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  • Charles49
    replied
    No shortage of races around for the start of the New Year with two races today at city venues and the usual five or so for Saturday.
    The wife's little filly goes around in the first at Inverell today so she will be glued to the set watching her favourite slog it out with eleven other runners. It has a chance as its drawn well and has a good jock on top and the distance should suit. Downside is that the track is a Soft 6 and if it gets worse than so do her chances. Someone must think it has a good chance as its been backed in from 15/1 to 5/1 overnight.
    My punting has been a tad better of late with just 21 bets for 10 winners, 3 seconds, 3 thirds, and 5 unplaced. I use two betting outlets for my regular bets ..one of course is Betfair and the other is a family owned enterprise with a long and successful history in Victoria namely www.vicbet.com.
    Here are the early selections for Saturday's races.
    Last race starts at Ascot at 9.26am Saturday, London time.
    These will be updated when the scratchings and late mail are revealed.
    Please stay safe and may the punting gods be kind to you in 2021.

    EAGLE FARM:
    R2 no 2 Racecourse Road
    R4 no 1 Ranch Hand 3rd
    R8 no 11 Emerald Kingdom 3rd


    RANDWICK KENSINGTON:
    R1 no 10 Laurelin
    R2 no 3 Mother's Mercy
    R3 no 1 Skymax
    R4 no 2 Private Eye Won $6
    R5 no 2 Edison
    R6 no 4 Smart Image
    R7 no 7 De Grawin Won $3.60
    R8 no 3 Snowfire Won $2.35
    R9 no 12 Tiny 3rd

    CAULFIELD:
    R1 no 1 Impecunious Late Scr.
    R4 no 9 Housay 3rd
    R6 no 6 Dickin Medal Won $4.20


    ASCOT:
    R2 no 3 Keep Your Feet 2nd
    R3 no 3 Ration Aly Won $2.60
    R5 no 2 Tycoon Storm
    R6 no 2 Chantrea 3rd
    R7 no 6 Indian Pacific
    R8 no 1 Truly Great 2nd
    R9 no 3 Treasured Crown

    LAY BETS:
    BR7 no 2 Portland Sky Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won
    BR8 no 15 Stampe Ran Unplaced. Lay Bet Won

    Cheers n Beers

    JOKE:
    A man is walking through his local mall and notices a Mexican book store. He decides to go in because he has never seen a Mexican book store before. He browses through the store and finally asks the clerk, “Do you have the book on Donald Trump’s foreign policies with Mexico?” The clerk replies, “F*ck you, get out, stay out!” The man replies, “Yeah, that’s the one!”
    Last edited by Charles49; 2 January 2021, 10:04 PM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Thanks PDC for your thoughts and I'm glad to see you have survived the current strain of covid virus that is flooding across the UK. Good news re the vaccine as thats the game changer imho. Very sorry to see the latest elevation in covid casualties in the UK.....that's a major concern but hopefully the quick implementation of the vaccine will bring the spread back to a manageable level.
    Re your question about the cost of training it varies here depending on where your horse is trained. For example, she who must be obeyed, has a horse that is currently racing in New South Wales regional/county area. The cost of training including everything works out to around $2000 pcm. Its a much lesser amount of course if the horse is spelling. I have several mates who have horses in Brisbane and they are chasing the bigger prizemoney so whilst I will ask them I would expect that their costs would be in the region of $4000/$5000 pcm when the horse is in work.
    UPDATE: The advise I received back was the reasonably good trainers seem to be around the $3,500pcm whilst average trainers generally are around $2,800pcm. Some do however charge $4,000pcm.
    There is another interesting aspect emerging within the industry and that relates to training times. Trainers here start their work from 2.00am and the industry wants to change normal start times to say 4am on the basis that its a more civilized time to start work and the reality is that temperatures at 4.00am are not that different to 2.00am so the welfare of the horse is not a prominent issue.
    Australia's prizemoney changes have come about principally because of the efforts of Peter V'Landy. He is the Chief Executive of Racing NSW and his claim to fame is that he managed to impose a levy on every betting transaction that fed back into increased prizemoney. Its a case of reverse Robin Hood in that he took from the poor punters and gave to the rich owners.!! Biggest winners here are the breeders and of course the losers are the poor punters who suffer from rounded down dividends and increased betting percentages imposed by TAB's and bookmakers.
    The upshot however is that racing is flourishing, horse prices are high (breeders are delighted!) and prizemoney is now at a level where with an ounce of luck the average horse owner has a reasonable chance of covering expenses.
    Hope you (and Bog if he reads this!) have a Happy New Year and thank you both for your input and commentary throughout the year.
    Last edited by Charles49; 1 January 2021, 07:50 AM.

