RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 163R - 27W - 25P - P&L: -88.17pts - ROI: -27.0%

A losing day yesterday — Revels was beaten for the Daily Selection, and both Elite Trainer picks (Zephyra, Fiorella Princess) placed but were below-5/1 win-only bets, so it made no difference.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 7R - 0W - 2P - P&L: -11.70pts - ROI: -83.6%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 67R - 5W - 17P - P&L: -38.50pts - ROI: -28.7%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 15R - 3W - 1P - P&L: -9.86pts - ROI: -32.9%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 96R - 22W - 8P - P&L: -49.67pts - ROI: -25.9%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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The speed at which my Wassup box started filling yesterday morning, with cartoons of The Count of Montecito, paddling his dinghy en famille across the Channel, was astonishing. So many messages that I started to feel guilty about the AI and Interweb consumption of vital resources such as energy, water and working time. Get back to work, you lazy oiks!

As for the rest of us, there were three demands today from various elements of the elite thought police, seeking to introduce stringent press regulation, or censorship as it is known, following the Jason Arday affair. Everyone seems to have forgotten that

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 160R - 27W - 23P - P&L: -82.17pts - ROI: -25.7%

A losing day yesterday — both Daily Selection picks and all four Elite Trainer picks were beaten. Havana Sprite and Fight Your Corner qualified for both streams and lost in both.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 1P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 8 days (Aug 12–19): 10R - 0W - 3P - P&L: -15.20pts - ROI: -76.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 66R - 5W - 17P - P&L: -36.50pts - ROI: -27.7%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 4R - 0W - 1P - P&L: -8.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 8 days (Aug 12–19): 14R - 3W - 2P - P&L: -5.36pts - ROI: -19.1%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 94R - 22W - 6P - P&L: -45.67pts - ROI: -24.3%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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Sometimes racing people can be an ungracious bunch. Ombudsman lost the Juddmonte, which was won by Item, who ran a blinder in a time a ½ second slower than last year. Gosden said the ground was riding soft, at which point the social media mob and the racing hacks reacted as if he had actually said that The Queen Mother was a shoplifter and Mary Berry couldn’t cook! A second school of thought suggested it was the worst ride the horse had ever been given. Another group suggested that the winner had deliberately boxed Ombudsman in, and, of course, there were another 1000+ armchair jockeys who had an opinion about whether the pacemakers were used or not, or whatever or this or that.

All these realities and perceptions have some measure of truth (except Mary Berry),

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For many years, I didn’t like York. We used to sponsor races there through different clients, and I’d been to The Yorkshire Royal Ascot, which was a disaster. (Ascot brought their own caterers and charged like a wounded Rhino with no access to painkillers!).

But many of my good friends go there, have a great time, get entertained for next to nothing, and eat really well for very little. They drink plenty, come home with winnings and stories of 20/1 winners and 50/1 almosts, and look at me with pity because I missed out, endlessly saying, “… you should have seen…”

My York ennui changed when

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 154R - 27W - 21P - P&L: -70.17pts - ROI: -22.8%

A losing day yesterday — both Elite Trainer picks were beaten, Espona Bay and Blue Celestial both unplaced. No Daily Selection qualifiers.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 10R - 0W - 3P - P&L: -13.20pts - ROI: -66.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 64R - 5W - 16P - P&L: -32.50pts - ROI: -25.4%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 12R - 4W - 1P - P&L: +3.04pts - ROI: +12.7%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 90R - 22W - 5P - P&L: -37.67pts - ROI: -20.9%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 152R - 27W - 21P - P&L: -66.17pts - ROI: -21.8%

A mixed day yesterday — Veil Of Clouds won for the Elite Trainer pick but Envision was beaten in the same stream; Cheeky Chesca placed for the Daily Selection but Buccabay was beaten.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 1P - P&L: -1.70pts - ROI: -42.5%

• Last 7 days: 10R - 0W - 3P - P&L: -13.20pts - ROI: -66.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 64R - 5W - 16P - P&L: -32.50pts - ROI: -25.4%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 2R - 1W - 0P - P&L: -0.86pts - ROI: -21.5%

