Retail frustrations at Christmas and the 2024 Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at Ascot

I begin this yuletide post with a slight digression on customer service - an occasional hobby horse of mine. 

I think we'd all agree good customer service should be lauded.

Six years ago, at precisely this time of year, I was only too happy to record Marks and Spencer's outstanding customer service in a post entitled 'A gift horse at Christmas'. 

Similarly, poor customer service needs to be called out as well.  

I'm afraid, six years on, standards at the once outstanding Marks and Spencer appear to have slipped.

A couple of months back I signed up for a Sparks card and, as instructed, downloaded the M&S app. The main motivation was to receive a free hot drink after six hot drink purchases - a modest enough goal, I think you'll agree, but, these days, that's about all I have the stomach for.

Anyway, it wasn't clear to me how the app was supposedly recording my coffee purchases so last week I asked a helpful member of store staff to explain. She showed me the app on her phone; a digital card popped up showing each purchase on her device, a feature that clearly wasn't working on my mine. A call to the helpline was required.

Two assistants - one customer, the other technical - quickly offered the same diagnosis and both were rather adamant: I didn't have the requisite digital profile and the simple answer was I needed to go away (as soon as) and create one. Having registered months earlier, I knew this couldn't be the case but my humble protestations were given short shrift.

Such larks with Marks! Chasing a free coffee felt like harder work than chasing a free bet.

Anyway, Plan B kicked in - details of the sorry saga were sent in a separate mail to somebody else and a prompt reply followed, the start of which is reproduced below:

"Thank you for contacting us at M&S.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this process, as a shopper my self [sic] I understand how frustrating you are."

Naturally, when I showed this response to my wife, she could only concur. 

Still, I was surprised to hear that rumours of my retail notoriety had reached the lower echelons of Marks and Spencer's nationwide support team... 

Retail therapy like that - it's enough to drive anyone to the formbook.

13 have been declared for the Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle (3.35), the finale at Ascot tomorrow where a crowd of over 19,000 is anticipated; I have no doubt certain patrons amongst that number will have successfully claimed at least one free hot drink from Marks and Spencer.

The going is described as good to soft.

Five weeks ago Be Aware and the mare Dysart Enos finished second and third respectively behind Burdett Road in the Greatwood at Cheltenham (Fiercely Proud sixth, Go Dante ninth); on revised terms the pair look closely matched.

Unbeaten four-year-old Kabral Du Mathan had the Boodles at Cheltenham as a target last March after winning the Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle at Huntingdon but he never got there after suffering a setback. 

Paul Nicholls' inmate has been well backed through the day; this represents the gelding's first race with more than eight runners.

Three four-year-olds have come home in front in the past 20 years: Cause Of Causes (2012); Sternrubin (dead-heated with Jolly's Cracked It in 2015); and Tritonic (2021). 

Flashy chestnut Secret Squirrel, trained by Hughie Morrison and owned and bred by his wife Mary, finished third behind Our Champ over course and distance seven weeks ago (Fiercely Proud fell two out when disputing second) and is six pounds better off here; the trainer won this with Marble Arch in 2001 and Not So Sleepy in 2019 and 2020. 

The market currently rates Secret Squirrel a 6/1 chance while Our Champ is 20/1 in a place - having been 40s earlier in the week.

Favour And Fortune was sixth in the Supreme in March before winning the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr in April. Writing in the RP Weekender, Alan King says:

"He's come to hand quicker than I expected after his hock injury and he might have returned to action at Doncaster last weekend. 

"I decided that he would benefit from waiting a week and I was delighted with how he worked on the grass last Saturday.

"While I'm sure there will be improvement in him, as he's not run since last April, I believe that he's ready to run well."

The yard won this with Raya Star in 2011 and Tritonic 2021.

Top weight Steel Ally jumped well to make all and win at Haydock over two miles three furlongs off a career-high mark last time. Sam Thomas' charge has gone up another six pounds for that effort; it was testing at Haydock so better ground here should help but I'm not certain the step back in trip will.

