Although Taranis appeals to me as a French bred in the Ryanair today, I couldn’t resist taking advantage of Ladbrokes price of 3-1 about Monets Garden for the race. This is especially good when the horse is trading at 2.8-1 on Betfair, which comes out at 8-3 after standard rate commission.
The Magic Sign obviously took a view about the horse as I backed Monets last night and they held the price until at least 8.30 this morning, when they trimmed to 5-2. I might trade off later in the day depending on what happens on Betfair or I might hold.
Apparently Taranis is the Pricewise choice in the Racing Post at 9-2, odds which will probably not be available in a few hours time (he’s 4.4-1 on Betfair).
Away from Cheltenham, the cricket World Cup has finally got underway and my pre-tournament fancies, West Indies, defeated Pakistan on the opening day, to pretty much guarantee their progress into the next round. I had too much tied up in Cheltenham to take the 9-1 available on the exchanges and they now trade around 8-1. This price is unlikely to contract before the next phase, so I’m holding off for now.
However, I have had a bet on Ireland to beat Zimbabwe in their match today. I took 2.7 on Betfair which looked huge, especially when compared with the bookmakers best of 6-4, but they’re backable now at an even better 2.8. I don’t know how high they will go, but small amounts have been laid through 2.86.
Ireland gave South Africa a good game in the warm up phase and Zimbabwe have a young team and are of course in disarray these days. Some people feel they will still have too much for a non-Test status Irish side, but I think Ireland are a decent bet at the price. As normal with these positions, I shall try and trade off in-running to make an even money free bet after commission, which would leave me quite satisfied.
