OpinionChris Cook
premium

Here's a five-horse acca on the Cheltenham Festival as I succumb to my inner mug

author image
Chris CookRacing Writer of the Year
Marine Nationale: made a superb start over fences
Marine Nationale has run once over fences. Does he belong in a Cheltenham Festival acca?Credit: Patrick McCann

I like to start every column with a cliche, so how about this one: variety is the spice of life. I don't really believe that, I do the same stuff every week and am very comfortable with it, but in the spirit of trying something that everyone else seems to enjoy, I've had a go at putting together an ante-post accumulator for the Cheltenham Festival.

Accas are a very muggy way to bet because the margin in favour of the bookmaker just keeps getting bigger the more selections you add. When you place an acca, you have basically abandoned all chance of getting the value and are instead crossing your fingers for a hefty payout. It is neither big nor clever.

But the Racing Post does not aspire to be a sort of Gambling Governess, cracking a ruler over your knuckles when you're about to do something naughty. We don't insist on you having broccoli with every meal and not every bet has to be the product of a series of ruthless calculations and never-ending patience, like one of those extraordinarily wily movie assassins who would have to be getting paid £30,000 a kill just to break even. Every so often, you're allowed to chuck over a grenade and hope for the best.

Read the full story

Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.

Subscribe to unlock
  • Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
  • Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
  • Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
  • Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
  • Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
  • Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Subscribe

Already a subscriber?Log in

Published on 18 January 2024inChris Cook

Last updated 14:03, 18 January 2024

iconCopy