Friday 26th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1012– 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Twiston-Davies finally got going yesterday – could have been a handy profit if Crescent Island had deigned to join in! At least the three winners got us most of yesterday's money back.

Campbell and KJ Choi both in the mix so hopefully one of them will remain competitive over the weekend.

Good luck if you're playing Ascot today – you'll need it.

I'll put tomorrow's football bet up instead. There are a few home win shorties thrown up by the ratings. I can't get excited by them though and can see why the bookies are trying to lay them. The exception is the Plymouth v Forest game. It's possible that deeply unfashionable Plymouth are being overly dismissed on the basis of previous home games this season, whilst Forest are nearly always too short. Scoring has been a problem.

Plymouth £25 win at 11/10+
0-0 £2.50 at 11/1+
Five fold £2.50 at 20/1ish Southend/Plymouth/Reading/Mk Dons/Luton

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £3252)
A bet up on the week. Today looks unlikely to add to that.

2:35 Haydock and 7:20 Wolves possibles.

“Snippet of the day”
“You can't buy time,
But you can sell your soul
And the closest thing to heaven
Is rock and roll.”

Thursday 25th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1018– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

A similar shape to yesterday's miserable offerings.

Racing. Perth again and the time's here to get the novice chase bets going. Crescent Island was rated pretty highly as a hurdler – higher than anything else here – and was always thought of as a chaser. Twiston-Davies typically targets this race, and the horse gets a very useful ten pounds off both his rivals. First time out obviously but I'm still playing. We'd best dive in again on TD's runners as well, despite yesterday where to my eyes I'll admit it did look like they weren't quite finishing their races.

To cut the stake I'm playing the Tour Championship golf. The ew odds are attractive in such a small field, especially so if you take the view the Ryder Cup players will be frazzled. Our man looks ot be comingback into form.

Crescent Island £15 win at 6/4 guaranteed
Twiston Davies 15 x 50p doubles and 25p ew acc
KJ Choi £8.50 ew at 22/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £3192)
A couple of winners yesterday keeps the fund ticking along.

Potential races today – Ponte 2:30 and 5:00.

“Snippet of the day”
“Keep on to the bus-stop
Don't stop till you're getting off.”

Still Michael Jackson's finest lyrices. Probably.

Weds 24th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1048– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Regulars will know that I'm a loyal gambler – and today's bets pick themselves.

Goodwood 4:20: Many Volumes has already won for us twice this season and we've only been on the losing side of him once. The price isn't all I'd hope for, but there are legitimate doubts about the rest of the field and this could be the hat-trick.

British Masters Golf: Michael Campbell came good the other week, loves the track and this isn't a great field. Another place looks very possible and maybe the win that seems imminent.

Perth: ever since a visit to the track as part of an autumn holiday I've been playing the Twiston-Davies factor. Obviously the prices have become silly but I'll keep doing it until the mine's completely exhausted.

Many Volumes £15 at 9/4+
Michael Campbell £3.75 ew at 18/1
Twiston Davies 15 x 50p win doubles

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £3092)
The day was looking very good – I played four horse races which all won, Mahut and Liverpool. Shame that I got a greyhound race wrong then and undid most of the good work!

Potential races (although all look unlikely): Goodwood 2:00 and 3:10; Perth 5:50 and Kempton 6:50

“Snippet of the day”
Life: ‘I’d been supposing that it all adds up to something times the power of infinity recurring.’

Tuesday 23rd September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1027– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Swansea probably won't field a first team tonight. Whatever, they will play with a lone striker and flood midfield. Cardiff have had problems scoring. It's a derby that's been a long,long time coming. Sounds like all the ingredients for a tight game. Which is really the only time I find the Unders/Overs market attractive to be honest.

Swansea/Cardiff £30 Under 2.5 goals at 1.75

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £2980 – tennis match unaccounted)

There's a few potential races today – Bev 4:00; Sedgefield 3:40; Folkestone 3:20.
And the greyhounds at Yarmouth throw up 4 possible races. One for sure below:

1. 9:45 Yar Dutch traps 2 and 6 £300 at 1.2+

2. Liverpool beat Crewe at 1.2 (better price than they were to beat Stoke!)

“Snippet of the day”
“He minces...but not his words.”

Wife – on Craig Revel Horwood.

Monday 22nd September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1027– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £2920)

Review to date:
Football 14/15 119% returns
Tennis 145/172 99% returns
Racing 146/169 106% returns
Overall 338/398 103% returns

The reduction on tennis bets and a concentration on other sports and racing, plus in-running seems to have paid dividends.

So, today's bet naturally is a tennis bet!

Mahut beat Udumchoke £300 at 1.35+

“Snippet of the day”
“Businessmen drink my wine
Ploughman dig my earth.
None of them along the line
Know what any of it is worth.”

Sunday 21st September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1015– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Fair play to Faldo with the foursomes. He may make me eat humble pie. I'm half tempted to get out of yesterday's bet for a small loss, so that I can sit back and cheer on Europe without anything else on my mind. This is one of the few sporting events my wife really likes and it's hard work pretending I'm 100% in the European camp!

Football prior to that though.

Chelsea are 5/4 in places. That indicates two teams equally matched, which I guess overall is fair, though my ratings have Chelsea the higher-rated team. Add that Man Utd are stuttering on this season's form and 5/4 becomes the merest whiff of value.

Everton are a very good team when Arteta and Cahill play. 11/8 looks pretty big to me for a team who have don't concede much away from home against a Hull team who may have shown their true colours against Wigan rather than against Fulham.

And as for Presvis being favourite for the Cambridgeshire, I may be the only who thinks people are looking at the wrong Cumani horse. That looked to be Presvis's day. Meanwhile buried in the pack in a race that wouldn't have suited, having a nice prep was Ask the Butler. His run reminded me of Lost Soldier Three's sighter for York a few years ago, which later formed part of the Fallon trial. I'll play.

Chelsea £15 at 5/4
Everton £15 at 11/8

Ask the Butler £2.50 at 16/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £2920)
I ended up with three plays yesterday. The Catterick maiden put me in a hole; Lady Deauville started the rescue bid, and laying Bolton when they scored saw me get my hand onto the parapet. Nearly 300 bets in this fund now – I'll share some stats tomorrow.

No obvious bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
Last night at dinner a friend said that we were heading for “barbarism” due to the systemic failure of the financial markets. My wife was puzzled.

“I don't see that at all. Just because there's a recession doesn't mean people won't need hair-cuts.”

Saturday 20th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1045– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Right – back and refreshed; my dog has now seen the sea (and drunk a lot of it) and has hence already ticked off most of his 1001 things to do before you die.

Campbell came good for a place last Sunday and our Champions League bets look well placed. Ronnie let us down mid-week but no need to worry yet. Which leaves the golf – and Casey has already let us down. I've got out of the draw with a bit still on our side.