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  • PDC
    replied
    Just had a quick catch up of the thread having had a break for Christmas.

    The stats you provided Charles were interesting though I have to say not overly surprising. One very important stat was missing though and that was the cost of training a horse in each country. Again I would expect it to favour Oz and the US where it is much easier and cheaper for someone to set up a training establishment. In the UK it can be very hard and expensive to do. For example in the US you can rent just a few boxes quite easily and get going which I know a few people who have done so and then grown from that.

    The funding of the sport through betting is the over riding issue though between the USA, OZ and UK. The UK let the genie out the bottle a long time ago and it won't ever go back in despite people wishing it would. They really need to change how racing is funded in the UK and should look at syndicates and the success it has in Oz much more. There are more younger trainers who seem to be embracing it and I think it is an excellent thing but places like courses need to learn to embrace it as well.

    Anyway, I hope you all had a good Christmas and I would like to wish you a Happy New Year on the day we got the excellent news that the UK has approved the Oxford vaccine and will be delaying the second dose to 3 months so more people can get the first dose quicker.

    We may not have got a lot of things right in the UK in this pandemic but one thing we have led the way with in a good way is the vaccine development, buying up stocks in advance, getting it approved and getting it administered.

    Now lets hope lots of people take up getting a little prick as we sure as heck need it given our current daily record breaking levels of cases and NHS bursting at the seams.

    Hopefully in another 2 - 3 months we will be in a much improved position with the worse behind us and with the then improved weather things go from strength to strength in terms of a recovery and return to life as we once knew it!

    Happy New Year!

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  • Bog
    replied
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2021
    Attached Files

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Its that time of the year when the jolly fat fellow rings his bell and we gather round with friends, family and neighbours to celebrate the year that was, and to look forward with positivity for the New Year that we shall shortly welcome in.
    Well that's what normally happens but this year for the vast majority has been a troubling one, as a deadly virus circulates, and mutates, to cause us much unhappiness, disruptions and sadly in many instances loss of life.
    Lets hope that 2021 brings with it a successful vaccine that restores our lifestyle to something akin to normality and we can once again travel the globe without the draconian lifestyle restrictions that are currently in place.
    And of course may your racing investments return positive results throughout the year!!
    So from the land that has been described as the Sunburnt Country may I wish you and yours the very best for Christmas and may you all have a pleasant, successful, and happy New Year.
    Personal punts are still not great. From the 18 bets this week the return was 6 winners,4 seconds ,1 third and 7 that failed to place.
    Here are the early selections for Saturdays racing.

    EAGLE FARM:
    R1 no 8 Warp Speed 2nd
    R2 no 4 Hard Labour 3rd
    R3 no 4 Dzsenifer 2nd
    R4 no 1 Shaquero
    R5 no 2 Shooting For Gold Won $2
    R6 no 1 The Elanora Won $2.60
    R7 no 4 The Harrovian Won $2


    RANDWICK:
    R2 no 17 Pinnacle Prince Won $2.50
    R3 no 5 Zing 2nd
    R5 no 3 Frosty Rocks 2nd
    R6 no 9 Spirit Ridge Won $4
    R7 no 5 Quantico
    R8 no 14 Ellsberg 3rd

    CAULFIELD:
    R2 no 6 Zoushine Won $3.50 is the late mail
    R3 no 3 Ayrton Won
    R5 no 7 Score Won $5.50
    R6 no 4 Ididitforlove 3rd
    R7 no 9 Pandemic Won $2.70
    R8 no 7 Tavidance 4th
    R9 no 4 Astraeus

    ASCOT:
    R4 no 5 Ziebell 2nd

    LAY BETS:
    MR8 no 8 Paradee Ran 2nd. Lay Bet Won
    MR9 no 1 Star Missile Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won


    Cheers n Beers.

