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Hard lines the boys waiting on Laurens. She was only a saver for me after my ante-posts went up the pipe.
Laurens was coming back a little bit but was never going to catch the winner. Perhaps slower ground would have helped Laurens but she gave it a go and ran well.
Clemmie wasn’t in the race, end of. Nice to see Nathan taking it with good grace like the true sportsman he is. We are all unlucky and occasionally lucky in this game and ante-post betting is tough. I was sitting on 13/2 for an 11/10 shot at Meydan this year and they pulled him out one minute before the race was due to start with some blood in a nostril. You automatically feel robbed but as it so often turns out they may have been beaten anyway. As it happened I felt it was a bad call sending Blue Point to Shatin and he went there pretty much friendless at 23/1 finishing stone last running to 80 odd on RPR. There are times in this game where we all get made monkeys of and a WTF were you thinking seems fair to aim at Charlie Appleby, who gets plenty of praise when it works.
We all get it wrong and Nathan is a total gentleman who takes it in his stride. Hard lines Nathan, you’ll bounce back as you always do.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
Hannon is becoming the master of bringing home a big double price winner for his syndicate owners. He did it with Star Of Southwold at the Craven Meeting who dotted up at 28/1 and now Billesden Brook in 1000 Guineas and he keeps them under the radar so they get the best possible return.
It wasn’t a Classic Guineas and Laurens looked amazing in the padock but had to play bridesmaid today.
I had a feeling that Hannon would get a big price winner into the frame and wrongly chose Vitamin at 33/1 in hindsight I should have backed all three as BB paid almost 100/1 on the Tote
The Oaks trial was run later in the day and La Ti Dah just hosed up in the Pretty Polly she is going to take some beating Nathan and Joni you have a good one there
Not my best Guineas meeting as far as beating tbe bookies went but the weather more than made up for it and seeing Saxon Warrior, Wuheida and La Ti Dah to name but a few was priceless.
Newmarket really excelled itself this weekend and I’m so pleased to have seen all these beautiful thoroughbreds before they take their next steps to becoming Champions at the end of the season and hopefully my notebook horses will help me regain a few losses in the coming weeks
..Jac 
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Jac; I did have one of my 3 pence ew bets on BB at 100/1 [last minute; unlike the 2,000 I didn’t really look at the race properly]. So, after waiting so long I’ve now had two 100/1 winners in a few months. I have to say, when looking at her form after the race, I wouldn’t have backed her. I did bet Jaqueline Quest years ago at 80/1 and got paid out on first past the post [after asking the bookie if I should give him my money back when she was disqualified
] but I did have a reason for that bet in that I couldn’t understand why Henry was running such a no hoper. Would have liked a northern horse to win one of the Guineas, though. It’s been a rubbish weekend [had a row with my neighbour and I never row with anyone, ever….] and I needed something to cheer my up [oh, and we went to a yard sale yesterday and someone asked me if I was ‘from Richmond’. I puzzled over this for a few seconds until I realised she meant the new village ‘retirement complex’. That really made my day. Hoping the revisit Newmarket later in the year; having lost the dog we can now travel further afield till we get another one….Moe make sure you PM me before you go to Newmarket next time so we can meet up for a coffee and you can steer me in the way of any big price winners you are fancying that day.
I too backed Jacqueline Quest and lost my bet as I did it on course
It was so sad because the owner was disabled and in a wheelchair and remember seeing Henry trying to console him as he sat in the winners enclosure with his filly it was one of the saddest sights especially as I’ve seen horses make far worse errors than that and keep the race.Sounds like a horrific weekend Moe but at least BB put a smile on your face today and hopefully your week will start to improve..Jac
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...I was saying to Mike today I wondered what had happened to JQ’s owner. It was terribly sad. I know he was quite high profile for a short while but I’ve heard no more about him since. I want to re visit Wicken Fen; when I had my ‘retirement present’ trip to Newmarket the weather was awful, and we only spent half an hour of so at Wicken Fen but I so want to see it properly [we didn’t get to see the ponies….]..
Sad news if true but
Someone told me back along he had been robbed and it was on CrimewatchGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-18293325
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Thanks for the kind words btw Steve
you are right that I do take things in my stride. I had a good Cheltenham with backing Altior regular for months until the news of his wind op but then got stuck into Samcro and had a tidy profit which took the edge off the Clemmie news. Still it’s always a blow when you are on at good prices and have chipped away and you don’t get a run for your money but like you said there’s no guarantee Clemmie would have won anyway. It’s a tough game the Ante Post one and you need to be thick skinned to play it. We all know the rules and pays our money and takes our chances….
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Gingertipster wrote……….”Did any TRFer back the winner?”
I think the silence tells the story Ginge
Too true, BigG; the silence is deafening.