Fiercely Proud is better going right-handed so his sixth under a hold-up ride in the Greatwood is easily forgiven. However he finished behind Be Aware, Steel Ally and Secret Squirrel in the Novices' Championship Final won by Helnwein at Sandown in the spring.

Rated 77 on the Flat in Ireland, front-runner Impero beat decent yardsticks Norman Fletcher, Aucunrisque and Jilaijone in a conditional jockeys' handicap at Cheltenham in October off 119 and has since won a Musselburgh novice hurdle over two and a half miles; the yard hasn't recorded a win so far this month.

Black Hawk Eagle proved no match for Norman Fletcher at Huntingdon last time while 2021 winner Tritonic finished last of 11 runners on the all-weather at Kempton 10 days ago and is clearly considered the stable's second string.

Kihavah, rated 101 on the Flat, is at his best on good ground and was declared a non-runner late this afternoon. 

Go Dante's nose defeat of Faivoir in the Imperial Cup at Sandown last March reads well. Olly Murphy's charge still has the look of one with something in hand of his current mark (132) but things don't appear to have gone to plan this term. 

He finished fifth behind Lump Sum in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las (weakened gradually from two out) and underwent wind surgery the very next day. Next time in the Greatwood he faded out of contention approaching the last and was beaten 19 lengths.

In a Straight from the Stable article just over a year ago [RP Weekender 01-05.11.23] Olly Murphy said:

"He wants very soft ground..."

When this race was priced up earlier in the week, I thought two horses looked overpriced - Our Champ and Go Dante's stablemate Alnilam, who never made the final declarations, presumably on account of the ground.

Our Champ beat Break My Soul a nose in the Lavazza Handicap here, despite conditional jockey Freddie Gordon dropping his whip in the final 110 yards. On revised terms the gelding has roughly two and a half lengths to find with Secret Squirrel and has been supported in the market through the day.

Hughie Morrison has said he thinks Secret Squirrel is well handicapped whereas Chris Gordon is on record saying the handicapper has probably 'got' his charge now.  

The Gordon yard has been slow to come to hand this season but King William Rufus won a handicap hurdle six lengths at the track earlier this afternoon.

Our Champ is the each-way suggestion, 16/1 in a couple of places but at the time of writing 20/1 with bet365 who pay four places. 

Anyone fancy a coffee?

Cheltenham's coming...

Thought I'd start this round-up with an update on the possible Festival longshots put up last week...

Mille Chief Took the Kingwell by a nose from Celestial Halo. The latter-named made a right hash of the last; Mille Chief looked booked for the runner's up berth before that error. Trainer Alan King tells us he'll be better on better ground and I'm sure he will but it was still disappointing in a race in which both Silviniaco Conti and Overturn didn't appear to run to their marks. 14/1 available in a number of places - if you're not holding an ante-post voucher at this point, I wouldn't be rushing out to get one.

Cue Card Trainer Colin Tizzard indicated the Supreme Novices' Hurdle rather than the Champion Hurdle is Cue Card's intended race at the Festival.

Tarablaze Jumped abysmally in the four runner novice chase won by Aiteen Thirtythree at Newbury on Friday. William Hill still go 25/1 for the RSA, Sky Bet offer 66/1. No longer of interest.

What A Friend Another I was ready to ditch after Newbury on Friday but, having seen the recording, I'm going to hold fire. The horse struggled on the ground, appearing to run in snatches. He's not the easiest of rides at the best of times; with Noland getting very tired after the last, there was a suspicion he could still have collected the spoils had Harry Skelton not switched his run. Of course, on official ratings he should have won with something to spare - handler Paul Nicholls indicated this performance wasn't anywhere near good enough to get placed in a Gold Cup and he'll consider applying the blinkers in the big race. The horse will improve for the better ground, something he hasn't had in his two races this season. Stan James and William Hill stand out with quotes of 50/1 - Boylesports go 20/1. Tempted?

