Thankfully the end of the local snooker season is nigh as after changing my tip for the second time in as many weeks I then contrived to miscue on the final black in our league match this week and miss it altogether, the first time I can remember doing it at such an important stage in over 30 years of playing!! I had been planning to file it down somewhat the day before but being as I wouldnt have chance to have another practice beforehand, decided to leave it and it came home to roost when I was left right under the baulk cushion shooting the length of the table at the end.
So its petering out a bit into a disappointing end to the campaign, however we should finish around about fourth or fifth despite losing the match 3-2 overall and we would probably have more than settled for that before the season started given the overall quality of the team.
The last game comes this Monday against the third placed team in the league away from home and then just have an individual club billiards final to play in mid April before all the serious competition is done and I can have my summer recess!
There is one fun competition at the club over the summer months with teams of two drawn out of a hat consisting of one seeded and one unseeded player who play each other followed by a doubles match at the end, aggregate to count, but doubt I shall be putting any practice in for that as I really like to have a complete break during the close season. I love the game and the competition but like to have some kind of goal at the end of the week to make the practice worthwhile, otherwise I feel I would tend to go through the motions a bit.
Its been another pretty good week overall on the dogs betting, when I last left you the final of the Tote Gold Cup at Shelbourne was about to be run and it was a happy ending for me as the 33/1 ante post shot Swords Prince made all without a moments worry and I also had a bit on the day too at 13/8 (even though he drifted to 2/1 surprisingly on course).
Plus followed that up with a couple of nice 2/1 winners on the same card thanks to Dundrum Minor via a thrilling photo finish in the 600 yards final and then Coolamber Prunty in the stayers event who showed a nice turn of foot around the final bend to go past the odds on favourite.
The Ladbrokes Spring Festival heats and final were held at Monmore in the week and while I nabbed Corrig Vieri at 9/2 ante post in the 630 metres event, my other picks in the three other races all failed to show their best form in the final. However did back Kellsboro Reject at 2/1 in the 480 yards final to at least recover my other stakes in that particular event.
Two very interesting events begin on Saturday night with the heats of the Grand National at Wimbledon and also the Easter Cup at Shelbourne which both boast a high quality of entries.
The National has one particular heat with four of the main fancies all running against each other - Winkys Don, Bomber Bailey, Nebuchadnezzar and Distant Legend with only three to qualify for the next stage.
Nevertheless, I think whichever ones do get through could take some stopping so I've included the last named three in the ante post market at 12/1, 13/2 and 16/1 respectively along with Platinumlancelot at 12/1 too. There are a few slight worries about some of them - the trip for Nebuchadnezzar is a little shorter than he would prefer while the Irish dog Distant Legend jumped too low at a recent trial (our hurdles are higher than the Irish versions) but still has cracking pace on the flat nevertheless.
In the Easter Cup it really looks a mouthwatering prospect and I've weighed in with some old favourites - College Causeway (7/1), Shelbourne Aston (14/1) and Jemmy Doodlebeag (50/1) along with a couple of new kids on the block Faypoint Man (10/1) and Ballymac Bondi (20/1). The last two are very talented young dogs but in keeping with the majority of my picks tend to do their best work in the second part of the race. Perhaps of my "squad" only Jemmy is likely to be up there early doors if he can produce his best breaks.
Speaking of breaks, the China Open snooker swings into action on Monday and a couple of players going there in fine fettle are Judd Trump and Mark Selby who contested the recent Championship League grand finale at Crondon Park with Trump eventually prevailing 3-2 in a fine spectacle.
My original thoughts on the outrights when looking at the draw were to plump for Ricky Walden (50/1), my Shanghai hero, returning to the country of his greatest success and Mark Williams (33/1). Mark King's lacklustre League showing increased confidence in Williams so I stuck with those two, just think Walden (who plays a wildcard first) is well used to playing Joe Perry as they have contested many Pontins matches over the years and with the winner facing perhaps a lacklustre Hendry they could make some inroads.
However having seen how well Trump (40/1) and Selby (7/1) had been performing, it seemed folly not to include them too, especially as Judd faces the completely out of sorts Peter Ebdon assuming the Bristol youngster gets past his wildcard match first. Selby starts with Stephen Lee and then perhaps Graeme Dott. One advantage for those two is that the tables out there have tended to be on the slow side, which might help them having played most of the previous week on the rather sluggish Crondon Park baizes.
I think I've probably spent far too much on the outright market as I've also included Shaun Murphy at 14/1 since he seems to have a comfortable enough starter in the wildcard Cao Xinlong in round one after the latter's intended opponent John Parrott was unable to travel due to a bad back.
The Chinese event will hopefully provide a few more clues for the upcoming World Championship too though conditions and players mindsets will probably be quite different for both of these events.
