Another exciting week playing around on BETDAQ saw me walking away with a decent enough profit though boy, it was heart-stopping stuff on more than one occasion.
On Saturday last week I broke al sensible betting rules as usual and went for a decent sized bet on my beloved Everton, allowing my heart to rule my head yet again (like most football fans I suppose)? Odds of 2.9 for the away win were just too tempting away to Blackburn, and if you followed the results you will know that I collected by final whistle, but as I was watching it live (can you do such a thing) via text on the website, I had a few heart stopping moments! Blackburn missed not one but two penalties (both dives through these rose tinted spectacles), and it was still 0-0 as the 90th minute passed and we moved in to injury time. With seconds to go, the referee gave a surprise penalty which was the last kick made my Mikel Arteta in an Everton shirt, and I collected my cash, but whether it is enough to buy a bucket of Just For Men to get rid of the grey hairs it brought on is another question?
Swapping sports back to racing I did have a decent bet on the frankly unbeatable combination of Kieren Fallon and Luca Cumani with Drunken Sailor in the Goodwood opener, and as a course and distance winner surely he was already home and hosed? Odds on never stops me when I am convinced I have the best horse in the race, and with the Betdaq price considerably better than any bookmaker, I dipped in to the market on more than one occasion to take candy from a baby. 2.0 and 1.9 were my bets but (in my opinion) Kieren never put him in the race with a chance sitting off the pace and never getting near to the leaders. Not my proudest moment to be fair, but facts are facts and I doubt I learn much from the experience and would do it all again, though hopefully with a better result next time around.
Looking ahead to the weekend and we have a smorgasbord of sports to work with and I am determined we can add to previous profits by spreading our net a little wider and taking in a few other sports. Tennis is not a sort I follow in depth but it does seem a good sport for punters with only the two possible results. The US Open is already under way and the obvious favourites are all in action but the value could well be elsewhere. It may be glaringly obvious but I start with the world rankings before looking for a bet and then search for odds that seem wrong, and in this case I like the 2.01 about Croatian Ivan Ljubicic (World 31) to beat David Nalbandian (ranked 76) who is trading at odds on. A closer look shows me that both players are on the downgrade but at the odds surely my selection is the value call?
While I am in this mood (searching everywhere for a sort of value like all good punters should), I ma sorely tempted to have a little bet on Jonathan Trott to be England’s top scorer in the One Day International on Saturday. The risk is that the Indian attack will fail to bowl out the openers early enough for him to get much time at the crease, but if he does he is a class act more than capable of rattling up a quick 50 or more and with some nice punters on Betdaq happy to offer a bit of 4.8 I am happy to oblige them!
Finally for this week I cannot resist a couple of bets on the gee gees, even though I am quite aware I cannot hope to compete with the legendary Daqman! I do remember reading some weeks ago that Richard Hannon thought quiet a bit of Eurytheus (even if I can’t say it), and he did run a promising race on his debut in a hot Goodwood maiden won by Nawwaar. The form looks better than average as the runner up has won since and the fourth has won twice, and as my selection ran as green as grass and looked sure to improve dramatically for the experience, he is a possibility in the 2.05 at Ascot with Pat Dobbs in the saddle.
At Haydock, I like the chances of King Torus who ran a blinder on his comeback after a long lay off when fourth at York, fading late on after looking likely to get involved in the finish. Ten months off the track means I can forgive him that run and as long as he doesn’t “bounce” for that effort he has every chance of taking the 2.00 for an across the card Hannon double.
Finally, we all like a long priced horse with a decent chance, and I notice Tom Queally will ride Bronze Cannon in the Kempton opener at 2.15 for Gary Moore and then nips across to Ascot in time to ride Midsummer Sun for Sir Henry Cecil in the 3.45. I confess I am unsure what that tells us as to which horse is the most fancied, but they both look sure to go off at fancy prices, so it may be worth a little each way on both of them?
Summary of this week’s bets:
2pts Win Ivan Ljubicic v David Nalbandian US Open 2nd September (current odds 2.24 to back)
1pt Jonathan Trott to be leading England run scorer v India 1st One Day Cricket International Saturday
1pt win 1pt place Eurystheus 2.05 Ascot Saturday
2pts Win King Torus 2.00 Haydock Saturday
Half point win half point place Bronze Cannon 2.15 Kempton Saturday
Half point win half point place Midsummer Sun 3.45 Ascot Saturday
