The Mark of Permanence

2015-09-26

In the words of the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, ‘form it temporary, class is permanent’. Shankly was, of course, speaking in the context of football, but the adage can equally be applied to top-class tipsters, particularly to Isiris’ ground-breaking Mark Your Card service. After a relatively lean time of things in August, Mark Your Card resumed winning ways in September. A monthly profit of 44.9 points ensured top spot on the monthly leaderboard; it also means that, barring miracles, the 2014 Besttipping Challenge winners will be claiming glory again, come the end of December.

Those2oppose maintained a high level of form throughout the month and finished in second place with a 21.1 point yield. The consistent Middleton Racing Services finished third with a 15.2 point gain, while Personal Info claimed fourth spot.

First Favourite achieved a ninth profitable month out of nine in 2015, while Richard Dunwoody and Steve Jones’ Probets also finished the month in the black.

It was, though, Mark Your Card who set alarm bells ringing at bookmakers shops around the land. Woody Bay (14/1, Haydock, 3 September) and Equally Fast (16/1, Windsor, 7 September) were memorable winners, but the highlight was the 25/1 success of Go Far in the Ayr Bronze Cup on 18 September. There were a further 19 winners in the 7/1 to 11/1 price bracket. The end result is that Mark Your Card now boasts a nine-month profit of 433.3 points. At the same point last year, the profit was 471.9. This led to an 804.7 point profit on the year, so it is possible that this record may be broken this time around.

Those2oppose, who won the March and April challenges, came close to gaining a third title. Thirteen selections were advised, with 5 finishing first, six second and the other two third. As four of these selections were advised in doubles, this means that of eleven bets, there was a return on ten: an incredible record.  It also enabled Those2oppose to climb to third place in the 2015 challenge with a satisfying ninth-month yield of 52.4 points.

Third place in the September table represents Middleton Racing Services’ best finishing position since joining the challenge at the turn of the year. Cosmeapolitan (4/1, Chepstow, 15 September) was one of three winners while a further two bets earned each-way returns.    

Personal Info are also moving up the table thanks to an eighth month of profit out of nine in 2015. A nine winner haul during the period under review (30 August – 26 September) was spearheaded by a winning 7/1 advice, Talmada (16 September). Other winners came in at 5/1, 5/1, 5/1, 9/2, 7/4, 7/4, 7/4 and 2/1.

Five winners (and three seconds and a third) from just 12 selections was a fine return to form for Richard Dunwoody, while Steve Jones Probets kept supporters happy with eight winners including 4/1 Song Of Norway (Brighton, 7 September).

Finally this month, yet more praise for First Favourite whose monthly record for 2015 now reads: 

profitable months 9, unprofitable months 0.

Ten selections during the four week period under review produced a 50 Strike-rate, but with four of the losers finishing second, including the desperately unlucky Anomaly, this could have been a massive month, given a smidgeon of good fortune.