The gaelic football betting continued in the ascendency with my short priced Antrim / Kerry / Cork / Sligo accumulator coming in paying 7/10 and also the handicap picks Tipperary, Limerick and Waterford all doing the business at 10/11, evens and 11/10 respectively (though as all three of them won off scratch perhaps I sold myself short there!!)
And the aussie rules season proper got underway on Thursday with a winner as I plumped for Carlton at 4/5 for their trip to Richmond which resulted in a very easy win too.
Thats it for now, all the best
Rick
Friday, 27 March 2009
Friday, 20 March 2009
Bandicoot lands Puppy Derby at 4/1
Well another week gone by and looks like the weather is beginning to pick up as I sit in the sun drenched conservatory this Friday afternoon as we bid goodbye to the winter for another year.
Have been taking stock a bit this week and although quite a few things could have gone better over the last few months, the betting has certainly picked up just recently so hoping I can continue in that vein for the future.
One regret is that I didnt capitalise on 9k worth of investments in the world of stocks and shares, scattered here there and everywhere by my bank who take a cut for their expertise but these I see are now worth only 7.5k when I could have cashed them in for another 5k just over a year ago. I could cry but I'll try not to think about it instead!!
The good thing is I can leave the money where it is at present and no damage is done, I'll certainly want a minimum of my initial investment back so as soon as it reaches that figure again (assuming things eventually do pick up!) I will be withdrawing it and depositing it into a normal account from then on. I much prefer the betting markets as I understand them far better, and even if I dont I still feel as though I've had a run for my money half of the time!
Suppose its a good time to invest more but sick of hearing about how the market is dropping like a stone every day of the week so a normal bank account will do for me in the future along with any betting profits that may come along. At least I'm the architect of my own downfall if things go pear shaped which is some consolation lol.
For once there was no snooker betting to fall back on this week so it was mainly down to the greyhounds and the gaelic football to bring home the bacon and thankfully the upward trend has continued for now.
The last time I published the blog I had three contenders in the Tote Gold Cup semi finals at Shelbourne and although Slip The Lark and Ballymac Bondi both failed to make it, at least I have a live chance with the current favourite Swords Prince who was an ante post pick at 33/1 and won his semi final in impressive fashion. If he can come out of the traps in such style again, he will surely take some beating if in the same kind of form.
Monmore held the final of the Puppy Derby on Thursday night and two of my ante post picks fought out the finish as Bandicoot Tipoki at 4/1 fought off my other contender Kinda Ready (8/1) by three quarters of length despite once again not coming away to the best of his ability by all accounts.
And in the Pall Mall semi finals at Oxford on the same day, although Soviet Maldini was found wanting and Bandit Blue had a nightmare run in only finishing fourth (despite perhaps looking the best dog in the race) my second round addition Brickfield Class at 10/1 came home first in his heat so goes into the final from trap five live on Sky on Tuesday night.
Also had a few "on the night" winners which kept things ticking over with the aforementioned Swords Prince (5/2), Tyrur Louis (6/4), Dundrum Minor (17/10), Hello Hippy (5/4), Faypoint Man (4/5), Youghal Rebel (1/2) and Capel Wilson (4/5) all obliging though there were of course a few losers too.
Had originally intended the dog betting to be a bit of a stopgap while I caught up on the horse form but so successful has it been, will almost certainly be continuing with it now, especially the ante post markets which seem well worth a flutter. Of course the more sports you take on, its harder to keep up with them all and hence still a bit behind with the nags though the focus will be firmly on Aintree in a fortnight for the Grand National as I attempt to pick the winner for the fourth year in a row!! (OK I admit I usually pick four or five selections but still not a bad record I think after having a barren time of it since Freddie Starr's Minnehoma in 1994).
Looks like my biggest priced winner Silver Birch could be back again this year, he did the business at 50/1 a couple of years ago which was a great thrill, I'd also backed the second that year in the fast finishing but ultimately ill fated McKelvey at 20/1, so it was a win win situation as they came towards the line.
The gaelic football bets surpassed themselves last week too as managed to get five bets out of five up including my banker Galway/Kerry double and the midweek win for Kilmacud Crokes at 15/8 in the All Ireland Club championship final against Crossmaglen Rangers at Croke Park.
Perhaps should have had more faith in England's only NFL outfit London, who I backed on the +7 handicap against Waterford in the Division 4 encounter at Ruislip, yet they surpassed most peoples expectations by actually winning the match 0-09 to 0-08 at odds of 6/1.
Snooker returns next week in the form of Matchroom's Championship League with Group 7 and the final winners event Group 8 taking place at Crondon Park to find out the Premier League qualifier for next year. Priced most of the matches up for those today and also finally got around to doing the World Championship first round games, though with the League and the China Open still to take place before then, will probably keep my powder dry and wait for more clues in the meantime.
Hoping Ryan Day can rediscover some form soon as he was an early season pick for the Crucible at 40/1 but he has been struggling to win any kind of match since before the turn of the year so would be nice if he could have a bit of a run as he does have a reasonable draw at Sheffield if he could find his A game.
