Turnaround time as Mark Your Card return to top of table
2017-04-30
In a dramatic turnaround, Isiris’ Mark Your Card ended April at the top of the 2017 Besttipping table, just two months after languishing near its foot. The triple-champions bagged a 71.2-point April haul, finishing ahead of stablemate Isiris with Steve Jones Daily Bargain’s finishing third after another strong showing. There were also April profits for James Boyle, Personal Info Saturday-Only and Those2oppose.
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the new year, Mark Your Card started March with an overall 2017 loss of more than 60 points. This followed two losing months – the first time this service had posted back-to-back losses. But, as those with long memories will recall, Mark Your Card has a habit of recovering swiftly from reversals. In February 2015, for example, they recorded a massive 104-point loss. But this had little long-term impact and they ended the year winning the Besttipping crown with a record-breaking 934-point profit.
The bounce-back began in March when a 71.2-point profit was recorded and, ironically, April’s figure was exactly the same. Loose Chips (14/1 advice, Ascot, 2 April), Dineur (16/1 advice, Aintree, 6 April), Knight of the Realm (20/1 advice, Fontwell, 12 April), Gilt Shadow (14/1 advice, Ayr, 22 April) and Quixote (16/1 advice, Haydock, 29 April) were the highlights, but a scroll through the month’s results will reveal numerous examples of winners priced at 8/1 and better.
Just to show that the original Isiris service is still going strong, a 45.9-point April yield earned second place in the monthly listings – their best monthly posting since the corresponding month last year, when the profit was 58.9 points. Aintree was a particularly happy hunting ground with 16/1 Dineur, Flying Angel (8/1 advice, 6 April) and Fox Norton (9/2 advice, 7 April) all earning the Isiris seal of approval. Between 12 and 29 April, 21 selections produced seven winners, five seconds and three thirds.
Daily Bargain recorded their third month of profit this year. The return was a healthy 19.5 points, accrued through four winners, including 20/1 Bushel (Southwell, 18 April), 12/1 Sudski Star (Kelso, 10 April) and 8/1 Invincible Ridge (Wolverhampton, 17 April). Seven selections were also placed, at odds of up to 33/1. The 2012 Besttipping champion now sits in second in the overall 2017 table, behind Mark Your Card and ahead of First Favourite, who just missed out on a seventh straight month of profit.
James Boyle’s month was a distinct “game of two halves”. The record for the first 14 days reads 0 from 14, but the interval team talk did the trick as the second half of April yielded five winners, four seconds and three thirds from 20 selections. Winners included 9/1 Dakota Gold (Thirsk, 22 April), 11/2 Twin Appeal (Musselburgh, 15 April) and 6/1 advice Gunmetal (Newmarket, 19 April). What looked like a loss month was transformed into a profitable one, and a share of fourth in the April table.
Like Boyle, Personal Info’s Saturday-Only service registered a 2-point April profit, with the month’s last two selections, Keyser Soze (15/8 advice, Thirsk, 22 April) and Taffaakhor (11/10, Brighton, 15 April) ensuring the month was a winning one, the 22nd time this service has posted a monthly gain in 33-months with Besttipping.
As was the case with James Boyle, Those2oppose came through strongly during the second part of April, with five winners, a second and two thirds from the month’s last 12 selections. These included a nice 13/1 winning double on 29 April (Firefright, 3/1 advice, Doncaster and Oasis Charm, 9/1 advice, Leicester). Other winners included Treaty of Rome (7/2 advice, Southwell, 16 April).