It was a day the bookies beat up on the punters.
What shaped as one of the more even metro programs in recent weeks, headlined by Sydney Cup Day, never really gave punters a chance. From the PonyBet trading room, Anthony “Juppy” Jupp said the result was far more one-sided than it looked on paper.
“It shaped as a really tough punting day, everything looked even,” Jupp said.
“There was a sense punters would get their chance… but it just didn’t happen.”
Debate Settled
The tone for the weekend had already been set the night before.
“The best horse in Australia debate? That’s done,” he said.
“Leap To Fame’s win on Friday night was freakish.”
From there, the bookies were able to build early and never really relinquish control.
“We got off to a good start with the Kiwi races on Saturday morning going our way and that gave us a nice buffer,” Jupp said.
Punters tried to respond straight away at Caulfield and Randwick, but missed.
“They were keen on Jareth at Caulfield – that was a $10k result for us when it missed – and the same with Hydrobomb in Sydney.”
Swings and Pressure
There was a brief setback at Caulfield when Gin Twist landed after being laid to lose around $8k, but it proved only a minor dent.
The bigger swings came through the Randwick features.
The Oaks brought strong turnover, with PonyBet taking a clear stand.
“We took an $11k bet on Ohope Wins, so we dusted about $13k on the race when the NZ filly steam over the top,” Jupp said.
Punter momentum continued in the Arrowfield.
“They only wanted Tempted. One punter who’d already collected came again and had $17k on.”
“That wiped out our lead and got things back to square.”
The Turning Point
If there was a defining moment, it came in the Sydney Cup.
“We needed something to go our way and Changingoftheguard winning at 50/1 was it,” Jupp said.
“We stood River Of Stars for $27k, so that was a big result for us when he went under.”
PonyBet barely wrote a ticket on the winner, but one small punter would’ve had a good Saturday night.
“One bloke had $20 on the winner and turned it into a grand. You see that and just shake your head.”
Bookies in cruise control, punters on the floor.
From there, the bookies took control.
Race 8 played perfectly into their hands, with PonyBet against several of the key chances.
“We were against Lady Shenandoah, Pride Of Jenni and She’s A Hustler, so Idle Flyer winning was a really good result for us.”
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes didn’t carry the usual weight.
“The big players were pretty quiet in the QE,” Jupp said.
While they still dropped around $12k on the race after laying Sir Delius and Dubai Honour through smaller bets, it never threatened the overall position.
Importantly, there was no late damage.
“The get-out races didn’t hurt us anywhere, which is always key.”
Around the Grounds
Across the country, the pattern was similar.
South Australia proved profitable, while Brisbane continues to be a nightmare for punters.
“A favourite hasn’t won at a Saturday metro meeting in Brisbane for three weeks,” Jupp said.
“That tells you how hard it is up there at the moment.”
Perth was steady without being spectacular, rounding out a clean result.
“It was a very good day for us.”