• Last 7 days: 12R - 4W - 1P - P&L: +3.04pts - ROI: +12.7%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 88R - 22W - 5P - P&L: -33.67pts - ROI: -19.1%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 148R - 26W - 20P - P&L: -63.61pts - ROI: -21.5%

A blank day yesterday — no Daily Selection or Elite Trainer qualifiers to report.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 9R - 0W - 2P - P&L: -13.50pts - ROI: -75.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 62R - 5W - 15P - P&L: -30.80pts - ROI: -24.8%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 10R - 3W - 1P - P&L: +3.90pts - ROI: +19.5%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 86R - 21W - 5P - P&L: -32.81pts - ROI: -19.1%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 148R - 26W - 20P - P&L: -63.61pts - ROI: -21.5%

A strong day yesterday — Wine Dark Sea and Runman both won for the Elite Trainer pick, though Alma Latina was beaten in the same stream. No Daily Selection qualifiers to report.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 9R - 0W - 2P - P&L: -13.50pts - ROI: -75.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 62R - 5W - 15P - P&L: -30.80pts - ROI: -24.8%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 3R - 2W - 0P - P&L: +11.00pts - ROI: +183.3%

• Last 7 days: 11R - 3W - 1P - P&L: +1.90pts - ROI: +8.6%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 86R - 21W - 5P - P&L: -32.81pts - ROI: -19.1%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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Bloody Nora! It’s only 19C!

And it’s rained!!!

There used to be an old adage in The City along the lines of: “When you see unit trusts advertised on the Underground, the market has reached the top.” With that sensible knowledge in our minds, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised at this temperature change, especially in light of the PM’s taking control.

Having served 28 days in office, the Prime Minister’s response to the extreme weather cycle - apart from going on holiday - was to have a COBRA meeting last Wednesday 12th August, his 24th day as PM. The meeting was about three weeks after the major Tintwistle and Dovestone fires and about two weeks after the Dunwich Heath major incident. Perhaps because the PM was unaware, he was told that 208 wildfires had been reported between 18th July and 12th August. He discovered that at least 706 wildfires had been attended to in England and Wales by 28 July 2026. Somebody probably guesstimated that we had lost over 2,000 hectares of woodland in England.

With some alacrity, the sages who guard our nation agreed that fire and rescue capacity and the arrangements for moving resources around the country would be reviewed. Health, transport, water and energy services were instructed to maintain contingency preparations, and officials would continue monitoring forecasts and wildfire conditions! Phew. Afterwards, rather than making it illegal to use a disposable BBQ, they imposed a temporary stop-sale requirement on businesses, as various fire chiefs had asked for back in 2022.

Now, as we know, this PM is nothing if not a man of action, especially when it comes to presentation and appearance. A classic example of “We need to be seen to be doing something positive… do I look northern enough in this T-shirt?”

Then someone said: “What about the England and Wales Emergency Alert?”

Now, as you will all remember, the official purpose of the EWAA was to “Provide warning and advice in a life-threatening emergency.” It exists specifically to send urgent, potentially life-saving instructions to people in or approaching the area of an immediate threat, allowing them to evacuate, seek shelter, or take whatever safety action they can. Examples given by the government included wildfires encroaching on communities, severe flooding, and extreme storms. Alerts, we were told, would be used very rarely; would be sent only where there was an immediate risk to life; would specifically identify the affected area; would tell recipients how to respond; and would be geographically targeted via nearby mobile-phone masts. The launch example was an alert to residents of villages being approached by a wildfire—not a general fire-prevention message to an entire country.

So, then some Comms Spad reminded Andynorthern Man that the original Cabinet Office launch document in 2023, for the England and Wales Emergency Alert, contained the word "wildfire". BINGO!