On the local snooker front, as I mentioned last week I had the re-match with the promising youngster in our second semi final clash in a matter of days and once again it went his way though this time he didnt play anywhere near the standard he reached the previous week. Unfortunately though after building a 2-0 lead I fell away rather miserably to a 3-2 defeat with a worrying implosion that I found impossible to arrest as the match progressed. It hadnt helped that I was playing with a new tip which seemed far too spongy for my liking and all the confidence seemed to drain out of me the more I messed things up, anyway no excuses, half of the game is in the head and on this occasion I just didnt seem relaxed enough to play to my best.
Looking back to the days when beta blockers were banned from the sport, a few of the prominent players of the time had very rapid declines thereafter which certainly points to the fact that keeping control of the emotions is a massive part in being able to play the game well in pressure situations and on this occasion I failed the test for whatever reason.
Anyway onwards and upwards
All the best Rick
Have been taking stock a bit this week and although quite a few things could have gone better over the last few months, the betting has certainly picked up just recently so hoping I can continue in that vein for the future.
One regret is that I didnt capitalise on 9k worth of investments in the world of stocks and shares, scattered here there and everywhere by my bank who take a cut for their expertise but these I see are now worth only 7.5k when I could have cashed them in for another 5k just over a year ago. I could cry but I'll try not to think about it instead!!
The good thing is I can leave the money where it is at present and no damage is done, I'll certainly want a minimum of my initial investment back so as soon as it reaches that figure again (assuming things eventually do pick up!) I will be withdrawing it and depositing it into a normal account from then on. I much prefer the betting markets as I understand them far better, and even if I dont I still feel as though I've had a run for my money half of the time!
Suppose its a good time to invest more but sick of hearing about how the market is dropping like a stone every day of the week so a normal bank account will do for me in the future along with any betting profits that may come along. At least I'm the architect of my own downfall if things go pear shaped which is some consolation lol.
For once there was no snooker betting to fall back on this week so it was mainly down to the greyhounds and the gaelic football to bring home the bacon and thankfully the upward trend has continued for now.
The last time I published the blog I had three contenders in the Tote Gold Cup semi finals at Shelbourne and although Slip The Lark and Ballymac Bondi both failed to make it, at least I have a live chance with the current favourite Swords Prince who was an ante post pick at 33/1 and won his semi final in impressive fashion. If he can come out of the traps in such style again, he will surely take some beating if in the same kind of form.
Monmore held the final of the Puppy Derby on Thursday night and two of my ante post picks fought out the finish as Bandicoot Tipoki at 4/1 fought off my other contender Kinda Ready (8/1) by three quarters of length despite once again not coming away to the best of his ability by all accounts.
And in the Pall Mall semi finals at Oxford on the same day, although Soviet Maldini was found wanting and Bandit Blue had a nightmare run in only finishing fourth (despite perhaps looking the best dog in the race) my second round addition Brickfield Class at 10/1 came home first in his heat so goes into the final from trap five live on Sky on Tuesday night.
Also had a few "on the night" winners which kept things ticking over with the aforementioned Swords Prince (5/2), Tyrur Louis (6/4), Dundrum Minor (17/10), Hello Hippy (5/4), Faypoint Man (4/5), Youghal Rebel (1/2) and Capel Wilson (4/5) all obliging though there were of course a few losers too.
Had originally intended the dog betting to be a bit of a stopgap while I caught up on the horse form but so successful has it been, will almost certainly be continuing with it now, especially the ante post markets which seem well worth a flutter. Of course the more sports you take on, its harder to keep up with them all and hence still a bit behind with the nags though the focus will be firmly on Aintree in a fortnight for the Grand National as I attempt to pick the winner for the fourth year in a row!! (OK I admit I usually pick four or five selections but still not a bad record I think after having a barren time of it since Freddie Starr's Minnehoma in 1994).
Looks like my biggest priced winner Silver Birch could be back again this year, he did the business at 50/1 a couple of years ago which was a great thrill, I'd also backed the second that year in the fast finishing but ultimately ill fated McKelvey at 20/1, so it was a win win situation as they came towards the line.
The gaelic football bets surpassed themselves last week too as managed to get five bets out of five up including my banker Galway/Kerry double and the midweek win for Kilmacud Crokes at 15/8 in the All Ireland Club championship final against Crossmaglen Rangers at Croke Park.
Perhaps should have had more faith in England's only NFL outfit London, who I backed on the +7 handicap against Waterford in the Division 4 encounter at Ruislip, yet they surpassed most peoples expectations by actually winning the match 0-09 to 0-08 at odds of 6/1.
Snooker returns next week in the form of Matchroom's Championship League with Group 7 and the final winners event Group 8 taking place at Crondon Park to find out the Premier League qualifier for next year. Priced most of the matches up for those today and also finally got around to doing the World Championship first round games, though with the League and the China Open still to take place before then, will probably keep my powder dry and wait for more clues in the meantime.
