Kid Chocolate
Posts
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I hit one of my best wagers ever a few days back at Eagle Farm, early quaddie on Bet365.
Played a short ticket, a 20-cent quaddie selecting the logical and throwing in (as-is my habit) a darkhorse Kiwi in every leg.
One of those logicals — a local-bred, Jumbo Goal — takes out the first leg at 5/2.
Nothing to get too terribly excited about. But I have no idea the ride I’m about to be taken on…
2nd leg KIANDRA GOLD (NZ) wins at 15-1. Sweet.
3rd leg THATFRIDAYFEELING (NZ) shocks at 25-1. I’m levitating.
4th & final leg LETHAL WARNING (NZ) knocks me delirious at 20-1.
Total wager — $19.20
Payout: $3,482.90Love. Those. Kiwi. Darkhorses!!!!
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Collection (complete) of 50 cigarette cards, “New Zealand Footballers” from 1928. I went through several collections to cobble most of this set together many years ago. They can usually be found in varying condition from $50 to $300 complete, a nice investment for the sons or nephews. What I really like is these small cards are “Real Photographs,” not half-tone dot prints. The small photos are presumably smaller than the actual negatives they were photographed onto. Put a magnifying glass up to them and they spring to life, they look spectacularly clear and sharp. I suspect on a good scanner they could be enlarged into nice high res 8x10s.
One question I’ve always wanted to know is where these cards were distributed. The tobacco company is British. Were these cards intended for British or Kiwi markets?
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Waller and J-Mac win The Everest with NATURE STRIP. Just held on. Worthy victor, has been the best Aus sprinter overall the last three years. Does Steve Hansen still own a share? If so he’d be receiving a nice chunk of change today.
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53rd anniversary on this one. I bought it about 25 years ago for $18. I don’t have a lot of old programmes in the collection, but I’ll grab anything from the Meads-Lochore era if affordable. That French team was back-to-back Five Nations (and Grand Slam) champions. The good guys prevailed 12-9.
Nice strong clean graphics on this one. Love the old adverts. Not sure what values are on old programmes but I suspect the value of all AB programmes will remain steady for the forseeable future. -
Racenet runner-by-runner guide Doomben Cup
https://www.racenet.com.au/news/racenets-runnerbyrunner-guide-for-the-doomben-cup-20220518
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Not sure if this is the right thread. Good story though!
https://cyclingtips.com/2022/04/exposed-by-a-strava-kom-the-many-lives-of-a-fake-pro-cyclist/
Australian cyclist Nick Clark built a loyal following at his Virginia bike shop, based in part on his national and international results and a lengthy professional career. There was just one problem: none of it was true.
This is the strange tale of the unravelling of a years-long deception – the ‘Catch Me If You Can’-like story of a man with a claimed past as a pro cyclist, a soldier, a CEO, a lawyer, an author, an academic, a hostage responder, and a weapons instructor.
These are the many lives of Nick Clark.
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Early quaddie at Scone, just completed.
My favourite angle.
R1) Mexican Standoff 7-1
R2) Poseidon Ruler 1/2
R3) FIERY BELLE (NZ) 14-1
R4) Hurn Court 3-120-cent bet returns $1342.90. Thank you. Hard to believe you can score a dividend like that including two legs 1/2 and a 3/1, but that’s the value of a Kiwi Darkhorse. (Note: there were no kiwibreds in any of the other three legs.)
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The SARATOGA race meet in upperstate New York starts today. Opening Day! It is America’s oldest & most prestigious race meet. The track is often called “The Graveyard Of Champions,” as Man O War suffered his only defeat here, and Secretariat lost a couple times. Which gives me upside and hope!
Paying extra-special attention here to RACE 3 — a $103K mile on the turf for horses that have never won more than a maiden. Goes in 3-1/2 hours…
There is a 6yo gelding by Denman (Aus) (Lonhro (Aus)) — very rare to see Aussie bloodlines running through Saratoga runners, and the last one I remember two years ago (by Lonhro) won and cashed big. So, if that’s an angle with the smallest possible sample size, I’ll grab onto it.
The six-year-old I’m staring at has only had six starts — his only win was his 2nd start, over 28 months ago (yikes!) — and his most recent start at Gulfstream in January he was beaten 13 lengths.
He’s a lousy selection. But this plodder is named LOMU and has drawn gate and saddlecloth No. 11 in his Saratoga debut.
No. 11. Lomu is listed morning-line at 50-1. Daily Racing Form Formulator predicts a Beyer (speed rating) of 90 is required to win this race. and Lomu has never come close. Still,
I can’t help myself. $10 E/W.
This is a huge step in class. Trainer is a nobody against some of America’s best (Brown, Mott, Clemente), but is also co-owner. They’ve likely been targetting this race for a year — possibly the race of their lifetime. A pipe-dream fantasy?? He’ll be worth every penny of that fifty dollars.
