Runners and riders

Who will the runners and riders in the Plaid Cymru leadership challenge? Well, that’s a question for another day, well tomorrow to be precise. That’s when my old chum Vaughan Roderick shines the torch in my eyes to tease out the information on Radio Wales’s Sunday Supplement.

No, its other runners and riders that are of interest today. Namely horses in Newmarket.

Now LSE might have taught some interesting subjects over the years but my time there was usefully employed choosing winners.

On the fifth floor in the sixties they had a wonderful library named after Shaw. It was meant to expand the minds of students from politics and economics and other dreary social science subjects to the Arts. There they had chaise longues to lie on and classical music would play.

Many found it a quiet retreat to recover from a hangover. A library that was put to good use by, moi. By osmosis I developed a love of classical music but more importantly it allowed the solitude and time to study form.

It worked, it was afar better thing done there than has ever been done since. Yes, those were winning days. Never to be replicated, unfortunately.

My love of horse racing has stayed with me, unfortunately,  the luck didn’t.  I even had a share in a racehorse once, Mind you I’d probably have had better returns if I’d stood on the river Taff throwing bank notes into the water.

Well, why the ramble you ask. It’s because my daughter and her cousins are going to Newmarket today and she asked me to pick her some winners.

So as a special service or a disservice to regular readers of this blog I  share the selections. Altruism only goes so far, I’ve placed my bets already, just in case dear readers you rush to William Hills and then reduce the odds!!

The first rule of thumb is that on horses with odds of over 7 to 1, an each way bet is advisable.

Now Newmarket is one of those courses that always feels cold, it’s the wind from the Urals. Now punters can keep warm briskly galloping to place their bets but whether it ups the speed of the horses, it’s doubtful.

13:45 Burano is on everyone's list of favourites, but for a me the each way bet is Entifaadha and that’s where my money’s gone.

2:15 Taqleed catches my eye

2:45 Instance is the horse to beat but you no what they say an apple a day etc. so my money goes on Golden Delicious

3:20 Cinderkamp

3:55 Sovereign Debt has had some good outing recently so worth a punt.

4:25 Anoint has a task here but still rates

5:00 Watered Silk

Now when I suggested Horse racing as a regular for S4C with myself as a pundit, they turned it down. The prefer programmes on poetry. After today’s performance you may well thing it was the right move.