Cheers Bob really enjoyed again but always feel like having a punt when i listen to Harry
Ps the first time i met sue i took her to Powderhall and she says can we go to the movies one night ?
No problem i took her to watch "a horse called Nijinsky"
Dave Scott wrote: Cheers Bob really enjoyed again but always feel like having a punt when i listen to Harry
Ps the first time i met sue i took her to Powderhall and she says can we go to the movies one night ?
No problem i took her to watch "a horse called Nijinsky"
Watching this brought back some really vivid memories of 2007; is it really already 11 years ago?
I found it particularly interesting to learn of Harry's 'all in' exposure to the All Blacks in that years' World Cup. Ironically I was diametrically opposed to his position. For what it's worth here is my story :
My pick for the 2007 World Cup was France. I had witnessed them beating South Africa in South Africa shortly before the tournament began and felt they represented reasonable value at about 8/1. They also had the added advantage of being the 'home side' and host nations had a decent win record up to that point.
It didn't start well. Argentina beat France in the opening fixture and I was immediately on the back foot as NZ progressed relentlessly towards a quarter final showdown with my pick. Trust me - I was in big trouble with a huge unwanted exposure to the hosts.
What I did next can be interpreted in one of two ways - I was either just stupid or, alternatively, a genius. I continued backing France at odds that had ballooned to 20/1+. My 'stockholding' was gigantic. If memory serves me correctly it was well over R2 million but my average was improving with every strike. My strategy was simple - I was hoping that France looked threatening (or led ) 'in running' and I could offload as much of my position as possible and cut out.
Oh......and one other thing. It was mostly all on Betfair in pounds sterling. (Those were the days when it was still 'sort of' OK to bet on Betfair ).
The famous day finally dawned. NZ vs France at the Millenium stadium in Wales. The venue made it even worse for me as I was clutching at every available straw and 'home ground advantage' was yet another positive I had forfeited by losing to Argentina in the opening round.
My bookmaker (who had laid me some of the hefty early ante-post bets ) phoned to ask me slyly - 'Is the gun loaded?' ( a private joke we always exchanged when the likely result was looking tragic). I had to admit I was tempted as my damage was going to be in the area of R250,000.
The result is now history. France hit the front and held on for an agonising 11 final minutes to win. My intended 'professionalism' flew out of the window and I laid off not a single cent in running.
France shortened from 40/1 to 15/10 at the final whistle. It took me 5 minutes to lay off R150,000 of France (in pounds) in the betting mayhem that followed for a huge profit. Strangely I only kept R50,000/0 on my side as I had by then accepted that France were unlikely to win the tournament based on exposed form. I watched South Africa lift the cup a few weeks later with no regrets. Unlike Harry I had ducked a cannonball.
As they say - for every loser there is a winner. I was grateful to be on the right side of this approaching train.
Last edit: 6 years 10 months ago by Garrick.
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