Another late one this week as there's a lot of concurrent betting interests taking place at the moment. The World Championships are taking place in both snooker and ice hockey (which also has the Stanley Cup play offs in play) while the greyhounds continue unabated and then theres the gaelic football league finals being played out as I speak this weekend, the cricket getting into full swing with the Friends Provident Trophy and the aussie rules ongoing.
Thats without even catching up with the horse racing!!
The snooker hasnt started particularly well in the first week with the bet on the number of qualifiers progressing soon looking a non starter as the seeds enjoyed the upper hand in round one - the only ones to fall being Peter Ebdon and Joe Perry, the latter of whom was one of the few favourites I had backed in a single lol.
At least the five-strong acca of Ronnie, Higgins, Carter, Maguire and Robertson came in without too much fuss and I'm hopeful the second round will produce a better showing. Already weighed in are the 6/4 Hendry against Ding in an epic battle as well as the short odds about Day beating Bond, I dont often play at that end of the market but in this instance it did look a bit of a gimme over the long distance and so it proved.
Still have Day and Selby each way in the outright too along with a win bet on Maguire so with Ronnie out of the way since his loss to Allen, hoping for a decent showing from that trio in this and would also help if the Jester or Mags could top the highest break which currently stands at 140.
In the ice hockey as I speak I've recorded last nights action in the NHL play offs and not yet seen it but of my charges, Boston Bruins cruised through 4-0 against Montreal in the first stage so the 33/1 e/w bet is still a runner though Philadelphia were trailing Pittsburgh 3-2 last night while my other picks Calgary had pulled back to 2-2 against Chicago (all best of sevens).
In the series betting I opposed the Flames however and stuck Chicago in a double with Boston so at least I'm in a position to cover and also had bets at odds against on New York Rangers to oust Washington at 2/1 (currently 3-2 up) and Carolina at 5/4 to beat New Jersey (currently 3-2 down).
The IIHF World Championships in Switzerland also started this week, and a big factor is always to identify which players are missing from the rosters due to the clash with the NHL play-offs. Also the teams who exit in the first round of those quite often let their players go on to join the original squads at the Worlds so its a bit of a complex operation as a punter. However considering all options I decided to weigh in with Russia at 9/4 to back up last years success with a back up bet on the Czech Republic at 13/2, both could benefit if a couple of teams currently trailing do bite the dust in the play offs. Will also be looking for a bit of value in the point spreads, as the early stages are often mismatches with the big guns in the main taking on the minnows at highly restrictive odds.
The Allianz League gaelic football finals are played out this weekend and already two of my finalists Antrim and Monaghan have bit the dust rather disappointingly, losing out to Sligo and Cork respectively. I had been pretty confident about the former team especially but it wasnt to be on the day. As I speak Derry are taking the field against hot favourites Kerry in a repeat of last years Division 1 final so will be very disappointing if all three fail at the final hurdle.
There was a bit of a glimmer as I backed Tipperary on the +3 handicap against Down in the Div 3 final and they actually won the match in extra time and have done a similar bet on Derry too.
Overall though slightly disappointing that my outright picks havent so far produced on the day, though it may help me get a few more quid on on the net as seem to have been heavily restricted with a few of the firms after a good run, which has meant a trip to the shops where they will happily lay you (admittedly with slightly quizzical looks as they dont get much call for the GAA in the middle of England it seems!!)
My latest outright bet is Galway each way for the All Ireland hurling title, if they avoid odds on favs Kilkenny until the provincial final (which is a 66% chance) they will be kept apart from that rival until the final of the main event so it looked worth a gamble at the best price of 12/1 as I feel they do have some room for improvement on their league showing.
For this years cricket I've plumped for Hampshire in Division 1 of the County Championship, they had a good start with an early win over Worcester but since then Marcus North has been recalled for Australia and it is certainly a blow to lose his services after he originally came in to replace injured overseas player Imran Tahir.
After some dithering I was maybe swayed by the Racing Post's tip for Kent at 9/4 in Division 2 though have since seen some of their fans airing concerns about the depth of the bowling attack so hope thats not another lame duck I've been talked into lol.
In the Friends Provident I plumped for Yorkshire at 14s and Gloucestershire at 33s before belatedly realising the groups were no longer regionalised and they were both contesting the same section, at least two go through however so all is not lost .... yet!!
Had a nice winner in the aussie rules this week when Essendon scored a last gasp win at just over 2/1 against Collingwood but Sydney were a bit of a letdown as they slumped to a loss at bottom placed Fremantle at 4/6 but still finished up on the week at least.
The greyhounds overall were a bit of a loss maker this week, my finalists in the Easter Cup at Shelbourne could only managed third and fifth so no payout there while the sole representative in the Golden Sprint at Romford also didnt trouble the judge.
There was better news with Blonde Fern landing the Blue Riband at Hall Green at 16/1 however.
Also Capel Wilson, Lorrys Options and Hill Tipoki all advanced to Tuesday's Regency final so have half the field gunning for me there while have a multiple interest in a couple of other events at present the Peterborough Puppy Derby and the Oran Majestic Cup, the latest big event at Shelbourne.
The first round of the greyhound derby heats take place next week at Wimbledon and not totally happy with some of my early picks, especially Thurlesberg Joker who as the connections muted (all too late for me) was unlikely to run (and doesnt!), but will watch the opening heats for more clues and take it from there.
Currently I have Slip The Lark (not quite regained last years form after a lay off) 40/1, Head ItOn Ellis (promising pup but not done it yet against the older generation) 66/1, Bandicoot Tipoki (another promising pup but has been missing the break a bit) 50/1, Tyrur Hestor (electric pace but stepping up from sprints) 50/1 and Wise Thought (just getting back into gear after a break, proven in this class) at 25/1. As if those arent enough!!
Also have to mention my football team Derby who despite a horrendous injury list secured their Championship status yesterday with a 1-0 home win over already relegated Charlton Athletic, well done Nigel and the lads!!
Anyway thats it for now, all the best
Rick
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