February star Boyle shines bright

2017-02-28

February belonged to James Boyle. At least in the sense that he claimed top position in the Besttipping monthly table, posting a solid 21.4-point yield. Boyle finished ahead of Steve Jones’ Daily Bargain service, which carried January’s good work into February with a healthy 5-point yield. Third, with a fifth consecutive month of profit, came First Favourite while Personal Info claimed fourth position.

Boyle’s first monthly title since last July came thanks to a flurry of winners in the first two weeks of the month. They included 8/1 advice Starboard (Chelmsford City, 2 February), 7/1 Pactolus (Wolverhampton, 13 February) and 5/1 Impulsive Star (Exeter, 12 February). And just to keep the money rolling in, Florencio, a 15/2 advice obliged at Kempton on 22 February.

With selections averaging more than 7/1, and a strike-rate of better than 22%, Boyle was ahead of the game. His win-only strategy does mean losing sequences, but that is part and parcel of intelligent betting, which focuses on long-term acquisition rather than instant smash-and-grab.

This philosophy also lies behind Steve Jones’ Daily Bargain service. A past winner of the annual Besttipping challenge, Daily Bargain is the fourth most successful service in the all-time table, with a 430-point overall gain, achieved with a seemingly modest 15% strike-rate. But, given that the starting prices of Jones’ selections average out at around 8/1, this one-in-six win-ratio becomes a genuine road to profit.

Three February winners helped Jones to a 5-point yield. Of this trio of winners, Socksy, a 12/1 advice at Towcester on 2 February and 11/1 Haines (Wolverhampton, 15 February) stood out and helped Daily Bargain extend its lead at the top of the 2017 table. Jones’s service, which finished top of the January table, now boasts a 23-point profit for 2017.

First Favourite, who sit second in the 2017 list with a 10.4-point yield, enjoyed a fifth consecutive another month of profit, thanks to a ten-winner haul from just 16 selections (62.5% strike-rate). Once again, the long-term approach is applied with this service, but, whereas Boyle and Jones favour horses at bigger odds, First Favourite identifies favourites who, in their opinion, are overpriced. The target strike-rate is 55%, and this month that figure was exceeded. This follows on from January’s 81.81% strike-rate and means that 2017’s record reads 19 winners from 27 selections, giving a better than 70% strike-rate.

Personal Info, who are third in the lifetime table with a profit of more than 1,000 points, were again in profit-making mood in February. Twenty selections resulted in ten winners, and three returns on placed each-way advices. In total 18 out of twenty tips finished in the first three – an excellent sign of well-being prior to the most important jumps fixture of the year.

A 100/30 advice, North America, who won at Meydan on 11 February, helped to secure a slim profit for Those2oppose this month. And, as many will know, historically Those2oppose have an excellent record during March. They finished top of the tree in 2013, 2014 and again in 2015, thanks to strong showings at Cheltenham.

Personal Info’s Saturday-only service and Middleton missed out on February profits by narrow margins while Steve Jones’ Probets, Isiris and Mark Your Card will be looking the Cheltenham and then the start of the Flat season to kick-start their own assaults on the 2017 Besttipping challenge.