Summer burnout

I don’t know about you but I’ve enjoyed this quieter week on the racing front after Royal Ascot. It’s always easy to forget just how relentless big meetings like Ascot, Cheltenham and Goodwood can be, but may be I feel it more as I work in the industry and it’s a conveyor belt of racing information and stats all day.
You may laugh but last week I actually dreamt of trends in my sleep – I’m not joking – but then again, I am currently writing the jumps book so it’s been a case of trends overload!
The good news, though, is my wife, brother-in-law and I am off to Cyprus on Sunday for a week so I can freshen up for the second-half of the year. However, my wife has threatened me that if I mention anything along the lines of ‘nine of the last 10 people that bought a drink ordered a bottle of water’ I will be thrown in the pool! I’ve been instructed to forget about racing and stats and relax for the week, so with my portable DVD player and Alan Partridge discs ready, hopefully I will switch off.

But before I go, there are a few things in need of a mention.

The first regards performance ratings of the winners from the book that I have been updating on this blog. One of the main reasons I don’t elaborate on them and only mention specific performances occasionally is that they are open to individual interpretation. The ratings are there mainly to inform us whether certain winners are above or below par and can be used from that point – some winners can be followed while others are worth swerving.

Looking at this weekend’s racing and there are six races from the book to study, while over at Windsor, my ante-post non-runner for last week's Wokingham, Orpsie Boy, is entered for a sprint handicap on fast ground. While part of me wants to back him, I can’t help but be concerned about him reportedly scoping badly last Saturday and with the yard still to have a winner, I may have to just watch him run with a hand over my eyes. It will be interesting if there are any quotes from connections in Saturday’s preview section of the Racing Post, and ideally, a running-on fifth or sixth would do so I can nail him next time.

Finally, when I get back from holiday on Sunday July 6, ante-post prices for the John Smith’s Cup at York the following Saturday may be available, in which I have a strong fancy that I will be previewing here. Make sure to tune back in then.

So, until then, good luck with any punting.