    JOKE:
    How did Mary and Joseph know that Jesus was 8lb 2oz when he was born?
    Because they had a weigh in a manger.!!
    Why is everyone thirsty at the North Pole?
    No well.!!
    Last edited by Charles49; 26 December 2020, 07:56 AM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Another Saturday of racing is about to arrive together with some rather nasty weather as heavy rain hits Australia from coast to coast. Even the normally parched inland of Australia has received its fair share, so racing will be subject to heavy track conditions and periods of rain. Still one cant complain really as the Australian continent needs a good sprinkling. Its just a pity that most of the runoff will head out into the ocean because our various Governments have not had the foresight to capture water within strategic dams that would have insured us against the inevitable droughts that will follow.
    My punting this week has been fraught with too many seconds and thirds and several close fourths. Of the 24 bets I have had to date there have been just 5 winners, 9 seconds, 5 thirds, 5 that haven't run a drum.
    First race this Saturday will commence at Randwick at 12.40pm AEDT, which is 1.40am Saturday London time, and the last race will be at Ascot, which will commence at 8.15pm, which is 9.15am London time.
    Enjoy the day and do stay safe even if it means you have to forgo a visit to the pub and stay home and watch Still Game, a Scottish sitcom, which I confess to doing when it pizzles down outside.!
    Here are the early selections, which will be updated once the scratchings and late mail are known.


    FLEMINGTON:
    R2 no 3 Written Miss Won $2.80
    R3 no 3 Sensationalisation 2nd
    R5 no 8 King Magnus 2nd
    R7 no 8 Defiant Dancer Won $2.90
    R9 no 4 Overkill...no 2 Tony Nicconi is the get out bet in the last at 50/1.

    RANDWICK:
    R1 no 2 Paulele Won $2.20
    R2 no 13 Nuremburg Castle 3rd
    R3 no 5 Kattegat 2nd
    R4 no 8 Accountability
    R5 no 4 Fulmina
    R6 no 5 Vitesse
    R7 no 3 Lashes 3rd
    R8 no 7 Edison.. Won $3.50..thought no8 Romani Girl was worth a tote ticket at 20/1


    DOOMBEN:
    R3 no 13 Smart 'n' Sexy....no 8 Mishani Bloosom is a chance at 20/1.
    R4 no 4 Phaistos 2nd
    R5 no 9 Magic Commander
    R8 no 9 Away Game.. 2nd...no 11 Isotope is the late mail Won


    ASCOT:
    R3 no 1 Madam Torio Won
    R4 no 3 Dark Mission
    R5 no 2 Truly Great Won
    R6 no 1 Midnight Blue 3rd
    R7 no 3 Chantrea
    R9 no 1 Dig Deep. Won $8..no 8 Resortman is the late mail

    LAY BETS:
    BR6 no 9 Kateru Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won
    BR1 no 3 Tracy May Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won

    Cheers 'n' Beers

    JOKE:
    A couple were Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve and the shops were packed full of shoppers buying their loved ones gifts. Walking through the shopping centre the surprised wife looked up and noticed her husband was no where around and she was very upset because it was meant to be a special time shopping together. She took her phone out of her handbag and called her husband, “where are you, honey? She enquired. The husband, in a calm voice said, “baby girl remember the Jewellery store we went in to five years ago? Where you fell in love with that diamond necklace that we couldn’t afford, and I told you that I would get it for you one day ?” His wife started to cry with joy and said, “Yes, I remember that necklace and the store. “He said, “Well, I’m in the Bar right next door to it……”
    Last edited by Charles49; 20 December 2020, 12:31 AM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Came across some interesting statistics when I was doing some research into the viability of owning racehorses in Australia.
    In Australia the average Group 1 prizemoney per race was $1,140,000 which compares to the UK where its AUD$537,000. So I then looked up the figures for the average race prizemoney and in Oz its $46,245 compared to $20,181 in the UK. So what about average dollars that punters wager on horses you ask? Well I did find that too, expressed in US Dollars. In Australia the average punter spends US$820 a year on horse racing whilst in the UK the average is US$295. Its interesting to note that the average in the United States is just US$43 per person per year.
    I did dig a little deeper re horse ownership and I discovered that one in every 253 persons here are an owner in a horse compared to one in every 6,489 in the UK. (You could take a 1% interest here until recently when it seems 2.5% is now the acceptable minimum!)
    Why the interest? Well I was looking at the fields for next Mondays Bathurst races where the wife has a runner and I saw a filly there that had had 18 starts and hadn't won a single race...yet it had won AUD$70K in prizemoney, which I thought was excessive for a maiden. Yes it had run a handful of races in the Sydney Metropolitan area however the majority had been in the bush, but it did go to show that with careful targeting of races with above normal prizemoney at stake, then its possible to turn an interest in horse ownership in Australia into a profitable hobby.
    Well that's the theory of course...not so easy in reality as Lady Luck plays a major role right from the moment you sign up for the unraced 2yo to the time to retire to the grazing paddock.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Well yet another Saturday looms and with it some fairly ordinary racing which is typical of racing here during the December/January holiday and festive season. The missus upstaged me (yet again!) during the week when her cheap 5% purchase of a 3yo filly had its first start at a New South Wales country track and after leading all the way succumbed to the odds on favourite in the last 50 metres to run a creditable second. She backed it at 70/1 each way so she is a happy little vegemite with the prizemoney and her increased betting account balance.
    Its amazing in racing how castoffs given time care and patience can be a rewarding and cost effective way to join the owners circle.
    I'm delighted of course to read the news of a British woman nearing her 91st birthday being the first recipient of the covid vaccine. As predicted some while ago in these rants I was hopeful that the vaccine would be available prior to Christmas so its nice to see this has happened and hopefully there will be a responding decline not only in the number of cases but also of course in the daily death rate. News just to hand is that Australia has suspended trials of the University of Queensland's promising vaccine after some false HIV readings were recorded.
    Australians wont be able to leave the country before March 17th 2021 but that's a date subject to the world virtually eliminating the virus which really is a big ask considering the virus is spread so well across the globe. As from this Saturday, New Zealanders can now escape to Australia, which is a good start back on the road to normality.
    This Saturday the missus is having a birthday bash so updates will probably be very sparse if at all. There is a huge thunderstorm expected here on Saturday which will make for either an interesting spectacle or/and it will dampen the enthusiasm to party on.
    This Saturday racing commences here at Randwick at 12.40pm AEST which converts to a 1.40am Saturday London time.
    The final race will be at Ascot at 20.17pm AEST which converts to 8.17am Saturday London time.
    On a personal note its been a difficult week on the grisly grunt with 19 bets returning just 4 winners, 6 seconds, no thirds, and 9 unplaced. Pretty poor week overall.
    Here are the early selections which of course get updated when all the goodies surface on Saturday morning.

