“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is’ ‘What are you doing for others?”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melbourne Cup 2014: Tip Sheet
It is the race that stops a nation and around the country today there will be many who stop the humdrum of their daily work to watch a thoroughbred race over 3200 metres from the famous Flemington track. This is a truly great day in sport, not just Australian sport, and, frankly, if you are not a fan of this day of sport I simply say don’t read any further!
Melbourne Cup Day is a historically tough day on the punt and that being the case my investments will necessarily be smaller than on the other big days of racing during the year.
Here are my tips for Melbourne Cup Day 2014:
Melbourne Cup, Race 7
Best Bet:
Signoff (Number 24): Have been following this horse for a while and loved his run in the Lexus to get into the Cup. Carrying the lightest weight in the race and carrying one of the best jockeys in the world I love this horse’s chances in the great race.
Best Value:
Red Cadeaux (Number 4): It is pretty simple, this horse seems to grow a leg in the friendly confines of Flemington and has come second in the last two runnings of this race. Paying $20ish in fixed price markets this horse is the best each way bet of the day.
Mega First Four:
It wouldn’t be the Melbourne Cup without having a wager in the first four. With 24 horses in the race the first four is oft a lottery and that means both that it pays to include a lot of horses whilst there is a prospect of jagging a big dividend. I have picked 10 horses that I will be boxing in the first four as follows:
Admire Rakti (Number 1)
Fawkner (Number 3)
Red Cadeaux (Number 4)
Protectionist (Number 5)
Mutual Regard (Number 11)
Willing Foe (Number 13)
Au Revoir (Number 18)
Opinion (Number 20)
Lucia Valentina (Number 22)
Signoff (Number 24)
You will need to put some money into this to get a return but if this first does get up I am more than a bit certain that it will get put you back in spades.
Exotic Special
I have been thinking a lot about how this race might pan out. There is a very good chance that the favourite, Admire Rakti, will be in the top two so I am going to box him with my best bet, Signoff, and my value bet, Red Cadeaux in an exacta.
Boxed Exacta: Admire Rakti (1), Red Cadeaux (4), Signoff (24)
The Rest of the Card
There are, of course 9 other races on the card for Melbourne Cup day. As I noted in the preamble I will not be investing too greatly in the day and particularly not in these races. Nonetheless, here are my tips for the remainder of the day’s racing:
Race 1: No selection
Race 2: Number 6 Dig a Pony
Race 3: Number 5 Grand Marshall
Race 4: Number 5 Spy Decoder
Race 5: Number 1 Law
Race 6: Number 2 Wine Tales
Race 8: Number 9 Pheidon
Race 9: Number 11 Target in Sight
Race 10: No selection
I hope you have a great day on the punt, wherever it is you are punting and enjoy your day!
As always:
- Please gamble responsibly.
- Whilst all care is taken with these tips no responsibility vests for losses incurred.
Happy Movember: Please grow your moustache for the right reason!
Today spells the start of November and for many men the start of their quest to grow a moustache. For those of you who have missed it, Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer and other male cancers, and associated charities.
This is a great cause and it is great to see all of the moustaches around during this month.
One thing that has bothered me over the last couple of years is an increasing occurrence though of men growing moustaches in this month for reasons other than charity. Whether it is because they feel it is more acceptable in this month or because they are wannabe hipsters, of late when I have asked fellows seemingly participating in the events of Movember I have oft been surprised to learn that they are not signed up as part of the charity efforts of the month.
Some may consider me to be irrational in this view but seeing this happen irritates me. The idealogy of Movember is to raise awareness of and funds for men health issues and to me growing a moustache but not participating in the actual charity element of Movember makes a mockery of it.
So gents I simply say please grow your mo’s for the right reasons: get involved in the charity and raise some money! If you are doing it for other reasons this month take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and then shave that top lip!
PS: For the record I am not participating in Movember but will be donating as heavily as I can. If you are not participating as well I implore you to donate.
Derby Day: Best Bets
It is the start of the festival of racing at Flemington today and, as always, the festival kicks off with the best day of racing of the year: Derby Day. Here are my best bets across the card at Flemington:
Race 1 Number 15 Azkadellia
Race 2 Number 3 Abduction
Race 3 Number 4 Huckelbuck
Race 4 Number 3 Scissor Kick
Race 5 Number 9 Signoff
Race 6 Number 15 Rising Romance
Race 7 Number 2 Moonovermanhattan (The Derby)
Race 8 Number 1 Sweet Idea
Race 9 Number 6 Deep Field
Whatever it is you are doing and wherever you are watching this great day of racing I hope you have an enjoyable day! Good luck and good punting!!!
An Open Letter to Cricket Australia
Dear Cricket Australia,
I am a long time fan of the game, some 30 years have passed since I first strapped on a pad, but a first time correspondent. I write to implore you to bring an end to the charade that is domestic cricket in this country.
Until recent times, the domestic competitions in Australia, consisting of the Sheffield Shield and 50 over competition, were the benchmark world wide whilst also providing the benchmark for selection in the Australian team. Simply, albeit with some exceptions obvious to those sitting in Queensland, if you performed in the domestic competitions you had a chance to be selected. Of late, as confirmed by the events of today, it has become clear that the status of the domestic competitions as the last bastion before selection to the Australian team is no longer.
It has never been more clear that this is the case after the selection of the Australia One Day International team to face South Africa announced today. The squad announced is:
Michael Clarke (capt.), George Bailey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Aaron Finch Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Shane Watson
The selection of Matthew Wade is, without question, a travesty and completely out of touch with the form shown by wicketkeepers in the just completed Matador BBQs Cup. Consider these numbers arising from this just completed competition:
| Player | Games | Innings | Runs | Average | S/R |
| Matthew Wade | 6 | 6 | 101 | 16.83 | 63.52 |
| Chris Hartley | 8 | 8 | 403 | 57.57 | 83.09 |
| Peter Neville | 8 | 8 | 267 | 33.37 | 69.89 |
| Tim Paine | 6 | 6 | 249 | 49.8 | 91.88 |
I am an unashamed Queensland fan and thus will not always advocate for the selection of Chris Hartley. This time his form in the domestic competition not just warrants it, it demands it. However, even forgetting the form of Hartley the selection of Wade ahead of Neville or Paine is equally as unexplainable on form.
If players can not get selected in the Australian team even when they are in exemplary form or, as a minimum, better form than the person selected then it stands to reason that form in the domestic competitions counts for nothing.
That being the case I ask that you put these domestic competitions out of their metaphorical misery, save some money and end them. They serve no practical purpose anymore and that would open up the schedule to allow you to put more T20 domestic games on which you so sorely and clearly crave.
Best Regards,
A long-suffering fan
Quote of the Day
“Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A ‘you can do it’ when things are tough.” Richard M. DeVos
Shumpty Speaks 