Double Dutch, 16th August 2014

Double Dutch

Double Dutch, 16th August 2014

Another good day at the office yesterday, with two winners, a runner-up beaten by a short head, an 11/2 exacta and a 9.16/1 double. That, by my reckoning is our 6th successful double in the last 8 days and we have now broken through the 80pt barrier for the first time.

I had Friday’s race 1 down as a tight 2-horse contest and in the end, my two picks were inseparable in the market as 9/4 joint favourites and only a short head prevented a dead heat in a pulsating finish where the third and fourth placed horses were only a head (twice) further back.

This meant we were loaded up for race 2, where Izzthatright rewarded the faith put in him by the punters who backed him in from 85/40 down to a winning SP of 13/8. He continued his recent run of fine form to blitz the field behind him. He was easing down at the finish, but still won a 6f contest by a good 7 lengths. More to come from this one, I think.

Friday’s results were as follows:

Scallop: won at 9/4 (adv 7/4)
Cay Dancer: 2nd at 9/4 (adv 100/30)
The Exacta paid £6.50 to a £1 stake here
——————————————
Izzthatright: won at 13/8 (adv 85/40)
Kayo Koko: u/p at 7/1 (adv 7/2)

Results to date:
324 winning selections from 1126 = 28.770%
108 winning bets in 294 days = 36.73%

Stakes: 590.00pts
Returns: 670.94pts

P/L : +80.94pts (+13.72% ROI)

REMINDER: THERE IS NO DOUBLE DUTCH ON SUNDAYS

Saturday is our last play of the week and here’s how I’m closing out until Monday…

7.05 Lingfield:

Anjin‘s career hasn’t quite had the lift off expected of him so far, but the best of his five runs to date came last time out over this course and distance a week ago. He was third last Saturday, beaten by just two lengths in a race that didn’t suit him at all. He wasn’t handled that well by Chris Catlin who held him up and then ran wide before wrongly switching inside where there wasn’t enough room, before the horse ran on to close in on the leaders.

Anjin is closely related to The Fugue and if handled correctly, will win plenty of races at this 1m4f trip. Luke Morris is on board today and instils some confidence in a 15/8 BOG selection for a trainer/jockey combo that won this race last year and the 10lb weight for age allowance will help.

Sweetheart Abbey is the other three year old in the race and as such also gets a 10lb allowance here, which will make her competitive once again. Unplaced in six starts prior to stepping up to today’s trip, she has shown a liking for a mile and a half, finishing second in all three attempts at the the trip.

I’m fairly sure that fate awaits her again here today, but should Anjin not quite be on the money, Sweetheart Abbey will be ready to pounce to land her first victory at 11/4 BOG. Several different jockeys have tried to eke that last bit out of her (she has been beaten by a neck and half a length in two of her last three runs), but Richard Hughes is an interesting booking here today and might well just add that little extra needed.

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7.45 Market Rasen:

Master of the Hall seems to like it here in Lincolnshire with a track record of 2131, including a course and distance win just a fortnight ago. He gets the 3 miles readily, having won 3 of his 6 starts over the trip and has wins under his belt on all ground conditions from good and softer all the way to heavy, so stamina shouldn’t be his undoing here today.

He’s up in the weights as a result of that last C&D win, but that’s quite understandable, as he did win by 25 lengths, despite having only taken the lead at the last hurdle, such was the energy in reserve for a “dash” to the line, if you can dash after the best part of three miles! I think there’s every chance of him denying the weight and going in again at 11/4 BOG.

Champion jockey AP McCoy will probably ensure he doesn’t have it all his own way this time, as he takes the ride on Maison de Ville, who has won both her starts since a switch to Brian Ellison’s yard. Mr Ellison is a dab hand at getting horses to improve when he takes them from other trainers and if this horse can handle the step up in trip, she’ll be a tough nut to crack.

If she’s up with Master of the Hall coming over the last, she probably won’t get outpaced as easily as finishes of 2323 in four bumpers suggests she’s got some reasonable ground speed. She has proven that she can handle any ground rated as good or softer and looks a decent backup to my first choice. If I’m totally honest, I’d probably not want to back Maison de Ville at 15/8 BOG as a single as I don’t see much value there, but as the second half of a winning double, i could live with it! 😀

4 x 0.5pt E/W doubles as follows:

Anjin / Maison de Ville @ 7.27/1 (15/8 & 15/8 : BetVictor)
Anjin / Master of the Hall @ 9.78/1 (15/8 & 11/4  : BetVictor & Coral)
Sweetheart Abbey / Maison de Ville @ 9.78/1 (11/4 & 15/8 : BetVictor)
Sweetheart Abbey / Master of the Hall @ 13.06/1 (11/4 & 11/4 : BetVictor & Coral)