This weekend's betting will follow the mantra of one B. Ashton

General / Graham Cunningham / 18 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

'Keep it simple' was my junior rugby coach's advice and that's how I'll bet, says racing journalist Graham Cunningham

Never doubt that the Betfair community is a broad and bizarre church.

Take a recent Forum thread asking people to nominate their greatest claim to fame.

One forumite told of how he (or possibly she) had starred on X Factor, while another boasted of appearing in Queen's video for their anthemic 1984 hit Radio Ga Ga.

Predictably, violence also reared its ugly head. One contributor, without going into gory details, claimed to have "killed a guy." Another told of how he "gave Bono a dig at the local school disco," while one precocious individual related how he headbutted Manchester City and England star Micah Richards in an under-10's football match.

Elsewhere, you have to tip your hat to the chap who spent his early years enjoying street kickabouts with the late Bill Shankly. By contrast, one can only wonder about the motives of the nosey parker whose brush with stardom consisted of catching a brief glimpse of Stevie Wonder's penis in the toilets of a restaurant in Windsor.

Naturally, this absorbing thread got me wondering about my own minor claims to fame. And the one that came to mind in this momentous rugby week is that I was once coached by the blessed Brian Ashton.

It didn't last long - and the stress of turning a diehard rugby league centre into a union second rower can't have helped the England supremo in his battle against baldness - but one thing Ashton constantly impressed on players was the value of technique.

"Do the basics really well and the score will look after itself," was Ashton's mantra whenever things got tight for my college XV back in the early 1980's.

Sadly, doing the basics well might not be enough when the mighty Springboks roll into Paris for the World Cup Final this Saturday, but keeping it simple can pay off at Newmarket this weekend when Samurai Way bids to land a sustained gamble in the Cesarewitch.

Granted, the fancy prices have long gone, but Luca Cumani's five-year-old is well treated under a penalty for his recent Ascot success and promises to relish this marathon trip.

Som Tala is another relentless stayer with place prospects, while Inchnadamph is a live longshot given his fine record in this race, but Samurai Way looks a potential Pattern race performer and will be very hard to beat despite the fact that being drawn 2 in such a massive field is far from ideal.

Resisting the temptation to have a crack at Group 1 prizes is always difficult as a punter, but sometimes abstinence is the best policy. Good luck if you are taking a swing at a fiendishly difficult Champion Stakes, while solving the Dewhurst Stakes involves an element of weather watching as well as form study.

New Approach looks bound to be a strong favourite whatever the conditions - and understandably so - but Rio de la Plata endured a rough trip when second to him in the National Stakes at the Curragh. That trip to Ireland was followed by an emphatic success in the Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp on Arc day and Rio de la Plata will be well worth a win and place interest if Godolphin let him take his chance.

What promises to be another hectic punting weekend begins with an intriguing blend of Flat and jumps action on Friday.

Godolphin are well represented again at Newmarket, with Emmrooz and the long absent Short Skirt bound to be popular in the 2.35 and 3.45 respectively.

In short, it could pay to back the former and lay the latter. Emmrooz showed up boldly for a long way in Ascot's Royal Lodge Stakes and can get the better of Kandahar Run, while Short Skirt is undeniably well treated for the Severals Stakes but is worth a small lay given that ten furlongs could well be too sharp for her nowadays.

Cheltenham officials will be thrilled with the fields for the first day of their new campaign, and Battle Cry looks bound to go well in their opener at 14:20.

The unexposed Mr Pointment looks sure to be popular in the 16:05, but this is a hot handicap and it wouldn't be a total surprise to see Commercial Flyer give the lie to some desperate form figures.

David Pipe's gelding has gone off the rails in no uncertain terms since his novice season but has left the impression more than once that the engine remains intact if only the bodywork holds up.

Finally this week, there could be a little mileage in a small lay of the Nicholls-trained Kaldouas in Cheltenham's 17:15. This six-year-old is much less exposed than most, but he has also looked a lazy customer and may not be at his very best now that an amateur rider steps in to replace Ruby Walsh.