Horatio worth a few quid here and there over the winter
I know that sort of long-range betting isn't to be recommended and one would have to wait until June for a possible pay-out.
But there will be plenty of times, hopefully, over the coming months when we'll get some dosh from our learned friends on the boxes and in the offices.
It mightn't kill us to shovel the odd hundred back in their direction. Before you'd know it you could have a grand on at 7-1, two grand if you were going really nicely, and be sitting on a relatively tasty pay-out if everything went right.
And if for some reason it went horribly wrong then the loss, spread out over several weeks, would be regarded as little more than a minor irritation!
Kieren Fallon came in for his share of criticism after the son of Danehill narrowly failed to reel in Sir Percy at the end of the Dewhurst at Newmarket on Saturday.
Fallon, one suspects, is his own worst critic, and refused to be drawn in the immediate aftermath of the contest.
I'm very much inclined to the view, however, that Horatio Nelson's defeat had little to do with the pilot and was almost entirely of his own making.
Aidan O'Brien often talks about horses with tactical speed and that's precisely what Horatio Nelson was lacking-over this seven furlongs.
He simply didn't have sufficient pace to hold a position through the first half of the contest and, in the end, it cost him victory.
Fallon was shuffled back behind horses and when some of them began to tire, he had nowhere to go. Horatio Nelson was blocked on a couple of occasions and, by the time he was out and away, it was too late.
Even though he takes high order in the market for the English 2000 Guineas, I simply cannot envisage him being the principal Balldoyle challenger. There seems little doubt that honour will fall on George Washington.
To my eyes he has a mile and a half and Epsom written all over him.
Being by Danehill, out of Epsom Oaks heroine, Imagine, the trip should not present a problem.
When he steps up in distance he is likely to have tactical speed to burn. I think we are going to have to shorten the dreary days ahead and invest from time to time. As Del Boy would say: “You know it makes sense!”
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IF the early National Hunt programmes are anything to go on, Limerick last Sunday week and Cork on Sunday in particular, then we are in for a cracking campaign.
Noel Meade's horses are winging at the moment and we really have to keep him on our side until further evidence tells us it's not such a good idea.
Meade's Mr Nosie was a very strong favourite for the maiden hurdle at Cork and offers of 6-4 looked very skinny indeed.
Easy winner of his only point at Punchestown, he then landed a bumper in smooth fashion at Down Royal.
But the two horses he beat then, Royal Artisan and Barna Boy, have both looked pretty moderate in the meantime.
Mr Nosie, however, kept his unbeaten record with the minimum of fuss and the horse he beat, Mount Grace (she's in a hot race at Punchestown today), should be well capable of taking a little contest in the near future.
Meade's other winner, Ballyagran, if anything, was even more impressive.
Making his debut over flights, he took on previous winners and, despite some indifferent jumping, toyed with them in the closing stages.
It would be quite wrong to get carried away with the two horses, much sterner tests lie ahead, but if you owned one, or both, you would be rather content all the same.
It was a trifle surprising to see Meade's Rocket Ship, he eventually dead-heated for second spot, so strong in the market in the conditions hurdle.
The trainer certainly had his reservations about the trip (two miles and three) and the soft ground.
But once a face or two think a horse is the business then there is only one way the relevant price is going to go and that's down-and rapidly.
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FINALLY another word about the balloting. So many were dumped out of Cork on Friday morning, just couldn't be bothered counting them.
Trainer, Liam Burke, was one of the main victims. He declared seven and they were all flicked into the bin.
No wonder Eric McNamara and Eugene O'Sullivan headed for the likes of Stratford and Hereford last weekend.
