Racetrack Wiseguy

 It's been some time since I felt confident enough to suggest any turf investment here. I'm about as qualified to tip horses as I am to pass comment on musical performances but it doesn't stop me doing that.

This is supposed to be 'my time of year' even if it hasn't looked like it yet but there were some flickers of hope and a return to the good times today and tomorrow has some classy races to look at so I will be having a bit of a go to see if we can get two or threee to multiply themselves together into money worth having.

Confidence can be a bad thing in any discipline and can be disatrously expensive in horse racing. Not long after looking through tomorrow's cards and thinking it all looks very inviting, the alarm sounds as I remember how often I've felt like that in the past only to survey the wreckage later, so we need to sort out the genuine good chances from the whimsical fancies.

It was Mr. Glass (Newcastle 12.55) at which my eyes first lit up and I'll have that on its own if it's anything like 11/10. Also at Newcastle, one likes the look of Valleres (1.30) and although Epatante looked completely the business last year, she might not have beatenn anything with the potential of Monmiral (3.15) who looks like he's being backed while neither of them can take the admirable Sceau Royal for granted.

Newbury's perhaps the best meeting where it is more competitive but having missed out on Fiddlerontheroof's winning return which I had forseen, I don't want to miss out on any follow up at a good price in the 3.00. Kalooki (1.15) has looked a prospect before and not having won for sometime with his stable out of form last season, he might be value now they're winning a few.

On such a day it's worth trawling round the lesser fixtures in search of the support acts. One notices Brian Hughes going to Bangor rather than a bigger track so he must be expecting a couple of winners there. Richmond Lake (1.57) is likely to be one and Jungle Jack (3.42) couldbe another. And at Doncaster, Brief Times (12.35) might double up anything else that is put with it.

So, there's 8 horses without even resorting to chancier guesswork which, if I were just having a laugh, I'd be spraying modest amounts of money on all afternoon. But it is no laughing matter. The End of Year Account must not show a minus and the plus is fragile.

So, there must be at least three winners mentioned above. Hopefully a few more than that. What one hopes is that, in putting them together in various combinations, three or four coincide. The three one has the most confidence in are Mr. Glass, Valleres and Richmond Lake. Anybody prepared to take a bit more of a flyer at it could make not much into a fair old round of drinks with Monmiral, Fiddlerontheroof  and Jungle Jack. If I've got everything right and win the ITV7, I'll turn professional for a year and give it all back.