".... perhaps I'm a Jackass...."

Monday, 18th May 2026

“…. perhaps I’m a Jackass….”

In ATC today….

Last week was ugly….

…. it didn’t happen for us….

…. and that’s on me….

Oh…. and there are no excuses….

Read on….

-----

“[It] is not a game for the faint-hearted. Yes, the highs look mighty fine, but the lows are pretty unforgiving, and you need something of an iron resolve in order to weather the storms that inevitably come with attempting to produce winners….”

That was Catherine Macrae writing in Friday’s Racing Post….

She was talking about training horses….

…. but she might as well have been talking about tipping them….

…. because her comments apply equally to both pursuits….

The highs are great (when they come)….

…. the lows (of which there are always more) are pretty bloody awful….

…. and it takes quite a bit of temperament to deal with what can become an emotional rollercoaster ride….

That’s betting, of course….

…. an unremitting sequence of ups and downs….

…. whether you’re engaged as a tipster or a punter….

And the downs take some proper dealing with – that’s for sure….

Everybody’s different, of course….

…. some people feel it pretty strongly when things go wrong….

…. others just sail on regardless….

…. most are somewhere in between….

But – wherever you are on that particular scale – how you regulate your feelings is important….

…. and probably the biggest challenge – at least for me – presented by the game….

Last week was tough….

…. nothing went right….

…. every move – with the benefit of hindsight – was wrong….

I’m 20-years into this project….

…. putting up horses every weekend

…. and at all the big Festivals run during the week….

You’d think I’d be used to having a bad week by now….

…. God knows I’ve had my fair share of them….

But I never have got used to it….

…. I never have managed to shake off that feeling – when the inevitable bad patch comes – that perhaps I’m a Jackass who doesn’t really know what he’s doing….

A bit of self-doubt is probably a necessary part of the old make-up – unless you want to come across like a complete tool….

…. but – necessary or not – self-doubt is never an easy condition to deal with….

Fortunately – and perhaps conversely – I’m also blessed with some of the iron resolve that Catherine Macrae writes about….

No matter how bad it gets…. no matter how tough the consequences…. no matter how hard the road ahead….

…. give me 24-hours – 48 at the most – and I’m fully regulated….

…. back on an even keel and ready to go again – on to the next one….

I feel all the blows – when they come – pretty deeply….

…. and I take it all to heart in the moment….

…. but I recover very quickly….

…. and I always come back….

I’m lucky to be built that way….

…. because – and let’s be honest about it – this game will kill you if you let it….

-----

One of the tough things to take about this game….

…. especially when everything you put up runs like each leg has been screwed into the wrong corner….

…. is that all the winners you haven’t put up look eminently gettable in hindsight….

Take Dark Thirty in Wednesday’s Churchill Tyres….

…. he’d only gone five yards past the winning post, and I was asking myself how the hell I hadn’t put him up….

He was on a nice rating – 6lb below the mark he won a big handicap off at Newmarket a couple of seasons back….

…. he’s got a fine record at the track….

…. and he’s turned up at the yard of John & Sean Quinn – who are pretty good at sweetening up old stagers that have maybe gone a bit sour on the game….

Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing….

…. and all the winners are easy to pick out when the race has already been run….

At that point you can easily forget that pre-race there were 20 other horses to look at….

…. with a good case there to be made for at least a dozen….

…. and that Dark Thirty hadn’t exactly advertised his readiness to go in the time before at Newmarket – where he also goes well….

Like I say, it’s always easy after the event….

Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that….

…. sometimes you have to be kind to yourself….

-----

 And on another week it might not all have gone quite so badly….

Look at Redorange in the Lindum – he was going really well but got thwarted in his run multiple times….

…. Man Of La Mancha got badly hampered at Newbury on Saturday when very much in contention….

…. and either one of those going in – sometimes you only need one – would have put a different complexion on the week and the bottom line….

Over at Newmarket Silver Ghost did everything but win – albeit at a shorter price….

But – at the end of the day – woulda-coulda-shoulda thinking gets us precisely nowhere….

…. it didn’t happen last week – and that’s on me….

There are no excuses….

-----

That’s all for today….

Back tomorrow….

Meantime – contact me at – nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk

Stay tuned….

Against the Crowd