    FLEMINGTON:
    R1 no 7 Ranveer 2nd
    R4 no 5 Tralee Rose 2nd
    R5 no 1 Prezado 2nd
    R7 no 1 Bandersnatch 3rd
    R9 no 5 Macroura 3rd

    EAGLE FARM:
    R1 no 5 Palladas. Won $3..no 2 Good Chat is the late mail
    R5 no 4 Rambeau
    R6 no 1 Fake Love 2nd
    R7 no 7 Sugar Boom 3rd
    R8 no 2 Profit 3rd
    R9 no 1 Exhilarates

    RANDWICK:
    R5 no 4 Acrobat. Won $5.30..no 3 Overmann is the late mail
    R6 no 1 Tailleur 2nd
    R9 no 12 Spirit Ridge 2nd

    ASCOT:
    R1 no 4 Express Time
    R3 no 1 Don't Fuss 2nd
    R5 no 5 Cambist 4th
    R6 no 2 Resortman
    R7 no 1 Come Right Back
    R8 no 9 Midnight Blue...Scr.....No 3 Royal Command is a definite danger.

    LAY BETS:
    SR5 no 11 Ashema Ran 2nd Lay Bet Won
    SR8 no 15 Criaderas Ran 3rd. Lay Bet Won

    Cheers 'n' Beers


    JOKE:
    Quilly who is an absolute genius, a Rhode Scholar and brilliant sportsman went camping with his mate Big Brenny, nice bloke who thought he could be a Pro Surfer but never quite made the grade and instead he directed his energies towards becoming a highly regarded and beloved member of the LGBT Community. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Quilly woke Big Brenny up and said “Big Brenny, look up at the sky and tell me what you see” Big Brenny replied “I see millions and millions of stars”. Quilly said ” and what do you deduce from that?” Big Brenny replied ” well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few Planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.” And Quilly said “Big Brenny you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent!”
    Last edited by Charles49; 13 December 2020, 12:53 AM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    It seems we have some better Covid news around for those of you living in the UK with the advise that the UK Government have decided to dispense with the usual new vaccine proving period and have opted to get the first batch of vaccines out there asap. That's a big positive as it gives not only a chance to protect oneself from this rotten virus but it also gives hope right across the board as its a vaccine that can be used by the young thru to the elderly. I understand that the elderly and those in care will be given priority along with a few pollies and VIP's so unless you are in that sacred lot then you'll need to be patient. Vaccinations start on Monday which is interesting because much has been written about the difficulties with this vaccine in respect of maintaining quality at very low temperatures. Of course Australia will no doubt be watching closely here as to how low temps can be achieved and the quality of the vaccine maintained without loss of effectiveness.
    Our Government has taken the safe route and will be distributing vaccines in March after the normal testing time has been satisfactorily completed. Lets hope these vaccines are 100% effective and we can all return asap to what we knew as normality.
    Weather here has been hotter than normal as evidenced by the temperature in my pool which is currently 30deg. Nice in but hardly the way to cool down. Think I will throw in some ice cubes to try and get the temp down.!! TV just told me to expect a 40deg day shortly.
    On a personal note have had 17 bets this week for 4 winners and 9 seconds (very frustrating!) no thirds and 4 that were unplaced. For the record I use Betfair and a family run business Vicbet for my investments.
