Isiris claim March crown with 100% strike-rate

2018-03-31

Sometimes less is more. That was the case last month as Isiris claimed top position in the Besttipping table, despite advising just four selections. All four were successful, securing a 36.6-point yield and a sensational 152.5-point return on investment (ROI).

Daily Bargain bounced back from last month’s reversals to post an impressive 28.5-point March yield which secured second position. Daily Bargain’s stablemate, Probets, came third while Personal Info-claimed fourth spot with a remarkable ninth consecutive month of profit.

In previous years Isiris have enjoyed great success at Cheltenham, and this year they continued that theme when ante-post advice Buveur D’Air repeated his 2017 success in the Champion Hurdle. The Nicky Henderson-trained gelding was sent off the 4/6 favourite for the hurdling classic, but back in December Isiris were on at a remarkably generous 3/1.

Isiris’ only other March action came on the last day of the month when all three selections finished first. Fabricate (2/1, Kempton), Vazaribad (7/4, Meydan) and Going Gold (7/4, Carlisle) were the three horses in question and their efforts guaranteed Isiris their first monthly title of 2018.

As you may recall, February was an exasperating month for Daily Bargain; the 2017 champions drew a blank from 27 selections, but March was a much happier time for Steve Jones’ value-based service.

Bernie’s Boy (9/2, Wolverhampton, 5 March) brought the winner-drought to an end, and back-to-back Festival winners ensured March would end in a healthy profit. Firstly, Davy Russell worked his magic on Delta Work in the Pertemps’ Final. A well-backed 6/1 shot, Daily Bargain’s subscribers were alerted to eve-of-race offers of 14s.

It was a similar story with Daily Bargain’s second Cheltenham winner, Le Prezien. Happy subscribers availed themselves to juicy 20/1 quotes, which vanished long before the off. Sent off the 15/2 second favourite, the Paul Nicholls-trained gelding swooped late under Barry Geraghty to claim the meeting’s final prize.

Daily Bargain’s fourth March winner came on the last day of the month when 12/1 advice Crowned Eagle triumphed in the Rosebery Handicap at Kempton Park.

For a quite a time, Probets lived in the shadow of big brother Daily Bargain. But this service has emerged as a genuine force in recent months. March’s yield of 12 points follows gains of 6.1 and 23.9 points in the first two months of the year. It also means that Jones’ ‘second-string’ is leading the 2018 Besttipping Challenge with a 42-point profit for the first quarter.

A magnificent Cheltenham resulted in three winners and a second from four selections, including 9/2 Gold Cup advice, Native River. Other winners included 11/2 Relevant (Lingfield, 19 March) and 5/1 Roy’s Legacy (Lingfield, again, 3 March). In all nine of Probets’ 25 selections were successful, maintaining this year’s magnificent 36% win-strike-rate.

Another service enjoying a fine sustained run of profit is Personal Info’s Saturday-Only. You have to trawl back to June 2016 to discover the last recorded loss made by this metronomic service. Since then, profits have been posted in each of the last nine months with March producing three winners from five bets including 6/4 Porrima (Lingfield, 3 March) and 11/8 Dal Harraild (Chelmsford City, 10 March). Saturday-Only now sit in fifth place in the Besttipping all-time table, with a much better strike-rate (42%) than each of the four higher placed services.

Personal Info’s Mainline service narrowly missed out on a March profit. Nine of the month’s 31 selections were successful, including 5/1 Bernardelli (Ayr, 9 March) with a further six coming home in second.

So, with a quarter of the year already under our belts, it’s Probets who lead the Besttipping Challenge.  But with only fifty points covering the whole field, it’s still anybody’s race. With Aintree looming and the Flat season beginning in earnest, the next few weeks could have a major impact on the destiny of this year’s contest.