The 2022 Perth bookie car park scrum meant an unfeasibly early time to rock up, some 2 hours before pitch in and 3 1/2 hours before the first race. Me, Kev and the bloke rolling in the Old Mout cider cans were the only souls to be seen and it turns out I could've had another hour in bed.
My mate was camping in the site right next door so I took the opportunity to catch up with him in the 4 days we had to fill before we could put up a price let alone strike a bet. He was hoping to sneak his horse mad little fella against the rail to see them thundering past- already working on next generation of punters. He did by the way- well done the staff of the racecourse who chose the non officious route.
After last week's stresses and strains of pitch selection this was an easy one- as near to the lawn as we could get- turned out to be 4 away- would've preferred 3 but it was good enough.
Perth bookmaking often lives and dies by the performance of the Gordon Elliott runners- next door are particularly pro Gordon. We tend to let them go where they go- he has a great record but they are often over-bet and, we think, can be shorter than perhaps they should be. Gordon would shape our day as he usually does at Perth but in the most unlikely fashion in the last.
1) Original top 2 in the market (both Elliott horses) were, naturally, losers along with the inevitable lay Willy Nilly which attracted fivers from stag and hen dos alike to much sniggering. Yakety Sax played in my mind's ear. Rocco Molly the other loser, presumably from friends and mums of various Mollys rather than an influx of Roccos from The Bronx, Perth not being a natural play park of New Yorkers. Smash up Simple Star (our tip when asked) was nicked off by The Wounded Knee. Both were relatively decent winners and we got off to a steady start.
2) Five runners. Only one seemed to had made its way into the consciousness of the ring though and the money flowed for Mortlach which was a max loser. A couple of late wedges on Gordon's Quantum Realm took away the profit there and made the comfortable winner, Statuario, a slightly better winner than we had any right to expect. We were jackpot free but, crucially, also bogey free. Like watching Faldo play golf in his pomp.
3) Couldn't lay Elliott's fav Reddy's Island and. boy, did we try. It ran as disappointingly as we felt with with a ton of our profit drifting away early in the running. Fortunately we did get a liability on the other Elliott horse, Copperwell along with Red Missile (local trainer Lucinda Russell's charge) and a max on Finisk River. With half a mile to go we couldn't see anything but loss so we were grateful to get away with a score draw when Idlico won, with the place market providing the away goals boost and a small profit was eked out.
It was busy and, whilst we were grateful to be ahead, we knew we needed a jackpot somewhere to get a wage and that had eluded us so far as you cannot avoid the max losses at Perth all day.
4) And so, like so many books before us, we were Gordoned. No problem getting a liability on Getaway Goldie- it won of course. We were losing on the 2nd horse (Easy Bucks) as well. Nae chance and we took a big backward step.
5) Looked a result didn't it? Half way down the betting. Drifty on the off. Won from a mile back. But it was Gordon's. I told Steve I hated standing his 7/1 shots more than his jollies. The 2nd horse, Wolf Prince, was a jackpot. Of course it was. The places were beyond rotten and we were battered.
6) Give us a break. Really; give us a break. Top 3 in the market only ones in it and we had 2 of them onside. When the bogey of the three, Lake Shore Drive, hit double figures in running late on it was just a case of which one was worth most. But it never is and we lost again.
We had a "wages" profit. Barely. And it was bloody hot. And we were bloody tired. And we were in danger of going home worse off than we started for a day's slog in the baking sunshine. We had jackpot chances all day but had a severe dose of jackpot abstinence.
7) 4 runner bumper, even with a forecast market, didn't look the obvious way to get a big finish in the Get Out Stakes. We laid Illusion of Time as it shortened and then laid it some more. Interest in Great Schema made it a taker and we had 2 jackpots (Elliott's Finnthemagician and Invictus World) v a big loser and a taker. Bizarre old race- Invictus World given a soft 15 length lead which extended to 20 with barely a couple of furlongs to go. The jockey was looking through his legs seemingly unable to believe his luck. But then Perth erected a brick wall which the previously free wheeling leader ran in to and Illusion Of Time hit 1/2 in running. Cue industrial strength whinging on the CairnBet pitch which paid dividends when Gordon finally did us a massive favour to win from the clouds with Finnthemagician. Invictus holding on for 2nd place from Illusion gave us the forecast jackpot as well. You wait 8 hours to hit a decent winner and you get two in the same race.
Chester next weekend for us. We owe Swanny a beer and he owes is a Mr Whippy. With an overpriced flake. Not sure who has the bigger incentive to turn up, Until then...
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