NRNB: not really, not bothered

What's the actual point of this NRNB scam?

I said I'd be looking at some of the handicap chases.

The JLT Specialty, the open 3 miler, is on Tuesday.  A staggering 38 of 'em are priced up at a risible 25s or shorter. And none of the 90-odd entries is bigger than 66s.

It's much the same picture in the other handicaps.

The one I looked at longest was The Package, a Festival regular who may be too old now to be winning off a mark of 146.  But he ran fourth in this last year after a 17 month absence and was beaten a head in the same race back in 2010. You'd think his chance had come and gone, but this season his win in the Badger Beer prefaced a stormer when finishing 4th behind proper Grade 1 horses in the Hennessy.

They're offering 16/1 in the NRNB markets. Yet there's £50-60 available at between 20 and 25 on betfair, where there's no NRNB concession. Is it worth it? He'll get in if they want to go for it. It's just a question of whether he's sound and ready to go.

Another possible angle is backing last year's winner Alfie Sherrin, but in the Kim Muir instead.
Currently 53rd in the handicap, he may not get into the race, in which case they'd almost certainly line up in the Kim Muir by default. Yet the JLT Specialty, unlike a lot of the other handicaps here, doesn't always attract the maximum field of 24, so it'll be no surprise if Alfie Sherrin sneeks in.

And at just 16/1 NRNB they're not exactly giving him away in the King Muir either.

Tomorrow we'll see the 6 day decs for Tuesday's cards and it'll be interesting to see how many of the early entries drop out.