How did this happen? Reviewing the race: No doubt helped by September and Clemmie non-runners. If training on (she’s small) and if still effective at a mile (looks a middle-distance filly) September would’ve been right up there on Fillies Mile form with Laurens. No guarantees, but Clemmie just looked like improving in to a top notcher once given the chance to run at a mile. However, Billisdon Brook is probably no more than a few pounds below an average Guineas winner. Obviously improved, Hannon’s recent Classic winners have all been beaten in Trials and the right horses – the three two year old Group 1 winners – chasing her home. Albeit Laurens probably ran to form/didn’t improve… Happily below form; possibly due to needing further now, but also allowed by “the lads” to go off 11/4 suggests to me connections knew she wasn’t quite 100% fit. Wild Illusion also below her very best, palpably needing further. I Can Fly had a lot of improvement to make, but ran no sort of race anyway. The other horse at the front of the market, Soliloquey didn’t show her best due to not settling fully – Altyn Orda reversing places from the Nell Gwyn.
Value Is EverythingThe 1000 Guineas speed figures must have been some of the slowest recorded time wise, they went no pace, as Johnny Murtagh stated.
The racing professionals were scratching their heads trying to work out how Billesdon Brook managed to win the 1000 Guineas, on the clock the race was bad, she managed a speed figure from me of 74, which a moderate class 5 runner could achieve on the AW.
They had the official going as good to firm, my calculations had it down as +0.10s/f (good) which did surprise me as it was very warm yesterday.
To produce big speed figures and try to emulate the RPR’s figures, I see that “Top Speed” has preliminary awarded Billesdon Brook a speed figure of 103 using a going allowance of -0.16s/f which is heading for good to soft, if you believe the going was on the slow side of good yesterday please seek help.
FlatTurf2018: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Fo12vn11NrT1mgHKBMY71hZqY0q_dok8
You can scroll the list…Mike.
Do you think any race yesterday was run to optimum fractions as far as speed ratings go, Mike?
One race seemed overly fast early (first two coming from rear and those innitially prominent well beaten) – therefore producing a slowish overall time. No other race seemed (at least to the eye) as being truely run… So is it possible overall times on the day may imply the ground was slower than it actually was? Will Sectional times show the ground in a different light to overall times?I agree, Billisdon Brook was probably helped by the slow fractions. As her remarkable Goodwood performance proved last year, has a fine turn of foot/plenty of speed for a slowly run affair. Also being against the stayers at the trip (Happily, Wild Illusion and even possibly Laurens (although latter in the best position throughout – leading in a slowly run affair). Surprised Coolmore didn’t send one of their no hopers to the front to ensure a good pace for Happily and I Can Fly. Unusually tactically poor from them.
Value Is EverythingWell Moe backed her
Happily and I Can Fly did not look fully into their coats in the pre parade and Happily was very downbeat which is not what you want to see with a filly with the sun on her back, she’s much better than that.
I went for VITAMIN and LAURENS because Vitamin beat Soliloquy on the July Course last year, before that Vitamin had run third to Peace Trail (would like to know what’s happened to her?) with Altyn Orda in second that would have been good enough form yesterday. Thought that RH giving Vitamin her first run of the year in a Group race was good enough reason to dive in at the 50/1 that was on offer but it was Billesden Brook that held all the aces yesterday, should have backed all three of his in hindsight.
Somehow the Craven/Nell Gwyn rarely gives us the winner of the Guineas, Masar ran well but Soliloquy ran below her best and I believe Altyn Orda would have won the Nell Gwyn if she hadn’t have wasted all her efforts being too fizzy in the prelims, yesterday she was so calm and Frankie got the best out of her.
Laurens ran her heart out and it was sad not to see her get her prize but nice to see a s syndicate win the Guineas good luck to them even though they beat my filly, she’ll be back better than ever next run..
Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...You are spot on with your assessment that it was Billesdon Brook’s turn of foot that won her the day, off a slow pace.
The problem you now have, if she was to run at Royal Ascot where races are run at true pace, she won’t make the frame, and will probably start off as a false favourite.
With regards to the official going allowances, if I ever meet a professional that understands the subject I will be very surprised, it took me two years of study and rating thousands of meetings to even grasp the basics, as a rule of thumb on the flat I would use.
Fast +0.50s/f
Good to firm +0.25s/f
Good +0.00s/f
Good to slow -0.25s/f
Soft -0.50s/f
Soft to heavy -0.75s/f
Heavy -1.00s/fSo in retrospect, I had the going at +0.10s/f (good) which was slower than the official going of good to firm +0.25s/f.
Mike.
Nathan that is such a sad story my heart goes out to Noel Martin I thought they were particularly tough on him on the day and he looked so sad. He truly deserved some happiness in his life and that is a day he could have looked back on with pride.
Life is very cruel at times.Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...
..Jac 
It was so sad because the owner was disabled and in a wheelchair and remember seeing Henry trying to console him as he sat in the winners enclosure with his filly it was one of the saddest sights especially as I’ve seen horses make far worse errors than that and keep the race.
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