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Aussie
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Centrebet Capers
GOLF As Peter Lonard stepped up to the sixteenth tee on Sunday he was staring history right in the eye. One shot behind the leaders with a real opportunity to at least enter a play-off situation. History has a funny way of dealing with these situations as Lonard capitulated with a double bogey, bogey finish, and it was left hander Richard Green who was able to create a little piece of his own history. While Green was perceived as a contender, he had few admirers at $34, so the result was a real turn around for Centrebet who has been experiencing a tough time with golf results in the latter part of the season. Best backed was Stuart Appleby at $8 and Allenby at $10, while Lonard had his admirers at $7, however it was the betting after each round which attracted plenty of attention. At the completion of round two it was leader Brad Hughes who attracted interest, carrying one $3,000 wager at $3, while at the completion of round three it was David McKenzie, leader by two over Hughes who carried two wagers of $2,000 at $3.25. At the same time Robert Allenby at $4 and Peter Lonard at $4.50 were well tried, while Brad Hughes again was the median of support carrying another $2,000 at $5.50. It was certainly a lively betting affair and when you consider veterans Peter Senior and Corey Pavin were not out of the mix and young guns Steven Bowditch and Brad Kennedy were close enough, it promised to be a climatic conclusion. ‘Climatic’ was exactly what golfing purists got with the lead changing on numerous occasions during the final day and culminating in a three man play-off. A sloppy bogey by Richard Green on the seventeenth hole meant that he surrendered a one shot lead, while a great birdie by McKenzie on the eighteenth, forced both into a play-off with clubhouse leader Greg Chalmers. It was Green however with a sublime iron into the first play-off hole who was able to capture his first gold jacket with a four foot birdie. The win was Green's first in seven years and enabled him to secure his first Australasian Order of Merit along with exemptions to the US Masters and British Open. Not a bad effort for a lefty. In other tours, young South African Charl Schwartzel claimed his maiden European Tour victory when he defeated Englishman Neil Cheetham at the first hole of sudden death play-off to win the Dunhill Championship at the Leopard Creek Golf Club. And all in front of his home crowd. Ernie Els was all the rage in the betting with one $40,000 wager at $2.50 along with a host of smaller bets all being left in the bag. Schwartzel was a great price at $41 however the field lacked depth so it was a real bonus when Els shot himself in the foot with a second round three over par 75. In the States, Tiger Woods captured his second Target World Challenge when he fended off a fast finishing Padraig Harrington to win by two shots after closing with a five under 66. Woods now has two wins and three runner-ups in the five times this event has been held. A pretty snappy record even for a 'Tiger'. Woods was installed favourite at $3.50 ahead of Vijay Singh at $4, and although there was good support for Tiger it was European stalwarts Harrington and Jimenez who were best supported, both backed to win over $100,000 at $10 and $15 respectively. It was a pleasant change to see a result go our way even if it was a favourite. CRICKET Punters have been lining up to take the $1.40 for Australia to win the first test against Pakistan, and when you look back over previous results, it is hard to put up an argument for anything but an Australian win. Four separate bets of $10,000 have already been taken on the Aussies at the $1.40, and while some 'hopefuls' have taken the $8 for an unlikely Pakistan win, the 'draw' option has been completely neglected at $4. It is extremely rare to see any draw at such a high price, but the wicket in Perth is renowned for it's pace, and only bad weather could force a stalemate. Australia have won six of their last nine games by an innings or more, and the only team to have ever beaten Australia in Perth was the West Indies, and that was way back in 1985. Pakistan have lost all four matches in Perth, and have only won four of 26 matches in Australia, and only one since 1981. Looking at those stats, it seems as though laying the Aussies at $1.40 is giving money away, but we live in hope! Looking through the statistics of some of our players is interesting as well. Hayden, Ponting and Gilchrist all average over 60 runs against Pakistan, and not surprisingly Ponting has been best backed at $4.75 to be the highest scoring Australian in the first innings. Gilchrist has had a few bets placed on him at the $9, but he will be well down the order, and there is still some doubt over Matt Haydens hamstring injury, so he has been hard to sell at $4.75. Even though the Shane Warne may not get much benefit from the pitch in Perth, the spin king is $3.75 to top the series 'most wickets' market. Warne also has some impressive statistics against Pakistan, claiming 76 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 18.61. Those numbers, and his capacity to handle a big workload, see him the favourite, but punters have shown a preference for Jason Gillespie ($4.25) and Shoab Akhtar at $6. YACHTING The biggest fleet ever will line up on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, and this years Sydney to Hobart yacht race looks to one