    This Saturday racing commences at Pakenham...yes the city racing has gone bush again which means bet carefully as results will not be easy to predict. Start time is 12.50pm AEST which I think is the equivalent to 1.50am on Saturday morning in London.
    Last Race will be at Ascot and that will be run at 8.30pm which again I think is 9.30am London time.
    I hope you are all safe and now out of any chance of a lockdown scenario.
    Stay safe and back plenty of winners which will help to keep your mind off the virus requirements. If that fails then drink plenty of alcohol as that seems to do the trick...in my case at least!!
    The early selections will go up early tomorrow AEST and then once the scratchings are received along with the late mail the "still working" sign will be taken down and then the results will follow once each race is completed.
    Have fun and enjoy.

    PAKENHAM:
    R1 no 3 Nantucket...danger is no 6 Written Miss Won $2.30
    R2 no 8 Meteorite
    R5 no 2 All Too Huiying
    R8 no 5 The Astrologist Won $2.60
    R9 no 11 Score

    ROSEHILL:
    R1 no 6 Kiku 3rd
    R3 no 10 Post Free ....has a rough chance of filling a place at 15/1
    R4 no 8 The Elanora Won $3.60
    R5 no 5 Edison Won $3.10
    R8 no 2 Ivinciano

    DOOMBEN:
    R1 no 5 Subterranean Won $4.50
    R3 no 2 Tokoriki Lad
    R4 no 3 Paniagua.. Won $2.30 .thought no 6 Ritchford had a rough chance at 33/1
    R6 no 3 So You WinWon $2.50
    R8 no 8 Jonker 2nd
    R9 no 1 Gotta Kiss 2nd

    ASCOT:
    R3 no 5 Long Beach 2nd
    R2 no 11 Bragwell 2nd
    R5 no 1 Chantrea.. 3rd...no 10 Tycoon Storm is the late mail
    R7 no 10 Celebrity Queen 2nd
    R8 no 4 Too Close The Sun...late mail is No 12 Inspirational Girl 2nd

    LAY BETS:
    BR4 no 2 Eshiele Started $4. Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won
    SR3 no 6 Eva's Deel Won $7. Lay Bet Lost
    MR3 no 9 Starcaster Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won

    Cheers 'n' Beers

    JOKE:
    Three tough Aussie guys, Shane, Ricky and Billy were working on a high-rise building project in Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately, Shane falls off the scaffolding and is killed instantly, everyone is shattered. As the Ambulance takes the body away, Ricky says, ‘Someone should go and tell his wife.’ Billy says, ‘OK, I’m pretty good at that sensitive stuff, I’ll do it.’ Two hours later, he comes back carrying a slab of Crown Lagers on his shoulder. Ricky says, ‘Where did you get that Billy?’ ‘Shane’s wife gave it to me.’ Billy continues, ‘That’s unbelievable, you told the poor lady her husband has just passed away and she gave you a slab of beer?’ ‘Well not exactly,’ Billy said. ‘When she answered the door, I said to her, “You must be Shane’s widow”.’ She said, ‘No, I’m not a widow.’ And I said, ‘I’ll bet you a slab of Crown Lagers that you are.
    Last edited by Charles49; 2 January 2021, 10:07 PM.

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  • PDC
    replied
    Another good joke! Glad to hear things are getting back to normal in Oz. No such luck in the UK but they have announced some crowds can return to sports events in some parts of the country depending on what Tier of restrictions they are in. But it will be few and far between for the time being but at least it is a start! It is great to hear the crowds roar at the Oz race meetings though I think it was Doomben the other week the commentator was bemoaning the fact some had had a few to many Tooheys New and you could barely hear him!

