Poker, Beer and of course "Vegas baby"

I’ve been told that the Malt Shovel is holding a poker league and that the first Monday night field had eighteen runners including trainers, jockeys and stable staff. I think it would be quite fun to take a Monday afternoon and Tuesday day off and go and play in this small event. It’s definitely not the money or the ‘fame’ that the game would bestow but the opportunity to chat and try and prise inside information from players would be interesting.

A friend of mine played at the LA Poker Classic in the 7-card stud ring games 100/200. I don’t think it was the most successful week! On a much smaller scale I’ve been suffering a period of variance. Playing the other evening I found myself on a weak table and was able to take advantage and won 5 max buy-ins. The next evening I of course managed to lose 5 max buy-ins to another bunch of players who called down every hand hitting their draws on the river. Really, I shouldn’t mind as over time I’m a massive favourite but I’m starting to come to the conclusion that at the levels I play this just doesn’t work.

I said some time ago that I was only going to play in multi-table tournaments on the web and then play live whenever the opportunity arose. Since moving to Tunbridge Wells this hasn’t worked out. I can’t find any live games (I prefer tournaments than cash games) and I haven’t had the time to play multi-tables on the web.

I’m thinking that I will have to make the trip to Vegas if I want a weekend of poker playing madness. Unfortunately this concerns me as I will have to increase the bank roll so that I can sit down at a 2/4 or 4/8 NL Hold’em or a 5/10 or 10/20 Limit Hold’em cash game as well as playing some 100 or 200 buy-in tournaments.

I guess I’m going to have to find a 10/1 winner or two!

So we spent the day at the Breeders Cup in the owners’ enclosure, drinking beer, eating the free food and gambling on anything that moved!

However, I do recall that we eventually got ‘thrown’ out of the viewing boxes just prior to the start of the Classic as hundreds of security guards turned up. So we have to admit to watching the final and biggest race on the TV! I still don’t really understand why they bothered with security for the last race, maybe they just wanted to get a good view of the Classic.

Once the racing hand finished we dashed for a taxi and made a fast escape back into Dallas. At the hotel we raced to the ‘Sky’ bar on the 30^th floor and consumed some really good cocktails. I think our speed to the taxi rank helped as it took other guest quite some time to get back to the bar.

After a couple of drinks it was time to grab the bags and head straight to the airport. I remember that it was during this taxi journey that I had one of those 'bizarre' phone calls.

We wanted to have a bet on the Melbourne Cup but couldn’t get through to Betfair. However my phone rang and I answered to hear Josh Apiafi’s voice. It was perfect timing.”Josh what are the odds on the Melbourne Cup? “. “ Hang on a second.....okay no.1 is 5/1.........” It was at this point that I thought ‘wtf (poker term ;-)) it must be 3.30am in the UK’. “Josh where are you?” “Flemington.” Nice.

The flight from Dallas to Vegas was the last chance to grab a quick snooze before we hit The Strip. However, the flight was packed, the seats rather narrow and the atmosphere buzzing so the chance was pretty much gone.

Flying into Vegas for the first time was pretty exciting. Each time we saw a road with lots of flashing lights we thought we were looking at The Strip, how naive we were. Just as we landed there in front of us was The Strip, we won’t be confused again!

Part 3?

Melbourne Cup or Breeders Cup?

I haven't been to an overseas meeting for a while but I think a trip this year would be fun. I guess the ultimate would be the Melbourne Cup and maybe I should be thinking about going down under via Las Vegas but I'm not sure if that's possible?

I'll have to wait and see how Shawhill has developed since last year. She is a tough filly finishing stakes placed after being claimed. A long distance handicap might be the type of race that she would appreciate. But I'm not sure she is a Cup horse but wouldn't it be exciting if
she was? I have to admit to not even knowing what official rating you would need to get in the handicap, I will look it up!

I went to the Breeders Cup when it was in Texas at Lone Star Park. What a fantastic trip.

It was my mate ‘Each Way Thief’s’ (nicknames used to protect the innocent!) big birthday and we decided to have a group bet on a horse that he had been following for a few months. The concept was quite straight forward; a few hundred each on Something Exciting at Newmarket. If it won we would go to the Breeders Cup and then on to Vegas for a long weekend. If it lost; no
birthday, no present!

Something Exciting had read the script and won carrying our money at 9s (SP 8's). Tickets for United out of Gatwick via Dallas were purchased and hotel rooms booked.

We flew out the Friday lunch time arriving rather worse for wear after consuming red wine, beer and champagne, most of which had been kindly donated by the air stewardesses. I’ve never really understood why they suggested hiring a car on arrival!

A short taxi journey to the ‘Breeders Cup’ Hotel meant we arrived in time to have a wash a couple of cocktails and then the biggest steaks I had ever seen. Plenty of red wine chosen by the third member of the team (Jeremy doesn’t have a nickname as far as I know but for the purpose of this story let’s call him the China Man. He’ll understand.). Then after dinner we had a couple
of beers and to bed.