Hoping Ryan Day can rediscover some form soon as he was an early season pick for the Crucible at 40/1 but he has been struggling to win any kind of match since before the turn of the year so would be nice if he could have a bit of a run as he does have a reasonable draw at Sheffield if he could find his A game.
On the local snooker front, as I mentioned last week I had the re-match with the promising youngster in our second semi final clash in a matter of days and once again it went his way though this time he didnt play anywhere near the standard he reached the previous week. Unfortunately though after building a 2-0 lead I fell away rather miserably to a 3-2 defeat with a worrying implosion that I found impossible to arrest as the match progressed. It hadnt helped that I was playing with a new tip which seemed far too spongy for my liking and all the confidence seemed to drain out of me the more I messed things up, anyway no excuses, half of the game is in the head and on this occasion I just didnt seem relaxed enough to play to my best.
Looking back to the days when beta blockers were banned from the sport, a few of the prominent players of the time had very rapid declines thereafter which certainly points to the fact that keeping control of the emotions is a massive part in being able to play the game well in pressure situations and on this occasion I failed the test for whatever reason.
Anyway onwards and upwards
All the best Rick
Friday, 13 March 2009
Snooker betting hits purple patch
Well after a decidedly dodgy spell on the snooker betting it all seems to have come together in recent tournaments with decent profits on both the Welsh Open and the recent World qualifiers now taking me to record profits for the year so far, which has taken much longer than anticipated after backing Ricky Walden at both 100s and 125s (but not for nearly enough money lol) earlier in the season.
Since then seemed to hit a spell where I just couldnt get any consistent profits out of the match betting but had to keep the faith and perhaps getting a bit more of a grasp on some of the inconsistencies of certain players now the season is nearing its conclusion.
I went up to Sheffield to see the final pre-Crucible round of the World Championships and was rewarded by a speeding ticket on the Sunday morning - suppose it was a fair cop - but a bit galling to be hauled in by an unmarked police car on a near deserted motorway where there was no serious danger at all in my humble opinion. Also an average speed in the eighties seems hardly excessive on the motorway nowadays in comparison with others so feel a bit unlucky with that one, however had a narrow escape with a speed camera flashing me and never hearing anything else about it a few months ago so suppose I deserved my come uppance!!
Once there I saw my old sparring partner Nigel Bond who used to play in our local league making hard work of his match with Mike Dunn - he actually lost the session I watched 5-4 after being 5-2 down - but he eventually pulled out all the stops in the afternoon to make it through
10-7.
I shall refrain to mention that I once beat him myself due to my prevailing modesty (nor shall I mention that I actually scored over a hundred points in one of the frames, that would just be too much like blowing my own trumpet!!).
The other games I saw on the Sunday saw Jamie Cope taking advantage of quite a few errors from Paul Davies without really looking totally convincing and also Andrew Higginson defeating Michael Judge in a very scrappy affair.
I went up for the afternoon session on the Monday and Tuesday. On the first of those days Ricky Walden got the better of Anthony Hamilton with some decent scoring in the balls in the concluding frames and also saw the conclusion of Mark Williams' comfortable win over Tom Ford with a fluent display, he was certainly flying around the table, sometimes playing as many as four shots as opposed to just one in the next cubicle.
The crowd was mainly gathered around the Judd Trump - Stephen Lee match which meant I couldnt get a good view of that one - Lee progressed 10-8 from 5-1 down to once again deny the youngster a place in the final stages of the big one.
On the final day to my surprise there seemed to be an even bigger crowd with plenty of Lee Spick fans from the Mansfield area there to see their man up against the Nugget Steve Davis who himself had an army of supporting grannies and after an intriguing battle it was the old stager who came through 10-8. I had actually supported him at 8/15 in the betting here on the back of his previous impressive run in the Championship League but he found it much more of a struggle this time. One thing he has admitted to himself is finding difficulty in adapting to the speed of the modern ultra-fast cloths - and it was certainly evident here as he ran out of position with alarming regularity. Crondon Park is pretty much renowned for having rather sluggish tables in comparison so that perhaps half explains his better performance there.
There was also a very decent match between Ian McCulloch and Rory McLeod. Despite some heavy scoring from the Preston potter, McLeod maybe made fewer unforced errors overall and this was probably one of his best ever performances to win 10-7.
My best bets odds-wise in the final round were Martin Gould to beat Matthew Stevens at 5/2 and Gerard Greene to beat Ken Doherty at 6/4.
I also finally cracked the "to qualify" market with the first profits of the season from that sphere - Walden (11/8), Holt (13/8), Higginson (2/1) and Greene (7/4) all obliging which was exactly half of my portfolio of bets.
