Bookmaker steers Farringdon to January glory
Bookmaker steers Farringdon to January glory
It’s not often that a bookmaker comes to the assistance of a tipster, but that was certainly the case last month, as the Bookmaker in question, a John Bridger-trained gelding, delivered the goods for Farringdon. This 14/1 strike at Lingfield on 25 January, helped the Morning Star’s tipster to top spot in the January naps table with a 22.6-point yield.
Racing Post Ratings, winners of the 2016 title, started the year with a solid posting, finishing second in the January listing with 18.6 points, while Gary Nutting of the Sunday Mirror claimed third place.
Farringdon’s bright January began with winners on the opening two days of the year at 9/2 and 4/1, while 11/1 Alto Des Mottes (Newcastle, 23 January) and 7/1 Bordeaux Bill (Sedgefield, 29 January) kept the momentum going.
Three successful 7/1 naps, Lough Kent (Newcastle, 7 January), Goal (Taunton, 11 January) and The Jugopolist (Huntingdon, 13 January), ensured that the reigning nap champions, Racing Post Ratings, made an impressive start to their defence. Six other January naps were successful, contributing to a monthly profit of 18.6 points and an eye-catching 32% strike-rate.
After a slow start to the year, the Sunday Mirror’s Gary Nutting hit a rich seam of form mid-month, mining seven winning naps from 18 selections between 10 and 30 January. The impressive haul was spearheaded by the 9/1 success of the popular veteran Alfie Spinner at Wincanton (19 January) and 6/1 Crievehill (Lingfield, 10 January). It meant that Nutting finished the month with a 12.1 point yield and third place in the January table.
Fourth, with an 8.2-point haul was Kevin Richardson of the Oldham Evening Chronicle. Of Richardson’s 28 January selections, nine were successful, with One For Arthur, a 14/1 victor at Warwick on 14 January, catching the eye.
On the same day that One For Arthur did the business for Richardson, another apparent no-hoper, Sir Lancelot, was lifting the hearts of followers of the Daily Star’s Patrick Weaver when winning at Wolverhampton. This 16/1 stunner was one of nine winning strikes during January for Weaver, and earned him fifth place in the January list with a 6.5-point gain.
Realt Mor, a 25/1 winner at Thurles on 19 January and Geological, who triumphed at 20/1 at Dundalk eight days later, contributed to a magical January for the Irish Times’ Brian O’Connor. He ended the month with 34.9-point profit on all tips. This included a memorable five-timer at Navan on 21st.
The Daily Mail’s Robin Goodfellow was also in sensational form in January, posting a 27.1-point on all tips (593 to be precise). Goodfellow’s record included an amazing sequence on 14 January when a host of winners included 25/1 Mountain Path (Wetherby) and 14/1 One For Arthur, not to mention a five winner haul at Wolverhampton’s floodlit meeting. There were two other 12/1 wins, Zac Brown (Wolverhampton, 5 January) and Actlikeacountess (Leicester, 24 January), as well as winners at 10s, 9s and two at 8/1.
Date Published: 08/02/2017