China Rock Interesting to see Alistair Whitehouse-Jones make a similar case for this one in the Weekender. Trainer Mouse Morris confirmed his charge has come out of the Irish Hennessy well and goes for the Gold Cup. The $64,000 question is - will this son of Presenting stay? Whitehouse-Jones describes it as a grey area, with the dam from the same family as Zongalero and Garrison Savanagh. 66/1 still available with William Hill - a bigger price than What A Friend - I think I'm going to have an each-way dabble.

Other Cheltenham snippets - Imperial Commander had a racecourse gallop at Warwick on Monday. Afterwards handler Twiston-Davies said he was 'pleased' with his charge and was quoted as saying 'He went really well...' Later in the week the quality of that workout appeared to have deteriorated - in Friday's TV coverage it was described as 'satisfactory' while by Saturday the workout had become 'indifferent'. In the past fortnight the stable have had just two winners from thirty runs - the team at Grange Hill Farm have a month to get last year's winner to peak fitness.

Updated Festival prices following yesterday's action - Riverside Theatre 7/1 Ryanair Chase; Master Of The Hall 20/1 RSA Chase; Back In Focus 10/1, Court In Motion 10/1 Albert Bartlett.

If you make just one pre-Festival purchase make sure it's Paul Jones' Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide 2011 due to be published February 25th. On his Twitter account (@sportspunter01) Paul has put out some taster stats to whet your appetite... For example, all Gold Cup winners in the past 20 years had had at least one run after Christmas Day that season; over half the winners of the William Hill Trophy had been placed at the Festival previously; of the last twelve Arkle winners to contest the Champion Chase the following year, five won, five finished second and two were placed third. I'm off to place my order now!

Those who have in the past used the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway to arrive at Cheltenham Racecourse station for the Festival should be aware they will be unable to do so this year as the railway has had something of an annus horribilis with two separate landslips, one at Gotherington and the other at Chicken Curve, Winchcombe, causing damage that will cost over £2 million to repair. An emergency appeal has been launched which has the backing of that well-known railway fanatic, Pete Waterman.

A piece in the business section of Saturday's Times told us something betting shop regulars will have suspected for quite some time. Ladbrokes reported a 7.3% fall in their 'over-the-counter' bets last year but gaming machines were up 7.2%...

Finally, if Ant and Dec are to your taste, there's a chance you'll bump into them on a racecourse this summer. They've bought Primaeval, a four year old chestnut colt trained by James Fanshawe. Apparently Dec bought the horse for his father as a Christmas present - I've been dropping subtle hints to Mrs Tips along similar lines but, to date, I've nothing concrete to report. Rest assured, you'll be the first to know should the unlikely ever come to pass.

Odds 'n' ends...

The stewards' inquiry following Midday's victory in yesterday's Nassau was the first to be televised live on British television; jockey Tom Queally incurred a two day ban for careless riding after his mount and Stacelita came close together about 100 yards from the line.

Goodwood may well have been glorious but issues surrounding the sport's funding continue to rumble on in the background; earlier in the week William Hill announced it is to move its telephone betting operation to Gibraltar in order to benefit from significant tax advantages. Victor Chandler (who, I think, led the move to Gibraltar several years ago) then chipped in with a commitment to pay levy on his offshore operations if the betting exchanges were to be taxed in a similar manner to traditional layers. Chandler may have extended his shirt sponsorship deal with Championship side Nottingham Forest but is on record as saying that racing is the only sport he deals with where 'revenues are declining'. In a similar vein, from the Mintel report on Betting Shops - UK - August 2009: ''In 2008, FOBTs (Fixed Odds Bettng Terminals) became the first product to earn more for Ladbrokes than horse racing in the company’s entire 122-year existence."

A gentle reminder - don't forget to tune in to Channel 4 at 9.00pm this Thursday 5th August when Paul Fisher, Chief Operating Officer of The Jockey Club, takes his turn as The Undercover Boss.

Finally, the best tip(ple) of the week... Champagne Louis Chaurey Brut at Marks & Spencer - reduced from £30 to £15 a bottle. Light, fresh, with pineapple and biscuit overtones - I've just sent Mrs Tips out to get another bottle.