The draw for the final stages was made the following day and the odds were out in a matter of minutes with a few of the firms. Still havent gotten round to pricing them up yet as there are a couple of other tournaments until Sheffield but did have a bit of an accumulator on some of the more obvious favourites as the prices on these tend to shorten in the run up if it stays consistent with previous years.
In the outright market had already backed Ryan Day (before he lost form!), Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby and while I was fairly happy with the draw for the first two (though Lee is no pushover), not sure I would have picked Walden out of the hat for the Jester in that one.
To make up my usual policy of one from each quarter, have backed Mark Williams at 33s since the draw. Although he fails to meet the criteria that all recent winners have been under 33 years of age, he has a winnable starter against Hendry and then ought to get chances against either Ding or Liang, given their open styles of play. The alternative would probably have been Ding but wouldnt be surprised if his compatriot gives him a real fight there with the local rivalry, the match should certainly play to each others strengths.
On to the dogs and I lost outsider Priceless Johnno and new addition Tyrur Kenny from my Tote Gold Cup ante post roster but Slip The Lark, Ballymac Bondi and Swords Prince all made it through by winning their respective heats at Shelbourne last Saturday. Lark was either lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it, as he looked booked for second when the leader Ja Mann, with the race seemingly in the bag, inexplicably jinked across the course, almost carrying my selection out with him, but luckily he just managed to maintain enough momentum to cross the line at the head of affairs.
In the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby, Bandicoot Tipoki and Kinda Ready made it through to the final by finishing first and second in their heat on Thursday though my other pick Droopys Quinta narrowly missed out on qualifying in third place in her heat.
And in the William Hill Pall Mall which started on the same day, I lost Royal Warrior but the impressive Bandit Blue and rather-less-so Soviet Maldini still made it through. Have since added the four year old veteran Brickfield Class to the roster too as he showed excellent pace to win his heat, though will now contest the same heat as Bandit Blue himself.
The gaelic football bets last week started off woefully with both Tyrone and Down losing narrowly on Saturday night - maybe the abysmal weather had a bit to do with those results - but Mayo and Cork obliged the following day as did London on the handicap so finished up pretty much all square on those.
Also had a dabble on the Aussie Rules pre season showcase final the NAB Cup by backing outsiders Collingwood but they had no answer to the fire power of favourites Geelong who cranked it up a gear here after some narrow wins in the previous rounds.
Nevertheless a very good week overall on the betting.
On the local snooker front, we have a two week break from the league for competitions before completing our final two matches of the season. I lost one of my semi finals last night 2-0 against one of the most promising players on the local circuit, he knocked in breaks of 45 and 30 so leaves me with something to think about as I play him in another semi on Monday!!
Oh for some of that form from the day I beat .... no sorry I wont mention it again!!
All the best for now
Rick
Since then seemed to hit a spell where I just couldnt get any consistent profits out of the match betting but had to keep the faith and perhaps getting a bit more of a grasp on some of the inconsistencies of certain players now the season is nearing its conclusion.
I went up to Sheffield to see the final pre-Crucible round of the World Championships and was rewarded by a speeding ticket on the Sunday morning - suppose it was a fair cop - but a bit galling to be hauled in by an unmarked police car on a near deserted motorway where there was no serious danger at all in my humble opinion. Also an average speed in the eighties seems hardly excessive on the motorway nowadays in comparison with others so feel a bit unlucky with that one, however had a narrow escape with a speed camera flashing me and never hearing anything else about it a few months ago so suppose I deserved my come uppance!!
Once there I saw my old sparring partner Nigel Bond who used to play in our local league making hard work of his match with Mike Dunn - he actually lost the session I watched 5-4 after being 5-2 down - but he eventually pulled out all the stops in the afternoon to make it through
10-7.
I shall refrain to mention that I once beat him myself due to my prevailing modesty (nor shall I mention that I actually scored over a hundred points in one of the frames, that would just be too much like blowing my own trumpet!!).
The other games I saw on the Sunday saw Jamie Cope taking advantage of quite a few errors from Paul Davies without really looking totally convincing and also Andrew Higginson defeating Michael Judge in a very scrappy affair.
I went up for the afternoon session on the Monday and Tuesday. On the first of those days Ricky Walden got the better of Anthony Hamilton with some decent scoring in the balls in the concluding frames and also saw the conclusion of Mark Williams' comfortable win over Tom Ford with a fluent display, he was certainly flying around the table, sometimes playing as many as four shots as opposed to just one in the next cubicle.
The crowd was mainly gathered around the Judd Trump - Stephen Lee match which meant I couldnt get a good view of that one - Lee progressed 10-8 from 5-1 down to once again deny the youngster a place in the final stages of the big one.
