It shaped as a slightly softer turnover Saturday on paper, but quality racing across the country ensured it was anything but a quiet day for bookmakers.
For Ponybet’s Anthony ‘Juppy’ Jupp, the weekend started with a rough Friday night of footy results, but quickly turned into a familiar rollercoaster as key races across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth swung momentum throughout.
“We needed to bounce back from Friday night and got off to a good start through New Zealand,” Jupp said.
“That was wiped pretty quickly though when we laid Ishikari at $11 at Randwick. That stung and the lead was gone early.”
Favourites continue to fall in the Sunshine State
It didn’t take long for the tide to turn again.
Mornington Race 3 provided a much-needed result for bookmakers when the heavily backed Actuality was rolled, before Eagle Farm once again reinforced a growing theme.
“Balance The Books was all the rage in Race 2 at Eagle Farm and we were happy to take it on,” Jupp said.
“We laid plenty at odds-on and when it got beaten, that was a really good result. I keep saying it, but punters just want to back these short ones in Brisbane.”
Amazingly, 24 favourites in a row were rolled in Queensland’s Saturday metropolitan meeting before Ten Deep snapped that run in Race 7.
Mornington delivers key results
The Mornington meeting proved pivotal, particularly with one of the biggest liabilities of the day failing to get the job done.
“Arlington Row was one we really wanted to dodge and thankfully we did,” Jupp said.
“She was locked in the coffin (leader’s back) and never got out. That was a big swing for us.”
The feature Mornington Cup also went the right way for the book when young gun Lachlan Neindorf produced a stunning steer to boot Kings Valley home.
“We had to avoid a couple there, Immediacy and Ambassadorial, and when they both got beaten it was another solid result.”
Build a statue of Angel Capital
Randwick, however, proved far less straightforward.
After absorbing an earlier hit with Ishikari, bookmakers were again tested in the back half of the card.
“Mazu winning his third Hall Mark Stakes wasn’t ideal,” Jupp said.
“We needed the favourites beaten there and while the old boy Private Eye couldn’t get the job done, his stablemate was a worse result.”
The All Aged Stakes summed up the day perfectly.
“We were keen to take on Angel Capital, it’s been a real bookies’ horse and we were happy to stand it.”
“We laid him to lose $15k and would’ve happily taken more. We have him pegged a Group 1.5 horse!”
“Beiwacht winning after we’d stood it took a bit of the shine off, but we won enough to commission the Angel Capital statue for the office.”
Where did Spicy Martini come from?!
While much of the day had gone to plan, a couple of late races ensured it wasn’t one-way traffic.
“Mystic Wonder winning in Adelaide was a setback. That was probably our only real miss in South Australia.”
And after a dream run in Brisbane, the closing race proved costly.
“Race 9 hurt. Abounding and Spicy Martini were both well backed and when Spicy Martini stormed home from an impossible position after missing the kick, that stung!”
“Still not sure how she won!”
Punters pile into Perth
There was plenty of action in Perth.
“We laid Lady Torque for a stack in the Karakatta Plate and the good thing beaten, Beatty, was also a loser in the book.”
“But luck was again on the bookies’ side with Airofgidgeegoals getting the cash at a big price.”
“We had a few losers in the Quokka and Jigsaw winning definitely hurt, but as a racing fan you can only sit back and marvel at his rise to fame,” Jupp said.
Punters land a few blows out wide, but the bookies take the points
There were also some smaller but notable setbacks away from the main meetings, including a result at Dubbo and a late blow at Bendigo trots.
“We dusted more than we would’ve liked on Bawnaglen, who won the second at Dubbo, while deep into the evening punters piled into Jilliby Aura in the last at the Bendigo trots.”
Still, the broader picture remained positive.
“We had a nice lead through most of the day and turnover was strong,” Jupp said.
