22/1

Well, Villa kept up their goal scoring record at Anfield, a characterisitc of their last 3 visits there so I was not overtly concerned when Liverpool took the lead. Of course laying Liverpool at 1.63 ( note they went off at 1.58 so a trade could have been made before kick off for the early birds!) and Liverpool scoring first meant their price plummeted to 1.21. In this instance it was simply a case of taking the loss. If Liverpool scored a 2nd then life would be difficult. Luckily Villa got their goal and a 2nd within 2 minutes allowing for a profitable trade.
Elsehere the Ivorians and Nigerians fought out a tight tgame, ideal for the unders trade - amazing when you consider who was playing, Kanu, Yakubu, the excellent Obafemi Martins, Kalou and Drogba! A game with some hugley talented players on show but still some naive football.
It would seem at this early stage that the bookmakers are getting the pricing right which is good for those whodon't know ( like me) how good, say, NAmibia or BEnin are . Namibia ,at this early stage would look to be the whipping boys. Also, I would pay close attention to Nigeria in their next few games as they will need to win and may be worthy of support .

From a horse perspective, the price on Waterside of 8/15 was huge given he'd run in class 1 and class 2 events and was now ensconced in class 6!. The each way punt went awry but this was hinted at in the live market with the betting forecast 5/1 showing as 8/1 in the live market.

On to today and Southwell survives.

230 SOUTHWELL

BETTING FORECAST: 5/4 Bonnie Prince Blue, 7/1 Red Romeo, 8/1 Electric Warrior, Jamieson Gold, Kabeer, Lucky Kyllachy, 12/1 Evens And Odds, Will He Wish .

SPOTLIGHT VERDICT: Market support for Lucky Kyllachy or Jamieson Gold will be significant but it was hard not to be impressed by the manner of BONNIE PRINCE BLUE's recent course win and he gets a confident vote.

A potential price gapper here in Bonnie Prince Blie, ran only 14 days ago and won, a course and distance winner too and the early market supports the horse. At over evens he's worth support, albeit this is a class 2 race and so there is an element of quality about the entrants

300 SOUTHWELL

BETTING FORECAST: 5/4 Noble Plum, 7/1 Bentley Brook, Three Boars, 8/1 Calculating, Kylkenny, 10/1 Pass The Port, 12/1 Maslak, 20/1 Kanisorn, Victory Quest, 25/1 Turn Of Phrase, 66/1 Trachonitis .

SPOTLIGHT VERDICT: A warm race but if NOBLE PLUM (nap) reproduces the effort that saw her trot up here last time, she will be very hard to beat. A slow learner from the Sir Mark Prescott stable, she looks well in under a penalty - all the more so when you consider the handicapper's hefty punishment of Kylkenny and Three Boars - and can take this en route to better things

Another probable price gapper. Now odds on with all others at double figure odds. Now probability wise it will be difficult for 2 consecutive price gappers to win, but hey, Southwell, surprise me!.
Both are worthy of support I feel, the more conservative bettor may play safe in both cases with place only bets

FOOTY

The games this evening are just too difficult to assess. The Zambia v Sudan game has a good chance of over 2.5 goals ( or at least the prospect of profitting from trading that market).
Arsenal v Spurs - we do not know the strength of the Arsenal side. This is likely to be another close game but without full knowledge I will not get involved.

A quiet day today