On the final day to my surprise there seemed to be an even bigger crowd with plenty of Lee Spick fans from the Mansfield area there to see their man up against the Nugget Steve Davis who himself had an army of supporting grannies and after an intriguing battle it was the old stager who came through 10-8. I had actually supported him at 8/15 in the betting here on the back of his previous impressive run in the Championship League but he found it much more of a struggle this time. One thing he has admitted to himself is finding difficulty in adapting to the speed of the modern ultra-fast cloths - and it was certainly evident here as he ran out of position with alarming regularity. Crondon Park is pretty much renowned for having rather sluggish tables in comparison so that perhaps half explains his better performance there.
There was also a very decent match between Ian McCulloch and Rory McLeod. Despite some heavy scoring from the Preston potter, McLeod maybe made fewer unforced errors overall and this was probably one of his best ever performances to win 10-7.
My best bets odds-wise in the final round were Martin Gould to beat Matthew Stevens at 5/2 and Gerard Greene to beat Ken Doherty at 6/4.
I also finally cracked the "to qualify" market with the first profits of the season from that sphere - Walden (11/8), Holt (13/8), Higginson (2/1) and Greene (7/4) all obliging which was exactly half of my portfolio of bets.
The draw for the final stages was made the following day and the odds were out in a matter of minutes with a few of the firms. Still havent gotten round to pricing them up yet as there are a couple of other tournaments until Sheffield but did have a bit of an accumulator on some of the more obvious favourites as the prices on these tend to shorten in the run up if it stays consistent with previous years.
In the outright market had already backed Ryan Day (before he lost form!), Stephen Maguire and Mark Selby and while I was fairly happy with the draw for the first two (though Lee is no pushover), not sure I would have picked Walden out of the hat for the Jester in that one.
To make up my usual policy of one from each quarter, have backed Mark Williams at 33s since the draw. Although he fails to meet the criteria that all recent winners have been under 33 years of age, he has a winnable starter against Hendry and then ought to get chances against either Ding or Liang, given their open styles of play. The alternative would probably have been Ding but wouldnt be surprised if his compatriot gives him a real fight there with the local rivalry, the match should certainly play to each others strengths.
On to the dogs and I lost outsider Priceless Johnno and new addition Tyrur Kenny from my Tote Gold Cup ante post roster but Slip The Lark, Ballymac Bondi and Swords Prince all made it through by winning their respective heats at Shelbourne last Saturday. Lark was either lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it, as he looked booked for second when the leader Ja Mann, with the race seemingly in the bag, inexplicably jinked across the course, almost carrying my selection out with him, but luckily he just managed to maintain enough momentum to cross the line at the head of affairs.
In the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby, Bandicoot Tipoki and Kinda Ready made it through to the final by finishing first and second in their heat on Thursday though my other pick Droopys Quinta narrowly missed out on qualifying in third place in her heat.
And in the William Hill Pall Mall which started on the same day, I lost Royal Warrior but the impressive Bandit Blue and rather-less-so Soviet Maldini still made it through. Have since added the four year old veteran Brickfield Class to the roster too as he showed excellent pace to win his heat, though will now contest the same heat as Bandit Blue himself.
The gaelic football bets last week started off woefully with both Tyrone and Down losing narrowly on Saturday night - maybe the abysmal weather had a bit to do with those results - but Mayo and Cork obliged the following day as did London on the handicap so finished up pretty much all square on those.
Also had a dabble on the Aussie Rules pre season showcase final the NAB Cup by backing outsiders Collingwood but they had no answer to the fire power of favourites Geelong who cranked it up a gear here after some narrow wins in the previous rounds.
Nevertheless a very good week overall on the betting.
On the local snooker front, we have a two week break from the league for competitions before completing our final two matches of the season. I lost one of my semi finals last night 2-0 against one of the most promising players on the local circuit, he knocked in breaks of 45 and 30 so leaves me with something to think about as I play him in another semi on Monday!!
Oh for some of that form from the day I beat .... no sorry I wont mention it again!!
All the best for now
Rick
Friday, 6 March 2009
A smashing week in more ways than one!
Last week didnt start too well when soon after finishing the blog entry, I proceeded to sit on my glasses which ended up causing £320 worth of damage, i.e. they needed to be totally replaced so I needed to find a few winners and luckily thats how it transpired.
The World Championship snooker qualifiers at Sheffield were my main source of interest and they are played off to their completion on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday whereafter there will be a draw to see which qualifiers face which of the 16 seeded players who are already through to the Crucible.
I went along to the Institute of Sport last Saturday and in fact Sunday too as the last match between Jamie Jones and Atthasit Mahitti didnt finish until around 12.45am, but it was worth the wait in the end as my man Jones brought home the bacon in a 10-9 win. In fact, all the deciders went my way for once which makes a lot of difference obviously, remember earlier in the season in one tournament when 9 out of 10 went against me. This time all five went in my favour, as well as a couple more in the "to qualify" market I had dabbled in, making it seven out of seven in effect for the week! Having said that, every one will probably go against me now for the next three days!