Today's foursomes are a headfuck. Westwood and Garcia dumped and Wilson thrown in for a debut against a Mickelson who is looking like he was born to play Ryder Cup, revelling in the absence of Woods. That and the presence of Faldo were potentially two big factors in USA's favour and so far so good. Now you have to think confidence, team spirit and crowd are going to kick in further. There is a long way to go but I'm thinking this looks bad. Fair play to Faldo if he proves me wrong but I think he's blown this big time.

As the racing looks tricky and I haven't had time to update my football ratings that'll be today's bet.

(On the Ayr gold cup I'd be prepared to give Rising Shadow at decent shot at reaching the frame and have done a small ew treble him, Ask The Butler and Look Busy, but for interest only.)

Ryder Cup
£30 USA at 1.5+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £2995)
The last racing bet let me down and nothing since. Probably no bet today as I ease my way back in.

“Snippet of the day”
“And the Burning Sky keeps burning bright,
And it won't turn off till it's had enough,
It's a greedy bastard that won't give up
And you're just a dreamer if you don't realise
And the sooner you do will be the better for you.
And we'll all be happy and we'll all be wise
And we'll all bow down to the burning sky”

(Ok – enough Jam)

Sunday 14th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1037– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

I'm off for a brief walking holiday – back next weekend. Probably a relief after yesterday's setback!

In particular it looks sensible to let the football ratings settle down – 7-0!

I'll leave you with my idea of a good bet for the Ryder Cup.

Paul Casey must have a decent shot at being top wildcard. He looks to have a lot in his favour to me. For starters he may well play more than the others. The Americans tend to give everyone outings and as their wildcard picks are also rookies they're going to do well to get more than three starts. Casey is a relative old hand and could well get 4 starts – maybe even the full five. Aside from that, his record is pretty decent and he pairs up well with Karlsson who is on top form if this week is anything to go by. His singles record is hardly shabby – narrow defeat to Woods and beat Furyk. Plus he's won the World Matchplay.

Of course, it's golf and the dead heat rules could decimate the bet. Even so, I'm on at 7/2 and think I'll go in again at 10/3. It's probably just me that's forcing the price down though – you'll probably get 4s once the markets open up properly. I'll be stuck in deepest, wettest Wales then though!

My only other feeling about the Ryder Cup is it looks like it's going to be another close one, as opposed to last time's massacre. Europe in transition, with a potentially disatrous captain; Americans on home soil, and probably more of a team without Woods. I think a trade of the tie could provide some interest at least.

Casey top Wildcard Ryder Cup £15 at 10/3
Back Tie £15 at 12/1 – looking to trade out out in-play.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £3245)
Septimus and a half-time lay of ManCity got the week off to flyer. Add a couple here and hopefully that'll be the week done!

1. Golf Mercedes – Dutch Karlsson, Molinari and Lucquin £300 at 1.15 (there's an element of hedge here as we still have Campbell in-play but probably too far back).

2. Goodwood 3:40 – Dutch Bankable and Lady Deauville £300 at 1.25

“Snippet of the day”
“Cut down on the pork pies mate,
Get some exercise.”

Saturday 13th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1050– 7 bets inplay – accounted)

Let's go St Leger crazy.

This morning the Doncaster race looks exactly the same as it did earlier in the week and my only solution is to increase our bets. Look Here should be favourite for me and Unsung Heroine remains the outsider to take the eye.

At the Curragh it looks a stroll in the park for Septimus, but I can't let my old friend Jellystone go unbacked. Jane Chapple-Hyam showed again last week how good she is in the big races.

The other races look tricky and I'll just throw some trebles in the mix based around Look Here.

Look Here £7.50 win at 7/2 (already advised £7.50 at 5/1)
Unsung Heroine £2.50 win at 12/1+ (already advised £2.50 at 10/1 – oops!)
£1.25 rev fc.

Yellowstone £5ew at 12/1
£2.50 Septimus beat Yellowstone

Look Here/Corrybrough/Al Qasi/Sonny Red
4 x £1 trebles and £1 fourfold.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1075/Current bank £3082)
Having ridden my luck at Doncaster yesterday I decided to shut up shop for the week and take a £200 dividend. No obvious bet today anyway.

“Snippet of the day”
“It's so hard to understand
How the world's your oyster but your future's a clam.
It's got you in its grip before you're born,
It's down to the use of a dice and board,
They let you think you're king but you're really a pawn.”

(Last weekend Anne and I went to a fundraising art show staged by a private schoolgirl in sunny Shropshire. It was surprisingly good and she raised a bundle of cash for Malawi. Today Anne is running a sports day for under privileged kids in run-down Birmingham as part of her job. Be careful where you're born! We don't seem to have progressed much in my lifetime. Eton Rifles running London already and soon the country.)

Friday 12th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1085– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

The racing should be the sort for me today but I've all but given up. The Doncaster Cup looks tricky. I put the front two in at 4/5 so there should be juice opposing them, but I can't find anything from the outsiders that I want to pin my colours to. I'll sit it out.

The other race involves Spacious for whom the odds look right – she's been swooping late and fast in big fields though and this small field has to be a worry – especially if Frankie steals a lead – and presumably this is a prep race for Autumn targets.

So, I'll put the weekend football up today instead. Three away teams.

Chelsea's price is a puzzle. I have them in at 8/13 and they're 11/10. Robinho's that good? It can't be Chelsea cast-off Wright-Phillips. I guess the bookies are expecting some bandwaggon jumpers. Big price all the same.

Derby are pooh. Saturday Gambler has been opposing them all season and it's time we joined in, with a side we've been keen to be with so far this season.

The team we remain against so far, and with no result, is Shrewsbury. My local paper points up some injury problems in the front line as well. Gillingham look like they're going to give it a good go this season and my tissue has this much more competitively priced.

Chelsea £9 win at 11/10
Sheff Utd £9 win at 8/5
Gillingham £9 at 10/11ish +0.5 Asian
£3 treble all three to win at around 16/1
(When there is a timelag with the matches I won't place the Chelsea bet until after the other two have been played and if they both have won, I won't place the bet at all – relying on the treble only).

One other bet today.

Strictly Come Dancing starts again, and I'll spread one day's bet out over the tournament for interest – given it's my wife's favourite show. Last year the semi final looked completely smelly to me, so we'll be mindful of judge manipulation.

Perusing the list of celebs the two I've decided to side with initially are:

Christine Bleakley – The One Show is remarkably watchable for the guff that it is and that's helped immeasurably by Christine. The show is on at just the right time (after the filler programme weeknights on BBC2) for her to get fan momentum; allegedly she can dance; and she has the girl next door feel about her that doesn't alienate the core voters (middle-aged women).

Austin Healey. It was a toss-up between him and Mark Foster for the male athlete. Foster will probably be the beefcake, but Healey already has reality TV track record and is a bit of a cheeky chappie. Foster also must have shoulders like wardrobes and could look a bit clunky.

