Though last week I trumpeted the virtues of knowing when to draw the line on a day's punting, that notion is a far more difficult beast when applied to a horse's overall campaign. How often do you stick with some underperforming nag for multiple runs, certain that that infinitesimal advantage in its form that originally caught your eye will eventually bear fruit, only for it to salute the minute you finally transfer said animal from black-book to sack-book (with a vicious flourish of the pen, of
Though last week I trumpeted the virtues of knowing when to draw the line on a day's punting, that notion is a far more difficult beast when applied to a horse's overall campaign. How often do you stick with some underperforming nag for multiple runs, certain that that infinitesimal advantage in its form that originally caught your eye will eventually bear fruit, only for it to salute the minute you finally transfer said animal from black-book to sack-book (with a vicious flourish of the pen, of course)? You'd swear some of these horses were on News Limited's payroll, such is the regularity with which they seem to know the exact moment I've verbally dismissed them. It may explain the strange clicking sound on my phone, too (though I can understand why there might be multiple explanations for surreptitious interest in my day-to-day affairs).
Yesterday's horrific events in the last at Ballarat have brought about an official change in my philosophy. From now on, when I have officially sacked a horse, and outright refuse to wager another South Sudanese pound (a quick shout-out to the newest member state of the United Nations!) in support of its sorry self, I must give it one last chance. A stay of execution, if you like, postponing the twitch of the death nerve for one final all-or-nothing race... A couple of weeks ago, I was very bullish about the chances of Streaming Jet at Sandown, having been impressed by his strong heavy-track win at Warrnambool. I backed him accordingly, and he ran awful. Never sighted, beaten 10 lengths. I debated having something on him yesterday, but eventually talked myself out of it, unable to eradicate his floundering last-start performance from my tortured mind. But when Craig Robertson whipped Streaming Jet around the field yesterday approaching the turn, that nagging little voice in my head started telling me that he was travelling pretty well.... "He'll drop out of it soon", I confidently retorted, hoping to permanently dispel the little voice's uninvited presence. Well that was my second error in judgement, because he didn't drop out. Instead, he dropped on the leaders and won at $38.00.
So give those cheaters one last chance... What's the worst that can happen?