Posts Tagged melbourne

It’s 4:50am and -10c outside

But my day has been well and truly warmed up by witnessing Black Caviar complete a bloodless victory in the big race of the day at Caulfield, Melbourne. An effortless victory brought win number 18 out of 18 races. The crowds were packed deep to witness this equine miracle.

In total £2.9m of £2.91m was matched on this remarkable horse and it went off at an SP of just 1.08! I had to transfer funds equivalent to a small house just to participate on this race. Amazing stuff.

, ,

No Comments

Aussie open – open!

Just about to head off to bed, but in half an hour the Australian open tennis will kick into gear. It’s a great opportunity to get stuck into the Tennis, even if you are not into Tennis, as a lot of matches will appear in the UK early in the morning when not much else is going on.

I have set up Bet Angel to do some simple automation in the early rounds of the tournament as I know where the most volatile matches are likely to be. Bet Angel will be out on watch for me tonight to trade these matches if they reach a critical point. I’ll wake up tomorrow morning to see how it’s got on.

I’m looking forward to the first grand slam of 2012, let’s hope it’s a vintage year.

Rafa added some venom to the build-up

, , , ,

No Comments

R&R

The Melbourne cup went pretty well and I’m looking forward to finishing off the whole carnival in style if I can. I’ve put a few other things on the back burner this week to focus on the meeting. I’m feeling too old to burn the candle at both ends and get away with it! It was interesting to note that matched bet turnover on the Melbourne cup was lower this year than last. It reached about £3.6m vs. £4.4m last year, therefore my turnover was lower as a result. I had expected turnover to be up.

I’m skipping the Champions league tonight so I can get some rest and relaxation, though I am intrigued by the Villareal vs Man City match this evening. I think most of the other matches can be read reasonably well, but in this one I’m looking for clues City can translate their UK success into a credible European campaign. They certainly have the players to do it, but don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders at the moment in europe. This match will be an interesting test.

Later this morning UK time I’ll be returning to Flemington for more Melbourne action. Today isn’t the best day of racing so it’s a bit ‘hardcore’ to suffer the effort required to do today. So if you didn’t get on with the big race, I wouldn’t recommend getting up early to do today. It’s usually been pretty weak in the past. However, I’m pretty confident I can earn more on this than the football, so that’s what I will be focusing on today.

, , , , , , , ,

No Comments

My Melbourne

Me and the Melbourne cup go back a few years now. Many moons ago I got interested in the ‘race that stops a nation’ and learned that it really did stop the nation, they have a national holiday today.

So, intrigued, I got up at 4am one dark winter Tuesday to see what all the fuss was about. Nothing really happened apart from a lack of sleep and I returned to bed disappointed. Back then I had converted have the garage in my old house into an office that I could work from. So I slept on the floor that night so I wouldn’t disturb the rest of the family. The following year I tried again and did a bit better, but not much. My wife thought I was mad getting up at 4am to watch a bit of racing.

From year three however things started to move in the right direction and I built year on year on my knowledge and understanding. So this year I am looking forward to giving it another go. I have taken up the kind offer of a Bet Angel user to shift time zones to give myself the chance to participate in a more reasonable frame of mind and in more comfortable surroundings than a garage floor.

Good luck if you are giving a go tonight.

, , , , , ,

No Comments

Overreaction to Aussie supremacy?

Having taken a look at the stats in preparation for the fourth Ashes Test down under, one of the things that has really stood out is that there has not been a draw at the MCG since 1997. In that period there have been 10 Australian victories and England were beaten by an innings and 99 runs the last time the sides clashed.

There’s no denying that the Baggy Greens have an excellent record at the MCG, but traders should remember that the Aussies are a shadow of the team they were last time England visited the imposing venue.

Other than the batting collapse in Perth, England have been the dominant side in the series and their price – they were available at 3.25 on Betdaq at time of writing - looks longer than it should be for this pivotal contest. Unlike the pitch in Perth, the MCG track will help negate the pace attack from the Aussies while also allowing spinner Graeme Swann to have a say in the result, something he was largely denied last time.

Overall England look the better value to win the Boxing Day clash and that of course would mean a British return for the urn. I would certainly expect England’s price come in a fair bit towards the middle of the contest.

, , , , , , ,

No Comments

Early bird

With the Melbourne cup just around the corner and a breakfast meeting in London this morning, I thought I would take the opportunity to get up a bit earlier and trade the 1000 Guineas at Caulfield racecourse, Melbourne, Australia. I posted the result on the forum. The more I dabble in Australian sports the more I get the urge to visit this antipodean land.

It was good practice for some of the bigger races coming around the corner. I did well and within an hour was showered and on the train in the rush hour to London. Just goes to show that opportunities occur all about you if you are willing to look and work at it. I am tired this afternoon though, so I wouldn’t recommend this all the time; however I did run a spreadsheet all night on the racing so there is a start for something new.

, , , , ,

No Comments