Bleakley £1 win at 10/1 and £1.5 best woman at 5/1
Healey £1 win at 10/1 and £1.5 best man at 5/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3232)
Still a perfect week. I get the jitters when that happens – which is not helpful!

Possible bet
3:50 Doncaster – dutch front two at 1.2ish

“Snippet of the day”
“No corporations for the new-age sons”

(I watched Quadrophenia last night and remembered my own lost weekend on the beach at Brighton 1979ish, The Jam and a mini mod revival. Sans scooter though.)

Thursday 11th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1092– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Ronnie O'Sullivan loves the Snooker League. Fast starts, short games, quick play – perfect for him.

I don't like having money tied up and already have plenty of bets in play but we have to take some of the 11/10.

Doncaster 2:00
Only three horses interest me. Gravitation would be my pick on prices – my tissue has him at 2s. The other two look more ground dependent. Allegretto would probably not want it worse than good/soft and whilst a group horse last year has been patchy this. Gull Wing has a class barrier to overcome but his performance behind Jellystone showed how useful he can be if the going is trenchfoot. I may play all three as a barking bet. I may split bets between barking and up here. I'm sitting tight for now though.

For blog accounting I'll do a split bet on Allegretto and Gravitation.

Ronnie O'Sullivan £15 win Premier League at 11/10
Dutch Allegretto and Gravitation £15 at 1.5+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3149)
(Russia gave me a few palpitations). In good shape. No obvious bets today.

“Snippet of the day”
“Three lions on a shirt
Jules Rimet still gleaming
40(ish) years of hurt”.

(The number of years was always dodgy – surely the hurt actually started with Gerd Muller's goal in 1970 quarter finals – it did for this 8 year old, who was too young to remember '66).

Weds 10th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1102– 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Regulars will be expecting me to steam into Croatia today. After all, we backed them both games last year, and have them to top the group. I have to say though, it looks like the betting public are beginning to wise up. The England price is beginning to fall into line with reality. A crying shame.

We won't desert just yet – I still have Croatia priced at a shade under what's available but we will look to split bets with a couple of other choices today.

Michael Campbell deserves one last and final chance to get back on track.

And at Doncaster Galeota jumps off the page as the horse most likely to be suited to conditions, especially given his love of the track and this race. There's legitimate doubts about all the others and so I'm willing to forgive his distinctly average form this year. I had him in at a minimum of 5/2.

Croatia £15 win at 6/4+
Michael Campbell golf £2.50ew at 33/1
2:35 Doncaster Galeota £5 win at 3/1+ (7/2 is available - limited)

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3067)
9/9 on the “possible bets” put up here so far this week. Shame I've only donw 6 of them!

1. Spain beat Armenia £275 at 1.1 (Ladbrokes longer than exchanges)

2. Russia £275 dutched to beat Wales and 0-0 at 1.2

“Snippet of the day”
My wife on watching the finale of Maestro last night. (I'd have loved that to have been a betting event.)

“Middle England having to choose between a black man and a lesbian. A retired brigadier in Reigate has just spontaneously combusted.”

Tuesday 9th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1102– 3 bets inplay – accounted)

“That Federer – he's gone at thegame I'm telling you – gone...”

Ho hum. The first draft of my intended bet which had me placing a saver on Federer winning 3-0 obviously had merit. El greedo strikes again.

Can't find a bet today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2926)
Back into dividend territory but as we know we should really be accounting in our heads for a couple of swift wickets.

Possible bets today:
2:30 Beverley
3:50 and 4:50 Leicester
9:45 Sheffield dogs £275 dutch traps 1 and 4

“Snippet of the day”

“Who'd have thought we'd both make so much bread, a couple of revolutionaries like us.”

“Good job it's not important to us.”

“Yeah – fuck 'em if they can't take a joke”

(For Andrew Black)

Monday 8th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1132– 2 bets inplay – accounted)

A decent day yesterday – horses and Serena.

I was going to put up a treble yesterday with the two horses and Murray outright. Damn. Would have saved me the bother and probably expense of what I'm about to do today!

Murray was sensational last night. The penultimate point was extraordinary. He pushed Nadal back foot by foot, and by the end had him gasping for air – not a sight you see very often. Federer still looks shaky – both with his game and with his head. And Murray more than anyone else seems to be able to mess with Federer's head. Federer thinks/knows he's way better than him, so how come the ball keeps coming back to me, and why am I making so many unforced errors off his nothing balls?

On the other hand there's some obvious downsides to backing Murray. Federer remains the 'best there's ever been', Murray has to deal with him in 5 sets not 3; has to deal with his first ever slam final; and has to deal with a possible let-down after Nadal.

Purely on current form though I think Murray should be a fair bit shorter than he is. I think I'll kick myself if he wins unbacked – I've been in the camp that thinks he's the real deal ever since he arrived on the scene. And won't cry if he loses. He is of course that perfect athlete for an Englishman to back – a brave battling winning Brit, or a sad sorry losing Scot!

To balance the books I'll add a couple of ante post bets for the St Leger. And it's the fillies for me who have been impressing all year. Hardly more so than Look Here who of course did us a huge favour in the Oaks and so has to be backed. Unsung Heroine has been the much mentioned dark horse. I took her at 12/1 but will have a small top-up at 10s as well.

Murray £20 beat Federer at 7/4+
Look Here £7.50 win St Leger at 5/1
Unsung Heroine £2.50 win St Leger at 10/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2755)
That was a decent week – clawing us back into the game. Still a way to go to get to the last benchmark (£2900).

There are quite a few possible races today – but none of them obvious and the going also cause for caution.

2:20; 2:50 and 3:50 Folkestone
3:40 and 4:10 Bath

“Snippet of the day”
There was a super little programme on Thomas Hardy last night – which took me back to my college days. I always preferred his poetry personally – and this snippet on the Titanic should speak to those who fear the wrath of the gambling gods.

“And as the smart ship grew
In stature, grace and hew
In shadowy silent distance
Grew the Iceberg too.”

Sunday 7th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1064– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

“Saturday Gambler” was with me at Brighton. He told me my football bets were rubbish (though he'd done the treble anyway), that Scotland would lose, Murray would win and Amir Khan would be knocked out. We should all be reading his blog!

I was tempted by Murray's odds but I've enjoyed staying out of that tournament so will concentrate on racing today instead.

New Approach has the race at his mercy now – it's hard to see what can beat him unless it gets a lot heavier than the clerk is suggesting right now, or unless he really pulls all chance away. 1.5 would be my price.

The Longchamp race is much more interesting and here I'll follow Pricewise, Willoughby et al and suggest Goldikova has the race conditions strongly in her favour, unlike Henrythenavigator. There's four other credible contenders in this race though, so we'll split stakes across the two races so that we make a small profit on either winning.

