Probets continue to set strong pace

2022-02-28

Probets’ emergence from the shadow of stablemate Daily Bargain continued apace in February with a second monthly top spot. February’s return of 12.4 points followed January’s 12-point posting. As a result, Steve Jones’ service has raced into an early lead in the 2022 Besttipping challenge, as Jones’ five-time champ, Daily Bargain, continued to struggle, posting a fourth successive loss.

There was better news for followers of the two Personal Info services, Mainline and Saturday-Only, which both posted small but welcome February profits.

Strike Me A Pose (9/2, Wolverhampton, 1 February) and How Hard Can It Be (4/1, Kempton Park, 2 February) gave Probets an impressive start to the month, which was maintained with a three-win sequence between 6 and 8 February.

Another Breeze (3/1, Southwell, 13 February), Q Twenty Boy (6/1, Wolverhampton, 14 February) and Dark Design (3/1, Chelmsford City, 17 February) took the month’s profit beyond 20 points, but progress was stalled by a frustrating sequence of near misses in the month’s closing phase. Between 20 and 28 February, five selections finished second and another was third. Nevertheless, a second monthly return over 12 points was a highly satisfactory outcome.

The strike-rate was almost 31%, and a noticeable feature was a move away from shorter priced advices – eight of the 26 selections in February were 4/1 or above.

Personal Info Saturday-Only enjoyed a perfect February. Selections were made in three races, and in each case the winner was identified. The sequence began with 8/13 L’Homme Presse, winner of the Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown on 5 February (a first Grade 1 winner for jockey Charlie Deutsch, incidentally).

The following Saturday, Barrowdale obliged at Uttoxeter (12 February) at a rewarding price of 9/4. And the month’s good work was completed by the Kevin Ryan-trained Chrysos (5/4, Lingfield, 19 February). The overall return was 1.6 points.

But for a last week slip-up, Personal Info Mainline would have taken second place in February’s table. From eight race bets, five winners emerged: Collingham (5/6, Catterick Bridge, 4 February), L’Homme Presse (8/13, Sandown Park, 5 February), Barrowdale (9/4, Uttoxeter, 12 February), Monviel (15/8, Sandown, 17 February) and Chrysos (5/4, Lingfield Park, 19 February). After that last win the month’s yield stood above 3 points but two last week losses knocked it back down to 0.4 points. Nevertheless, Personal Info are back in the winning groove, important with Cheltenham coming up.

The winning groove is currently eluding Daily Bargain. February’s loss of 10 points follows reversals of 11.5 points, 10 points and 5.5 points in the previously three months.  Some might speculate that the success of Probets’ has come at the expense of Daily Bargain, but it probably has more to do with the general run of things. As this demonstrates, even the best services can run up long losing sequences. That’s why we continually harp on about productive punting being a long-term project. This way the results settle down. Over a four-year period (2018-21), Daily Bargain amassed a profit of more than 425-points. Against this, the loss of 37 over a four-month period is neither here nor there.