Wake Up! It's Cheltenham time

2023-02-28

It’s starting to look a lot like…2022. You might be mistaken for thinking that we have been remiss in not updating the table from last February. But no. History is starting to repeat itself: Like last year, Probets are the early pacesetters, the two Personal Info services are mid-division, and the somnambulant Daily Bargain has started the year sluggishly.

Overall, it’s been steady, but not spectacular. Not quite hibernation, more a collective torpidity. But with Cheltenham and the start of the turf Flat season beckoning, sleepy heads will soon be stirring as the hyper-caffeinated excesses of the next few weeks kick in.

For the record, Probets fared best last month, notching up a 3.1-point profit to secure a first top spot since last July. Personal Info’s two services, Mainline and Saturday-Only finished 0.5 points to the good, while Daily Bargain followed January’s 19.5-point loss with a 4.5-point reversal.

This was a real upturn in fortune for Probets after a miserable sequence of five losing months. Seven selections were winners in February (26% strike-rate), while a further 13 were placed.  Prices were a shade above 3/1 on average, with Super Den (7/1, Chelmsford City, 10 February) and Quoi De Neuf (6/1, Ludlow, 22 February) comfortably exceeding this.

Probets month also ended with an impressive run of twelve selections finishing in the first three. The form figures for this sequence read: 122311223122.

Personal Info’s Mainline and Saturday-Only service were again in cautious mode, but the outcome justified this approach. A 0.5-point profit was built around the Sandown success of 13/2 Inthewaterside (4 February). Lingfield Park is proving a popular hunting ground for the Personal Info team. The January success of The Pug (6/1) was followed by 8/15 Floating Spirit’s win on 18 February. And March has started in the same vein, with Iconic Moment prevailing at 11/8 (4 March) at the Surrey course.

Despite starting February with an 11/2 winner, Daily Bargain again struggled. That winner – Evania at Southwell (2 March) – was the sole success until Golden Sands (12/1, Kempton Park, 15 February) doubled the month’s tally. As ever, the month carried its share of hard-luck stories: Kihavah (14/1, Musselburgh, 4 February), Ballyare (18/1, Wolverhampton, 7 February) and Frodon (10/1, Kempton Park, 25 February) were all placed; a win for any of this trio would have Given Daily Bargain a decent profit and top position.

So, are you set for the tumult that is the Cheltenham Festival? The temptation is always to over bet, but the lesson from the experts is often to be selective. Step aside and enjoys some of the races as spectacles, rather than betting opportunities. 

Whether there’s a bet on or not, next week’s four-day spectacular is sure to set the heart racing. And, if that’s not for you, then the Irish Flat season starts at the Curragh eight days after the Gold Cup, with Doncaster’s Lincoln Meeting the following week-end.