New Approach £22.50 win at 8/13
Goldikova £7.50 win at 7/2

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2755)
England were 1.14 at half-time last night. Now that was a cracking barking bet. It makes me think there must be an edge generally on overreactions to first half performances in televised football matches. Watching brief from now on.

“Snippet of the day”
With an 8 year old's mind for silly rhymes I've been calling Jelena Jankovic – Jelena Skanky Bitch for years now. The phrase came from a great line about friendship in the brilliant TV series 'No Angels' . Having won us a few quid I vow never to say it again. Unless she beats Serena tonight that is!

“I'm a horrible little skanky bitch”
“Yes, but you're our horrible little skanky bitch”.

Thursday 4th September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1042– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

I'm off to Brighton tomorrow for my annual day out with friends from the old corporate days, so no further posts until Sunday. I'll be stuck on the train home for racing tomorrow so will have to miss it – with the ground as it is that's probably no bad thing. Here's some weekend bets though.

Racing today.
5:20 Salisbury – These conditions events can be tricky but this does look to boil down to Balkan Knight and Regal Flush. We should be able to beat 1.5 dutched easily enough and if so I'll play. If non runners etc decimate the race or the prices go against us, I'll skip and double up my bet on Serena Williams instead.

Dutch Regal Flush and Balkan Knight £15 at 1.5+

Tennis
The sisters may have carved up the match last night (I didn't see it so can't comment) but they have proved so far that they are much better than the rest. Given they are practically part-timers it's great testament to them but I tend to think it's more a damning indictment of the rest of women's tennis.

We have Safina to win (at around the same price she is now!) so there's an element of hedge in the bet.

Serena Williams to win US Open £15 at 1.9+

Football
I don't have any obvious reasons why any of these prices are wrong, I'm just trusting my ratings – if not enough to go for broke on any single match.

Millwall beat Blackpool £9 at 5/4+
Luton beat Macclesfield £9 at 13/10+
Bournemouth beat Notts Co £9 at 15/8+
£3 win treble at around14/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2682)
The non runner at Brighton probably saved me money on that race - don't think he would have beaten the upset.
Possible plays (both look unlikely though) 2:10 and 2:40 Salisbury

“Snippet of the day”
“Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.”

Weds 3rd September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1042– 4 bets inplay – accounted)

I was reading up on the golf this morning and saw that Campbell actually beat Dyson – the Tour scoreboard must have had a brainfart Sunday afternoon – that or I need to go to specsavers.

Either way, an unexpected bonus and as it feels like free money I'll reinvest a few quid on Campbell to win this week at the much reduced odds of 22/1, and throw an each way double in with Vijay Singh as well.

Jankovic landed the money for winning her quarter. Safina unlikely to win outright but a small profit overall.

Otherwise - no bet on a very quiet day.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2694)
Possible plays:
2:30 Brighton – possibly dutch front two – though short at moment and Rio Gael a slight worry.
4:10 Hereford – possibly dutch front three – keeping an eye on Alecia in market.

“Snippet of the day”
“There's something I can't quite put my finger on,
About a clockwork monkey beating a drum;
But any time I've seen such a thing,
There's something inside of me knows what it means.”

Tuesday 2nd September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1043– 3 bets inplay – accounted)

The Group 3 at Goodwood looks very playable, but non runners could well decimate it, so I'll be playing late. Royal Vintage could be way better than these and his end of season targets suggest connections think so. The rest are very average, and only Welsh Emperor likes the going. He should get a soft lead, but he had the same perfect conditions for his own race last time out and faded badly like a horse in decline. Royal Vintage is only having a prep (like Getaway) but really should sweep by. There's every chance he'll drift (as Archipenko did) and I'll play.

However, there are enough doubts (prep/fitness/going/course/first time in britain) not to go full steam, so I'll split bets with a couple of Champions League bets, solving yesterday's conundrum.

Royal Vintage £15 win at 6/4+
£10 Treble to win their groups – Inter Milan/Chelsea/Barcelona at 15/8
£5 Fourfold to win their groups – Inter Milan/Chelsea/Barcelona/Villareal at 10/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2589)
Possible plays:

4:10 Sedgefield match bet – dutch faves at about 1.15
8:15 Romford dogs – possibly dutch traps 1 and 3 – at close to 1.2
9:25 Romford dogs – possibly dutch traps 1 and 4 – at around 1.3

“Snippet of the day”
“And if you hear vague traces of tripping reels of rhyme
Through your tambourine in time,
It's just a ragged clown behind,
I wouldn't pay him any mind,
It's just a shadow you're seeing, that he's chasing.”

Monday 1st September

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1043– 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Michael Campbell was one shot ahead of Dyson with one to play and finished three behind!

At least the racing was better. And Jankovic needs one more win. I wonder if my fave Radwanska can put the cat amongst the pigeons in the other half of the draw by taking out Venus today?

No bets today. I was looking at the Champions League groups and outrights, but not keen on having a load more money tied up for ages. I'll think about it.

Review of progress of daily challenge bet:
Since inception - (“bets” means a daily bet – so yesterday's 3 racing bets actually counts as 1 bet):

Football bets: 53/95 120% returns
Racing bets:86/178 120% returns
All bets: 159/314 109% returns
(Clearly golf and other sports are dragging the fund down!).

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2441)
Possible plays:

2:20 Hamilton; 3:10 and 3:40 Lingfield and 4:30 Kempton

“Snippet of the day”
There's always a lyric or line from a film or poetry or something running round my head. Always has been. (Not that they're always accurate!) Let's spice up this somewhat dry page with a daily dose of whatever's rattling around in there. I'll leave it uncredited as I know Saturday Gambler for one would like to guess – no google!

“Like a bird on a wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way
To be free.”

Sunday 31st August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£994– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

The football looks difficult today and there's no margin in any of my ratings. If anything Liverpool come out as a bet, but given I've been opposing them away for years now, I can't quite work that one out. I'll sit out.

Some decent racing abroad though. These three races all have legitimate faves, but with niggling doubts and nothing more than fair prices. I'll split bets across all three but with a degree of foreboding and knowledge that getting one winner is a loss on the day. I would have preferred a football bet and just to have done a modest treble on these three just in case, but here goes.

3:20 Deauville Getaway is one of my horses. He looked like he was going to be a world beater when picking off Sixties Icon, and ran OK at Epsom where the camber did for him. Not so good last time though, and more worryingly this is his Arc prep so a tight finish won't see Frankie over exerting himself. Doctor Dino's penalty is no good for him, so it's a question of whether a couple of lurkers step up to make a race of it.

4:15 Curragh Again's owners look to have told O'Brien not to bother here which seems as good a line in as any. Shima would have to have stamina worries – particularly if it gets testing. We may be betting on a decent wedge of hype though.

