Macca

I did it again today D77 (not watched the race live) and whilst I only got money back I might have won a bit if the 2 outsiders had have squeezed into 2nd, 3rd or 4th (instead of 5th & 6th) I often just bet on the 1 or 2 races so it's easy to be otherwise occupied anyway ... so I'll be on 'delay' again tomorrow! Out for a bit regardless with so much going on at Christmas.

Big chance for the quinella with those 2 but I like chasing the big dividends Wadda! ... 'Suave Richard' is also quite well fancied and there's a few others that are worth looking at (for the Tri/F4) Might have a go at the aptly named 'Christmas Cup' at Japan tomorrow as well - Bowman is on a horse called 'Saffheiros' (which is at good odds) I'm assuming that Hugh also travels the world riding in all the big Group races yeah? Europe as well or just HK & Japan? I sometimes bet on the big races in Europe but haven't done so for a bit. There's a stack of keenly contested Group 1's that often gets my interest. The 3yo classics dominate the calendar over there in May, June & July.

Pounamu didn't have much to beat in the end but won the race with another strong finish ... it's set for the Perth Cup now (Jan 1) but will have to carry 59kgs over the 2400m. Pounamu, Material Man (2nd) & Trap For Fools (withdrawn today) will probably all be running around on Monday week. Anyway, didn't lose and didn't win so that's a win of some sorts! Nakayama (Japan) tomorrow awaits ... the 2 feature races will be much better betting races so here's hoping. Bowman is a big chance to salute the judge again on Cheval Grand.

I know the races from Japan are on Sky racing (cable) but not sure about racing.com Wadda. The Trifecta pools were very high for that Sha tin meeting a fortnight back so if that happens again, there can be some excellent dividends to be had. Both Bowman's mount (Cheval Grand) and the fans favourite (Kitasan Black) should feature but there's a number of good horses in the race. It's a good betting race if one can reduce the 16 horse field down to 6 or 7 realistic chances

Tips ... Detroit Steelers Jacksonville Here are the games again ...

Ted Van Heemst Stakes (Ascot) - G2 WFA 2100m I'd like to be able to find a horse at good odds that can win this race but the only non-fancied horse that I reckon might feature is Dark Musket. But I don't believe it can win up against Pounamu, Material Man or Trap For Fools. So I'll throw Dark Musket & the other 2 outsiders into the mix in a trifecta & F4 and hope for the best ... otherwise the more fancied runners will fight out the finish and the dividends won't amount to much. Stranger things have happened though so you never know. I might have a few trifectas at Japan on Sunday all the same ... there's at least 2 feature races on show including the big G1 race over 2500m - Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) Preview (Hugh Bowman rides Japan Cup winner Cheval Grand in the $6 million classic) Anyway, good punting to all!

Leaderboard in the comp 14 - Clintosaurus 11 - Go the Biff 10 - Dappa Dan 7 - Macca 4 - JV7, Gorgoroth Only 1 point on offer this week but week 17 has 3 points up for grabs ... Any of the top 3 can still win (outright or joint winner) but Clint does hold a strong advantage. Some excellent match-ups again this week ... Bills @ Pats, Falcons @ Saints, Rams @ Titans & Seahawks @ Dallas amongst them. 6 road teams stand out as potential winners ... The Rams, Pittsburgh & the Chargers are strongly favoured.

