Cheltenham Racing Tips
Cheltenham Racing Tips
Tony Bloom The Amazing Story of a Professional Gambler
A Winning Day At The Races
He said: ''Are you interested in going to Yarmouth on the 31st July?''
We didn't take much convincing although Tony had intended to work. As it tuned out, it was a good idea.
Travelling by train, we got the 8:34 from March, the heart of the Fens. I wouldn't call myself a carrot cruncher but we did chat to a bloke later in the day who mentioned webbed feet!
A change at Ely, Norwich, then about a 30 minute journey to a place associated with the great man himself Lord Nelson (he actually lived up the road in Burnham Thorpe). The train went quicker than the traffic on the Acle straight. The whole journey took about two hours. With good company, it seemed much quicker. There is no rush. Smiles, laughter and talking tips, prices...red hot favourites.
''It's a favourites track.''
It's a short walk from the railway station to the market place. Danny didn't realise and suggested we got a taxi. The taxi man politely explained it was a short walk, clearly finding reason to get rid of a very cheap fare. I couldn't blame him. Not much to be gained from a £5 trip when waiting in the taxi rank for far too long.
A short walk to the Feathers public house. A friendly place, clean, tidy and inexpensive beer. Different from the racecourse where a round is getting on for £20.
The market was busy and the lady on the hat stand sold Danny something that resembled a Panama. It was as much to keep the sun at bay as being a style guru. He looked the part.
We got a taxi to the course. This bloke shared his tips for the day and didn't inform us it was only ''two miles'' to walk. I've walked along the front but it's a long, long walk – an endless straight. Plenty of furlongs if you want to look at it in that way. Good to firm going, if not hard. Ten minutes drive and stops at the wrong gate. Walked half a furlong to the members enclosure. Almost £30. Scandalous.
I love the course.
So many memories. A family tradition. A happy pilgrimage. Remembering family and friends who did the same. I remember the stories. We were part of the stories. Holidays to Caister-on-sea. Love you, Dad. That's where the sport of kings whispered in my ear that one day you will bet like a pro. I certainly have. Many times one, two, three grand. But not today.
Time passes so quickly. Ten minutes to the first race. I was interested in the second – a two-year-old novice stakes.
The first race come and gone. An easy 10/1 winner. No joy. Danny bet on the favourite. Tony chances his luck on an outsider.
We walked to one of the stands. Sausage and chips, fishcake and chips twice, while Dan had fish and chips. A decent meal for the price. Not so scandalous. Hunger making any price seem palatable.
The two-year-old race had a couple of horses I fancied. Karl Burke's Lonely Boy and Beryl The Petal who I thought had sound each-way claims. I would have rather backed Lonely Boy each-way but the price was 7/4. Had a win bet on both and each-way bet on Beryl at 4/1. I don't think there was much value floating about.
Tony had his eye on Taylormade, trained by Mohamed Moubarak. This son of Archipenko had raced once back in May, running down the field. Ninth of thirteen. He fancied the 25/1 shot. It was 30s on Betfair.
Tony has won some huge money for small stakes in his time. £20 to £4000 when Puggy won on debut. She went on the compete in the 1000 Guineas. He's had many similar bets often simply because he likes the look of a horse. Well, Taylormade registered on his radar.
He walked up to one bookie with a few £20 pound notes, another with a smaller bet. A few quid on Betfair.
I felt pretty confident my two horses would be there about.
''They're off!'' shouted commentator, Thommo, a regular at the course.
Lonely Boy and Beryl The Petal leading. Soon battling with the pack. This wasn't going to be so easy. Losing. Fighting for the lead.
Taylormade mentioned. Tony getting more animated.
''Go on, Taylor...''
I looked to see what I was shouting for sensing Tony had much more to win than me to lose.
It was close. Very close.
''Photograph!!!''
An anxious wait. Tony saying he thought Taylormade had just got up but you can never be sure. The announcement of the photo. Silence before the a merry bunch cheered. Number 4. Taylormade 1st. Tony looking happy. Danny sitting in the grandstand unaware of any winner, as yet.
One bookie paid £400. Another the same. Money ready. ''I've counted it twice.'' Tony took the bundle with a thank you. Taylormade had won him well over a grand with the Betfair wager struck, too. A wallet bulging at the seams.
Walking across the grass, climbing the steps to a hatted Danny, racing paper in hand. Looking up, seeing smiles, and listening to a story of winning. ''I had a feeling you bet on that!'' Danny telling everyone he met Tony had won over a grand.
A great day.
Inside Tony Bloom’s Stable: Cheltenham Festival Contenders Ready for Glory
🔵⚪️ Sean Graham, Tony Bloom's racing manager, on ENERGUMENE:
— Road To Cheltenham (@RoadCheltenham) July 1, 2024
"It will be one step at a time. He’s in the right hands and with somebody with loads and loads of patience.
"We will do everything we possibly can to get the horse back on the track again."pic.twitter.com/DVJArH9XI7
For a Flat racing fan who doesn't know a great deal about National Hunt, even I've got my ear to the ground and placing a couple of free bets. One professional gamblers - and all-round good man - is Tony Bloom who knows a decent bet when he sees it.
Let's take a look at Bloom's Cheltenham Festival entrants.
