We began our first day with a tour of the office. We were amazed by the sheer size of the Betfair offices since they covered six floors. Visiting every department of the company we received a brief description of what each department did. It was bewildering. We then later had a second tour given by Bert in which we learnt …
Wimbledon
Outside of racing there’s only one sport I consider myself capable of commenting on, and that’s tennis. I grew up in Wimbledon and I used to be pretty obsessed with the tennis when it came around – I’d get my programme early and fill in all the matches as the tournament went on. There was a time when I thought Wimbledon …
The George and Ned show
From today I have two 16 year old boys in the office – Ned and George – who are on a week’s work experience. They are spending time in different departments helping out and hopefully learning a bit about how a company like Betfair operates. I thought it would be a good idea to give them a guest spot on my blog for the …
Ascot post mortem
I went to Ascot on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Winker was obviously the high point, but I managed to find one winner each day, including Binanti on the Friday which I backed at 44. There still seems to be a lot of talk about the new stand and the redesign of the course, and a lot of people don’t like …
The rains
The heavy rain of the past few days have got into the ground pretty much everywhere, and this changes my betting strategy. I won’t be placing any big bets for a while, but I’ll have a few small ones on outsiders with the right sort of breeding. Today I’ll back Indian Days in the 7.10 at Windsor and Chunky’s Choice …
Elementary my dear Watson…
What a day!! We thought he was up to it and we were right. It’s a great thrill and also a relief as I’d got a lot of people onto him who don’t often bet. I was quietly happy after the race but also a little melancholy. I don’t take a lot of credit for the horse – I didn’t …
All aboard the Winker express
It’s a great day’s racing but for me the day starts and ends with the first race. Winker Watson makes his long awaited Ascot appearance, and I’ve told pretty much everyone I know to get on. I’m a star if he wins and a my name is mud if he doesn’t. I think the world of the horse. The reports from Pete paint …
Ascot day 2
Some good racing, but I probably won’t go. US Ranger will be all the rage in the Jersey with good reason – no bet for me. I’m told that there is considerable stable confidence behind Nannina in the second, but she won’t appreciate any softening of the ground. If the ground is right I’ll be backing her. The Prince of …
Post Mortem
Henry the Navigator was my only winner of the day, but he only scraped home – if he’s the best that Ballydoyle have it’s good news for Winker. Miss Andretti won in an unbelievable time – Dandy Man may have been unlucky and Enticing ran very well and if progressive could be the real deal one day. The two group 1s were …
Thunderbolt tonight
Thunderbolt Jaxon runs in the 9:00 at Yarmouth tonight. I definitely give him a chance – he is capable and performs well at home but he isn’t straightforward and always seems to throw his races away. He’ll come right one day, and maybe today is the day.