cheltenham

Prize winners

The prize winners are confirmed as below. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part in Cheltenham Select A Stable, sponsored by Better Bookmakers.

1st Prize  £50,000
Steven Maddox, Wimblebury (136 points)

2nd Prize  £10,000
Steven Maddox, Wimblebury (135)

3rd Prize  £6,000
Mr Geoffrey Keane, Shoeburyness (125)

4th Prize  £3,000
Paul Price, Co. Durham (123)

5th Prize  £1,500
Mr Paul Pearson, Rotherham (123)

6th - 10th Prize  £500 each
Mr Mark Wakenshaw, Berwick-Upon-Tweed (122)
Mr James Devine, Glasgow (121)
Graeme Dand, Dundee (121)
Bailiwick Wizard, Guernsey (120)
Elliott Brown, Merseyside (120)

11th - 30th Prize  £100 each
John Armstrong, Newcastle (120)
Paul Taylor, Leicester (120)
Mr Geoffrey Keane, Shoeburyness (119)
Mr Mark Dennison, York (118)
Derek Fitzpatrick, Palmerstown (118)
Mrs Janet Bratton, Scunthorpe (118)
Monolulu, London (118)
Ray, Dublin (118)
Sam Cumming 1, Dunfermline (117)
Rachel, Belford (117)
David Burch, Bournemouth (117)
Scott Mulford, No Address (117)
Sam Cumming 3, Dunfermline (116)
Mr Jay McVeigh, Irvine (116)
Timothy Hutton, No Address (116)
Mr Anthony Ashley, London (116)
Owen Doyle, Mallow (116)
Philip, Nenagh (116)
Sam Cumming 2, Dunfermline (115)
Isracing, Poole (115)

Maddox cleans up

STEVEN MADDOX and three of his workmates were celebrating last night after cleaning up in the Select A Cheltenham Stable competition.

Maddox, 38, a lorry loader from Wimblebury, Staffs, won first prize of £50,000 in the Better bookmaker-sponsored competition, and just for good measure landed the second prize of £10,000 as well, taking his haul to £60,000.

“This is fantastic,” he said, “not just for me but my pals at work who shared the two winning entries with me. There was Robert White, Paul Kirkham and myself in the winning list, and another pal, Chris, and myself in the second list.”

At the start of the final day in the competition, Maddox’s best list was lying in just over 500th place, but he said: “I knew we would have a chance, as we had five horses running for us on the last day. First, Katchit won, then Kauto Star - my second winning baker after Denman - and then Andreas sealed it for us.”

He estimates his share of the winnings will be around £20,000, and he said: “I’m going to pay off a £7,000 loan, then give a nice present to my partner, Deborah Hall, and our four children.”

Maddox describes himself as “just a £5 a week punter”, but says he always goes in for the Select A Stable competitions. “For the cost of a fiver, you get so much fun out of it,” he said.

Raymond Martin, who led the competition going into the final day, weakened into ninth place after managing one second from his three runners.

Kauto a true star

Kauto Star (107) - the choice of so many in Select A Stable, won a thrilling Gold Cup under a superb waiting ride by jockey Ruby Walsh.

The 5/4 favourite made his customary mistake at the last but it was hardly enough to stop him and he went on to beat second favourite Exotic Dancer (215) by two and a half lengths.

Wichita a winning banker

Wichita Lineman, horse 110, won the Brit Insurance Novices Hurdle under Tony McCoy.

Katchit gives hope

Katchit (horse 222) gave hope to those chasing the leaders with a runaway success in the opener on Friday. The Alan King trained runner romped to a runaway success in the Triumph Hurdle under Robert Thornton and gave a return of 15 points to those who had included him in their Select A Stable lists.

Friday going

Report Date: Friday 16th March 2007; 7.30am

Going: Good to Soft (Good in places)

Weather Forecast:
Today: Clouds and sun (31% chance of rain), 8°C

Martin in pole position

RAYMOND MARTIN, 47, a plumber from Sidcup, Kent, is in pole position to land the £50,000 first prize in Select A Cheltenham Stable sponsored by Better Bookmakers.

With one day remaining, his stable has amassed 111 points, six clear of his two nearest rivals.

Martin has so far tipped six winners from nine selections to have raced, and he has Whyso Mayo (Foxhunter), Forget The Past (Gold Cup) and Hairy Molly (Brit Insurance) running for him today.

"It’s a great position to be in," he said last night, speaking from Dublin, where he is spending a year sabbatical with wife Melanie. "I am pretty hopeful Whyso Mayo can give me another winner, but I’m not sure about the other two. And it will all depend on whether those close to me have Kauto Star, Lounaos or Wichita Lineman, as they are all Bankers running tomorrow that will score double points."

