News
The latest news from Northern Monkey Punter.
End-of-Season Membership Offer
16th October 2023
NMP membership until the end of the 2023 season (i.e. from the day you sign up until 30th November 2023) is now available at the discounted rate of £30.
Champions Day at Ascot, the November meeting at Doncaster, the Breeders’ Cup meeting in America and the Melbourne Cup at Flemington are some of the big meetings awaiting us in the final weeks of the season.
Another Huge Ces Pot Landed!
14th October 2023
The Cesarewitch is a race NMP members have enjoyed terrific success in over the years.
Big Easy, Withhold, Low Sun and Run For Oscar all returned in the winners enclosure for us in this prestigious race, while we came close to landing a huge gamble on Oriental Fox (20/1 into 7/1) who was done by a short-head in 2015, and Burning Victory was also pipped by Buzz and cost us a packet two years ago.
This year we bagged a 25/1 winner in The Shunter (SP 14/1) and landed bets returning around +75 pts profit!
Members were advised:“THE SHUNTER caught my eye over 1m4f at Gowran a few month back. It was in the race we backed Smooth Tom, who finished second. The Shunter was held up from off the pace in a tactically-unsatisfactory affair, but kept on to finish an outpaced fourth and show there is still a racehorse there. That race was won by his ownermate, Goodie Two Shoes, who made every yard of the running and skipped beyond recall.
Both the winner and second from that Flat contest have won over hurdles subsequently, so I suppose you could say the form has been boosted to some extent.
The other run which makes The Shunter of considerable appeal at the prices is his November Handicap fourth at Naas off 93 last year. He was beaten little over five lengths but it was holding ground there (it was the race My Mate Mozzie got chinned in, if anyone remembers!) and he just lacked the gears to reel in the leaders.
On that evidence, a stiff 2m2f on the Rowley Mile could prove right up his street on Saturday. Remember, this is a smart National Hunt horse who has won over distances up to 2m5f over fences. He's rated 148 in that sphere and probably has about a stone in hand on the Flat, assuming he retains all of his enthusiasm and ability at the age of 10.
Emmett Mullins booking James Doyle is a big positive given Doyler's record at the HQ tracks and it would be fair to say he is an upgrade on Simon Torrens and Jamie Powell, who have ridden him on his last three Flat starts in Ireland.
We're coming to the end of the season now and some of those taking their chance have been actively on the go throughout the year taking in the big staying handicaps throughout the season. The Shunter, by contrast, has raced only three times this calendar year and only once since April - that run being his aforementioned Gowran run in August (over the wrong trip).”Awesome Annaf Plunders The Portland
16th September 2023
NMP members landed a big chop (+44 pts profit) at Doncaster's St Leger meeting as Annaf, advised at 14/1 (returned 7/1 at SP after coming in for strong support on the afternoon of the race), weaved his way through a crowd of horses under Rossa Ryan to get up late and land the prestigious five-and-a-half furlong sprint for Mick Appleby.
An extract from the bet reasoning for Annaf e-mailed to members read:
"He does come into the race with an official rating of 106, so must lumber top weight, but Steps won this off 108 in 2015, Oxted was 105 in 2019 (albeit a 3-y-o so not top weight after weight-for-age factored in), and Hurricane Ivor won it off 102 two years ago, so highly-rated horses have often prospered over the years.
Annaf has the best 2023 form in the race by a country mile courtesy of his third behind Bradsell and Highfield Princess in the King's Stand at Royal Ascot - a Group 1 - so his status as top weight is fully deserved.
The cynics may point to the fact he's 0-12 on turf and 5-10 on the AW and say he can't win on turf, but the reason he's not been winning on grass this year is because he landed an AW hat-trick for Appleby in the winter that saw his rating rise to 108 or so, so he's naturally been campaigned at Listed and Pattern level subsequently, rubbing shoulders with class horses all year.
His Duke of York and Coral Charge fourths were both good runs, as was his King's Stand third and even his Sprint Cup run last weekend had some merit even though he was unplaced."
NMP members were advised to have a strong EW single on him on the Friday before the race and also double him with Baradar, who bolted up at Doncaster that day at 10/3 to tee up a nice double with Annaf the following day, from only a small stake.
