After a couple of days on course at Wagga, it was straight back into the trenches for Anthony “Juppy” Jupp, with Golden Mile Day at Bendigo headlining a Saturday that looked quieter on paper… but still managed to throw plenty at the book.
With Bendigo, Hawkesbury and Morphettville carrying the load, expectations were modest. Reality, as it often does, had other ideas.
“We thought it might be a softer sort of Saturday turnover-wise, but punters still found their way into a few of them early,” Jupp said.
Fast start…
The day began with a jolt at Hawkesbury, where one punter came out swinging.
One thrill seeker looked to get off to a fast start with $5k on Tenenbaum at the prohibitive odds of $1.22.
That sort of bet barely raises a sweat for a bookie. Big outlay for limited return, and when the favourite failed to fire a shot the punter would’ve been choking on their Weet Bix.
However, the fast start didn’t last long for Ponybet.
“We gave a chunk back in the first at Bendigo where we layed the winner, House Of Lords, offloading $10k to a shrewd punter,” Jupp said.
Momentum swings
Queensland has been a goldmine for bookies in recent weeks with favourite after favourite going under, but the tide turned when Punjab Landing took out the second on Saturday.
“There was no big money for him, but he was very well found by the ‘rank and file’ punters, which saw another tranche fly out the door,” said Jupp.
Hawkesbury Race 2 didn’t help either, with Ponybet laying Bella Khadijah at $8.
Morphettville then became a grind early, with Wine Baron landing another blow in Race 4.
But with rain arriving, Jupp sensed a shift.
“The early part of Morphettville wasn’t flash, but once the rain came we thought the tide might turn… and thankfully it did.”
The Big Moment: Ducking the knockout
Race 5 at Morphettville proved pivotal.
Ponybet managed to dodge a potentially nasty result, including a quinella liability of just under $11,000 involving Inexorable and Super Lad.
“That was one we were very happy to get past. You don’t need too many of those landing to turn a day upside down.”
From there, momentum swung firmly back in the book’s favour.
Late scare takes the shine off
Just as the day looked safe, Hawkesbury Race 9 threw up one last hurdle.
Zealously got the job done, with Ponybet having laid $1,000 at $4.40, plus a $500 double rolling into the next winner at Ascot.
“That one took the cream off the day a bit. We were cruising, then bang, a couple of bets go through and it tightens up again.”
Around the Grounds
It wasn’t just the headline meetings keeping Juppy on his toes.
Donald provided a hiccup with Shintono well backed before winning the time-honoured Donald Classic. While an international near-miss in Japan nearly caused damage, with Ponybet laying a bet of $1k each-way T O Sirius at $12.
“We dodged one there. You’ll take those every day of the week.”
Final Word
Despite the swings, Ponybet emerged comfortably in front.
Not a monster result, but a professional hold in what could’ve easily gone the other way.
“It wasn’t pretty at stages, but we got there. That’s all that matters.”
And with Warrnambool this week, Juppy’s already looking ahead.