Bunting (5yo) - Willie Mullins
Wednesday 12th March 2025 - 2:40 Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (25/1)
Friday 14th March 2025 - 2:00 William Hill County Handicap (50/1)
Friday 14th March 2025 - 5:20 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle (25/1)
Energumene (11yo) Willie Mullins
Wednesday 12th March 2025 - 4:00 Betmgm Queen Mother Champion Chase (7/1)
Thursday 13th March 2025 - Ryanair Chase (10/1)
Poniros (4yo) Willie Mullins
Friday 14th March 2025 - 1:20 JCB Triumph Hurdle (66/1)
Tony Bloom has a trio of hopes for the Festival with his familiar blue and white silks. I'm sure a few punters will be following the money and Energumene will be high on the list being a dual winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The dilemma with these multiple-entered horses. Considering this son of Denham Red is only 10/1 for the Ryanair Chase it is one of those situations for ante-post backers. I can imagine most are holding out to see the final declarations. You'd imagine Energumene would go for the Queen Mother.
The lightly raced Bunting has three entries but pretty big odds for them (25/1 - 50/1).
Poniros is a recent purchase for Bloom and in training with Mullins. Very much an unknown quantity after sole runs on the Flat. The odds of 66/1 suggest not too much is expected so you imagine he has been purchased to make up the numbers for the Festival.
It's interesting that Mullins scratched a lot of horses including Bloom's Ile Atlantique who was a big surprise and disaster for some ante-post backers. We'll have to keep an eye on the betting and see how the above three runners go. It looks to me that Energumene is the major hope.
3 Stupid Bets You Must Read
The world of betting is built on a foundation of stupid bets. The kind of idiotic bets that get to make the press. Sure, they are a good read. They are amusing, funny, laughable and often incredible. However, would you like to have your name published as being the said bettor? What a tag to write home about.
''Hey, did you see that bloke who bet on the world ending?''
It was me!!!!
I guess you could collect your winning in heaven or hell but I am sure you don't need wonga in the former and the heat would burn it to ash in the latter.
Read this list of crazy, stupid life and death bets.
Too Cold
''Working in the Arctic, 72 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, with a wind. A poker game broke out to pass the time in darkness. A final bet: the loser was to strip down to naked and stand outside for one minute. Now to those of you who live in San Diego, this kind of cold freezes skin in 10 seconds, snot becomes icicles and hence formed phrases such as, “frosted balls”! *One minute naked in this due north is like an eternity!!! I WON and I’m still fertile, unfortunately my friend claims Mr.Turtle has never come out again ;) ''
Sure, I like to make Bets
''I love this one! I’m really big into making crazy bets.. however, I’m not at all like Laura’s friend Kellen – I’d never want to actually be the one eating the crisco nacho or running around naked and covered in chocolate milk.. (did I misunderstand what happened in that bet?)
However, I am an excellent “market maker”.. when any two people want to make a crazy bet, I am particularly good at coming up with a betting structure, or odds, or specific terms that will make both parties SURE they are going to win and want to enter the bet.. At my previous job, this was a constant source of amusement for us, and it mostly centered around various food bets: whole pizzas, gallons of ice cream, the entire contents of a vending machine, etc..
Crazy bets are the best!''
I Bet you 20 Cents
''I work in the dishroom of my campus dining hall, and just the other day a friend was working across from me on the other dishline and leaned over the plate piles and cup racks to say “I bet you 20 cents I can keep the conveyor turned all the way up to 10 for the whole shift” (we usually turn down the dish belt to make the worst of the rush manageable). Naturally this led to trading banter and heckling for the rest of our 3 hour lunch shift, which is exactly the kind of thing that makes work AWESOME! He pulled through the thick of the lunch rush on 10, by the way, and I turned over my 2 dimes.''
2022 Gold Cup Winner A Plus Tard
1994 Gold Cup Winner The Fellow
The Grand National: Betting Odds for Life
My father, Colin, was my inspiration. If it hadn't been for him, the odds of me writing this post would be 1000/1. Life and our relationships make us who we are today.
My childhood was everything it should be. I didn't realise at the time I had a wonderful mother, father, brothers, relatives and friends. I got lucky at the game of life. Sure, there have been a few lessons to learn. You often hear how gambling is a derogatory word. It is akin to dicing with the devil. He can throw six six six without any fuss. You feel the heat of the situation as another bet crashes and burns.
I wonder if you like a bet?
Because we all need to be philosophical when considering the best betting odds for any given horse race. It may be the Grand National or the Nunthorpe Stakes over a flying five furlongs at York. There will always be winners and losers. But sometimes there is no logic to the result.
If your life was defined by a winner of the Grand National which horse would you be?
Be honest.
I guess everyone wants to be Red Rum. The three-time winner of the Grand National in days where the fences were hard, deceiving and cruel. You needed to be as cunning as a fox, as strong as a bear and jump like a gazelle. Red Rum raced over both codes: Flat & National Hunt. Funny how he was ridden by Lester Piggott at Aintree over five-furlong and dead-heated. It doesn't sound possible, hey? Then we went on to run in 100 national hunt races and never fell.
I'm sure in those days, if we had colour television we would have noticed he wore a red cape and pants over his trousers. That's Red Rum, not Lester Piggott, although I'm pretty sure they both came from the same primordial soup. A mixture of stardust and long-tailed comets that caught the eye.
While some are known for greatness others just got lucky. Which is better? I guess it depends on your perspective. A winner is a winner, hey. So many times life is about circumstance. The odds of you or me being born to our parents more remote than anything we could imagine. As fascinating as it is mundane. It simply happened.
I always watch the Grand National. My first thoughts being that all horses return home safe and sound.
This year's Grand National will be a year for many to remember. If anyone has ever backed a winner in the greatest steeplechase in the world they are likely to remember the horse's name. For some, it was Red Rum. Others it was Foinavon. Many taken their answers to their graves or told in stories by future generations.