Betting Blues - An Ante-Post Script of Woe

So, Act 1:

Grands Crus 90% sure to go for the RSA but connections keep a close eye on the Gold Cup in case it cuts up.

First Lieutenant Pricewised and tipped by many for the RSA - would have an even better chance if Grands Crus goes for Gold.

Sir Des Champs - also owned by First Lieutenant connections - a solid favourite for the Jewson.

Simonsig backed right in for the Supreme after whispers that connections are leaning that way due to his "speed".

Sprinter Sacre rock solid in the Arkle, but there's a sudden plunge on Peddler's Cross (into less than 4-1) after connections stoke the fires - "nobody beats Peddler's like that".

Act 2: Grands Crus hardens in the RSA market.

Long Run wins his prep encouragingly, giving 10lb away to a smart horse, but surprisingly his odds lengthen and Kauto Star moves in to less than 4/1 for the Gold Cup.

Al Ferof is a drifter in the Arkle - out to over 9/1. Is he heading down a different route?

Backstage continues to attract huge support on the magic machine for the Foxhunter Chase, while a gamble of epic dimensions is fast gathering pace on Minsk in the Triumph Hurdle.

Act 3: Kauto Star, having pleased connections on Friday, is actually 50:50 for the Gold Cup because he took an "awful fall".

Grands Crus comes right in in the betting for the Gold Cup and drifts in the RSA.

First Lieutenant players are laughing, but, no, they're not, because Sir Des Champs is suddenly being backed big time for this race while he drifts out, and, oddly attracts support for the Jewson.

Maybe they fancy their chances there as there are arguably no superstars in the race, but, wait a minute, connections of Peddlers Cross suddenly mention this race as an alternative to Plan A. Oddly this comes after substantial support for him in this contest.

Meanwhile, Simonsig has been backed at 20s for the Supreme after whispers that he is going for the Neptune, some time after Fingal Bay has drifted like a barge and 24 hours or so later, it is unsurprisingly confirmed that he probably misses the race.

Minsk runs Ok to finish second in a Grade Two on his hurdling debut, but after being hammered into lower than 7/2 without running, supporters are a little disappointed. Never mind though, he might come on for it. But wait, connections, rumoured to have been mulling a Flat campaign anyway, draw stumps for the season as he is diagnosed with a little niggle afterwards. Very strange.

Oh, and Backstage is confirmed ineligible for the Foxhunter and connections admit they had known for some time, yet the trainer didn't feel the need to tell people in his exchange-sponsored blog.

Act 4: Here we are, 10 days from Cheltenham, and not one of the horses mentioned above has been confirmed for any of these races. Still whispers abound at every corner, and still some very suspicious bets are struck. Still trainers and connections show they have, 99% of the time, no care whatsoever for punters.

And yet, we never ever learn. We're still scrambling around, desperately trying to nick some value in the hope that horse A runs in race X because horse B might go for race Y if Horse C does indeed divert to race Z. Of course if it rains horse D would be the better option but he has races G, H, I, and J as other possible ports of call, so maybe we should just bet on the certainty that it starts as good to soft ground as that is what the clerk is forced to produce. But wait a minute, there have been two conflicting reports from him this week suggesting good ground is what is being aimed for...

Why not let's all just take a deep breath and wait for the day! I think I'm done after the last week's various fiascos. There is always plenty of value about, so let's just watch the old tapes, enjoy the memories of Festivals gone by, and not try to ruin this one by throwing more money away on non-runners.

Good luck all!