Daily Bargain back in the groove

2018-05-31

Steve Jones’ Daily Bargain, the defending Besttipping Challenge champions, moved to the top of this year’s table thanks to a 19.5-point May yield. Daily Bargain leap-frogged Jones’ other service, Probets, who entered May with a narrow advantage.  But, despite boasting a 6.4-point gain, Probets was unable to retain pole position.

First Favourite and Isiris’ Mark Your Card, two services which have endured quiet spells of late, both returned to profit-making glory, while Personal Info also recorded a May gain.

After April’s 34.5-point return, Daily Bargain entered the month in fine shape. And three winners in the first ten days continued the good work. The Musselburgh success of 11/1 advice Royal Brave (4 May) was quickly backed-up by a brace of 6/1 Chester winners, Spoof (9 May) and A Momentofmadness (10 May). The remaining three-weeks of May produced just two further winners, but as they included a huge 16/1 strike, courtesy of Lancaster Bomber (Curragh, 27 May), a healthy profit was secured. As I’ve pointed out before, low strike-rates (in the case of May just 16.7%) do not cause too many concerns for Daily Bargain: 17 of the month’s 30 selections were priced at 10/1 or better, meaning that anything more than a couple of winners will, in all probability, result in a profitable month.

Probets, who began May with a slender lead at the top of the table, were also quickly into their stride with two winners, including 5/1 Florencio (Southwell, 3 May), two seconds and a third in the opening five days of the month. A further seven winners followed, pushing the month’s strike-rate up to 32%. The yield was 6.4 points. That’s a fifth month of profit from five so far this year for this service which is 53.9 points up so far in 2018. This means that five months into the year, Probets are second in the challenge, a mere 12.6 points behind Daily Bargain.

First Favourite’s meticulous approach to betting meant that April was a no-bet month. May, however, was a different matter as both selections were successful, resulting in a 125% return on investment.

After two loss-making months, Isiris’ Mark Your Card bounced back to form in May with a 2.3-point yield. Among the eye-catchers were Andhaar (12/1, Hexham, 22 May), Mercers (10/1, Brighton, 2 May) and New Winds (10/1, Newmarket, 19 May). With a 2018 profit of 23.2 points, Mark Your Card is some way adrift of the two Jones’ services. Yet MYC’s track record is such that a serious assault on the challenge remains a distinct possibility.

Personal Info which, after Mark Your Card, is the most successful all-time service currently operating with Besttipping, also enjoyed a profitable May. Eight winners were advised from just 22 selections, which translates into an impressive 36% strike-rate. Winners included Minella Times (5/1 advice, Kilbeggan, 11 May). With four winning months out of five so far in 2018, Personal Info are on target to post their best results since 2015’s 63-point yield.