PyRo's Horse Bets.

Cheers all.

TB, it has only been a month so we'll see how the yield and profits are looking at the end of April, and then we'll see how it compares! At the moment it's going phenomenally well but keeping it up over the course of the season is what I want to do. I just hope people realize that there won't be winners day in day out (sometimes there won't be one for a week or more), and that it's a long-term game for me. I don't care about winning on any given day or month, winning year by year is all that matters and the only way to do that is by backing overpriced horses. My ability to find overpriced horses over jumps seems to have improved somewhat though.

Anyway, less chit-chat, more donkeys!

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Gauvain brushed aside doubts over his ability to both run up to his best on the back of a short break and over the 2m 4f trip when running away with the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon yesterday. Nick Williams' charge jumped really well in the main and travelled like a dream before grinding out a thoroughly deserved success. In the end, his task was helped by the Nicholls runner falling and the favourite running below-par, but he would have been hard to catch anyway and was value for further than the winning distance, as he seemed to idle after the last. Regardless, he won and landed a 2pt bet at 15/2 in the process. Good horsey!

At Ludlow, Midnight Haze once again showed his fondness for going well first time up when running away with what looked to be a relatively competitive handicap by 11 lengths. I was actually cursing my luck when Kim Bailey's charge was taken on for the lead and passed in the early stages, as he likes to dominate his races. Luckily, it didn't hinder his chances and having travelled and jumped like the best horse in the race, he stayed on stoutly for career win number 5. I'm not sure whether he'll be of interest again in the future (may be too high in the weights after this) but he landed a 3pt win bet at 8/1 (backed into 9/2) and made sure that there was a nice little double on the day.

+39.00pts on a brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable day!

Just one today. The racing isn't great.

12:35 Cheltenham - Edgardo Sol - 3pts @ 9/2 (Bet365, WillHill, VC)

I won't be winning any prizes for originality here but Edgardo Sol looks to be a very worthy favourite in what doesn't appear to be a great contest, even though the betting suggests that it's a tricky one to solve. Paul Nicholls often has underpriced runners, vastly underpriced at that, but this 4-year-old gelding doesn't fit into that category if he has no problems with a short gap in between his races, as he only lined out 6 days ago. It could well force him to run below-par and I don't particularly like backing horses who have run recently but the price seems worth it, as I feel that he's still a well-handicapped animal off a mark of 134.

Edgardo Sol last ran in a Listed handicap at Sandown, a race in which he was sent off as a relatively well-supported 11/4 favourite. However, things conspired against him mid-race, as he had to run on the back of a steady gallop and was constantly jumping out to his left on with is a right-handed track. He still travelled like one of the best horses in the race and got himself into contention when they turned for home but his effort petered out quite tamely, as he couldn't quicken when it mattered and made a bad error at the penultimate flight, which left him flat-footed. In the end, he could only manage a fairly distant 4th of 12 but it was still an encouraging performance, despite not being a brilliant result.

Edgardo Sol now returns to the scene of his greatest success, as he ran out a most impressive winner at this track over just a half-furlong shorter on his penultimate outing. He travelled like a very talented horse that day and showed a telling burst of pace to put 6-lengths between himself and a very decent 17-runner field when encountering the Cheltenham hill. The return to this track should really help him (as he's going the correct way around again) and although he's 12lbs higher in the ratings and running in a better races against older, more experienced handicappers, he looks up to the task if getting that little bit of luck.

Harry Derham offsets some of the 12lb rise on Edgardo Sol by taking off a valuable 7lbs and although not many can replace Ruby in the saddle, this fellow is a very talented young jockey who will be an ideal partner for this type of horse. There's a chance that they mightn't go overly quick up top here, which is a worry, but 9/2 is still too big with Nicholls' charge facing a much easier task than he did last week. It would also be a plus if the ground doesn't soften too much and overall, I feel he's worth having a medium sized bet on. There are a few dangers about, but I feel he has plenty of scope for improvement and Derham's claim leaves him looking very interesting indeed. Of the rest, one of the other 4-year-old's in the race, Tony Star (7/1), could prove to be his biggest danger if handling the track and he may be worth a small saver.