Racetrack Wiseguy Attempts the Nap Hand

 There is an episode of Bilko in which the wide boy sergeant can't believe his winning run on the horses and begins to believe he can't go wrong. It is possible to think one has suddenly acquired the 'Midas touch' but one needs also to bear in mind the enormous profits that bookmakers show, not least the lady at Bet365, compared to the miseries of lesser-known failed gamblers as well as the likes of Paul Merson.

It goes wrong when Bilko doesn't realize the race he stakes it all on is in a different time zone and it's no longer his lucky day there.

So, there's no harm in keeping at it while you're winning and bet with what you can safely afford. You don't chase your losses, you don't do it while boozing and it's best if you know something about the sport.

I've had a tremendous week so far, the 4 out of 4 winners only augmenting exactly what the life of leisure at a certain age should be like. They haven't provided enough for me to be mailing out crates of champagne to all regular readers here but they'll do. The money's not the point, it's the game.

But I like a 'flagship' horse, one that one can follow at least until it gets beaten. The heartbreak of Rhinestone Cowboy or The New One not winning the Champion Hurdle still provide a vague ache after all these years but others come along in their turn, with all their promise, and we see how far they can get.

It looks to me a big step up in class for Fantastic Lady to be going straight into the Grade 2 Pendil Novices Chase at Kempton, 2.25, tomorrow in the race named after one of my childhood heroes. Is she really that good, having come however impressively from Novice Handicap company.

But one looks at the weights compared to official ratings and saw how well she jumped and how readily she won two weeks ago and I'm happy to be with the superb, debonair Mr. Henderson and his gorgeous sophomore student, re-invest some of this week's modest profit at 7/2 at Best Price Guaranteed and if she doesn't win I'll still love her.