Sky Dogs

Betting on pups is far from a reliable source of income but I'm going to have a little ante-post interest in the Stan James Puppy Derby which kicks off at Wimbledon on Saturday night.

Barrie Draper's Farloe Solar has good early pace which is a big advantage at Plough Lane and he looks a fair price at 16/1, I'll have 1.25 points to win.

The Coral Sussex Cup tops a good card at Hove this evening. All the action is live on Sky Sports 2 from 7:30p.m. Here are my selections for the evening -

19:40 T1 - Glenard Sunrise 11/4 Corals
20:50 T6 - Pennys Sunstar 9/2 Corals
21:10 T1 - Bubbly Bam Bam 7/1 Hills

I'll also be cheering on Pat Rosney's Windy Millar in the big race as he's my only ante-post interest left in. I'm on at 5's and he's currently a best price 2/1. I'll let the bet ride unless the price collapses and then I'll lay off to save the stake.

David Evans' Hollow Green doesn't look to well in on the figures for the closer at Windsor and is worth taking on at the current price of 3/1. I'll lay her to lose 20 points at that price or lower.

Result; 1st
Profit / Loss; 0.00 points (lay cancelled by Betfair due to NR)

Fans of NFL Total Access voted to rank all 32 NFL teams ahead of the forthcoming season. Here are the results along with the current best price. You can access a video from the Total Access programme by clicking on each teams name -

1 - Pittsburgh Steelers - 12/1
2 - New England Patriots - 6/1
3 - New York Giants - 12/1
4 - Indianapolis Colts - 14/1
5 - Philadelphia Eagles - 16/1
6 - Tennessee Titans - 25/1
7 - Baltimore Ravens - 25/1
8 - Arizona Cardinals - 33/1
9 - San Diego Chargers - 12/1
10 - Atlanta Falcons - 25/1
11 - Dallas Cowboys - 22/1
12 - Carolina Panthers - 25/1
13 - Minnesota Vikings - 22/1
14 - Chicago Bears - 25/1
15 - New Orleans Saints - 25/1
16 - Miami Dolphins - 50/1
17 - Washington Redskins - 40/1
18 - Green Bay Packers - 33/1
19 - New York Jets - 40/1
20 - Jacksonville Jaguars - 40/1
21 - Buffalo Bills - 66/1
22 - Houston Texans - 40/1
23 - Denver Broncos - 80/1
24 - Tampa Bay Buccanneers - 66/1
25 - Seattle Seahawks - 50/1
26 - Cincinnati Bengals - 100/1
27 - San Francisco 49ers - 66/1
28 - Cleveland Browns - 100/1
29 - Kansas City Chiefs - 80/1
30 - Oakland Raiders - 125/1
31 - St Louis Rams - 150/1
32 - Detroit Lions - 200/1

Kevin Ryan's Montiboli bids for a hat-trick in the 16:10 at Carlisle this afternoon but this is a competitive affair and the 3/1 offered looks short enough to me. I'll lay her to lose 18 points at 3's or less.

Result; Lost
Profit / Loss; +6.01 points

The Steel City Cup at Sheffield has reached the semi final stage and I'm going to have my first foray into the antepost market with Barry Draper's Magna Flintoff who looks overpriced at 8/1 with the sponsors. I'll have 2.5 points to win.

Solemn looks short at around 11/4 for the closer at Chepstow this evening. I'll take him on and lay to lose 22 points.

Result; 1st
Profit / Loss; -21.09 points

Only time for a quick post -

20:25 Donc - Omokoroa - 13 points to win at 3/1 or better.

Result; 2nd
Profit / Loss; -13.00 points

Off to watch Dan Baird in Leicester tonight followed by a day at Uttoxeter races tomorrow. I'm hoping 18 points to win (at 5/2 or better) on Joburg in the opener at Sandown this evening will pay for the beer!

Result; 2nd
Profit / Loss; -18 points

Looking for a good start to the week with these -

15:45 Yarmouth - Luminous Gold - Lay to lose 21 points at 5/2 or lower
17:00 Ayr - Ingleby Star - 16 points to win at 5/2 or better
17:45 Yarmouth - Dragon Slayer - 15 points to win at 2/1 or better

Luminous Gold; Lost
Profit / Loss; +6.94 points

Ingleby Star; 1st
Profit / Loss; +40.00 points

Dragon Slayer; 1st
Profit / Loss; +30.00 points

Both antepost selections for the Sussex Cup have made it through to the semi final stages and I'm going to add a further two dogs to the portfolio -

Clairkeith Codey - 2 points win at 10/1 (Coral / Skybet)
Deanridge Flash - 1 point win at 20/1 (Hills)

C'mon You Irons is in good form at present and looks capable of going well in the lucky last at Pontefract this evening. I'll have 16 points to win at 3/1 or better.

Result; 1st
Profit / Loss; +48.00 points

The Sussex Cup starts this evening at Hove. I'm going to start my ante-post portfolio with these two -

Windy Millar - 4 points to win at 5/1 (Skybet / Hills)
Glenard Sunrise - 1.5 points to win at 14/1 (Bet365 / Stan James)

A good card up at Sunderland this evening with the climax of the UK Festival of Greyhound Racing.

William Hill have to be congratulated on the prizemoney they put up for this but the nature of racing at the North East course means they're likely to retrieve a fair portion of their investment from punters!

Here are my selections for the evening -

19:40 T2 Lenson Express 9/4 (various)
20:15 T3 Glenroe Ginger 5/4 (Bet365 / Totesport)
20:30 T1 Rhincrew Scholes 0.5 points EW 12/1 (Paddy Power)

Good luck to all connections and to you if you have a wager.