I entirely accept that wildfires plainly fall under the general heading of emergencies and catastrophes, but whether a nationwide warning about avoiding ignition met the originally stated “immediate risk to life” threshold is plainly nonsense. It was a cheap, sensationalist piece of posing-as-politics that achieved nothing and has possibly set off a Boy Who Cried Wolf scenario.

I wonder if the vacillating little man from the North will continue posing as PM and coming up with policies that make headlines (free ice-creams for people in the Dales - no IHT on Fish and Chip Shops in Chorlton-cum-Hardy), or is going to do something national like fix the NHS, lower the ever-increasing debt, or get some defence in place?

No, I fear not. He is all smoke (I use the word advisedly) and mirrors. He seeks popularity and is busy creating division by increasing the number of shoulders he can add chips to, reminding “The People” that the rich never gave them jobs, work, income, or free holidays, and that the corporations provided the money via taxation for all the problems they now have. I suspect we will have many more buzzing phones from the new PM DOING THINGS NATIONAL ALERT SYSTEM.

Meanwhile, the changed weather, however temporary, will not deter the East Garston Village Fete from its joyous day, and it has increased the number of birds in the garden so that there is more bird song today than a Traveller’s hen night in Skegness.

Meanwhile, a good racing day and most of it on ITV4!

Deauville

12:58 - Prix Lady O’Reilly Prix Minerve Stakes (G3) (C1) (3YO only) 1m 4½f - 7 run

HABIBI

13:33 - Prix Francois Boutin Stakes (G3) (C1) (2YO only) 7f - 5 run

AVEC TOI

14:50 - Prix Jacques Le Marois Stakes (G1) (C1) (3YO plus) 1m - 10 run

MORE THUNDER - RAYIF - PRECISE - The three in a ¼ pt Trifecta with ZEUS OLYMPIOS

Pontefract

3.45 EBF Novice Stakes (C3) - 6f

VARZI

4.15 Sky Bet Fillies’ Hcp (C3) - 1m 6y

DARZAH

4.45 EBF Sky Bet Fillies’ Stakes (C1) - 6f

ROYAL FIXATION

5.15 Sky Bet Price Boosts Hcp (C3) - 1m 2f 5y

AMMES - JEZ BOMB

5.45 Sky Bet Build A Bet Hcp (C2) - 5f 3y

ROCKING ENDS - ONE AND GONE

6.15 Sky Bet Extra Places Hcp (C3) - 2m 1f 27y

SIXTY PLUS

6.45 Sky Bet Hcp (C3) - 6f

VEBLEN GOOD

Curragh

3.55 Tote Guarantee Hcp - 1m 2f

GUINELOT - YOUCANSAYTHATAGAIN

4.25 Newbridge Silverware Royal Whip (G3) - 1m 2f

A BOY NAMED SUSIE to beta CHARLES FORT

4.55 William Hill Juvenile Sprint (Listed) - 5f

CONCORDE LANDED - GRAYROBIN

5.25 Bet with Tote Hcp - 5f

MARY SHOWLACES

RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 145R - 24W - 20P - P&L: -74.61pts - ROI: -25.7%

A losing day yesterday — both Daily Selection picks (Zarathos, Up The Jazz) and both Elite Trainer picks (Necromancer, Return Of The Gods) were beaten.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 12R - 1W - 3P - P&L: -6.50pts - ROI: -27.1%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 62R - 5W - 15P - P&L: -30.80pts - ROI: -24.8%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 8R - 1W - 1P - P&L: -9.10pts - ROI: -56.9%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 83R - 19W - 5P - P&L: -43.81pts - ROI: -26.4%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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One of the awful side-effects of the Yahoos’ obsession with “being real,” emotional engagement, and sharing 247 all their “lived experiences” is the introduction and acceptance of round-the-clock insincerity. You are a bounder and a cad and not a real human if you don’t dash round everywhere with a posy in your hand, ready to lay it on the spot of some Darwinian moment and to spout to any poor soul who is nearby the hollow cant of hypocrisy.

