The favourites ruled the roost across Australia over the weekend, and according to Ponybet’s newest recruit Anthony “Juppy” Jupp, punters large and small were more than happy to pile in.
After officially joining the Ponybet team, Juppy’s first Monday trading debrief delivered exactly what you’d expect, big swings, near misses and a few results that kept bookmakers awake late into Saturday night.
“The favs were incredibly popular right across the country,” Jupp said.
“It didn’t matter whether you were talking about the pros or the everyday punters, everyone wanted to be with the obvious ones.”
Observer And Autumn Glow drive the action
The biggest attention centred around a powerful multi pairing featuring Observer and Autumn Glow, with one confident client stepping in early.
“We took $6,000 at $3.03 on Observer into Autumn Glow which was one of the standout bets of the weekend,” Jupp said.
The same punter almost landed a national multi, as well.
“He also had Observer, Autumn Glow and Dominatus the place in Perth for $2,000 at $3.83, and thankfully for us that one went our way.”
Dirty Grin a total strip out
Race 2 at Flemington proved one of the more spirited betting contests of the afternoon after a strong push for Dirty Grin caught Ponybet off guard.
“Dirty Grin was a complete strip out,” Jupp laughed.
“One punter had $500 at $11 and with plenty of smaller bets flowing in we ended up saying goodbye to around $10,000 on the race.”
Birdman and Observer turn the screws
Despite navigating most of the Flemington card comfortably, late races shifted momentum sharply against the book.
“We were basically square at Flemington before laying $1,000 at $3.60 Birdman.”
“Once the multis started landing we found ourselves in a similar hole, and it only got worse when Observer won Race 8.”
Still, Ponybet avoided what could have been a far worse result.
“We definitely dodged one when a punter had Observer, Autumn Glow, Tempted and Fireball for $500 at $18.94. That would’ve stung.”
Wagga delivers old-school betting theatre
Away from the metro spotlight, one of the weekend’s most entertaining betting races came at Wagga in the Tom Patton Cup.
“That was proper country betting,” Jupp said.
“One punter had $5,000 on the winner at $1.70 while another stepped in with $1,000 on Kodiak Bear at $7.50, so we managed to get our money there.”
Vegas NRL opener
The NRL’s Las Vegas season launch also attracted strong bookmaker attention, with Ponybet taking an early stance.
“We had a strong opinion that the Cowboys were beatable, which played out,” Jupp said.
“The only frustration was we didn’t get anywhere near as much turnover out of that result as we would’ve liked.”
Small loss, but market activity strong
While the weekend ultimately finished slightly behind for the book, Jupp says the signs are positive heading into another busy cycle.
“It was a small losing weekend overall,” he said.
“But the turnover was strong and hopefully we get even more action coming through this.”