None of us had anticipated that the vastness of the steaks would prohibit sleep, so it was a bit of a surprise to all of us that we spent the next five hours betting on racing from Hong Kong and watching it on one of the satellite channels.

6am seemed to arrive very quickly so an early Champagne breakfast was taken.

Unsurprisingly the early start and the fear of long queues meant we jumped in a taxi and headed to Lone Star Park arriving before the gates had officially opened. The early arrival meant we were able to quickly ascertain that our plan of buying tickets for each of the enclosures on Ebay and then selling them when we arrived was kaput. I have never ever seen so many ticket touts and spare tickets on sale anywhere, even a at Spice Girls concert!

So with ‘extras’ lining our pockets we made our way into the track.

By arriving so early we ‘mistakenly’ made our way into the owners enclosure. Not surprisingly once we realised that food was free, the view was the best and the access to the paddock second to none we never actually got around to using or seats.

The day went well but in a haze of beer, pastrami sandwiches and betting slips. I don't think we backed any of the European winners but still managed to end up level even after taking into consideration all our expenditure, mainly on tickets.

Part 2 soon, if you can stand it!

Nervous anticipation

As I'm posting on here as much as anyone I just wanted to make sure that everyone understands that my views are my own and may not necessarily be the views of the other posters, especially Tom.

When Tom was riding I was very keen on National Hunt and enjoyed going to the largest meetings such as Cheltenham, the Welsh National and the 'Sandown' Gold Cup but now-a-days I'm finding it difficult to get that excited about it!

This year I've been invited by a supplier to go to World Hurdle Day at the Cheltenham Festival. I'm pleased to be going but I guess that unlike in the past, when I've been studying the horses and making sure that I know exactly what's going on, this year will probably start and finish in the bar.

It's now quite a few years since I worked with a bloodstock agent in Kentucky but it was probably that trip that made me much more interested in the flat.

Whenever I go to the States I always seem to cause controversy. As a teenager I remember staying with a family in Bay City, Michigan and upsetting the son by saying that I thought Bruce Springsteen was rubbish. I have since changed my mind. When working with Chad Schumer I probably repeated my conviction that National Hunt racing was much better than flat.

However, my appreciation for the flat started to develop the day I visited Nureyev at Stud. Just the fact that he 'sneezed' all over my jacket got instant respect for some bizarre reason. I was in awe of this magnificent beast. And it wasn't just because of his daily ritual!

Today I prefer to go straight to the AW form rather than a Kelso or Huntingdon. I do always stop to have a second look at Wincanton, Newton Abbot or Taunton but I think that this is just habit as I always used to turn to these cards to see if Tom was riding.

This year I'm really looking forward to that first Donny meeting. I can't say I have a horse in mind just yet for the Lincoln but I do like the look of a past winner.

ONEWAY has already saddled six winners from 12 flat runners during 2008. I know Tom is keen to beat last year’s total and he's had a great start to do just that. He's got a fair few 2-year-olds this year but nothing out of the top drawer on breeding. Of course he's been fishing in very different ponds from the big stables but hopefully there may be a star or two.

It was this time last year that Tom eventually sold Max One Two Three and look what happened with her. Let's just hope one or two of the new recruits can perform to the same level.

Max will be entered in many of the top 3-year-old fillies’ races this year. It's going to be exciting. But you never know what the season holds until that first outing.

It's funny but from my experience the really top horses cause more anxiety than excitement.

I guess it's because they will tend to do worse than anticipated.

The anticipation equation

Anticipation = 3-year-old will win the Guineas, the Derby or Oaks and a Breeders Cup or Arc.
So I’m looking forward
with excitement to Parisian Gift, Clifton Dancer, Zaskar.....

Poll - Who will train the winner of the first English Classic of 2008?

Just like Tomato Ketchup there are lots of copy cats...

People are always trying to copy the Oneway model of training horses but this may have gone too far!

http://gprime.net/video.php/patchesthehorse

Still Hope

Hope Road ran okay but was unlucky in running with a horse falling just in front and causing Noel to take emergency action, plus a mistake at the last meant he didn't finish as close up as maybe he could have. Overall it wasn't too bad but probably not good enough for the handicapper to merit a run at Cheltenham...we'll have to wait and see. At least I got 2 of the first 3 right!

A quick update! Hope or No Hope

It's half term and I've been struggling to write any posts! I've taken 3 days off this week but each of them has ended up with me wishing I had gone into the office. Running your own business as Tom would appreciate often calls for all hands on deck all the time.