Our thoughts are with… We send our support to all his/her/their friends, family, and colleagues… At this time, before apportioning blame, it is important that we first remember…

Coupled with those “Thoughts” are the “Lessons”. These are going to be learned, taken on board, developed, assimilated, enhanced. Top and tail those words with an Apology, and you have the beginning, middle and end of the entire incident, and we poor schlocks know nothing more will be done - but it’s all OK because they have at least apologised!

Perhaps you think me cynical or even harsh?

Let me give you an example: Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), issued an official statement and press briefing addressing the institutional failings surrounding the serial sex offender Simon Levy. After suggesting that Old Bill’s scathing criticism of the Crown Prosecution Service’s contribution had been “unhelpful”, Steve then delivered the Holy Trinity of cock-up cant.

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 251R - 31W - 38P - P&L: -166.81pts - ROI: -33.2%

A quiet winning day yesterday — Lairy Mary placed at Beverley for both the Daily Selection and Elite Trainer.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 1P - P&L: +0.50pts - ROI: +25.0%

• Last 7 days: 11R - 1W - 4P - P&L: -2.40pts - ROI: -10.9%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 60R - 5W - 15P - P&L: -26.80pts - ROI: -22.3%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 1P - P&L: +0.50pts - ROI: +25.0%

• Last 7 days: 8R - 2W - 1P - P&L: -4.35pts - ROI: -27.2%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 81R - 19W - 5P - P&L: -39.81pts - ROI: -24.6%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 14R - 1W - 3P - P&L: -9.90pts - ROI: -35.4%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 109R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -98.20pts - ROI: -45.0%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Daily Selection

Selections only qualify if, at the time of betting, the horse was between 11/2 and 16/1 and there were 8 or more runners.

• Zarathos (IRE) — Newmarket (July) 19:37 · BOP #2, TT Race #1 ★★★★★ · 15/2

• Up The Jazz (IRE) — Thirsk 19:50 · BOP #2, TT Race #2 ★★ · 11/1▼

Elite Trainer Pick

Selections carry the strongest trainer signal in the race and an elite composite score.

Staking: 1pt E/W at 5/1 or bigger · 2pts win below 5/1

• Necromancer — Newmarket (July) 17:18

• Return Of The Gods (IRE) — Thirsk 19:18

The Median Pick

The bet of several possible worlds averaged out.

Staking: 1pt E/W at 5/1 or bigger · 2pts win below 5/1

• Heer’s Sadie — Yarmouth 15:48

• Haveagobeau — Epsom 16:38

• Zarathos (IRE) — Newmarket (July) 19:37 (also Daily Selection)

2T

Rarer than hens’ teeth — 2T selections only run in non-handicaps and are considered top-drawer.

Staking: 1pt E/W at 5/1 or bigger · 2pts win below 5/1

No 2T qualifier today.

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Not a great start to the week. On Tuesday, we went to drinks with the Jockey’s dad and his mate, the Trainer. Another neighbour turned up, who Madame knew from 45 years ago when he played at every Hunt Ball, Coming Out Dance, Charity Event and Beano in the developed world. (Goodwood to Cirencester and fifty miles either side of that corridor - and Monmouthshire once.)

Evening shade, rural idyll, sitting outside sipping Rose - what could possibly go wrong?

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Admittedly I had missed lunch, and I was probably unwise to kick off with a small heart-starter, but I just thought a Gin would set me up. Our host brought out a small bowl of those biscuity things with nuts and dried fruit that always seem to cost £9.00 a box of ten and then some crisps. A little later, a plate of smoked salmon on wholemeal bits was passed around and gratefully received. My eye told me that there were probably three pieces each, and together with a small bowl of roasted chorizo bits, I might survive. Not to worry, said the body-part I laughingly call my brain; Madame will gird the loins circa 20:00 hours, and we’ll be away and back in time for quelqu’un on the munchie front.

After two hours, there was no discernible girding, but the atmosphere was much livelier, and there was more laughter, and we discussed training, and Bow Echo and Clarkson and drought; a word which did not apply to the Jockey’s dad’s cellar. More Rose came and was consumed, and we discussed mortality, moral compasses, socialism and the impact of wokery. By now it was four hours in, and I had started to compose a note in my mind, much along the lines of Sir Robert Scott’s last letter. “…we are setting a good example to our countrymen, if not by getting into a tight place, by facing it like men when we were there. We could have come through had we neglected the sick”.