A longshot coupled with a news update...

Notwithstanding cheerleaders, an open-topped bus and jockeys from sunnier climes, Ascot's Shergar Cup meeting has never been one of my favourites - I shall steer well clear.

Just one hopeful (rather than confident) selection to waste your money on this week, in the Rose of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock. Nine go to post for this Group 3 event which is run over ten furlongs. On official ratings John Gosden's Duncan looks the one they all have to beat and consequently the bookmakers make him their market leader. He ruined his chance last time in the Group 2 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket by pulling hard early on - that run is best ignored. He's my idea of the winner but I'm going to look elsewhere for some value. We've had enough rain recently so I went searching for something that would definitely handle soft ground and came up with Traffic Guard. Last September on soft ground at Leopardstown this horse finished half a length second to New Approach in the Irish Champion Stakes. At that time he was trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam but he was moved to one H. Brown (no trainer details available on the Sporting Life site) from whence he was sent out to race three times at Nad Al Sheba. He's back in this country now with Paul Cole and finished a staying-on third in a listed event at Newbury three weeks ago; I'd like to think he can progress from that. The effort behind New Approach is at the back of my mind; any more rain will suit - I'll have a small each-way interest.

The decisions earlier this week, firstly by William Hill and then by Ladbrokes to move their online operations to Gibraltar, will have a major impact on racing's finances in this country. If, as is likely, their telephone betting businesses follow suit, a number of UK call centre jobs will be at risk. Both bookmakers talked of stringent times, in marked contrast to betting exchange opeartor Betfair who reported a 29% jump in underlying earnings and hinted that a public flotation on the stock market may be a possibility.

Betfair co-founder Andrew 'Bert' Black has other things on his mind these days. He has provided financial backing for Michael Owen's new trainer Tom Dascombe. The dream team of Owen, Dascombe and Black were all interviewed at length by Brough Scott at Owen's Manor House Stables on Tuesday.

Finally, something for those who appreciate the finer things in life... Lord and Lady Derby are to open their private horse racing painting collection at Knowsley Hall to the public for one week.

A few Festival fancies

The business section in Friday's Times reported decent results for bookmakers Ladbrokes. Apparently the average spend at their outlets is a meagre £8.40; that compares pretty well to the sort of bills I get lumbered with on an average trip to the shops. In order to save money, I'm thinking I should go to the bookies rather more often than the shops. Even when my selections fail to oblige (most of the time), I can console myself with the thought that I would have spent a hell of a lot more had I gone shopping.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share with you my current Festival thinking, just in case you wanted some suggestions should the opportunity arise for you to pop in to your local turf accountants and save yourself some money in the next two weeks. You know, next they'll be telling us our money is safer with a bookmaker than a bank, but we already knew that...

Tuesday March 10th
Arkle - not a race I'm particularly keen on. My two against the field at this stage are Kalahari King (10/1, prefers decent ground) and Forpadydeplasterer (12/1).
Champion Hurdle - Binocular looks different class and has a racecourse gallop booked at Kempton on Wednesday. Having said that, he offers no real value. Two each way shots against the favourite are last year's runner-up Osana (10/1) and current champion Katchit (14/1) provided a recent break from stable routine has re-kindled his interest - keep an eye out for updates from trainer Alan King.

Wednesday March 11th
Champion Chase - Master Minded looks set to start the shortest price we've seen at the Festival for many a long year. I'm looking for an each-way longshot; the best hint I've come across so far is Mark Winstanley's tip for Briareus (25/1) but other suggestions welcome.
RSA Chase - I prefer What A Friend (6/1) to Cooldine while Gone To Lunch (10/1) is not the best horse in the race but his jumping should stand him in good stead.

Thursday March 12th
World Hurdle - Kasbah Bliss offers no value. I wouldn't write off Punchestowns but think there's more to come from Big Buck's (6/1). Lough Derg (33/1) must have an each-way chance. [Connections indicate they're leaning towards a run in the Coral Cup on the Wednesday for which LD is priced up @ 25/1 with William Hill - 23.02.09.]

