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.
Footy: Denning’s death ends links to Roys’ last flag
November 13, 2009 by 4 Comments
By Adam Muyt The 1944 Fitzroy premiership player Clen Denning died on 10 November. He was 98. One of Clen’s teammates in the Gorillas’ premiership, Laurie Bickerton, died just three months earlier, marking 2009 as the year the two final living links to Fitzroy’s eight VFL flags ended. Denning was, by all accounts, a very [Read more]
Footy: Say it isn’t so Richo … or then again … maybe the time is right
November 13, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Sam Steele I don’t think a better verbal portrait of Richo can be painted than Waleed Aly’s piece that prefaced the 2008 Almanac. Nor can a better image be conceived that Jim Pavlidis’ wonderful cover picture. I won’t even attempt to compete with these. My contribution to what will doubtless be a host of [Read more]
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]
Crio’s Question: Richo’s out. Who else will be miss when they’re gone?
November 13, 2009 by 2 Comments
So Richo’s gone. Like all footy fans, I’ve shaken my head and clapped my hands at his soap opera of a career. What I knew all along, though, was that we’d miss him when he’s gone. Far too often we scold players and then, a few years later, lament the lack of characters in the [Read more]
Music: Recollections of an old fart at Meredith
November 11, 2009 by 7 Comments
By Andrew Fithall In 2008 I attended my first Meredith. Some people think that is a little bit weird for a then 49-year -old. And some people might be a little bit right. But I have come late to this music festival scene. In fact, live music generally has not taken up a lot of [Read more]
Footy: Superdogs find plenty to yap about on trip south
November 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
By Nick Kossatch The Riverland Superdogs ventured to the south east of South Australia over the weekend and by all reports, that region was painted red. Bordertown was the overnight stop on Friday night. The Bordertown Roosters Footy Club were the hosts and provided many beverages and plenty of food for the hungry and thirsty [Read more]
Footy: What’s in a number? Plenty, if you ask me
November 11, 2009 by 1,020 Comments
By Josh Barnstable My love for Football began in 2002. Not knowing anything about the sport back then, I decided to take up Dad’s offer and start collecting the footy stickers that came out each day in the Herald Sun (greatest paper of all time). As my collection of stickers grew, so did my passion. [Read more]
Crio’s Question: Who or what has tested your loyalty during the spring carnival
November 11, 2009 by 15 Comments
By Chris Riordan I’m confident that a picture of All Silent is hanging on Makybe’s loungeroom wall and a pic of Alan Eskander is near triple 20 on the dartboard! Makybe will have Hissing Sid tucked in a drawer and a screwed-up All American resting next to the bin. Spring is tough on our loyalties.
Life: Vale Uncle Ado, butcher, battler, family man, Australian
November 10, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Andrew Starkie My dad, Joe, is like the You Yangs: back from the road, strong, always there. He looked like Tom Jones before Tom had the work done. Joe turned 67 on Thursday, the day we buried his elder brother, Adrian. Uncle Ado was a few years older, but had been an old man [Read more]
Tennis: Federer says it’s good to be back home
November 9, 2009 by 230 Comments
Tennis god Roger Federer has made it to the final of the tournament on his home turf in Basel, Switzerland. The world No. 1 (and my personal favourite) was bound to get this far on a home court advantage. With 15 Grand Slam titles and gold Olympic medal (2008), the brown windswept haired beauty has [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]
General Sport: Supporter lobby group starts up
November 8, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Adam Muyt Roy Masters has written a piece in today’s SMH (7 November) on a newly formed lobby group, Sports Supporters Australia. Masters likens it to an RACV or NRMA for sports lovers and a quick squiz through its website heightens the comparison. This group is definitely ‘serious’, structured around a membership base and board, and complete with (obligatory?) commercial [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]
Ireland Correspondent: Saints’ new Irishman likened to big Cat
November 6, 2009 by 1 Comment
By Peter Lenaghan The speculation chased Tommy Walsh for the best part of two years, across Ireland, all the way to Australia and back home to County Kerry. Each month a story would appear in the Irish press and headlines would declare that the imposing and gifted youngster was “considering a deal” or “on the [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.
Recent Comments