5:15 Curragh I probably like Masta Plasta's chances the best of the three here. He should get a nice break and a soft lead up the rail and be hard to peg back in a small field. The worry is the going – the more rain that helps Again, hinders Masta Plasta. Also, Alan Berry may actually have a decent horse.

Getaway £9 win at 7/4ish
Again £9 win at 7/4ish
Masta Plasta £9 win at 7/4ish
£3 win treble

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2441)
A late play on the Solario looks a very bad bet in retrospect, and a later play on Murray was looking even worse! Now losing on the week and this fund is certainly in the doldrums.

1. 3:00 Newton Abbott possible match

Saturday 30th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£994– 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Updates:
Michael Campbell pootling along very nicely. We've already landed two of the match bets with Jacquelin and Fisher missing the cut. Let's see if he can push onto glory, or at least beat Dyson!

Jankovic not looking too inspiring and Wozniacki every chance of beating her. We'll wait on that match but may need to hedge on Dementieva reaching the final. Safina going ok in the other half of draw but Serena/Venus looking ominous. (My modest ew double Wozniacki/Campbell still alive!)

I've never liked this day's racing and if I do play end up regretting. No doubt I will dabble – Stoute at Sandown more than likely, but I'm going to do a Saturday first and give no bet here today. We have the football bets from yesterday, Arsenal, and the golf and tennis to keep us busy anyway.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2625)
Normal Saturday.

1. St Helens £250 win rugby at 1.14

Friday 29th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1024 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Football's a cruel enough game when you're a fan in the stands...

Hey ho – onwards – the weekend's football starts here!

Four sides flagged up by ratings – two worth pursuing. Their prices are attractive due to the hype surrounding their opponents. QPR are supposedly moneybags now, but haven't visibly been splashing the cash, and much the same applies to my new local team. The bookies seem to be overly short on both teams right now. I'll stick with what the ratings suggest.

£13.75 Bristol City beat QPR at 7/5
£11.25 Notts Co beat Shrewsbury at 9/4 if you can get it – 2/1 still fair.
£2.50 Notts Co/Shrewsbury 0-0 at 10/1ish (both sides short of goals)
£2.50 fourfold Bristol City/Notts Co/Rochdale/Leeds at 25/1ish

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2542)
For second week running the dogs wipe out all of good work.

Thursday 28th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1054 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

I usually just stick to league games and my ratings, but I can't resist a go at the UEFA cup tonight.

Man City were beaten in the first leg and are now odds on for the rematch. This against a team that were only beaten once at home all last season. City have conceded a mere 17 goals in their last 5 Premiership away games, and frankly were gifted the game against an abject and 10 man West Ham on Sunday. I'd struggle to go 6/4 City, but the bookies have to price this aggressively given the teams involved and that City “MUST” win.

Plus it's yet another chance for me to bet my favourite off-beam edge – value on teams/people with unpronouncable names!

I'll put the main bet on Midtylland getting something from the game, greedy it up with a small win bet and hedge on City scraping through on away goals.

Midtylland £22 at +0.5 asian hcap at 11/10ish
Midtylland £4 win at 7/2+
Man City win 2-1 £4 at 8/1+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2726)
Sod Tipsarevic.

There's only possibles today – 3:10 Ayr, 4:20 Lingfield and 8:15 Belle Vue dogs

Weds 27th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1084 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Daily challenge golf bets are 6/22 and 68% returns. Just so you know prior to today's bets. That's the thing about golf though – losing runs and occasional big priced winners. Still, it's the only losing sport on here and only fair to warn any newcomers.

I've caught Michael Campbell playing a few shots over the last few weeks, and he really looks like a player getting back into the swing. This course and the weather should help. I've played a few match bets as well as outright to try to limit the damages, though it does mean we are getting stung on the overround each time.

Campbell £3 ew at 50/1
Campbell £8 beat Dyson at 9/10
Campbell £8 beat O Fisher at 10/11
Campbell £8 beat Jaquelin at Evens

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2872 – Tipsarevic yet to play - accounted)
Still in good shape. I'm not sure about short priced football teams to be honest, but the Arsenal price is perfectly fair and maybe has too much of Fulham's win in it.

1. Tennis Tipsarevic beat Warburg £250 at 1.24 c/over

2. Tennis Srebotnik beat Muesberger £250 at 1.17

3. Arsenal beat FC Twente £250 at 1/4

Tuesday 26th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1084 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Nothing appeals today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2839)
4/4 on the horses yesterday – Warwick, Ripon, Cartmel and Huntingdon! Which puts us a bet ahead on the week already. Be nice not to give it up too quickly.

I forgot to mention a bet in-running on Sunday. When Noble was sent off for West Ham I dutched City to win and a 0-0 draw at 1.27. Looks a possible new avenue worth exploring, though I struggle to get a handle on true odds in such situations.

1. Tennis Tipsarevic beat Warburg £250 at 1.24

2. Tennis Radwanska beat Shedova £250 at 1.13

Monday 25th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1109 – 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Nothing like spending a Sunday in bank holiday traffic jams to make you want to get back in the saddle!

US Open tennis.

The men's tournament had me chewing my front trotter off after about half an hour so I've swerved it entirely.

The women's tournament looks even more unfathomable but it does have an interesting shape to it. The 4^th quarter looks a decent place to be. The shrewdies hate Jankovic and have given up on her ever winning a slam. I tend to agree on the whole – all that injury nonsense is a sure sign of mental fragility. On the other hand she is second best rated in the world and that's because she usually goes deep in a tournament. The two in her draw who could trouble her play each other early on, but should they beat her in round 3 could then have a real good run to the final – with Kuznetsova off form and Dementieva surely due a letdown after Beijing. Anyway, enough prattle – here's the portfolio. The bookies let me down badly in accepting bets and I ended up adding Safina to make up the stakes – how amateur is that!

Jankovic £15 win 4^th quarter at 13/8
Safina £5 win outright at 6/1
Wozniacki £2 ew at 66/1
Azarenka £1 ew at 28/1 (33/1 available but the Tote would only allow me £6 – risible)

For the horses I'll probably continue with Many Volumes, who looks likely to drift this afternoon.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2500)
12/17 last week – hopeless and £400 down on the week. Gonna take some time to get back to the new benchmark.

Some racing opportunities today maybe.

1. Tennis Azarenka beat Zakopolova £250 at 1.1

Sunday 24th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1074 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Three wheels on my waggon...!

I was due a kick in the arse. I can't help feeling York being abandoned may have been a blessing in disguise. And at least it was Fulham that dented the Arsenal bet!

And, in reality all that's happened is I've given back August's profits so far, so a sense of proportion required, and in times of yore a betting day like yesterday would have spanked me way harder, so the staking strategy I was moaning about midweek proved its mettle again.

I'll adopt usual tactics and have a day or two off. A steam fair in Shrewsbury should be sufficient to get the enthusiasm back!.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2709)
Racing kept me in the game – after a terrible week – although Petara Bay nearly scuppered one late play. That hedge on Veronica Campbell has helped staunch the losses as well. The Olympics started well but the athletics caught me out big time.

