“It was some sort of Saturday,” Jason Scott said.
The boutique bookmaker rode every possible emotion across a day that started beautifully, turned ugly in a hurry, then somehow clawed its way back into the black by the final race.
Everything was trending the bookmakers’ way early when Savvy Hallie rolled along in front and defeated the $1.50 favourite Apocalyptic. More importantly, the first leg of countless popular favourite multis went down in flames.
“We were in a great spot,” Scott said. “The first actor in all those favourite multis was beaten. Perfect start for us.”
It was early, the punters went back to the well.
Early money, early confidence
There was strong support for several favourites early, with punters not shy about stepping in.
Swift Dragon attracted $8,000 tote and another $3,000 straight in Brisbane.
Cross Tasman saw $5,000 written at $2.10 along with multiple $1,000 and $2,000 bets layered on top.
Mrs Goldberg was backed with $5,000 at $3.40.
Apocalyptic alone saw $7,500 at $1.65, $7,500 tote and featured heavily in multis across the afternoon.
At that stage, the book was holding a healthy position and things were tracking exactly as hoped.
Then the feature races began and momentum shifted sharply.
The hour that hurt
“The cream rose quickly,” Scott said.
Joliestar. Tentyris. Autumn Glow. Sixties. Bang, bang, bang, bang.
“In the space of an hour they completely flipped the script.”
All four were heavily backed in singles and stacked repeatedly into multis. The largest single collect came via $10,000 on Autumn Glow into The Sixties at $2.77, but that was only part of the damage.
“The multis were relentless,” Scott said. “It was as tough an hour as I can remember. They just kept landing.”
After holding a healthy buffer earlier in the day, Ponybet suddenly found itself chasing.
“At one stage we were very comfortable. Then we were behind for the day and scrambling.”
A Late Lifeline
The final races in Sydney and Melbourne provided some much-needed relief and gradually nudged the book back into positive territory. Paradise City ($10) won the last at Flemington while the Chris Waller-trained Movin’ Out caused a boilover at $41 to round out Randwick.
“It wasn’t comfortable, but we fought our way back,” Scott said.
By full-time on metropolitan racing, Ponybet had secured a moderate winning day. That figure, however, was only about half of what it had looked like mid-afternoon when everything was falling into place.
“It could have been a very big day. In the end, we were happy just to be in front.”
Greyhounds keep it interesting
The evening shift ensured there was no chance to exhale. The fourth at Dubbo greyhounds saw $12,375 land on Blaine Keeping at $1.16 the place, which fortunately stayed in the bag and steadied the ship.
But the multis kept rolling through.
- An $8,000 three-leg multi at $2.12 saluted.
- A $10,000 six-leg multi at $3.64 hit the line.
- Another customer had $12,900 at $1.24 in a two-leg multi that also landed without much fuss.
“Swings and roundabouts all day,” Scott said. “You think you’re cruising, then you’re hanging on.”
After a marathon Saturday filled with sharp momentum shifts, Ponybet finished in front. Not by a wide margin, but enough to call it a result.
Sunday seals It
Sunday racing was wet and miserable across much of the country, with conditions far from ideal for punters or participants.
The book’s ledger told a different story.
“Another winning day to finish the weekend,” Scott said. “After Saturday’s ride, we were more than happy to bank it.”
A true rollercoaster.
And just enough profit to make it worthwhile.