At 11:45 the game was up, and our poor host was left to count the appalling cost of having a few locals and the Editor of BOP over for an early evening Sherbert.

In the cold light of day, I realised I had, in fact, come through. I was reminded by a slightly vengeful tone that I had almost fallen over, that I had not been seen in “that” (such a venomous word) condition since Pterodactyls lived in St James Park; that I had devoured in four mouthfuls a bacon and egg banjo, and the fact that my trousers were neatly folded and my shoes placed side by side told me that Madame had sacrificially, not neglected the sick.

There is a brief scene in the James Bond film Golden Eye when the second villain played by Alan Cunmmings says in a dreadful Russian accent, “Yes!! I am invincible,” before being drenched in liquid CO2 and turning him to ice cubes.

I hope one or other outcome happens soon!

Figures of the day

We sat last night for the once-in-400-years moment that was the eclipse. We sat in the garden at 6:00 pm as the blazing sun did its best impression of being… well… there. It hung there, then went behind some trees. We made suitable noises about the mysteries of God and the wonder of his works, and made noises about the smallness of man when compared to The BHA.

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The Sun continued towards what it normally does, which is to set at around 8.30 pm.

It got a bit cloudy. The need for special glasses seemed overstretched, because the ONLY moment of significance was when the local Robin went into full shagging call, and all 200 woodpigeons said goodnight to each other.

Frankly, Milton was stretching it a bit in Paradise Lost when he said;

"O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,

Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse

Without all hope of day!"

We stopped wandering about 8:45 pm and had a restoring sherbert!

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Finally, AMERICAN BAY in the 3:45 Beverley catches the eye… more than the sun did anyway.

RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 249R - 31W - 36P - P&L: -167.81pts - ROI: -33.7%

A losing day yesterday — all three Daily Selection picks (Gold Reef City, Mister Sky Blue, Foreseen) and the Median Pick (No Knee Never) were beaten.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 3R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -6.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 11R - 1W - 3P - P&L: -4.90pts - ROI: -22.3%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 59R - 5W - 14P - P&L: -27.30pts - ROI: -23.1%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 14R - 3W - 0P - P&L: -10.18pts - ROI: -36.4%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 80R - 19W - 4P - P&L: -40.31pts - ROI: -25.2%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 17R - 1W - 3P - P&L: -15.90pts - ROI: -46.8%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 109R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -98.20pts - ROI: -45.0%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 245R - 31W - 36P - P&L: -159.81pts - ROI: -32.6%

A losing day yesterday — the Daily Selection pair split (Falaise Blanc placed at Hamilton, U Sure Do beaten), the Elite Trainer picks had one winner in Harley at Hamilton, and both Median Pick selections were beaten.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 1P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -50.0%

• Last 7 days: 8R - 1W - 3P - P&L: +1.10pts - ROI: +6.9%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 56R - 5W - 14P - P&L: -21.30pts - ROI: -19.0%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 4R - 1W - 0P - P&L: -3.60pts - ROI: -45.0%

• Last 7 days: 14R - 3W - 0P - P&L: -10.18pts - ROI: -36.4%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 80R - 19W - 4P - P&L: -40.31pts - ROI: -25.2%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: 2R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -4.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 19R - 1W - 3P - P&L: -19.90pts - ROI: -52.4%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 108R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -96.20pts - ROI: -44.5%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 237R - 30W - 35P - P&L: -150.21pts - ROI: -31.7%