Saturday 23rd August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1104 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

The racing looks remarkably uncompetitive today. I may look silly saying that later! Hard to find obvious bets though, so I'll do my old stand-by of doubles.

Patkai/Sanbuch/Bankable/Winker Watson/New Approach 10x £2 doubles
(add Ravens Pass/Duke of Marmalade) 4 x £1 fivefolds
The top 5 plus Dobriskey (see below) £1 sixfold

Dobriskey runs in the women's 1500m later and has a finishing kick that is hardly associated with British distance runners. I think she'll grab a place. But I'll aim higher and back her without the fave.

£5 Dobriskey w/out Jamal at 3/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2746)
3 losers in the last 6 bets has the look of a Wall Street crash in this fund. The first real testing time for the fund!

1. Vlasic win women's high jump £290 at 1.19

2. Dutch Ravens Pass/Bankable £290 at 1.17

3. Dutch New Approach/Duke of Marmalade £290 at 1.22

Friday 22nd August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1097 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Yorkshire Oaks. I thought Lush Lashes would get the trip fine in the Oaks, so am inclined to forgive her. Besides there may not be much pace here – let's hope Manning doesn't mess up again. Michita is very solid and I don't like Passage of Time despite her last two races. Dar Re Mi is worth a go in this class, but for me we can get with the front two at a fair price. I'll try to land a treble with the other carried over races.

£24 dutch Lush Lashes and Michita at 1.5
£6x1 trebles Lush Lashes/Michita/Equiano/Bauer/Milne Graden/Yellowstone

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3036)
What chance Jamaica drop the baton in the two 4x100m sprints? That's the only obvious way they'll lose. Surely less than 10% despite GB/US examples yesterday. I have a feeling the 1.17 available is decent, though rain would put me off.

Thursday 21st August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1127 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Allyson Felix definitely looks injured. I wouldn't blame anyone for getting out of that bet, although she still looks at least second best. Personally I'm going to hedge with Veronica Campbell in the barking bets fund.

Tomorrow looks like a racing day, so we'll do Saturday's football today.

Blackburn are 4/6 with Ladbrokes to beat Hull. They seem very keen to get the team, which is a worry, as my ratings have Blackburn priced at 1.5 for this. I think they are betting on apparent unrest in the camp, rather than beief in Hull. Fulham should have been away and gone after half an hour last week, whilst Blackburn got a great result at Everton. Hull's away form last season was very poor, and I'd say there's a considerable class gap here. I'll go against Ladbrokes.

I think we'll do an accumulator every weekend as well this season, though last week may be the closest we get!

Blackburn beat Hull £25 win at 4/6
Blackburn/Southend/Plymouth/Barnet £2.50 win acc at 20/1+

(For Jonah – Chester – heavy ground, poor horses, good luck with that project! The Racing Post seems all over him like a rash but the only horse that appeals is Leslingtaylor. I've always liked him and he should enjoy the conditions. Say £2.50 win at 11/2 for interest's sake! Have a good night.)

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2692)
I forgot to account for Lolo Jones yesterday – that hurt – went 1:01 in-running – but Gail Devers managed the same feat twice so I should have guessed. Strange that I'll play the same event today!

1. Robles £290 win 110m Hurdes at 1.2

2. Veronica campbell £290 at evens (If Felix wins these losses are accounted against that)

Weds 20th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1157 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

I was going to have this as a barking bet, but given the continued absence of York, let's move it up as the main bet.

Usain Bolt will win today. But break the world record? I doubt it. Even if he gets the wind; even if he isn't tired from all the races AND the attention; even if he actually runs through the line; even if someone makes a race of it, and even if he improves his bend running I still think he'll come up short. For now. And so does Michael Johnson. And frankly, if you've been paying attention over the last few years that should be enough.

Usain Bolt not to break 200m world record £30 at 1.35+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2907)
Damn – back where we started the week.

Three potential races in half an hour this evening –
Newton Abbott 6:40 and 7:10, and Folkestone 6:25

Tuesday 19th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1121 – 5 bets inplay – accounted)

On Weds of Cheltenham I was due to go with a friend. He was halfway there before it was called off. Today he is halfway to York. Now that's bad luck!

No bet today now. We have some interest in the athletics today – and a probably forlorn hope that Sanya Richards ties up. Since I've learnt that Michael Johnson has been helping her I've lost confidence in that bet – but do think Uhurogou's a tough opponent.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3155)
Another couple of wins in the Olympics yesterday. We've doubled our money now - which is nice!

1. Possible bets at Nottingham dogs tonight 8:00 and 8:15

Monday 18th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1146 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

I'll stick with the Olympics on a quiet day today.

Allyson Felix looked special last year. She joined that special group in my mind's eye of runners who look graceful and effortless – Coe, Gabrielselassie, Pietro Mennea. I was convinced she'd become a great and was getting ready to bet accordingly. Then I caught her a couple of times on eurosport last month and she looked sluggish and off-form. She has run a good time recently though, and I think at the prices I'm going to stick with my earlier memories. That hasn't been the best of ideas so far – Kelly, Nicole (Sanders) and Paula have all shown the rather obvious need for form.

So, let's back her up with someone in the form of his life, who could just grab a bronze and, in a very messy event – who knows.

Felix win 200m £19 win at 11/8
Baddeley 1500m £2 ew at 33/1
£1 ew double

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £3061)
A couple of good plays in the athletics got me off to a good start for the week. The prices have been very attractive.

1. Mens team track pursuit - £290 GB at 1.08

Sunday 17th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1149 – 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Really good run lately. I don't feel I've made enough of it – but then my staking strategy is bound to seem hopelessly conservative in good times and it's important to remember what it saves me through the bad times.

I've already had my bet for today – the Chinese women in the quadruple skulls, which was a remarkable example of patriotic prices skewing the market. I was close to doing them as a barking bet at 1.3 after the heats, and they were 1.9 at the off in the face of a Great Britain challenge and Steven Redgrave hype. He's plainly not as good a judge as Michael Johnson who actually predicted Bolt's finishing time yesterday – now that's top topping!

I probably should now sit out the rest of the day but the football has drawn me in. We'll blame Billy if it all goes Pete Tong.

Aston Villa are only a fair price on my ratings to win today, given that I missed the evens that was available earlier in the week. However, if you overlay the almost certain improvement O'Neill will squeeze out of them, and the almost certain implosion of City (one of the worst run clubs imaginable) then 5/6 looks fair enough.

We'll split bets with Chelsea. Who always seem to be drawing at half time in their matches at home, (not far off 50% in the last few seasons) before winning second half. Portsmouth are more than capable of keeping it tight.