    The covid issues seem to have changed a lot of markets so I think you are right about your results. Hopefully next year with things getting back to normal, your results will as well!

    Good luck this weekend!
    Last edited by Charles49; 3 December 2020, 06:05 AM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    The news from Oz is that all of our borders are, or are about to be open. That's good news not only for those who have been subjected to lockdown laws, but also for the economy as it means normal domestic flights will return and pubs and clubs, cafes and shops in general will be almost back to normal, except for some social distancing restrictions. Wife is having a milestone birthday in two weeks time and has had to restrict the guest list to 50 as there are still limits on home parties, weddings and funerals, which frankly is a blessing as many of her friends don't mind a wine or three, so the reduced numbers will lessen the toilet queues, and the afterparty cleanup will be quicker with a fewer number of broken glasses.
    My punting efforts this week have been very poor with just 13 bets so far resulting in 2 winners, 3 seconds, 2 thirds and 6 unplaced. I do follow a little system that I have had for some time which has in the past produced annual win averages of between 42 to 45%. This year its well down as the stats show from my last 1066 bets only 349 have won, 323 have placed and paid a place divvy, and the other 394 have returned zilch. In terms of percentages that's a 32.7% win ratio, 30.3% place with divvy, and 37% unplaced. The win divvy's total $1032.45, so even with a very poor year I haven't done any damage to the Bank betting with a 1 win and 2 the place ratio. When you add in the place results the Bank remains intact despite the very ordinary results. I blame the covid disruption for the poor results in comparision to previous years, but that may or may not be the real reason.
    I'm confident that the world will soon rid itself of the Covid-19 invasion once the vaccines are distributed; so confident in fact that yesterday I paid a deposit for the wife and I to go to the next Rugby World Cup in France. That's despite Australia currently playing so ordinary that they can't even beat Argentina. Then again New Zealand were beaten by Argentina recently for the first time in their rugby history so the world really has gone crazy.
    Enough of the preamble, lets get on to the business of racing where this week some normality returns to racing venues. Last week not a single favourite saluted at Ballarat, which is typical of the poor result history that happens when our Administrators send racing off to the bush.
    This Saturday racing commences at Moonee Valley at 12.55pm AEST which is 2.55am in London.
    The last race will be at Ascot at 9.10pm AEST which I think is 11.10am in London.
    Here are the early fields and selections for Saturday which of course will be manipulated once the scratchings and late mail are to hand.
    I hope you are all keeping safe and saying a few Hail Mary's that those life changing vaccines are distributed asap.
    Hope your day is a good one.

    MOONEE VALLEY:
    R1 no 5 Seb Song Won $3.50
    R2 no 3 Brazen Boy
    R3 no 1 Ocean's Thirteen Won $4
    R5 no 4 Deep Speed 2nd
    R6 no 3 Mariamia...currently $18...worth a tote ticket each way.
    R7 no 8 One More Try Won $5
    R9 no 2 Bandersnatch Won $7.50

    ROSEHILL:
    R1 no 6 Sliders 2nd
    R2 no 7 Relucent 4th
    R3 no 2 Art Cadeau 2nd
    R5 no 7 Plaquette
    R9 no 12 On the White Turf...hail mary bet on the last here at $17 or better


    DOOMBEN:
    R1 no 3 Ligulate Won $2.70
    R3 no 9 Gin 'n' Bitters Won $2.10
    R5 no 15 Miss Penfold..rough chance at 25/1 or better
    R6 no 7 Grand Zou
    R7 no 11 Baller... 3rd...danger is no 8 Boomtown Lass 2nd
    R9 no 2 Jadentom 3rd

    ASCOT:
    R3 no 5 Island Missile
    R5 no 6 Resortman Won $2.70
    R7 no 7 Megadon. 3rd..worth an eachway ticket at $7 or better. Throw No 1 Manhattan Money ($8) into the quinella.
    R9 no 1 Trekking

    LAY BETS:
    SR6 no 10 Bonvicini Started 2nd Fav. Ran unplaced. Lay bet Won
    SR8 no 4 Snitz Started $3.50 Fav. Ran unplaced. Lay Bet Won