Hope Road runs at Warwick in the TURFTV JUVENILE NOVICES' HURDLE @ 2pm. With 16 runners and a couple of previous winners in the race it looks rather competitive. But I'm going to be bullish and say the first three home will be

Prideus
Metaphoric
Hope Road

What order? Not sure.

Noel Fehily takes the ride as Timmy Murphy is at Sandown.

My father is keen to point out that Warwick is a front runners track and maybe that won't suit Hope Road but I guess he will be closer to Prideus today than the first time they met.

I know that Tom was pleased to get a run before the 24th as it would enable Hope Road to get a handicap mark before Cheltenham entries. Everyone would love a day out at Cheltenham!

A few friends own shares in the beast and one of them, Ed Prosser of Racing Post Bloodstock fame, referred to Hope Road as No Hope after his first run over hurdles. This was revised to Slight Hope after his run at Plumpton the week before last and we want it to change again today to Lots of Hope!

A busy week and another run for Savile's Delight

This week has been really busy at Oneway and my office. The first quarter of the year always generates new business opportunities and this year has been no different. Hopefully a few will come off and new business deals will be struck. This year might see a rapid deceleration in the marketing sector and, if it does, we need to be more protected against the credit crunch hangover. (Tom would also like to have a few more clients so please give him a call if you are interested in a horse or share).

The job at Oneway is not so different. 2006 was a great start with a handful of two-year-olds and older horses giving the stable a good start. 2007 was a brilliant continuation but with a slightly different profile of two-year-olds, a few older horses and only Ishi Adiva and Shawhill
in the three-year-old age group. This year Oneway has more two-year-olds, mostly bought by Tom at the sales last autumn, a few older horses and for the first time a handful of the classic generation.

Of course the most exciting of the three-year-olds, on paper, is Max One Two Three, the winner of the Rockingham Stakes at York. As Andrew Black (Bert) has hinted to on his blog we will be aiming her at the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. We might be trying to bite off more than we can chew but we will give it a go. Her form is good. A line through Rosa Grace her conqueror at Newbury (which Tom blames himself for!) would have seen her running in the first four in the Dubai 1000 Guineas run at Nad Al Sheba last week.

Apart from Max, Tom also has Clifton Dancer a nursery winner, Zaskar a dual winner last season, Parisian Gift a winner at Lingfield this winter and Gross Prophet a multiple winner and a seriously consistent type. There are also a couple of others that we will discuss over the next few weeks.

The reason I mention this is that the older horses are very well and seriously fresh at the moment! Tom is definitely getting his hands dirty both in and out of the saddle! Let's just say that Clifton Dancer one of the most passive horses of all-time has decided to 'drop' his rider on each visit to the gallops. This was previously unheard of I'm not even sure that she got this excited when she was being broken in!

Add the well being of the classic generation and older horses to the frisky two-year-olds and I'm sure that Alton Towers would be considered a breeze! Let's just hope that everyone and all the horses stay in one piece.

I'm guessing that it could also have a lot to do with the very mild temperatures that we are having this year. In our garden the daffodils are already out (my wife says that they aren't the winter type), the catkins are on the trees and the birds are in full song at 6.20 in the morning. I
imagine the horses also think it's spring, let's just hope we aren't surprised by a long cold snap. I remember when Sheikh Mohammed took some of his two-year-olds to Dubai to winter for the first we all thought that they would have a massive advantage on their return because they would be more forward in their coats etc. Well I think 'nature' may well be trying to even this out.....but that's definitely not a good thing!

Today Savile's Delight runs at Southwell. His last two visits to the track have produced wins over the minimum distance. I would hope for the same result today. His run at Wolverhampton on Monday was rather disappointing. There seems to have been lots of comments about the distance but I personally don't think 7 furlongs is out of his range. He has, of course, previously run and won over 7f even beating horses such as Fonthill Road. In the blog at the weekend Tom mentioned that he was concerned about coming round the home turn with a wall of horses in front, which was absolutely the case. As such the draw, losing a shoe and a bit of indecision probably cost him the race and so it's best to move on. Today would be a great opportunity to do just that.

Of course there are a couple of other beasts in the race and the most likely 'second' would be Spoof Master ridden by Tom’s good friend Jim Crowley. Jim is having a magnificent time of it on the flat and fully deserves to be 5th in the AW Jockey's Championship. Let's just hope he doesn't add another winner to his tally in the 3.50 at Southwell.

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Runners today

Hope Road ran a far far better race today at Plumpton than he had on his debut for us at Warwick. Under a fine waiting ride from Timmy Murphy Hope Road got up in the final stages of the two mile trip to come a very respectable second. Timmy felt he would have won had he held him up a little longer although it wouldn't have done my blood pressure any good had he done so.

Savile's Delight had absolutely no luck in running from his number 12 draw at Wolverhampton over 7 furlongs and got pushed wider and wider by the other runners coming off the bend and up the straight. It was a disappointing performance but statistically it is almost impossible to win from such a high draw on that course over the trip.