Aston Villa £15 win at 5/6
Chelsea £12.50 draw half-time at 7/4 (15/8 is available for some)
£2.50 Draw/Chelsea at 7/2

“Barking Bets” (Banked £875/Current bank £2905)
Bolt landed us a double whammy and pulled me into profit for the week. I banked a modest £100 and am now up to £290 per bet. Can't find one today though – should have done Rebecca Romero but was too busy chewing a chocolate criossant.

Saturday 16th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1025 – 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Sadly we can forget Kelly – I did warn you it was a lovebet!

Already some bets running on – Chris Hoy and football. Let's add some racing.

Newbury 2:40.
Sixties Icon is a favourite of mine and has done well for this blog over the last couple of years. A little worried about the going and with Geordieland skewing the win market we can keep a couple of tough soft ground horses on side as well.

Newbury 3:15
Paco Boy looks a legitimate favourite here, with no obvious reason why those he beat last time should fare any better. However, this is Welsh Emperor's race, and it does look like he could get the soft lead he needs. We can back them both at odds against.

£12 dutch Sixties Icon/Tempelstern/Peppertree Lane at 6/4ish
£15 dutch Paco Boy and Welsh Emperor at 5/4ish
£3 win double Sixties Icon and Paco Boy at 10/1ish

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2785 – mens 100m unaccounted)
Another racing loser yesterday – wipes out most the good work of the week, and makes Usain Bolt somewhat key to the week – especially as I'm going in again!

1. Mens 100m – Bolt £275 at 1.3

Friday 15th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1080 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Olympics again today:

Firstly cycling.
The Keirin is supposed to be chaos. Strange then that Chris Hoy has won the last 20odd races he's been in. That makes 5/6 look big.

Hoy £13 win Keirin at 5/6

Secondly the women's 400m.
As with Asafa Powell this bet is on the basis Sanya Richards chokes on the big occasion. In particular with this event she seems to struggle when she has to run heats and semis. I'm going to lay her and cover the English girls for a patriotic top-up. I'm a big fan of Nicola Sanders but she hasn't had the best of preps.

Lay Sanya Richards for the 400m to lose £10 at 1.4ish
Uhurogu £1 win at 14/1
Sanders £1 win at 33/1

Tomorrow could be busy so let's get the weekend football out of the way as well.

There's possibilities in each division. Middlesbrough could be a bet to beat Spurs. Or Spurs a lay – after all they only won away from home three times last year, and are yet again priced on hype over substance. Chester look in disarray and Wycombe could profit. The two we're going to play though are:

Sheff Utd to beat QPR. The latter look the new Spurs when it comes to expectation over experience. The prices are based on their supposed resurgence rather than on last year's form. I'll stick with the form.

Brighton to beat Bristol Rovers. I'm obviously a big Micky Adams fan. He did the job before for Brighton and I'll take him to do it again. Rovers are in freefall and clear bottom of the league on my ratings. Brighton's main striker is injured so let's cover 0-0.

Sheff Utd £14 win at 13/10
Brighton £12 win at 4/5
£2 0-0 at 10/1
£2 four fold – Sheff Utd/Brighton/Middlesbrough/Wycombe at 25/1ish

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2918 – mens 100m unaccounted)
A loser yesterday – definitely due.
Possible races today – 2:20 Newbury; 2:00 Kempton and 4:15 Kempton.

Thursday 14th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1070 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Let's split bets again today.

1. Olympics. A lovebet this to be honest, but I've backed Kelly Sotherton virtually every major championship she's been in and she's always grabbed a medal. Looks like it will be close again, and more javelin agony no doubt. Evens is fair though.

Kelly Sotherton £12.50 to win a medal at evens

2. Salisbury 4:15. Third Set could be Godolphin's new flagbearer – god knows what they've done with all the others – but the going won't help today. A striking aspect of this race is that Hannon trains both the horses likely to put the pace to the race, and both look to have cracking chances in their own right. Ridden sensibly there's every chance the two could stack this field up. I'm split between backing them both, or Ordnance Row to place. Possible non runners, particularly taking field below 8, and the exact state of going will decide. For here I'll go:

Redolent £5 win at 11/2
Ordnance Row £5 win at 6/1
£1.25 rev forecast

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £3121)
Seem to be choosing well so far this week – which is probably a case of riding luck because I'm fairly sure I should have sat out some of the plays.

1. Men's 100m £275 dutch Gay and Bolt at 1.43 (Powell has a very poor championship record)

2. Possible plays 2:00 and 3:05 Salisbury

Weds 13th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1100 – 2 bets inplay – accounted)

An unusual bet (for me) today. Here's Arsenal's first ten fixtures:
West Brom (h)
Fulham (a)
Newcastle (h)
Blackburn (a)
Bolton (a)
Hull (h)
Sunderland (a)
Everton (h)
West Ham (a)
Spurs (h)

Last year they also had a softish start to their campaign and they started well only for the tougher fixtures and a thin squad to tell later on. I expect the same this year. Plus Man Utd may well start slowly with their injury worries.

Anyway, here's the bet. Back Arsenal now for the title, and then lay out entirely after around ten games. They are a shade over 5/1 now and hopefully we'll be able to get out under 3/1.

Trade: Arsenal £30 win at 5/1+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2979)
Possibles Yarmouth 2:20 and Beverley 4:50 – the listed race at Salisbury could also have potential. Probably no bet though – we're effectively one bet ahead this week so far and in no rush.

Tuesday 12th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1100 – 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Another no bet day.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2957)

Anne was badgering me to do a couple of chores I've been avoiding so I ended up playing all the events I was in two minds about yesterday, just to keep out the way! Turned out well, and I added Phelps overnight at what looked a big 1.11. Radwanska won for us yesterday yet again, and I guess we dodged a bullet as she lost today in a similar match.

1. Possible 2:30 Lingfield – Dutch front two.

Monday 11th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1100 – 2 bets inplay – accounted)

2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th in the golf. At least a couple were each way.

Fair play to Harrington who reminds me of Rooster Booster. Years of coming second, and then suddenly he seems to discover where the winning line is! Garcia looks destined never to win a major (though I would have said that about Harrington about 13 months ago).

No bet today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2660)
I was tempted by England for the cricket but will stay out. Zilcash looked a sick horse last time out and has 4 credible challengers – a possible lay, but King's horses are tricky in first time blinkers. Probably sit out today.

Sunday 10th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1081 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Golf update: No option but to sit and wait and play later.

Arlington Million sounded like a soft lead race – disappointing. Football kicked off better. Maybe I should have trusted myself and piled on Southend. I still think a certain caution will be useful early doors, so we'll split bets again today.

Marchand D'Or should win today – this is his track and he won very cheekily last time. 5/4 is the right price I'd say. We should probably keep US Ranger onside – you know why – but I'll stick with the fave.

Football – Reading have kept most of their players, so their rating should hold up. These players bossed this league two seasons ago. Forest are stepping up, and have injury problems. I thought Reading should be 5/4.