Friday March 13th
Two for the Triumph Hurdle - Starluck (13/2) and Walkon (5/1).
Gold Cup - I took 3/1 Kauto before Denman's return. The vibes from the Nicholls' stable suggest it's a race against time to get Denman ready so if I'm going to hedge I'll consider doing so with Neptune Collonges (6/1).

Notes in running

Two performances stood out over the weekend - Henrythenavigator's victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas and Fleeting Spirit's run in Haydock's Temple Stakes. Henrythenavigator looks as though he'll be making his way to Epsom for the Derby, while the filly Fleeting Spirit shaved over a second off the five furlong course record at Haydock and now heads for the King Stand's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Henrythenavigator may know which way he's going but both Sam Thomas and Ruby Walsh have had trouble in that department over the past week. Sam Thomas took the wrong course at Fakenham last Monday while Ruby Walsh mistakenly sent his mount over the water jump at Stratford on Friday evening when riding a finish. Paul Nicholls now finds himself in the position of having his two top riders serving a ban for taking the wrong course. At Stratford's Saturday evening meeting adjustments were made to the manner in which the water jump was dolled off in order to avoid an embarrassing repetition of Ruby's mistake.

High Street bookmaking is a competitive business; differentiators such as customer service are all important. Recently, in a Coventry branch of Ladbrokes, I picked up two leaflets entitled 'Did we get it right today?' and 'Are we meeting our promises?' The latter publication tells me Labrokes are committed to providing 'the best possible service'. Ladbrokes' boss Chris Bell appears to have been singularly unimpressed with British Airways' approach to customer service during a recent flight and, according to this Times report, hasn't been slow in letting the airline know about it...

Ladbrokes take TurfTV

I suppose it was inevitable. Once Coral decided to subscribe to TurfTV, other High Street bookmakers were bound to follow suit. The lead story in today's Racing Post outlines the details of Ladbrokes' five year deal. Hill's and Betfred are currently in negotiations. Yet, less than a month ago, representatives from several of these bookmaking firms were telling anyone who would listen there was no way they'd sign up to a deal with TurfTV...

This racing business

This morning two racing related stories catch the eye on the business pages. William Hill's audacious approach to Ladbrokes' finance director is akin, in footballing terms, to Manchester United trying to poach Liverpool's manager from under their very noses. As The Times report indicates, the attempt failed but it's generated a whole new set of questions. Meanwhile, over in Berkshire, Newbury Racecourse has just turned down a hostile bid from its principal shareholder.

Upset isn't just confined to the world of business. The favourite in the Paddy Power Gold Cup ante-post market, Don't Push It, has been withdrawn after he was found lame yesterday evening.

Mid season sale at Ladbrokes

In a nutshell - Frankie Dettori wins the French Oaks, Paddy Brennan breaks his collar bone in a fall at Stratford, and turnover (and thereby profits) must be down at Ladbrokes as they're offering an extra 10% on all virtual racing singles today. I don't find it easy going through all that virtual racing form, so it's unlikely I'll be tempted because, as we all know, an extra 10% on nothing is nothing.

Blandings Castle, having won on his first appearance for six months last time out, looks worth keeping an eye on in the 3.00 at Newton Abbot; however his current price of 9/4 is no value whatsoever. I saw his main market rival, Johnston's Swallow, win at Towcester on Friday. JS isn't one to trust implicitly; he was comprehensively outjumped down the back straight by Mr Bigglesworth and looked in trouble but made up his ground on the climb to the finishing line.

Gambling leads to ill health

Yesterday evening punters at a branch of Ladbrokes in Stratford Road, Birmingham, complained of suffering from sore throats and running eyes; one individual collapsed on the floor.

Ladbrokes staff, quite naturally, thought another odds on favourite had failed to oblige. On this occasion a faulty fire extinguisher proved to be the cause. Police sealed off the area and emergency services dealt with people on the pavement outside the shop. Rumours that on coming round one backer asked a medic what had won the 5.10 at Wolverhampton were apparently wide of the mark.