But-but-but (grasping at straws here…), note his strong turf workouts at Saratoga, including his last run bullet.
UPDATE: Went off at 90-1. He was giving a thrill holding 2nd at the 3/4 pole, then died in the straight and walked home in last place. Was fun for a minute and a half.
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Olympics are almost at hand… surely the most subdued start to a Games since I’ve been alive.
Here’s a nice catch I won on eBay about 16-17 years ago. Starting bid was $4. I covered it with a $50 bid, then was surprised and delighted when nobody else bid, so I won it for $4. Woo-hoo!
Golden Hour, Sept. 3rd 1960. I love how the two events were the last two events of the evening — the Main Events — and spill over a page-spread here, Snell on the left, Halberg on the right. I love how Snell (#83) won his Gold, then early-morning Kiwis would have basked in his glory for all of 23 minutes until Halberg (#84) started running. I usually like these books minty, but I love how the attendee meticulously recorded all the finishes and times. Wilma Rudolph won the 100m semi and final in OR and WR times about an hour earlier on the same card.
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Another play I regularly make is a win bet on any kiwibred trained by nz-great John Sargent. He has a small stable at Randwick but a pretty good strike rate 14% and I bet a lot higher with his kiwibreds. Yesterday put $10 to win on Pink Ivory (NZ) at Gosford maiden, a second start, MLO was 40-1, I got him on the tote at 23-1 and paid $245. I had him in the 2nd leg of the quaddie too, and while I claimed two other legs, i missed the winner of the 3rd leg the feature race another 23-1 shot. 20-cent quaddie paid $4.4K. Sure would have liked to get a piece of that one.
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Melbourne Cup in 24 hours.
I’ve done pretty well the past couple Cups, hitting nice exactas and tri’s, but I reckon this year there’s fuckall value so only going to play the race as the first leg in the late quaddie.
Selections.
2 INCENTIVISE going at shortest odds since Phar Lap. Don’t know if he can go the distance, but form and race record says everything. The hype says he can’t lose.
3 SPANISH MISSION (USA) has been dueling with Strativarius in marathons. After what happened in the Cox you’d be a fool to pass on anything top-drawer coming from UK. Serious threat.
Those are clear standouts.
After that I have to throw in…3 VERRY ELLEGEENT (NZ) my sentimental fave, but it’s a long race, she’s a small horse, and she’s carrying a lot of weight. Doubt she can do it, but it’s Jmac-Waller, I can’t leave off my ticket.
12 PERSAN loves the course, peaking at the right time, and a 5yo gelding which is an angle I always use when I’m lazy.
Gotta throw in one more roughie, and a Kiwi at that, so looking to
21 TRALEE ROSE (NZ) for some value.
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Up until Friday nobody knew VE was even going to start in the Cup. McDonald has just lost his ride, and I don’t recall Waller ever mentioning at any time this year that she was targeting the Melbourne Cup. Really seemed like an afterthought. Small horse, big weight, and she exploded on them. She could have gone another 400m and drawn more daylight.
Three days ago!!!
I’m looking forward to comments, but if I had to guess, if JMac doesn’t get scratched off that import Away He Goes early in the week, and J-Mac doesn’t ride that morning workout, then I’m guessing Waller doesn’t even enter VE in the race. James must’ve sold him.
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My fave jockey, fave trainer, fave horse. Just won the Melbourne Cup. I can’t believe it. Pinch me. And I just hit the tri, the superfecta, and I’m alive deep in the quaddie. Pinch me!
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OMG!!! Amazing. J-Mac (NZ) Chris Waller (NZ) VERRY ELLEEGANT (NZ)
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I’m getting a last minute feeling last years’ winner and topweight Irish import 1 TWILIGHT PAYMENT might repeat. I’m adding to all my tickets as an insurance policy!!
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Almost made it to the Arc a dozen years ago, but trip was cancelled. Never been to Longchamp. This year is the race’s 100th edition, and if VE makes the gate, win-or-lose I can’t find a better excuse to fly over to Paris for the weekend.
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$700K Meadowlands Pace for 3yos goes in a quarter hour (Race 9). I see Race 13 later on same card is a $12,500 N/W L3 with nine horses starting and four of them are Kiwibreds. Wow. Not sure how exotic I’m going here… (Auckland Reactor sired a pair of them.)
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Should not come as a surprise but still nice to see Sydney Morning Herald (behind a paywall) year-end honours and their horsie columnists are unanimous, their horse of the year VE, jock of the year J-Mac, trainer of the year CW, and Moment of the Year the 2021 Melbourne Cup. That is a kiwi clean sweep and sweet-as.
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Kiwi horse
Kiwi trainer
Kiwi jockeyAustralia’s Horse Of The Year.
(Gotta be Trainer of the Year, and Jock of the Year as well, surely!)
You luv to see it!
Veerrrrrry Elllllegeeeeent
The recent troll account
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