Big-priced winning naps helps to dispel myth

The notion that newspaper tipsters rarely nap big-priced selections was exposed as a piece of rank nonsense last month as winning 22/1 and 16/1 naps helped Racing Post Ratings and Farringdon of the Morning Star post impressive July profits. Racing Post Ratings finished at the top of the monthly list with a 15.4-point yield, while Farringdon’s 10.1-point gain earned third position, behind second-placed Kevin Richardson of the Oldham Evening Chronicle, who earned a healthy 11.5-point July profit.

Two other Racing Post tipsters, Postdata and Spotlight also relished the challenges July presented, posting profits of 9.0 points and 6.8 points respectively, while Marlborough (Daily Telegraph), The Guardian, Little Owl (Belfast Newsletter) and Rob Wright (The Times) all finished July ahead of the game.

Racing Post Ratings’ seven winners last month came in a 13-day cluster between 9 and 23 July, with the highlight being the success of 22/1 Royal Reserve, winner of a 12-furlong handicap at Wolverhampton on 11 July on his first outing for David O’Meara.

July’s profit helped Ratings extend their lead at the top of the 2017 naps table. Ratings are now on 23.9-points ahead of the Sunday Mirror’s Gary Nutting (15.4 points) and The Guardian (14.2 points).

Kevin Richardson achieved a 13-winner July (46% strike-rate) without a real headline-grabbing act. His best priced success was 7/1 Raydiance (Ascot, 29 July) but what impressed was the high level of consistency. The longest run without a winner was just three bets, a sequence that was followed by four consecutive winning naps between 21 and 25 July.

Mywayistheonlyway, successful at 16/1 at Beverley on 18 July, Zodiakos, a winning 15/2 nap at Ayr on 9 July and 9/2 Canny Danny (Catterick, 26 July), were three of Farringdon’s five winning July naps. The Morning Star’s napster also gave a number of apparently speculative naps, including a 50/1 chance, and these rewarded each-way punters as 33/1 Tony Curtis finished fourth in an 18-runner Newmarket handicap (15 July) and 20/1 May Girl finished second at Catterick (19 July).

Postdata of the Racing Post also got in on the big-price act, finding 20/1 winner Excessable (York, 14 July), but for the Post’s Spotlight it was the steady accumulation of profit that stood out – 9 winning naps from 24 represents a 37.5% strike-rate.

Six of Marlborough’s first eight July naps prevailed, while The Guardian also began the month in spectacular fashion with 12/1 nap Tempestatefloresco scoring at Uttoxeter (2 July).

Robin Goodfellow’s magnificent summer continued in July. Having topped the naps table in June, The Daily Mail’s tipster posted a table-topping 45.0-point yield in the overall July tips table. Winning selections included 16/1 Classic Seniority (Hamilton, 21 July) and 14/1 Scala Regia (Kempton, 12 July). Second, with a 6.6-point profit was Captain John of the Irish Times.

With August well underway a quick check shows that Glendale of The Scotsman has made a bold start with three winning naps out of 5, including a 12/1 strike. Rob Wright, Racing Post Ratings, Goodfellow and Patrick Weaver (Daily Star) have also begun the month in promising fashion.

Date Published: 06/08/2017