Martin said the competition had already given him "great enjoyment". He added: "I did pretty well in the Royal Ascot competition last summer, but my challenge faded on the final day, so that taught me that things can all change."

Taranis wins thrilling Ryanair Chase

Taranis (horse 247) hung on bravely to win the Ryanair Chase under Ruby Walsh and pick up 14  points.

He was strongly challenged up the run-in by the enigmatic Our Vic (240) who staged a remarkable challenge to get within a neck having looked wel out of it.

There were also points for Monet's Garden (4th), Racing Demon (5th) and Hi Cloy (6th).

No luck in Thursday's opener

The two Select A Stable horses that ran in the opener both failed to sparkle.

King Revo was pulled up so gets -2 points whereas New Little Bric finished out of the first six.

Friday's confirmed SAS runners

404 Andreas 16:40 Cheltenham
405 Beef Or Salmon 15:15 Cheltenham
305 Bica 16:00 Cheltenham
406 Caracciola 17:20 Cheltenham
310 Climate Control 16:00 Cheltenham
209 Degas Art 14:00 Cheltenham
210 Demi Beau 16:40 Cheltenham
408 Desert Quest 17:20 Cheltenham
314 Duty 14:00 Cheltenham
215 Exotic Dancer 15:15 Cheltenham
103 Fair Along 17:20 Cheltenham
218 Flight Leader 14:35 Cheltenham
317 Forget The Past 15:15 Cheltenham
415 Greenhope 16:40 Cheltenham
416 Hairy Molly 14:35 Cheltenham
320 Hasty Prince 16:40 Cheltenham
418 Honourable Spider 16:00 Cheltenham
222 Katchit 14:00 Cheltenham
107 Kauto Star 15:15 Cheltenham
426 L'Ami 15:15 Cheltenham
225 Liberate 14:00 Cheltenham
108 Lounaos 14:00 Cheltenham
334 Maralan 17:20 Cheltenham
433 My Will 15:15 Cheltenham
234 New Field 17:20 Cheltenham
337 Osana 17:20 Cheltenham
239 Ouninpohja 17:20 Cheltenham
338 Pablo Du Charmil 16:40 Cheltenham
241 Patches 16:00 Cheltenham
339 Pauillac 14:00 Cheltenham
340 Punjabi 14:00 Cheltenham
438 Racing Demon 15:15 Cheltenham
244 Saintsaire 16:40 Cheltenham
347 Sir Jimmy Shand 14:35 Cheltenham
443 Sporazene 16:40 Cheltenham
350 State Of Play 15:15 Cheltenham
248 The Listener 15:15 Cheltenham
357 Tysou 16:40 Cheltenham
250 Whyso Mayo 16:00 Cheltenham
110 Wichita Lineman 14:35 Cheltenham

Sorted by SAS number

Bankers
103 Fair Along 17:20 Cheltenham
107 Kauto Star 15:15 Cheltenham
108 Lounaos 14:00 Cheltenham
110 Wichita Lineman 14:35 Cheltenham

Strong Fancies
209 Degas Art 14:00 Cheltenham
210 Demi Beau 16:40 Cheltenham
215 Exotic Dancer 15:15 Cheltenham
218 Flight Leader 14:35 Cheltenham
222 Katchit 14:00 Cheltenham
225 Liberate 14:00 Cheltenham
234 New Field 17:20 Cheltenham
239 Ouninpohja 17:20 Cheltenham
241 Patches 16:00 Cheltenham
244 Saintsaire 16:40 Cheltenham
248 The Listener 15:15 Cheltenham
250 Whyso Mayo 16:00 Cheltenham

Good Chances
305 Bica 16:00 Cheltenham
310 Climate Control 16:00 Cheltenham
314 Duty 14:00 Cheltenham
317 Forget The Past 15:15 Cheltenham
320 Hasty Prince 16:40 Cheltenham
334 Maralan 17:20 Cheltenham
337 Osana 17:20 Cheltenham
338 Pablo Du Charmil 16:40 Cheltenham
339 Pauillac 14:00 Cheltenham
340 Punjabi 14:00 Cheltenham
347 Sir Jimmy Shand 14:35 Cheltenham
350 State Of Play 15:15 Cheltenham
357 Tysou 16:40 Cheltenham

Outside Chances
404 Andreas 16:40 Cheltenham
405 Beef Or Salmon 15:15 Cheltenham
406 Caracciola 17:20 Cheltenham
408 Desert Quest 17:20 Cheltenham
415 Greenhope 16:40 Cheltenham
416 Hairy Molly 14:35 Cheltenham
418 Honourable Spider 16:00 Cheltenham
426 L'Ami 15:15 Cheltenham
433 My Will 15:15 Cheltenham
438 Racing Demon 15:15 Cheltenham
443 Sporazene 16:40 Cheltenham