My best wins in the match betting came from Lee Spick at 7/4 against Adrian Gunnell and a nice hat trick of successes for young Daniel Wells who I backed at 6/4, 13/8 and 2/1 to beat Li Hang, Ian Preece and Marcus Campbell respectively (all in final frame shootouts). Plus I had a nice 3/1 winner when Wayne Cooper edged out Scott Mackenzie, you've guessed it, 10-9!!
Not sure what the future holds for Scott as, in this months Snooker Scene magazine, he says if he didnt qualify for the Crucible he would pack it in, as it is not proving cost effective for him in the lower echelons of the rankings. Of course players winning the very first qualifying round receive absolutely nothing for their efforts so you have to win two rounds before any money starts coming your way, and even then its obviously fairly modest amounts.
I still have five out of eight left in my "to qualify for the last 32" portfolio - namely Trump, Walden, Holt, Higginson and Greene but do need at least three or four to progress to ensure a profit as my three at bigger odds all bit the dust.
Running concurrently with the World Championships this week was Matchroom's Championship League event with Groups 5 and 6 being held at Crondon Park. I got lucky in this too by selecting Mark King to win the first group at 9/1, my theory being that recent form has not been such a big factor in previous events and he had reached a final there in the past so perhaps quite liked the intimate type atmosphere.
My pair in the second group didnt fare so well though as Graeme Dott could only finish fifth and Matthew Stevens was beaten in the semi finals by eventual winner John Higgins so on this occasion the favourite actually did the business. The old Nuggett Steve Davis put up a sterling show to finish top of the group but failed to get a look in in the final itself as Higgins reeled off a series of impressive breaks to win 3-0.
Nevertheless, Davis showed enough there to have the layers slashing their odds for his match with Lee Spick in the pre-Crucible qualifier next week, as the early 8/13 quickly disappeared and 8/15 is now best price available which I still think looks a good deal on that kind of form.
I've got tickets for the three days up at Sheffield, will mostly be going up for the concluding evening sessions though might do the morning instead on Sunday as I usually hit the baize myself that night for a weekly practice session with one of my team-mates.
While touching on that subject, we had a great 5-0 win this week, our first whitewash of the season, against another of the teams in and around us in the league table and that puts us nip and tuck with our other team from the club now with two games left to see who can have bragging rights over the summer months! Not that I play any snooker over the summer so they will have to shout pretty loud from half a mile or so away!!
Had a great weekend on the greyhounds last Saturday when all three of my picks at the big Crayford meeting went in, Lorrys Options (4/1 ante post and topped up at 9/4 on the day), Nebuchadnezzar and Special Liberty (both 9/4 too) all doing the business.
Plus had a nice 3/1+ double at Harlow on Wednesday thanks to Ranch Pacific and Bubbly Rambo, and got all four of my ante post selections through in the first round of the Tote Gold Cup at Shelbourne. Also added another one to the portfolio there as Tyrur Kenny caught my eye having a troubled passage and running on well into third so hopefully with the quintet I have there it gives me a strong hand.
The Puppy Derby at Monmore also started on Thursday and the three selections made it through round one - Bandicoot Tipoki (4/1) finishing a close second, Droopys Quinta (20/1) third in the same race and Kinda Ready (8/1) winning his heat with something to spare.
One blemish was Mountjoy Gold losing out tonight in the Poole Golden Crest but that one had the worst of the draw really and the writing was on the wall anyway after a sluggish start from the traps.
Only had one bet on the GAA last week and that was in the hurling where I thought Wexford might overcome their -4 handicap at Antrim at evens but nothing was further from the truth and despite leading by 9pts at one stage, they capitulated to an eight point defeat against what is not normally recognised as the home side's strongest line up, with several of the better club players still not taking the field just yet.
Also my final aussie rules NAB Cup outright bit the dust when Essendon went the same way as one of my other picks Richmond by being beaten by Collingwood, so no luck in that market this year.
The gaelic football returns in Ireland this week with a vengeance after a quiet couple of weeks for the county teams, this time I'm tieing my colours to the mast of Tyrone, Down, Mayo and Cork plus cant resist a bit on good old London who have been given a +14 handicap against Sligo by one of the books and the signs are that they have an improved team this year so they ought to have a fair chance of staying within that margin if so.
In fact last year London defeated the same opposition in extra time in the Tommy Murphy Cup consolation event but the visitors will certainly have a stronger line up on the field on this particular occasion.
Anyhow, I shall say goodnight before what is left of my once proud glasses drops off the end of my nose!!
All the best for now
Rick
The World Championship snooker qualifiers at Sheffield were my main source of interest and they are played off to their completion on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday whereafter there will be a draw to see which qualifiers face which of the 16 seeded players who are already through to the Crucible.
