Category Archives: Shumpty’s Punt

Black Caviar: thank’s for the memories

April 17, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks, Shumpty's Punt Tags: Leave a comment

Black Caviar, probably the greatest thoroughbred of my generation, has been retired by its owners today. Whilst this is a sad day for many sports fans, to me this is an opportunity to celebrate the career of this colossus of the track and to reflect on what many of us have been privileged to see either on track or on the television.

Some statistics: Black Caviar was unbeaten in 25 races including 15 group one races. The horse won just short of $8 Million in prize money having raced exclusively in Australia and England. She is considered to be the best sprinter in the world, having been named WTRR World Champion Sprinter in 2010 and having been rated one of the top thoroughbred racehorses in the world by Timeform.

However statistics only tell part of the story: like no other horse in my lifetime Black Caviar drew hordes of racing novices including children of all ages to the race tracks of Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland so much so I am certain that the racing clubs of each of the states threw mountains of cash and benefits to the owners and trainer to get the horse to their race track. Water Cooler talk on the Monday following a Black Caviar race was all about this brilliant race horse. Sales of salmon coloured fabric have sky rocketed by those trying to match her silks.

I have been a racing fan since I was about 10 years old when my grandfather Colin introduced me to this noble sport and it a great regret to me that he is no longer with us and was not around to watch this wonderful horse. I have confess I have seen horses win one race as well as Black Caviar but I have never seen a horse as consistently just decimate fields they way this horse did.

Much like P Moody did in the press conference today, I now await the publication of the DVD of all of Black Caviar’s wins so I can just watch them over and over again because I am fairly certain we will wait a long time to see a horse as good as her. The best way to celebrate this wonder of the turf is to remember her achievements and protect her legacy. I am certain fans from the racing world and those novices introduced to the track by her will do just that.

Thanks for the memories Black Caviar: it has been an absolute honour!

Shumpty’s Punt: the Weekend Multi

April 12, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks, Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Another weekend and another loss of a multi in the first leg has not lowered by enthusiasm for this weekend’s multi which is as follows:

Leg 1: Los Angeles Angels to defeat the Houston Astros covering the line (-1.5 runs) in the MLB on Saturday morning ($2.10).

Leg 2: Auckland Blues to defeat the Hurricanes covering the line (-2.5 points) in the Super 15 on Saturday evening ($1.92).

Leg 3: Canberra Raiders to defeat the NZ Warriors covering the line (-6.0 points) in the NRL on Saturday evening ($1.92).

Leg 4: Cheetahs to cover the line against the Bulls (+5.5 points) in the Super 15 on Sunday morning ($1.92).

This multi will pay just under $15. In the interests of full disclosure I have invested $25.

Good luck, good punting and as always gamble responsibly.

Shumpty’s Punt: the weekend sports multi

April 5, 2013 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

It is has been a little while since I posted a weekend multi.  The fact is I was getting a little sick of being out of running on the multi bet after its first leg so banished myself to the wood shed for a couple of weeks to have long think about my betting strategy.  Getting the Mark Webber bet up two weekends ago made me start thinking about a multi again and a busy week of work got in the way of posting a multi last weekend.

If you are still reading after that self indulgent preamble, here is my sports multi for this week:

Leg 1: Melbourne Victory to defeat the Perth Glory in round one of the finals of the A League at home ($1.73)

Leg 2: Cronulla Sharks to cover the line (-5.5 points) against the Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium in the NRL ($1.92)

Leg 3: Hurricanes to cover the line (-6.5 points) against the Waratahs at Westpac Stadium in the Super 15 ($1.92)

Leg 4: Pune Warriors to defeat the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL ($1.70)

Leg 5: Stormers to defeat the Cheetahs at Free State Stadium in the Super 15 ($1.45)

All up this multi should pay over the $15 mark for every dollar invested (odds taken from sportsbet.com.au) and in the interests of full disclosure I have confess I have wagered $50 this week on this bet.

As always, please gamble within your means and responsibly.

Shumpty’s Punt: It is all about Super 15 this weekend

March 8, 2013 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , Leave a comment

It is a pretty punt this weekend: I am avoiding all other sports, including horse racing, and focusing on Super 15. This is no small part as a result of a follower of my Super 15 preview (pinkrugby.com is the address by the way) who posed to me: “do you ever put your money where your mouth is?” This week, the answer to that question is yes and here is my suggested Super 15 multi for those of you keen to have an investment.

Leg 1: Crusaders to cover the line (-3.5 points) against the Hurricanes in Wellington ($1.92)

Leg 2: Reds to cover the line (-7.0 points) against the Rebels in Melbourne ($1.92)

Leg 3: Highlanders to cover the line (-13.5 points) against the Cheetahs in Invercargill ($1.92)

Leg 4: Brumbies to cover the line (-5.5 points) against the Waratahs in Canberra ($1.92)

Leg 5: Chiefs to defeat the Stormers straight out ($2.00)

Leg 6: Sharks to cover the line (-17.5 points) against the Kings in Port Elizabeth ($1.92)

Leg 7: Blues to cover the line (-8.5 points) against the Bulls in Auckland ($1.92)

That multi will return $100.19 for every dollar that punters invest and is based on the predictions I have made in my preview published this morning. I have not taken the $1.92 about the Chiefs at the line because I think they will easily cover the line in this game.

Good luck and good punting all: as always please punt responsibly.

Shumpty’s Punt: 1/3/13 #shumptyspunt

March 1, 2013 By in Shumpty Speaks, Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Sports Multi

Leg 1: Queensland Reds to cover the line (-5.5 points) against the Hurricanes in the Super 15 at Lang Park tonight at $1.92

Leg 2: Chiefs to cover the line (-16.5 points) against the Cheetahs in the Super 15 at Hamilton at $1.92

Leg 3: In the A League, the total goals scored in the Mariners v Wanderers game to be over 2.5 goals at $2.00

Leg 4: Manchester United to defeat Norwich in the EPL at $1.30

Leg 5: Wales to cover the line (-5.0 points) against Scotland in the Six Nations at Muirfield at $1.90

All up that multi will pay $18.21 on Sportsbet.com.au.

Horse Racing

No bets this weekend.

Shumpty’s Punt: the recap and a key learning

February 18, 2013 By in Shumpty's Punt Tags: Leave a comment

One of the most important things to recap on when you are punting is to consider your results and whether your strategy is working.

I haven’t had a win on a sports bet multi in 6 months. It is as simple as that. Worse still: most weeks I have gone out in the first or second legs of the multi. The fact is though I love sport and the mechanics of picking a winner is mental arithmetic that I enjoy. On reflection though, where my multi bets have generally fallen over has been in tipping a margin so I am going to jettison margin betting as part of sports multis moving forward. It will lead to skinny dividends but it is what it is.

On the horses I have been going alright save for this weekend just gone when my only return was from a late scratching.

Punting is a swings and roundabouts game but this recent run of form has reinforced for me that it is also a game where you have to bet only what you can afford to bet. My punting on the weekend cost me a grand total of $100 of which I lost $85. That $100 was in my budget for punting and was affordable.

Please though if you are reading this and punting more than you know you can afford you have to stop and talk to someone. Hell email me if you want to have a chat because I see everyday in my real life job the effects that a gambling habit can have on the finances and life.

With that I am off the pulpit and have one eye back on the form guide in preparation for next week.