Jack has finished his degree. His job hunt is proving a long and difficult road.
As I write this in the back end of March, the busiest, hectic and by far the most stressful week of the year has unquestionably just passed, the Cheltenham Festival.
For those unaware, around 60,000 people gather in the Cotswolds and surround Prestbury Park, in scenes that the uneducated would presume was an Irish invasion. It is the greatest week of national hunt racing in the calendar, and is aptly dubbed, ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’. This is the general culmination of the national hunt season, prior to the other code, the flat, ending in early April. Unlike the flat, where there is a staggered season, everything generally comes to a head, with the icing on the cake being the Grand National approximately four weeks later.
Therefore, there is the utmost pressure and expectation leading up to it, although admittedly, I am the one who puts myself under pressure. Ask anyone surrounding me, I harp on about this week from the week after the previous year’s event, and am relentless from October onwards. It is everything.
Therefore, when it goes seriously pear-shaped, as it has the last two years, I spend hours evaluating why, and how it can be changed. It was different this year as I had cemented a position as a relatively useful tipster, among people in the twitter world, on the racing forums, the people whom I write for, the locals in the shop and close friends and family. They would all be backing the selections that I would put up and prattle on about.
Fortunately it went very well, and was perhaps the most financially and professionally rewarding week to date. A lot of the horses I singled out in the early start of the season won, and won well, after being highlighted by the tipping column and an abundance of articles. It earned the shop’s punters, friends and locals alike a fair few quid and I cannot remove the smug grin off my face as I sit here typing this.
The feeling of satisfaction is incomparable and, if questioned again over a dodgy tip, I now have the benefit of being able to throw this in their faces, so it has bought me a bit of time in the process! A few of them on early that won at significantly shorter prices were: Sprinter Sacre at 10/1 (won at 8/11); Bobs Worth at 10/1 (won at 5/1); Finians Rainbow at 9/1 (won at 4/1); Teaforthree at 14/1 (won at 5/1) and Sir Des Champs at 10/1 (won at 3/1).
Three of the five were put up as ‘naps’ too, aka the best bet of the day, so again, a resounding success.
The overriding emotion on reflection of this, and the career path as a whole, can be simplified into one word, vindication. I feel completely vindicated in at least giving it a go in my chase to become a horse writing analyst, tipster and writer, and given the results of the previous year, it has gone rather well.
The Yorkshireman - Jack Milner
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