenham?

Palphabet Relishes the Pressure of High-Profile Personality Props

Since my last post, celebrities have flocked to follow my Twitter handle at an alarming rate that has left me honoured, humbled and hopeful for a future in full time micro blogging.  I must say that I use the term “celebrities” with a looseness normally associated with the lips of wartime ship-sinkers.   These tweeters are household names only in the houses of men who probably live on their own, watching sport and staring at numbers on screens looking for value bets, but their encouragement has still done wonders to boost my enthusiasm for and dedication to the Palphabet cause: to move full-time into a life dominated by nothing but sporting enjoyment. 

I am also grateful for the kind comments from other readers who might not edit a national newspaper or represent the views of a multinational bookmaker!

The facts and figures on my account over the past couple of weeks seem to reflect the additional vigour I have for that cause.  Here's my P&L for December so far:

(yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm) to (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm)

Football: £850.86 | Golf: -£123.87 | Horse Racing: -£383.97 | Snooker: £177.78 | Tote: | Total P&L: £520.80

The football has centred around backing red cards in high-octane, wet-weathered, midweek games (Fulham v Liverpool and Chelsea v Manchester City), and the racing, despite delivering inauspicious losses, includes a significant win on Gauvain last week who, tipped by both Pricewise AND James Boyle (http://betbuddy.mobi/ ), duly obliged with a Huntingdon victory at nearly 7-1.  As I said at the time, when those two tipsters agree on something, and given that Boyle's mission is to out-tip Segal, you just have to take note!

Horse Racing > : 2m4f Grd2 Chs > Gauvain Showing 1 - 1 of 1 Bets

Selection Odds Stake (£) Liability (£) Bid type Placed Matched (GMT) Profit/loss (£) Gauvain 7.6 51.39 Back 08-Dec-11 10:20 08-Dec-11 10:20 339.17

Let’s face it, those who risk thousands of pounds on the financial markets, researching the FTSE100 and AIM market movements, studying the 12-month moving averages of share prices and making decisions based around P/E ratios, EPS figures and director deals still very often end up losing their hard-earned dosh.  Yet these people are permitted, nay encouraged, to sit in pubs and at dinner parties, waxing lyrical about their investment portfolio and diversified strategies whilst those of us with a penchant for punting on sport are looked upon with pity and disdain by those who are convinced we should be attending GA meetings on a weekly basis.  

*****

A few things have made me happy to be flying the Palphabet flag over the past couple of weeks:

·         Denman – yes, I may have placed a couple of small antepost wagers on the Lexus and next year’s Gold Cup on The Tank – but I’m glad he’s been retired healthy, and his memory lives on both in the stables at Ditcheat and in my own household through my cat, who we named after the gorgeous gelding.

The Tank in feline form, wearing the famous colours of the planey2k stable

·         Matt Chapman – I’ve developed a man-crush on the ATR presenter – he’s articulate, amusing and handles live television with more aplomb than X-Factor, I’m a Celeb and BB presenters put together.

Chapman driving the girls wild

·         Judd Trump – Man-Crush subject #2.  I tipped him on Twitter and backed him with £30 at 14.5 on Betfair, but I also like his playboi banter off the baize and his happy-go-lucky attitude to life.

Judd Trumps them all with his playboi potting

·         George Porter – the final object of my homoerotic man-crush desires – his drop of the shoulder against the dumbfounded Exeter City defence was a joy to behold, and I hope he’s able to stay with Orient for a while longer yet.

Georgeous George ...phwooaarrr

·         Gary Neville – no, I don’t have a crush on him, but his scutiny of Barcelona’s footballing philosophy on last night’s MNF had me reaching for the tissues – truly insightful stuff that makes Andy Gray’s analysis look as modern as his view on women.  If he can learn how to stand still whilst presenting the show, he will have it all.

Gary Neville looking uncharacteristically still...in a still photograph

These little things in life make me happy, and keep me focused on my pursuit of a world dominated by alrightness.   It’s out there somewhere!