July Latest -Time and Money to Enjoy the ride..

After nearly 60 years in the game (I learned to read by reading the racing pages in the Daily Express) the fact that you learn from nearly every race you invest in, is one of many great aspects of the sport.

This month has been a test of patience with two losing runs of six bets both highlighted by 3pt bets being beaten into second place when victory had appeared inevitable.

It also highlights the hugely important benefit of sticking to a staking plan as we are still pretty much level on the month in terms of profit and loss

Those narrow defeats, all would likely to have seen the bets landed if the races were run again , but as they say ‘thats racing’ and the dependence on an element of fete and sticking to your belief when you place a wager is paramount.

There are other factors, there were 3 consecutive bets ridden by Tom Marquand when the race was lost at the stalls by our selections being slowly away. This is not in anyway the fault of Marquand, it is simply bad luck or bad judgement as one of them Luminaire had shown a tendency to break slowly previously. The three horses concerned, Magical Idea, Luminaire and Chorus were in the end not good enough to overcome the head start they gave the field. in the case of Chorus, she also got a hefty bump 3f out which exacerbated her position.

After Almaraq’s hugely impressive win we had another 3pt bet at Windsor on Mukhtalif who had been backed from 13/8 into 4/7. 60 minutes before the off the course was hit by an electrical storm and deluge of rain which turned the ground from Good to Soft bordering on Heavy. The 3yo couldn’t cope with it and finished 2nd at Evens.

The point is, whilst these excuses are apparent because you are invested in the outcome, in most races there are excuses, ‘what ifs and if only’s’ that impact the result.

I estimate we have had around 20 bets this season involved in photo finishes with the score 6-14 against us , i checked last season and that position was reversed. That differential equates to another 30-40 pts of profit but over time it levels out.

We enter a fascinating part of the season with good to firm ground returning for Ascot this weekend and the Goodwood festival. The Haggas team is flying. As always it will be a roller coaster – with over 100pts profit in the bank we can enjoy the ride!

There will be a couple of bets out for Saturday once the draws and declarations are known at 11.00. I will update the Diary around noon.

Thanks for following.

Russ Diary of a Season 24 July 2025.