Runners tomorrow, February 11th, 2008

We have two runners tomorrow, one of hurdles and one on the flat.

Hope Road runs at Plumpton and Timmy Murphy rides. Unfortunately Timmy was unable to take the mount for Hope Road's first run at Warwick as he had been signed-off by the Doctor.

We were very disappointed with his first run as we had expected a lot more! It may have been the ground which was desperate that day. The ground tomorrow should be a lot better and we hope he runs a much better race.

One of the co-owners of Hope Road, my mother, will be there to cheer him on after just getting back from a four month trip to Nepal and India where she taught English as a foreign language in Katmandu.

The other runner tomorrow is Savile's Delight. If it wasn't for the 'fantastic' we would be quite confident of a good run but it's possible that stall 12 has ruined his chance. The horse has run over 7 furlongs in the past and we are happy he will stay but he's going to have to come through a wall of horses and would have to be very lucky in running to win. I'm unsure whether we will be improving the 56% strike rate on the flat for 2008.

Technorati Tags: Plumpton Racecourse,Wolverhampton Racecourse

A cross the card double makes it 5 winners from 9 runners

Yesterday was a mixed day but arguably our most successful on the racecourse with Savile's Delight and What's for Tea winning at Southwell and Lingfield respectively.


What's For Tea landed the seller for Tom Dascombe (Image link from Racingpost.co.uk)

After last week's 'adventures' to and from Doncaster and Wolverhampton two winners is fantastic!

Bruce Jackson wrote in his report from Lingfield for the Racing Post "Tom Dascombe is a new kid on the block in comparison but has the same
winning habit, improving his already impressive stats in 2008 with an
across-the-card double, initiated with the selling win of What's For Tea, whom he promptly lost at the auction.

After the success of Savile's Delight at Southwell, Dascombe, who
had his multiple winner Sawwaah claimed last week, restored stable numbers in claiming Desert Dreamer after he finished second to Ninth House in the 7f claimer."

What's for Tea was bought for 6,200gns which was 200gns more than we claimed her for out of a seller in August. Since August she has won twice and been placed seven times, she is a model of consistency. However, Tom is looking for a few more quality horses so even though she may well win one or two small races he felt it was important to look for another star, so let her go.

The horse box wasn't empty on the way home as Tom claimed the Gerard Butler trained Desert Dreamer who came second in the Claimer on the Lingfield card. The horse is rated quite highly in the mid 70's but has previously been rated in the 90's, the form is solid and the time of the race very quick.

Savile's Delight ran a great race at Southwell and seems to enjoy the surface at the track. It can be argued that he hasn't beaten anything of much quality in his two wins at that venue but he's done it well on both occasions. Let's hope his passion for racing has been rekindled.

Tom has got very few horses to run at present. There are very few fit and able horses in the yard for the AW season but what he has got will run whenever conditions suit. This time of year is mainly about bringing along the 2-year-olds. The mild weather has its good and bad points but the wind can be a real pain as it gets under their tails and makes them all a handful. The yard has definitely seen a few hairy moments with 'fresh and wild' 2-year-olds bucking, rearing and cause merry hell. Let's just hope one or two of them turn out to be superstars!

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Southwell Monday

After driving to Doncaster and Wolverhampton in quite terrible conditions last week we are hoping the weather is a little more convivial for the drive to Southwell. Worse still, both days last week proved to be a waste of time and money. We took a 3-year-old to Donny Sales but we don't get a bid and at Wolverhampton the weather closed in and the racing was called off with our runner and favourite at the start!

Savile's Delight runs in the 4:20 at Southwell, Hayley Turner takes the ride. We are hoping that SD can follow up his course and distance win on January 14th. The race looks competitive with eight runners.

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Lingfield Monday

What's For Tea is declared in the 1:40 at Lingfield on Monday, Richard Kingscote rides. On the form book it looks like a straight shoot out between WFT and Carry On Cleo but there are a couple of unraced 3-year-old's that could be anything. We came up against a well prepped runner the week before last. Hopefully we won't be so unlucky tomorrow.

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The return of the Messiah

'Box Driver Bill' returns from a long vacation next week so the yard better be looking spick and span!

Savile's Delight runs in 38 mins and I know that we all wish the connections the best of luck. The last couple of runs have seen him just beaten out of it but today the form looks slighly easier and Richard should have a good draw on the inside.

It would be great to get Februray off to a winning start and hopefully we can get a couple of others under our belt before the beginning of March.

I'm going to save some longer blogs for the next few weeks so I'll sign-off now and here's to a 2/1 winner of the 16.50

Additional posts

To help keep the ONEWAY blog up to date and to add a few more bits and pieces to it I've enlisted the help of my brother. His posts will now also be found mixed in with the others....we have all been warned!