Stat of the Day, 13th December 2012
Stat of the Day
Stat of the Day, 13th December 2012
Blimey. Stat of the Day is as cold as the weather just now, and yesterday’s very weak finish rendered it a double clunker in the last two days. Lunette was weak in the betting, weak in the race, and finished weakly.
Not a great weak (ahem) for us so far. Still, where there’s light there’s hope, and today’s luminous aspirant runs in the…
Big fields abound at Taunton this afternoon, as trainers try desperately to get a run into their horses wherever they can. As such, I’m swerving the handicaps and pitting my statistical wits against a novice affair, bulging with entries from top yards. Hmm, perhaps I should have gone for a handicap after all!
Not the most solid of starting positions, I grant you, but we at least have a trainer whose horses put their best hooves forward at the venue. The trainer is that militant of the stable staff ranks, Charlie Mann, and his record at Taunton in the last five years boasts seven winners from 27 runners, and a 22 point profit.
Mann’s sole entry at the Somerset track today is Big Jer, who is having his first try on a British racecourse. Previously Big Jer has trodden that hackneyed path of Irish points, and he won at the third time of asking in the boggy fields prior to his move to Upper Lambourn, where Charlie’s nags hang out.
He’d been second, beaten just a half length on his prior point start and, though the market will reveal plenty about his prospects, his consistency and his trainer are two good reasons for optimism. A third string to our optimistic bow is the booking of Noel Fehily, one of the best, most under-rated jockeys riding in National Hunt races. He’s almost certain to give us every chance…if the horse is good enough.
Given the big stables which have entries in here, it’s no surprise that our boy is available at an each way price, 20/1 with SportingBet as I write, and given the lack of form of yours truly, it should also come as no surprise that I recommend an each way wager. Let’s hope for a turn in our fortunes on this thirteenth day of the month!
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