The Top 5 betting moments of my life
Author: RickUmbrage Total views: 5 Word Count: 907
I've been looking over my betting years, looking at those bets that could have come in, didn't come in, and those that really did come in. You certainly do remember those that come in - those that make a huge difference to the size of your wallet. Here are my favourite ever betting moments, in reverse order:
5. Wild Thing at Auteuil. Oh, if only. I have to start with a "what if", don't I? Wild Thing was a German horse that seemed to have been tacked on to this straggler of a race at Auteuil. It was the last of the day on a Sunday, with the darkness drawing in and the floodlights flickering on, and about 20 horses were in the field. I had put 100 francs on this German horse for the hell of it - and thought nothing of it. Now, when I first looked, the odds were about 15.00 on the screens - but they suddenly started to tumble. In France, you don't get to buy the odds - you get them from the moment the horses start the race. They tumbled to about 2.00. Something was going on. Wild Thing streaked ahead by a length at the first jump, and by two lengths at the second. As they continued around the course, he was making it look like Usain Bolt taking on a group of schoolchildren. And taking it seriously. This horse was amazing - and I've never seen it since. I won next to nothing, but stood there thinking "how did the bookies get it so wrong in the first place?" What a horse.
4. Rail Link at Longchamp: Oh, but only if I had put the money on. The heart had ruled the head, and my favourite horse of all time, Hurricane Run, was going in the Arc. I had to bet on Hurricane, after all the winnings it had made me. But I ignored even my own advice. While everyone else was betting on a Japanese horse that was made a ridiculous 1/10 with the French bookmakers, the PMU, I was undecided on whether to follow my heart or my head. In the end, the heart overruled, but the head knew I was wrong. Still, everyone else followed my advice correctly without the heart to overrule them, and Rail Link came in at 25/1. I couldn't bet again for a year, I was dumbstruck. I couldn't speak after the race. Hurricane Run came in a dismal fourth, having never really got going.
3. Smarty at the Grand National. There are moments like this that you remember all your life. Stuck in a Paris pub on a wet Saturday afternoon cheering on a horse that may - or may not - be yours. The rain had fallen so hard on Aintree that every horse and every jockey was so caked with mud that nobody knew what the hellfire was going on. And it made for a great race. Halfway through the race, someone realised that one of the two horses still in the race was mine - Smarty - at 12/1. The two bravely jumped every hurdle and battled their way through the quagmire. Smarty came second, but I have never, ever, been so proud of a losing horse than that April afternoon when Smarty came so close - and when I actually believed he was winning for about 200 metres.
2. Everton to win the Cup in 1995: As a bluenose, I can be forgiven for believing that Everton will win the FA Cup every single year, but 1995 seemed like a very special year. The previous year we had just about cheated our way out of relegation despite having the useless Mike Walker in charge. He soon departed, after losing the first 14 games of the 94-95 season, and in came God - Joe Royle. Our form from the minute he arrived was Championship form - and it was so easy: get Hinchcliffe to take loads of corners. That's how it worked. I knew from the minute Jackson hit the winner at Bristol City in the 3rd round that Joe Royle would win us the Cup. Before then - and ever since - I have never felt that confident. And there it was in May - Paul Rideout of all people, heading in the only goal to beat United, and Neville Southall in one of his last games for the club, keeping out the whole Utd team single-handedly. Brilliant.
1. Hurricane Run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe: I will keep saying it - I bet on this race every year because I know that 9 times out of 10, I can find a winner. Hurricane Run was the three-year-old of the year, but the English punters on the course were all backing the Derby winner (as they always do). I had put my money on ante-post betting, a hundred here, a hundred there - so confident was I that Hurricane would win the Arc. And then came the start - it was already murky overhead in Paris but then the deluge began - thunder, lightning, and the skies turned black - was this an omen? A hurricane? I've never been at a more exciting race meeting than this - and Hurricane Run didn't let me down, winning by some distance. One of the best three-year-olds I've ever seen. And definitely the most I've ever won on a single race. Wonderful.
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The author writes for the Free Bet Bookmaker, where you can get a free bet from many UK and european bookies.
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