Postdata claim back-to-back monthly crowns

November’s naps race was a keenly fought affair, with several services taking a turn at the top. But, when it really mattered, after the last race had been run on 30 November, it was the Racing Post’s Postdata who held the number one placing. November’s yield was 8.2 points, making it back-to-back titles following October’s eye-catching 20.4 points haul. It also means that Postdata has recovered from a difficult summer and is up to third in the overall table for 2022, less than 16 points behind the leader, Garry Owen.

Karl Hedley and West Tip, who were prominent throughout the month, finished second and third with returns of 4.5 points and 3.7 points respectively. Spotlight, another member of the powerful Racing Post team came fourth with a 1.9-point return, while the overall 2022 leader, Garry Owen, finished fifth with 1.8 points.

Postdata began the year fine shape, topping the lists in January and February. A fine 13-point return in May guided them to third in the overall table, but with only one profitable month out of the next four, Postdata slipped badly. October’s profit helped to wipe out some of the summer losses and that project continued in November.

Apart from a losing run of six early on, and then one of five days duration towards the end of the month, the winners flowed like good wine. During the 15-day period from 10 November, the win strike-rate was 47%; the overall figure was 33%. Winners bookmarked the month’s work with Primo (4/1, Southwell, 1 November) opening the show and Lily Glitters (9/4, Ludlow, 30 November) bringing down the curtain. Successes in the interim included 13/2 Larry (Ascot, 18 November) and 9/2 Quinta Do Mar (Fontwell, 13 November).

A trio of winners between 5 and 7 November - Metier (13/2, Doncaster), Call Me Lord (11/2, Kempton Park) and Red Walls (2/1 Chelmsford City) - propelled Karl Hedley to the top of the table. White Heart Lady, who won at Lingfield Park (15 November), kept Hedley in the hunt but with only two further wins from 15, Hedley’s challenge faded. Nevertheless, this was a fine effort by the Irish Post’s pundit.

Third placed West Tip began the month positively with six winning naps from 14 between 1 and 20 November. Successes included 6/1 Does He Know (Cheltenham, 13 November) and 7/2 Greaneteen (Exeter, 4 November). On the evening of 20 November, West Tip topped the table, but like Hedley, a modest end to the month shattered hopes of a top position. Crucially, though, the yield of 3.7 points did mean that West Tip closed in on the overall leader in the 2022 race, Garry Owen.

At the start of November, difference between the two was more than six points. By the end it was down to 4.4. Indeed, after a run of ten straight losing bets mid-month, the lead had disappeared. But, three winners from six in the last week restored Garry Owen’s advantage.

Five winners during the last eight days of November guided Racing Post Spotlight to fourth position and a 1.9-point yield, while the month’s best strike-rate (43%) could not reward The Duke with a profit. Instead, the Yorkshire Post tipster had to settle for a 2.6-point dip.

There were some hefty losses in the all-tips category, but Garry Owen (17 points), the Star (14 points), Rob Wright (8 points) and Newsboy (3 points) all posted profits with selections priced 20/1 or above. Over the longer term, Marlborough is showing a 74-point profit on all 20/1 selections this year. And he’s not alone: Racing Post Ratings are up 71 points and Rob Wright is 24 points to the good. By the way, Wright was also well ahead in 2021 (49 points) with these speculative punts.

Date Published: 05/12/2022