of the most competitive that we have covered. In all, 119 yachts will set off on the journey to Hobart, and the Kiwi yacht Konica Minolta (formerly Zana) is our opening favourite at $2.35. Already we have taken nearly $2000 from New Zealand punters, but there is also genuine interest in the other two chances at the top of the betting. Scandia, last year’s winner, is a close second elect at $2.50, and will be the one to beat if the weather takes a turn for the worse. It is also interesting to note that Scandia has cut it's crew from 22 down to 14. Nicorette is a new boat, much lighter than the yacht of the same name that has competed in previous years. The Nicorette camp have been talking up their chances, and we have taken a handful of bets totaling nearly $2000 for it to win at $4. There has been a lot of speculation about AAPT ($12) and its winning chances with the controversial sail, and assuming they get the green light to race, we are expecting solid support for AAPT, but don’t really consider it a winning chance ourselves, it will be too hard for a 60 footer to beat all three main chances. There will also be some head to heads offered on the big race, these will open next Tuesday. ENTERTAINMENT Kylie Minogue has moved into outright $2.75 to win the Best Dance Recording trophy at the upcoming Grammy Awards. Kylie won a Grammy last year, and while the critics think that she is more focused on the UK and Australia than the USA, the fans are saying through their wallets that she can win again with 'Slow'. Britney Spears is a solid second choice at $2.85, and is attracting a lot of support for the song 'Toxic', but there is a feeling out there amongst the experts that Toxic shouldn't really be in the dance category. Basement Jaxx is next in line at $4.50 ahead of Scissor Sisters ($6) and the Chemical Brothers at $7. The Academy Awards are one of our biggest betting events on the entertainment circuit, and several of those categories will be opened later this week following the nominations for the Golden Globes, always a good barometer. GREYHOUNDS Centrebet will be offering two fixed odds greyhound races this week, the Ballarat Cup tonight (Wed) and the Brisbane Cup on Thursday night. There has been a huge increase in the level of activity from our overseas clients on the fixed odds events we supply each week in not only the greyhounds, but also the harness and thoroughbred racing. Many of those have had pretty good recent wins from Whiskey Assassin, and they have come back again for the champion sprinter in the Ballarat Cup, in which is he is a pronounced $1.50 favourite. In amongst the bets from seven different countries is a bet of 4000NOK ($800) from Norway, as well as a bet of €500 from Finland. Whisky Assassin is possibly the fastest dog in the world at the moment, and broke the track record in his heat, but although he is drawn well out in box six, he does have brilliant beginners drawn either side of him. Apart from the favourite, it is a very even field, but in our book, Whiskey Assassin is worth risking with so much speed in the race. The Brisbane Cup has drawn together a terrific field, with fastest qualifier Convincing Lee favourite at $3.25 after drawing the inside box. Convincing Lee was really impressive in his heat, and punters agree as he has met with good support (including one bet of $1200), but while his previous form was very good, it certainly wasn't good enough to warrant such a short price in the field he will meet this week. The other problem he will have is that the two locals, Fools State ($6) and Bogie Lee ($4.50) are both brilliant beginners and are drawn right beside him. Both looked ordinary in their heat wins, but are capable of running much quicker times. NSW sprinter Malfoy ($5) looked all at sea when having his first run on the track last week, and will be the big improver, as will Lukeamy ($7), who recently broke the long standing Hobart track record. The unusually named Weetbix has been backed to win nearly $6000 in early betting, but is going to need a lot of luck from the outside draw. HARNESS RACING The word 'champion' is one word that is often used quite loosely, but there is no other way to describe NZ trotter Lyall Creek, who is making his last trip to Australia. 'Creek the Freak' as he has become known will line up in the Trotters Grand Prix at Moonee Valley on Saturday night, will be trying to make it ten wins from ten starts at the Valley, and will have the added bonus of starting off the same mark as his opposition. Reigning Interdominion champ Sumthingaboutmaori returned from an unsuccessful NZ campaign with a luckless fourth in the Bill Collins Mile last week, and looks the only danger to Lyall Creek. We will also be covering the Victoria Cup, and the barrier draw has opened it right up. Hexus ($7) is drawn to lead, but goes better with a 'sit', which may well happen if Sokyola attacks for the lead. He was a good third in the Miracle Mile, and is drawn to feature prominently. Sokyola ($2.50) has been in sensational form this time in, and really is a 'pin-up' horse with our punters, but although he has good gate speed, may have to work hard from barrier six, so that makes him a risk in our opinion. Just an Excuse ($2.75) won both Grand Circuit legs in New Zealand this season, but is going to need a bit of luck from barrier ten. Until next week, good punting. For further information contact Gerard Daffy at Centrebet on 08 89555800 or centrebet@centrebet.com.
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