    Cheers 'n' Beers


    JOKE:
    1st TEXT MESSAGE: Hi George, this is Richard your next door neighbour. I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve been completely riddled with guilt for a number of months and have been trying to get up the courage to tell you this face-to-face. At least I’m telling you in this text. I can’t live with myself a minute longer without your knowing about this. The truth is that when you’re not around I’ve been sharing your wife, day and night. In fact, probably much more than you. I haven’t been getting it at home recently and I know that’s no excuse, however the temptation was just too great and I can’t live with the guilt anymore. I am very, very sorry. I hope you’ll accept my sincere apology and forgive me. Please suggest a fee for usage and I’ll pay you straight away………Regards……Richard
    George, feeling enraged and betrayed grabbed his gun, went next door and shot Richard dead. He returned home and shot his wife dead, then poured himself a stiff drink and sat down on the sofa. George then looked at his phone and discovered a 2nd text message from Richard.
    2nd TEXT MESSAGE: Hi George, Richard here again. Sorry about the typo on my last text. I assume you figured it out and noticed that the darned spell-check had changed “wi-fi” to “wife.” Technology, huh it does it all the time? It’ll be the death of us all.
    Last edited by Charles49; 28 November 2020, 09:28 AM.

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  • Bog
    replied
    Originally posted by Charles49 View Post

    JOKE:
    Four great friends from Frankston, on the edge of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Geoff, Joey, Longy and Robbie spent weeks planning the perfect boys trip away, camping, drinking, golf and all the fun stuff that goes with it. Two days before the group is to leave, Robbie’s wife puts her foot down and tells him he is not going. Robbie’s friends were very upset that he can’t go, but what could they do? Two days later, the three get to the camping site, only to find Robbie sitting there with a beer in his hand, tent set up, firewood gathered, and supper cooking on the fire. “Damn man, how long you been here and how did you talk your wife into letting you go?” Well, I’ve been here since last night. Yesterday evening I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, ‘Guess who’? I pulled her hands off and saw that she was wearing a brand new hot nightie. She took my hand and took me to our bedroom. The room had two dozen candles and rose petals all over. She had on the bed, handcuffs and ropes! She told me to cuff her and tie her to the bed which I did. And then she said, ‘Now you can do whatever you want.’ So here I am…!”
    Good one Charles : ))) Cheers!

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Another weekend of racing beckons and this week its troppo time here in Oz as we send our city racing out into the sticks and leave the spotlight to just Ascot, far out in Western Australia, and the only State that still has serious rules in place regarding movement of their population under Covid. One week we have the Derby and Melbourne Cup and this week we go bush. Bit like moving from the penthouse to the outhouse.!!
    The top race on the Ascot program is the $1m Railway Stakes run over a mile. As is the norm for this race its attracted a capacity field and should be a great race to watch with plenty of chances capable of figuring in the finish.
    Still its nice to see the bush patronised with Saturday racing but if history is any guide do be prepared for some rough results.!!
    And talking of results the Mighty Maroons from Queensland started rank outsiders in the final game of the State of Origin Rugby League best of three series and despite the long odds they won and won well. Unfortunately, I didn't back them straight out, opting rather for the safer option of 7.5 points start at $2.04.
    Been a quite week on the punt this week, racing wise, with just 12 bets so far resulting in 4 winners, 4 seconds and one third and 3 unplaced.
    Racing this Saturday will commence at Ballarat at 12.10 AEST which converts to 1.10am in London.
    The final race will be at Ascot at 8.20pm which is around 9.20am in London (I think!)
    The early selections will bob up on here shortly and these will be altered/upgraded/deleted/amended etc etc when the final fields and late mail are to hand.

    BALLARAT:
    R1 no 2 The Gauch 2nd
    R3 no 1 Shelby Cobra
    R4 no 6 Butter Blonde
    R7 no 3 Right You Are
    R9 no 3 The Astrologist 2nd


    KEMBLA GRANGE:
    R4 no 7 Destination
    R5 no 2 Big Parade
    R6 no 9 Macroura 3rd
    R7 no 4 Rock


    SUNSHINE COAST:
    R3 no 5 Palladas 3rd
    R5 no 3 Scathing
    R6 no 4 Goldsborough 3rd
    R7 no 7 Sugar Boom Won $2.40
    R8 no 8 Ballistic Boy Won $3

    ASCOT:
    R1 no 3 Long Beach
    R3 no 6 Come Right Back 4th
    R5 no 12 Western Empire Scr
    R7 no 1 Flower of War 4th
    R9 no 11 Inspirational Girl... Won $3.50...thought No 1 Kementari had a chance at 12/1 or better

    LAY BETS:
    MR3 no 5 Super Yulong Ran 3rd. Lay Bet Won
    MR4 no 4 Ranveer Scr
    MR5 no 6 Hi Stranger Started Fav. Ran 2nd. Lay Bet Won

