Wet and windy, and I’m under the weather. Tuesday’s exertions possibly the boiling point. I’ve been watching the festival, but unfortunately the posts didn’t make it. However, today goes my bet of the festival, so a point made to get this one together.
Moneygarrow 12/1
1pt EW | Cheltenham 15:20
T: Dan Skelton | J: Harry Skelton
Not one of the possible plot jobs of the Skelton’s, who have fired in a few who have suddenly found heaps in hand come the handicaps, but I fancy the pants off of Moneygarrow to run a biblical race in the Albert Bartlett.
Solid Bumper form throught 2024 and early 2025 made him an obvious horse of above average ability, but it jumped out how the Skelton’s dropped him in the deep end when making his Hurdles bow in the Grade 2 Persian War at Chepstow at the beginning of the season, despite being over what was always likely to be a trip significantly on the short side for him.
As the season progressed, they gradually stepped him up in trip each time, and on each occasion he has eeked how more and more improvement, culminating in a really eyecatching win over They Call Me Hugo, who will go on to surpass his mark of 132 significantly.
The way in which Harry Skelton stalked They Call Me Hugo that day, on Moneygarrow’s first start over three miles, did little justice to just how comfortable a win it was on the day. He had so much horse under him, it was always a case of when rather than if.
I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of what this lad can do over staying trips and fully fancy him to be cruising into this as they make the turn at the foot of the hill.
The each-way bet of the festival for me, by a long margin.
Best of luck with your punting today,
Why no advised bet some days?
Because there isn't one. The cards don't always offer value, and the worst thing a tipster can do is force a selection just to fill a slot.
A "No Bet" day is the system working — it's the same discipline that produces the winners on the days the bets are right. Better to sit out a card cleanly than to bleed the bank on filler. The best days are usually the ones I've been patient before.
What do the stake points mean?
Stakes are sized in points, not pounds — that way the same plan works on any size of bankroll.
The Daily Dial uses a simple scale: 1pt is the minimum bet (or 0.5pt each-way), 2pt is a standard bet (or 1pt each-way), and 5pt is the maximum on the strongest fancies (or 2.5pt each-way). The whole thing runs off a 100pt bankroll, so a £100 bank means a point is £1 and a 2pt bet is £2; a £1,000 bank means a point is £10 and a 2pt bet is £20. Scale to whatever feels comfortable.
What's a sensible bankroll?
Whatever you can genuinely afford to lose, full stop. Don't play with rent money. Don't chase last week.
For new starters, a sensible starting point is a £100 bank at £1 per point. From there, scale the unit up by 0.5pt for every 50% the bankroll grows — £150 bank → £1.50/pt, £200 → £2/pt, £250 → £2.50/pt, and so on. The inverse — cutting the unit when the bank drops — is good practice but personal preference; I don't do it myself but it's sound advice for most.
What does "each-way" mean?
An each-way bet is two bets in one — a Win bet and a Place bet, each for the same stake. So 1pt each-way means 1pt to win plus 1pt to place: 2pt total out of the bank.
The Place part pays out at a fraction of the win odds (usually 1/4 or 1/5) if the horse finishes in the places — typically the first 3 or 4 depending on the race. Each-way is the right call when the price is generous enough that the place return alone covers the stake. Full guide here.
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