Royal Ascot Betting / Robin Keck / 18 June 2009 / Leave a comment

A miserable Robin Keck files another report from the poorhouse.

Gee I was unlucky in my place lay on Yeats. He got all the luck in-running and managed to end the race just 21 3/4 lengths clear of fourth placed Sagara. That defeat has led to my anticipated incarceration at the poorhouse which doesn't have much entertainment on offer. I'm having to play mind games to keep me going and have just realised that if Yeats only had an 'r' in his name he would be an anagram of stayer. Useful eh?

I have concluded that being a layer of a wonderful spectacle that was great for the sport doesn't feel good... I'm going to have to consider the ambiguous economic concept of 'utility' to describe levels of unhappiness as the downside of laying Yeats and memories of doing the same on Kauto Star in this year's proper Gold Cup come flooding back. It's like betting on your new born baby being ugly...you may look in the mirror and think it is inevitable but winning the bet won't be that sweet and you're unlikely to be able to revel in your own shrewdness. In any case, I've just phoned Betfair and they don't have a market on it.

I could and should report on the rest of my day's punting but sometimes you just have to conclude that enough is enough as my mind didn't feel in the right place for further speculation. I'm told this is called discipline and looking at the later results on the card it saved me a few quid yesterday.

On a brighter note Ffos Las looks like a wonderful course and if I ever get out of here it will be my next racing venue. It might lack a bit of glamour compared to Royal Ascot but I'm less likely to sucker myself into place laying consistent top class horses.. .there again if Kauto Star runs there he might not handle something.

Before I return to the scene of my own devastation I must just mention that this will be Rainbow View's day. She has valid excuses for the last two runs and I'm tempted by the [8.8] available on betfair. I suspect she is as good as we all had hoped and will prove it this afternoon.

Good luck everybody. If you're down like me there is plenty of festival left to turn this around.