A losing day yesterday — both Pearl Eye for the Daily Selection and Badri for the Median Pick were beaten at Ayr and Windsor.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 6R - 1W - 2P - P&L: +3.10pts - ROI: +25.8%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 54R - 5W - 13P - P&L: -19.30pts - ROI: -17.9%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 11R - 2W - 0P - P&L: -8.58pts - ROI: -39.0%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 76R - 18W - 4P - P&L: -36.71pts - ROI: -24.2%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 22R - 1W - 4P - P&L: -23.10pts - ROI: -52.5%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 106R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -92.20pts - ROI: -43.5%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 235R - 30W - 35P - P&L: -146.21pts - ROI: -31.1%

A quiet losing day yesterday — both Elite Trainer and the Median Pick’s single selections were beaten.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 5R - 1W - 2P - P&L: +5.10pts - ROI: +51.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 53R - 5W - 13P - P&L: -17.30pts - ROI: -16.3%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 12R - 3W - 0P - P&L: -4.58pts - ROI: -19.1%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 76R - 18W - 4P - P&L: -36.71pts - ROI: -24.2%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Last 7 days: 23R - 1W - 4P - P&L: -25.10pts - ROI: -54.6%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 105R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -90.20pts - ROI: -43.0%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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RESULTS TO DATE

ALL SELECTIONS YTD: 233R - 30W - 35P - P&L: -142.21pts - ROI: -30.5%

A strong day for Daily Selection yesterday — Tuco Salamanca won at 4/1 and Mountain Road placed at 10/1, though the Median Pick had a tougher time of it with only Go Rimbaud placing across five selections.

Daily Selection

• Yesterday: 3R - 1W - 1P - P&L: +7.00pts - ROI: +116.7%

• Last 7 days: 5R - 1W - 2P - P&L: +5.10pts - ROI: +51.0%

• Previous Month: 46R - 3W - 11P - P&L: -30.00pts - ROI: -32.6%

• Year to date: 53R - 5W - 13P - P&L: -17.30pts - ROI: -16.3%

Elite Trainer

• Yesterday: No qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: 13R - 3W - 0P - P&L: -6.58pts - ROI: -25.3%

• Previous Month: 59R - 15W - 4P - P&L: -22.13pts - ROI: -18.8%

• Year to date: 75R - 18W - 4P - P&L: -34.71pts - ROI: -23.1%

The Median Pick

• Yesterday: 5R - 0W - 1P - P&L: -7.80pts - ROI: -78.0%

• Last 7 days: 22R - 1W - 4P - P&L: -23.10pts - ROI: -52.5%

• Previous Month: 78R - 6W - 14P - P&L: -57.10pts - ROI: -36.6%

• Year to date: 104R - 7W - 18P - P&L: -88.20pts - ROI: -42.4%

2T

• Yesterday: no qualifiers yesterday

• Last 7 days: No qualifiers in the last 7 days

• Previous Month: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

• Year to date: 1R - 0W - 0P - P&L: -2.00pts - ROI: -100.0%

TODAY’S RECOMMENDATIONS

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As the founder (and currently sole funder) of the new political party GREAT Britain, I am delighted to say that we have recruited Professor Emeritus Jason Arday OM as our Minister-In-Waiting for Education.

GREAT Britain, as you all know from our many TED talks, presentations and Edinburgh Fringe Events, represents the aspirations, needs and direction of our wonderful country.

G is for the Growth we will bring; R is the Responsibility we want every citizen to take for their own actions; E is for the Enterprise we Brits have always shown over the millennia; A is the sense of Ambition we must foster in our young, and T is for the Tradition and heritage that the British nation has for hard work, fair play and justice.

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Professor Arday has taken those five great focuses to his heart and, with his policies directing all our children and grandchildren along a similar educational path to his own, our future ballot box chances are immensely enhanced. Those policies are based on his many lived experiences, which have given him the rich and rewarding life that he has strived to create, from the very poor beginnings of his great uncle’s hut in Mawaru, alongside the mighty River Korodani.

At Jaba University in Kak, he studied the ancient language of Takataka Tupu, and his paper on its impact across the African continent was widely received by many major aid organisations, NGOs and indeed United Nations members. From there he went out into the world and, using his extraordinary talents for providing insight and new perspectives, it could be said that Prof. Arday has radically altered the traditional Oxbridge approach to the delivery of wisdom and knowledge and eradicated many of the misconceptions of critical race theory.