    Cheers 'n Beers

    JOKE:
    Four great friends from Frankston, on the edge of the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Geoff, Joey, Longy and Robbie spent weeks planning the perfect boys trip away, camping, drinking, golf and all the fun stuff that goes with it. Two days before the group is to leave, Robbie’s wife puts her foot down and tells him he is not going. Robbie’s friends were very upset that he can’t go, but what could they do? Two days later, the three get to the camping site, only to find Robbie sitting there with a beer in his hand, tent set up, firewood gathered, and supper cooking on the fire. “Damn man, how long you been here and how did you talk your wife into letting you go?” Well, I’ve been here since last night. Yesterday evening I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, ‘Guess who’? I pulled her hands off and saw that she was wearing a brand new hot nightie. She took my hand and took me to our bedroom. The room had two dozen candles and rose petals all over. She had on the bed, handcuffs and ropes! She told me to cuff her and tie her to the bed which I did. And then she said, ‘Now you can do whatever you want.’ So here I am…!”
    Last edited by Charles49; 21 November 2020, 09:49 AM.

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  • Charles49
    replied
    Thanks PDC for your update on the situation in the UK. I must admit that Covid is fast moving off the front pages here as we get back to normality. Still there are odd things happening. For example there will be a capacity crowd at the State of Origin football match here on Wednesday at Suncorp stadium yet in Melbourne there are no crowds at the races. A few minutes ago I did receive a note from a Melbourne friend who told me that Sandown race officials will today permit owners to attend the meeting there. Just owners. Well I guess that's a small start there but it does show the contradictions that we have regarding rules on a State by State basis.
    We are not really concerned here that the young will receive the first batch of Covid vaccines as these are likely to be the Pfizer vaccines, which are really unsuited to Australia as a whole. That's because they need a temp of around minus 70deg to survive and that's going to make it very hard to distribute widely as Australia is a big continent and there's not that many places that could successfully handle the storage and distribution of this vaccine.
    We know from our local sources that the vaccine created by the University of Queensland is a good one. It doesn't need extreme refrigeration requirements, and it will be distributed out to the general public via local medical practitioners and pharmacies, exactly the same method as the annual flu jab is done. That will be quick, painless and free which is exactly what our elderly like. We also know that trial results show that that this vaccine is particularly effective in the elderly category. Yes it may be unavailable for the next six months but its the preferred option for our elderly.
    I wouldn't rule out Oxford University producing an effective vaccine shortly either as they have been front runners in the race to find effective preventive solutions.
    It's awful news that the UK is enduring some 600 deaths per day from Covid.
    The release of a vaccine therefore is desperately needed to counter these losses so I hope and pray that this occurs very very shortly so life can return to some semblance of normaility for you all.
    Best wishes and do stay safe.

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  • PDC
    replied
    Good to read the updates, it is interesting to hear how Oz are planning to roll out the vaccine. It is the opposite to the UK where they are basing it on those who are most at risk of the illness and the impact it is likely to have. So it is first going to those 80+ and in care homes and the staff, then it basically drops in bands of 10 years, so next is 70-80 plus NHS frontline staff, then 60-70 and so on but with the limited supply and the need for 2 doses per patient it is unlikely that anyone bar the older in society will get it in the first wave.

    Until then we have the winter to get through and just yesterday we passed the 50,000 death mark (to have died and tested +'ve in the last 28 days) which got some coverage but we also had almost 600 deaths in a day which as a country we seem to have grown used to amazingly. The daily death figures seem to be just be something mentioned in passing now. Then today we had our highest ever number of positive cases recorded at 33,470. When you consider the death figure will be the last to go down it is a bit scary that we are still seeing increases in the daily cases as that means there are a lot of deaths already baked into the future figures.

    Though we are in a second 'lockdown' it really feels nothing like the first time around. People seem to largely be going about life/work in the 'new normal' way, the roads are very busy, the shops that are open seem to be busy as normal, people stop in the street for a chat.

    We seem as a country to have just kind of got bored of it. At least that is the impression I get. I could be wrong about how it is elsewhere but it really doesn't feel anything like March's lockdown.

    The hospitals however are getting very busy and pushed to having to stop non urgent surgery in a lot of places and the number of people waiting over a year for treatment in England hospitals has hit a 12 year high.

    And it still isn't even mid-November!

    Really liked the joke on a happier note!

    Good luck with the punting.

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