Marchand Dor £11 win at 11/8
Reading £11 win at 6/4
£3 double

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2660)
A couple of winners yesterday.

1. Tennis – Radwanska beat Chan £275 at 1.17

Saturday 9th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1095 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Golf update: Garcia and Stenson still in the mix and it looks wide open. We'll top up with another slew of arrers and see where we are this time tomorrow.

O'Hair £1.50 at 20/1
Toms £1.50 at 25/1
Baddeley £1.50 at 22/1
Poulter £1 at 125/1
Trahan £1 at 80/1
Michael Campbell £1 at 180/1

Racing:
The Shergar Cup isn't a betting event for me, and with all the rain about I'll be keeping it quiet all day. The one race we can attack with verve and gusto is the Arlington Million. I don't know the American horses, but looking through the form there really doesn't seem much to worry the two raiders. I prefer Archipenko of the two, but we're in O'Brien land again, and angels fear to tread there.

Arlington Million: £25 dutch Archipenko and Mount Nelson at around 8/11

Football:
Here we go at last! I looked back over last year's postings and it was a useful reminder to treat my ratings with caution for the first few games. The odds compilers really take into account transfer activity in a way my ratings can't. I'd guess they probably overreact, but I'll still tread quietly for a few weeks.

Southend for example are being labelled a selling club, and Peterborough a buying club, and the odds today reflect that. My ratings though have Southend odds on for this match. Last year I'd have steamed in and paid the price. This year I'll still play but let's spread the love by including two other teams clear on ratings but who presumably have not done a lot pre season.

Southend beat Peterborough £8 at 11/8
Carlisle beat Bristol Rovers £8 at 2/1
Rochdale beat Grimsby £8 at 7/4
£1 treble

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2490)
I got back from London just in time to get stuck into the Haydock maiden. A hungover mistake I feel cross with myself for! And one that's ruined this week.

I'll be careful today.
Possibly 2:35 Haydock Dutch Smokey Oakey/Multidimensional and Flying Clarets (soft lead).
Other possible races – Redcar 4:10; Lingfield 5:40 and 6:10; and Ayr 6:20.

A long day!

Weds 6th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1133 – 1 bet inplay – accounted)

I'm off for a couple of days after today – back to London for one hour's work, then off with old mates to Sandown for the racing and then a hungover game of tennis. Nice.

So, and this is something of a damp squib, here's my Olympics bet. I think there will be ample opportunities for barking bets throughout but this is the only outright bet I ended up with. I'll play it up here rather than in the barking section despite short odds.

The only thing that is crystal clear is China's utter determination to top the medals table. They have been plotting for 8 years to gain most golds, and though the price looks terrible at first glance, I think it's a safe bet. In particular I think we are going to see some decidedly dodgy results in all events that are marked by judges. Don't however be tempted into the most medals market at better prices. USA major in events where they can often pick up more than one medal (eg athletics), whereas China are majoring in events where often there is only one entry per country.

£25 China most golds 2/5

We'll also start a USPGA golf portfolio and, as with the Open last month, top up as we go along.

I'd love to say there's a lot of research gone into this. But there hasn't. I'm giving Garcia yet another last and final chance; keeping Stenson my favourite golfer onside, and seeing if KJ Choi can avoid a snowman on the 72^nd hole this time. A loyal bet, made up with the two players playing the most solid golf this year. Hopefully a couple will challenge and put us in a fighting position.

Garcia £1.50ew 25/1
Choi £1.25ew 45/1
Stenson £1.25ew 45/1
Perry £1.25ew 45/1
Karrlsson £1ew 70/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2765)
Haas sent us back to the start of the week. These tennis players really do tank a lot, and I wonder how much appearance money has to do with it. This tournament was always likely to be dodgy so we'll shut up shop on that sport for the week. It's the only area not in profit and I've already cut back accordingly.

No obvious bet today.

Tuesday 5th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1133 – 1 bet inplay – accounted)

No bet today. I've been doing my football league season accumulators and some Olympics research instead!

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2945)
One bet, one winner yesterday.

1. Tennis – Haas beat Young £275 at 1.15

2. Wimbledon dogs – possibly 9:10 Tp6; and 9:45 Tps 1 and 3

3. Catterick 2:30 – possible, but I'm not usually one for Johnston shorties.

Monday 4th August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1133 – 1 bet inplay – accounted)

No bet today

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2865)
Good golf win yesterday. I covered in play when what appeared to be an 11 year old was making a charge – she'll be pretty decent when she leaves the brownies. Still, a nice start to week though.

1. 3:30 NA – possible dutch Qrackers and Ellerslie Tom £275 at 1.3ish

Sunday 3rd August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1133 – 2 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2773)
Ochoa looks to have blown the golf, but with her on-side there does look a greedy barking bet on the front runners – I have a feeling their names and relative anonymity are holding their prices up.

1. Golf Dutch Fudo, Shin and Miyazato £275 at 1.45

Saturday 2nd August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1079 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

Still flowing along. Nice win yesterday. Those who laid the cricket draw will collect, and Ochoa is nicely placed after two rounds.

Goodwood.

Lush Lashes is a very good horse. Halfway to Heaven is from the stable that's been killing us. I'm going to dutch the two of them and hope for the best. (To answer Jonah's query. The problem with Halfway to Heaven is she may not stay, nor be much good!, so am inclined to avoid the place element, though I can see the logic).

And in the Stewards Cup I'll throw a dart.

3:30 Goodwood Lush Lashes and Halfway to Heaven dutched £20 at 6/4 and 9/2 guaranteed
3:50 Goodwood Barney McGrew £5 at 16/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £775/Current bank £2773)
I've shut up shop for the week. I couldn't find anything today (Saturday is always the hardest day – I wonder what difference if any the football season will make).

I've banked £275 for the week, and will up stakes to £275 from tomorrow.

Which is nice!

Friday 1st August

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£1049 – 3 bets inplay – accounted)

A good week, and I'm not going to spoil it by getting dragged into playing a Goodwood card that looks even harder than yesterday's.

The one race I do like is the first one. However, there are three warnings here, and I will be waiting until the last minute before betting, if at all. Firstly, non runners look certain; secondly, the rains could be coming; and thirdly, I want to try and sense the vibes about Sixties Icon.

Because if Sixties Icon is fit and well this is his for the taking. The other horse with very decent course form, Stotsfold, is the only challenger I'd be worried about and we should be able to construct a nice bet around that.

Something like:
£15 win Sixties Icon
£10 place Stotsfold
£2.50 win Stotsfold

We'll see.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £500/Current bank £2953)
Another good day. I'm in no rush to lose these profits – would like to bank some money this weekend.

1. Tennis – Radwanska beat Pin £240 at 1.1

2. Possible races Bangor 2:30 and 3:40; plus Thirsk 3:15. They'd have to be mighty tempting though to get me involved.