I went along to the Institute of Sport last Saturday and in fact Sunday too as the last match between Jamie Jones and Atthasit Mahitti didnt finish until around 12.45am, but it was worth the wait in the end as my man Jones brought home the bacon in a 10-9 win. In fact, all the deciders went my way for once which makes a lot of difference obviously, remember earlier in the season in one tournament when 9 out of 10 went against me. This time all five went in my favour, as well as a couple more in the "to qualify" market I had dabbled in, making it seven out of seven in effect for the week! Having said that, every one will probably go against me now for the next three days!
My best wins in the match betting came from Lee Spick at 7/4 against Adrian Gunnell and a nice hat trick of successes for young Daniel Wells who I backed at 6/4, 13/8 and 2/1 to beat Li Hang, Ian Preece and Marcus Campbell respectively (all in final frame shootouts). Plus I had a nice 3/1 winner when Wayne Cooper edged out Scott Mackenzie, you've guessed it, 10-9!!
Not sure what the future holds for Scott as, in this months Snooker Scene magazine, he says if he didnt qualify for the Crucible he would pack it in, as it is not proving cost effective for him in the lower echelons of the rankings. Of course players winning the very first qualifying round receive absolutely nothing for their efforts so you have to win two rounds before any money starts coming your way, and even then its obviously fairly modest amounts.
I still have five out of eight left in my "to qualify for the last 32" portfolio - namely Trump, Walden, Holt, Higginson and Greene but do need at least three or four to progress to ensure a profit as my three at bigger odds all bit the dust.
Running concurrently with the World Championships this week was Matchroom's Championship League event with Groups 5 and 6 being held at Crondon Park. I got lucky in this too by selecting Mark King to win the first group at 9/1, my theory being that recent form has not been such a big factor in previous events and he had reached a final there in the past so perhaps quite liked the intimate type atmosphere.
My pair in the second group didnt fare so well though as Graeme Dott could only finish fifth and Matthew Stevens was beaten in the semi finals by eventual winner John Higgins so on this occasion the favourite actually did the business. The old Nuggett Steve Davis put up a sterling show to finish top of the group but failed to get a look in in the final itself as Higgins reeled off a series of impressive breaks to win 3-0.
Nevertheless, Davis showed enough there to have the layers slashing their odds for his match with Lee Spick in the pre-Crucible qualifier next week, as the early 8/13 quickly disappeared and 8/15 is now best price available which I still think looks a good deal on that kind of form.
I've got tickets for the three days up at Sheffield, will mostly be going up for the concluding evening sessions though might do the morning instead on Sunday as I usually hit the baize myself that night for a weekly practice session with one of my team-mates.
While touching on that subject, we had a great 5-0 win this week, our first whitewash of the season, against another of the teams in and around us in the league table and that puts us nip and tuck with our other team from the club now with two games left to see who can have bragging rights over the summer months! Not that I play any snooker over the summer so they will have to shout pretty loud from half a mile or so away!!
Had a great weekend on the greyhounds last Saturday when all three of my picks at the big Crayford meeting went in, Lorrys Options (4/1 ante post and topped up at 9/4 on the day), Nebuchadnezzar and Special Liberty (both 9/4 too) all doing the business.
Plus had a nice 3/1+ double at Harlow on Wednesday thanks to Ranch Pacific and Bubbly Rambo, and got all four of my ante post selections through in the first round of the Tote Gold Cup at Shelbourne. Also added another one to the portfolio there as Tyrur Kenny caught my eye having a troubled passage and running on well into third so hopefully with the quintet I have there it gives me a strong hand.
The Puppy Derby at Monmore also started on Thursday and the three selections made it through round one - Bandicoot Tipoki (4/1) finishing a close second, Droopys Quinta (20/1) third in the same race and Kinda Ready (8/1) winning his heat with something to spare.
One blemish was Mountjoy Gold losing out tonight in the Poole Golden Crest but that one had the worst of the draw really and the writing was on the wall anyway after a sluggish start from the traps.
Only had one bet on the GAA last week and that was in the hurling where I thought Wexford might overcome their -4 handicap at Antrim at evens but nothing was further from the truth and despite leading by 9pts at one stage, they capitulated to an eight point defeat against what is not normally recognised as the home side's strongest line up, with several of the better club players still not taking the field just yet.
Also my final aussie rules NAB Cup outright bit the dust when Essendon went the same way as one of my other picks Richmond by being beaten by Collingwood, so no luck in that market this year.
The gaelic football returns in Ireland this week with a vengeance after a quiet couple of weeks for the county teams, this time I'm tieing my colours to the mast of Tyrone, Down, Mayo and Cork plus cant resist a bit on good old London who have been given a +14 handicap against Sligo by one of the books and the signs are that they have an improved team this year so they ought to have a fair chance of staying within that margin if so.
In fact last year London defeated the same opposition in extra time in the Tommy Murphy Cup consolation event but the visitors will certainly have a stronger line up on the field on this particular occasion.
Anyhow, I shall say goodnight before what is left of my once proud glasses drops off the end of my nose!!
All the best for now
Rick
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