A top class field go to the traps for the Boylesports International at Dundalk Sunday evening, it should be an absolute belter. Check these out -

T1 - Kinda Ready - 7/1 - 2009 English Derby winner. First outing since his triumph at Wimbledon. Should be suited by the 550 yards trip.

T2 - Cash Dream - 7/1 - Not a dog I know a huge amount about but he's a multiple open race winner and can show good early pace. Beat favourite Ballymac Ruso last time out.

T3 - Shelbourne Aston - 4/1 - 2008 Irish Derby winner. Will be out the back early but stays on like a train.

T4 - Accordello - 10/1 - Ladbrokes 600 winner. Not seen out since taking that competition in May. Another strong finisher but does get the odd flyer and was particularly impressive in the semi's of the 600.

T5 - Ballymac Ruso - 9/4 - English and Irish Derby finalist. Lightening from the boxes when on form.

T6 - Skywalker Queen - 4/1 - Landed the Irish Oaks in fine style a couple of weeks ago. A threat to all if holding that form.

A real tough race in which to pick a winner. These are all top class hounds.

Favourite Ballymac Ruso looks short enough at 9/4 though he could well lead. Kinda Ready is big at 7/1 as is Accordello at 10's.

I'm going to plump for the well drawn Skywalker Queen however and hope she's held her form from her Oaks triumph. It's tough for bitches against dogs but the 4/1 put up by Stan James looks a bit of value and she could well go off shorter than that.

Late one, lay Prelude to lose 23 points at 3/1 or less.

Result; Lost
Profit / Loss; +10.55 points (lay matched plus some trading)

I'm going to take on No Rules in the opening race at Doncaster this evening. Mark Tompkins' gelding has only managed one win from fourteen starts and doesn't look that well in on the ratings. The 11/4 on offer is short enough and I'll lay him to lose 21 points.

Result; 1st
Profit / Loss; -20.98 points

One horse I fancy up at Ayr this afternoon and one I don't.

Tom Tower goes in the 16:10 after bouncing back to form last time. This is his grade and while 6/4 isn't a great price its just about acceptable. I'll have 15 points to win at that price or better.

Royal Destination looks to have a decent chance in the 16:40 and Jeremy Noseda doesn't often send one up to the Scottish venue. I do object to the best offer of 9/4 though which is based on the trainer and the horse's potential rather than form. I'll lay him to lose 19 points. Against the jolly I've also backed White Deer (5 points at 6/1) and Toto Skyllachy (4 points at 15/2).

Tom Tower; 3rd
Profit / Loss; - 15.00 points

Royal Destination; 1st
Profit / Loss; 0.00 points (lay unmatched)

White Deer; 3rd
Profit / Loss; -5.00 points

Toto Skyllachy; NR
Profit / Loss; 0.00 points

Suitably Accoutred showed a vast improvement in form 3 days ago to win at Hamilton and she goes again at Beverley this evening. Given her previous form I wouldn't want to take a short price about her though and am prepared to lay her to lose 20 points at 11/4.

Against her I'll also back Art Value and Shekan Star. 5 points to win on each at 6/1 or better.

Suitably Accoutred; Lost
Profit / Loss; +7.04 points

Art Value; 2nd
Profit / Loss; -6.00 points

Shekan Star; Lost
Profit / Loss; -6.00 points

A quick one ...

Lay Bollin Greta to lose 25 points at 5/2 or less.
Back Society Venue, 8 points at 10/3 or better.
Back Ross Moor, 4 points at 7/1 or better.

Bollin Greta; 1st
Profit / Loss; -25.00 points

Society Venue; Lost
Profit / Loss; -8.00 points

Ross Moor; Lost
Profit / Loss; -4.00 points

Stateside is in good form at the moment and looks capable of following up her recent Hamilton win in the closing race at Redcar this evening.

Victor Chandler offer the best price of 19/20 and while I'm not a real fan of odds on punting it looks fair enough and I'll have 14 points to win.

Stateside; 2nd
Profit / Loss; -14.00 points

Off to my local course Haydock Park this afternoon, I can't really find anything for a serious bet there so a couple of small wagers and a couple of cold beers will be the order of the day.

Down at Yarmouth I don't really fancy current favourite Al Azy for the apprentice race at 17:30. David Simcock's colt is an inconsistent sort and is probably better over further. At 3/1 I'll lay him to lose 18 points.

To try and squeeze a bit more out of the race I'm going to back Dobravany (7 points at 4/1 or better) and Clipperdown (6 points at 9/2 or better).

Al Azy; 1st
Profit / Loss; 0.00 points (lay unmatched)

Dobravany; Lost
Profit / Loss; -7.00 points

Clipperdown; 3rd
Profit / Loss; -6.00 points

Not a pretty month ...

The strategy has been tweaked slightly, place betting has been dumped for now and I've added some win bets to try and take advantage of when I find a favourite to lay. I'm fairly happy with things at the moment, I just think its been one of those runs which happens now and again. The trick is to still be in the game when things pick up ... I hope!

Overall I am still just over 74 points in profit and running at around 10% on turnover. That's a little low really but I've only had 67 bets since mid April so we'll see how things go over a longer period.

A poor June on the horses front though the dogs are keeping things ticking over. Hopefully July will be kinder and I'll kick off in the 15:30 at Catterick this afternoon.

Summer Dancer is in good form but up in grade for this race. The top price of 9/4 looks short enough to me and I'll lay to lose 17 points at that price. I'll also back Bold Marc (10 points at 11/4 or better) and Turn Me On (5 points at 11/2 or better) to take advantage of the vunerable favourite.

Summer Dancer; Lost
Profit / Loss; +7.42 points

Bold Marc; 1st
Profit / Loss; +27.50 points

Turn Me On; 2nd
Profit / Loss; -5.00 points