By Chris Riordan As you scurry in to the Valley and clear the turnstiles, there’s a choice of three directions to take. Punters push straight ahead into the betting ring or beyond to the bars, the stands and the lawn. Sometimes I try to swing right because the stalls and parade ring are beautiful… grand [Read more]
Racing: Turn left before taking in a great card on William Reid Stakes day
February 11, 2010 by 7 Comments
Racing: Good things as far as the eye can see on Awe Stakes day
February 7, 2010 by Leave a Comment
The meeting at Caulfield on Saturday lived up to its promise. Emphatic winners and good formlines to follow. The Blue Diamond Preludes were terrific entrees to the main event in a fortnight. Tony Vasil’s debut filly, Psychologist, blitzed her opponents to scream to the top of the betting markets. Stories had leaked on Friday that [Read more]
Racing: Plenty at Caulfield for occasional and dedicated punters alike
February 5, 2010 by 16 Comments
Even if you don’t have the time, inclination or bank to invest into Caulfield’s Orr Stakes formguide, the replays and stewards’ reports will be compulsory texts for anyone with an interest in the Autumn Carnival. These fields cover the whole gamut! Spring punters will have heard of Cup stalwarts Viewed, Shocking, Zipping and Littorio, all [Read more]
Racing: How I met Patrick Valenzuela
February 3, 2010 by 5 Comments
By Philip Tyndall On Saturday as I was walking through the car-park at Flemington, I came across a bloke standing under a gum tree looking like he wasn’t sure where to go. He was well dressed in an open-necked shirt, and he had a black travel bag with a “Melbourne” airline tag on it. I [Read more]
Racing: Nicconi shines on day that will shape autumn markets
January 31, 2010 by 5 Comments
By Chris Riordan The Lightning Stakes lived up to its reputation as a “good horse’s race” when Nicconi bloused Wanted with a whirlwind finish at Flemington. The roll-call has been enhanced by recent winners’ subsequent success abroad, and the Lightning victor looks suited to the pathway trodden by Takeover Target, Fastnet Rock, Miss Andretti and [Read more]
The table
November 16, 2009 by 3 Comments
by Damian “Dips” O’Donnell Our dinners at home were always noisy, cluttered affairs. The eight of us would sit around the delightful (though tiny) old mahogany table, which seemed to have a talent for expanding whenever Mum found there were additional mouths to feed. It could have been someone’s mate, a cousin, the local parish [Read more]
Sandown Classic: Freeman and Flynn’s final spring fling
November 15, 2009 by 5 Comments
by Mark “Makybe” Freeman True to form, Sandown Classic Day proved a benefit for punters, with very gettable trifectas and first fours in the Guineas and Classic, a very gettable quaddie (even I managed 4 per cent of it!) and even a very gettable Big 6 that paid more than three large.
Racing: Let’s turn those few rusty shekels into an even bigger stash with a collective effort
November 13, 2009 by 7 Comments
By Mark “Makybe” Freeman Ahhh, Sandown Classic Day. I think it’s held as a benefit for the year-long punters. It’s almost as if all participants – jocks, trainers, books, horses even – conspire to share with the workaday punters what the once-a-year mugs drop in over the carnival. “You’ve had to suffer the goons,” they [Read more]
Racing: All aboard for top day at the track
November 8, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Mark “Makybe” Freeman It was ‘All’ brilliant at Flemington yesterday, punters. The star of the show, All Silent, was breathtaking in the Patinack, bless his superstar heart, and All American, who we’ve stumped up for previously in these pages, finally showed what he can do with the right drag into the race in the [Read more]
Racing: Spartan Oaks operation suits me fine
November 7, 2009 by 4 Comments
I hadn’t been to the Oaks for a few years. 2009 seemed like a good year to reacquaint myself. My wife Helen many years ago introduced me to racing. Her father Bill Holmes had been a President of the Ballarat Turf Club. Helen still regrets that when Bill offered to nominate me for the VRC [Read more]
Racing: All Silent for me, but pace needs to be on
November 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Mark “Makybe” Freeman Lovely days racing ahead of us, punters, and plenty to get excited about on the punt. For my little stable of horses to follow, the Patinack is a cracker. I’ve got All Silent, Mic Mac, Nicconi and the Cat in that order among my top 10, so I’ll be all over [Read more]
Racing: Hell hath no fury like a punter scorned
November 6, 2009 by 6 Comments
My Mark “Makybe” Freeman Utter disdain – that’s what Eskander’s Betstar treated me with this week, punters. But read on, there’s a marvellous sting in the tail. Hell hath no fury like a punter who’s missed out on his cup trifecta because of a technicality – and in this case it was the Betstar’s website’s [Read more]
Racing: Cup Day picked me up and now I’m looking forward to the carnival’s final day
November 5, 2009 by 4 Comments
By Chris Riordan After the debacle of Derby Day, I tentatively swung on the bag at 9.30am on Tuesday, praying not to ever face another day of such disgraceful, anti-social behaviour. Nine hours later, I left the track after a tremendously enjoyable, relatively busy experience interacting with a gamut of patrons who, while having a [Read more]
Gorilla jumps in; break out the Crownies, Daff!
November 3, 2009 by 11 Comments
By Mark “Makybe” Diva Our wide cup trifecta landed a very nice $1062 return for the hunnert invested after Shocking put paid to Godolphin’s boy – second again for the Sheikh. So for Daff’s cash we’re now well and truly in the black. I wish I could say the same for myself after today’s result, [Read more]
Drawing on past lessons
November 2, 2009 by 6 Comments
by Mark “Makybe” Freeman The big one is all about levering that lovely dead money in the tote trifecta and first four pools, punters. It’s about taking the opportunity to cream the healthy dividend off all the once-a-year types making selections based on cat’s names, gran’s birthday’s and fave colours.
One “bogan Josh” too many on Derby Day
November 2, 2009 by 7 Comments
Most bookies reported losses from Derby Day…all would have lost their temper. We were positioned adjacent to the Beaver at the end of the main ring and had a terrible day dealing with total dickheads. No security or police were in evidence at any stage of the day. Beaver reckons it is time for a [Read more]
Framing the bets
November 2, 2009 by 2 Comments
by John Kingsmill My new Adelaide Review editor only gave me 250 words on the Melbourne Cup this year. I filed this last week when there were still 39 hats in the ring: Alcopop took SA country form to Melbourne, won the JRA and Herbert Power and went straight to the Cup. Skip the premarket [Read more]
A quality day at the Derby
November 1, 2009 by 2 Comments
by Mark “Makybe” Freeman Just a pleasure seeing the quality go around today, punters. How good is Typhoon Tracy? Sat three-wide early, but ran away with such authority. Managed to keep out of Hot Danish, having seen her soundly thrashed by Tracy at Caulfield. And Faint Perfume is also proving a gun. She was nice [Read more]
Crio’s tip: to win more, put more on Onemorenomore
October 30, 2009 by 28 Comments
After the fiasco at Caulfield, my faith in the betting ring as central to a day’s racing was restored at Moonee Valley where a massive crowd bet ferociously on what was the busiest day I’ve had on the bag in memory. Despite the early shorties arriving, the value was good, you could lay plenty of [Read more]
Makybe joins the Rockferry crew
October 29, 2009 by 4 Comments
By Mark Makybe Freeman Clambering to the summit of the racing season, punters, ready to drive our flagpole into the peak… er… to enjoy the best racing has to offer. Our oxygen (cash supply) is running low, but we’re alive and kicking. Always a fascinating program, Derby Day, all group races, including four group 1s. [Read more]
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