I am delighted that no sooner had the educational establishment become aware of his intentions to be a part of GREAT Britain than the current UK Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell, reached out to declare that she thought, political differences aside, Jason was someone she could work with, as their thinking was aligned in so many places.

Stand by for great things to come, but in the meantime, we are already planning The GREAT British Ten Days of Christmas Advent Calendar, which simultaneously provides encouragement to the very young as it extols the virtues of Prof. Arday’s career to date and his impact on British society, but removes the old colonial Duodecimal system as used to be applied by the minority Christian religious group.

Here is a foretaste of some of the images behind each window.

These images can all be found in the forthcoming biography: “My Gifts are Many”

With all this political manoeuvring, I haven't had the chance to give you one of my recipes. This one Jason especially likes:

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Scampi or Gamberi alla busara is one of those splendid dishes which proves that borders are invented by politicians and subsequently ignored by fishermen. Trieste claims it enthusiastically, although the dish possibly wandered in from Istria or Dalmatia, probably Rijeka, where the scampi of the Kvarner Gulf were already sufficiently famous in the nineteenth century for the Venetian gastronome Antonio Papadopoli to declare Rijeka blessed first for its scampi and only afterwards for its women.

Around the 1920s, the dish travelled north to Trieste; a city where Italians, Slavs and Austrians had spent centuries arguing about who owned the harbour. Busara fitted in perfectly. Scampi cooked vigorously with tomato, wine, and the usual Mediterranean encouragements of garlic, onions, and a pinch of chilli, and eventually became so popular that it spread even further up the coast and was adopted by the Venetians, who, as per, claimed it for their own. Being now an Italian dish, there was then the obligatory culinary etymological discussion about the name busara.

Option 1: It may derive from buzara, the pot in which fishermen cooked aboard their boats; Option 2: A Prof suggested buzzo, meaning stomach; Option 3, however, is I think the most likely: that it comes from the word busiara or liar. The derivation is because the local restaurateurs could disguise unsaleable scraps of fish and shellfish in the sauce and sell it for a sensible price. Thus the dish was a lie.

GAMBERI ALLA BUSARA

Now the options. You can have this on its own and use your fingers and lots of bread, garlicked or otherwise. You can use it as a pasta sauce, and if push comes to shove, you can have it with some wild rice mixed with Camargue, which, once cooked, has been doused with EVOO and lemon juice. Any which way is good - and that isn’t a lie.

I shall simply tell you the basis.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled, then chopped fine

• 1kg prawns, medium-sized, deveined

• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

• 60ml of dry white wine

• 700g of cherry tomatoes, finely chopped

• ½ tspn chilli flakes (I have 1 tspn but a la votre)

• fine sea salt

• freshly ground black pepper

• 1 handful of parsley leaves, minced

METHOD

1. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan set over a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for a minute until fragrant. Do not let it catch

2. Stir in the onion and cook until soft and translucent, stirring often so it doesn’t colour

3. Add the prawns and cook for about two minutes per side, ensuring that they don’t overlap.

4. Pour in the wine, increase the heat to medium-high and allow it to evaporate.

5. Perhaps with a pair of tongs, remove the prawns; transfer them to a plate while you carry on with the sauce

6. Add the tomatoes and chilli. Lower the heat, cover and cook until the tomatoes have fallen apart and look saucy; add a splash of water if needed to help the sauce come together. Taste and season

7. Now, put the prawns back into the pan and stir to coat in the sauce. Increase the heat and sautée for about five more minutes, then remove from the heat and sprinkle with parsley

FURTHER OPTIONS

• If you use tins of plum tomatoes - which are better quality than tins of chopped tomatoes (always), then crush them in your hand over the pan (the tomatoes not the tins) before you put them in

• You can use Langoustine (always a pain but prawnier) or monkfish tail.

• Don't use pre-cooked prawns; they’ll turn to rubber on the above instructions.

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