NFL Pro Bowl Selections 2018: Voting Results and Full List of Players Announced Here's all the Pro-Bowl selections (Asterisks denotes starters) NFC Quarterback: Carson Wentz*, Eagles; Russell Wilson, Seahawks; Drew Brees, Saints Running Back: Todd Gurley*, Rams; Alvin Kamara, Saints; Mark Ingram, Saints Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk*, 49ers Wide Receiver: Julio Jones*, Falcons; Adam Thielen*, Vikings; Michael Thomas, Saints; Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals Tight End: Zach Ertz*, Eagles; Jimmy Graham, Seahawks Offensive Tackle: Tyron Smith*, Cowboys; Trent Williams*, Redskins; Lane Johnson, Eagles Offensive Guard: Zack Martin*, Cowboys; Brandon Brooks*, Eagles; Brandon Scherff, Washington Center: Alex Mack*, Falcons; Travis Frederick, Cowboys Defensive End: Everson Griffen*, Vikings; Demarcus Lawrence*, Cowboys; Cameron Jordan, Saints Interior Linemen: Fletcher Cox*, Eagles; Aaron Donald*, Rams; Gerald McCoy, Buccaneers Outside Linebacker: Chandler Jones*, Cardinals; Ryan Kerrigan*, Redskins; Anthony Barr, Vikings Inside Linebacker: Luke Kuechly*, Panthers; Bobby Wagner, Seahawks Cornerback: Xavier Rhodes*, Vikings; Patrick Peterson*, Cardinals; Marshon Lattimore, Saints; Darius Slay, Lions Free safety: Earl Thomas*, Seahawks Strong Safety: Landon Collins*, Giants; Malcolm Jenkins, Eagles Punter: Johnny Hekker*, Rams Kicker: Greg Zuerlein*, Rams Return Specialist: Pharoh Cooper*, Rams Special Teamer: Budda Baker*, Cardinals AFC Quarterback: Tom Brady*, Patriots; Philip Rivers, Chargers; Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Running Back: Le'Veon Bell*, Steelers; Kareem Hunt, Chiefs; LeSean McCoy, Bills Fullback: James Develin*, Patriots Wide Receiver: Antonio Brown*, Steelers; DeAndre Hopkins*, Texans; A.J. Green, Bengals; Keenan Allen, Chargers Tight End: Travis Kelce*, Chiefs; Rob Gronkowski, Patriots Offensive Tackle: Alejandro Villanueva*, Steelers; Taylor Lewan*, Titans; Donald Penn, Raiders Offensive Guard: Kelechi Osemele*, Raiders; David DeCastro*, Steelers; Richie Incognito, Bills Center: Maurkice Pouncey*, Steelers; Rodney Hudson, Raiders Defensive End: Joey Bosa*, Chargers; Calais Campbell*, Jaguars; Khalil Mack, Raiders Interior Linemen: Geno Atkins*, Bengals; Jurrell Casey*, Titans; Malik Jackson, Jaguars Outside Linebacker: Von Miller*, Broncos; Jadeveon Clowney*, Texans; Terrell Suggs, Ravens Inside Linebacker: C.J. Mosley*, Ravens; Ryan Shazier, Steelers Cornerback: A.J. Bouye*, Jaguars; Jalen Ramsey*, Jaguars; Aqib Talib, Broncos; Casey Hayward, Chargers Free Safety: Eric Weddle*, Ravens Strong Safety: Reshad Jones*, Dolphins; Micah Hyde, Bills Punter: Brett Kern*, Titans Kicker: Chris Boswell, Steelers Return Specialist: Tyreek Hill*, Chiefs Special Teamer: Matthew Slater*, Patriots

Here's the final field for the CB Cox Stakes to be run on Saturday at Ascot ... it's a G2 WFA event over 2100m and the race is often used as a lead-in to the Perth Cup (G2 2400m - Jan 1) Here's a bit of a write-up ... 2018 Perth Cup Horses Head Ted Van Heemst Stakes Field (Formerly the CB Cox Stakes) It's only a small field but I don't mind races with just the 8 starters # Horse Barrier Weight (kg) Rating Jockey Trainer 1 POUNAMU 4 59 107 PATRICK CARBERY ALAN MATHEWS 2 MATERIAL MAN 5 59 102 LUCY WARWICK JUSTIN WARWICK 3 ZARANTZ 8 59 98 CHRIS PARNHAM ADAM DURRANT 4 DARK MUSKET 2 59 74 CLINT JOHNSTON-PORTER GRAEME BALLANTYNE 5 SUNSET SUPERMAN 1 59 62 DANIEL STAECK BRETT POPE 6 TRAP FOR FOOLS 6 58 94 ALAN KENNEDY LINDSEY SMITH 7 COSMIC STORM 3 57 93 JARRAD NOSKE GRANT & ALANA WILLIAMS 8 SHINTA MANI 7 57 85 JASON WHITING SHARON MILLER

You're right - the Vikes would have to lose their last 2 and that's unlikely ... they've got the Bears at home in week 17 preceded by a visit to Lambeau next week.

Looks like your new avatar is bringing you good fortune Gorgo ha ha You'd have to lose your last 2 and Seattle would need to win their last 2 in order for the Rams to not win the NFC West. I've worked the playoff machine a number of times and I've got the Rams winning the NFC West and getting the 3 or 4 seed each time. Meanwhile, the Eagles only need to win 1 of their last 2 games to secure the 1 seed. As it stands, the Vikes should get a bye in the playoffs as well with just 1 more win from their last 2 although the Panthers can get the 2 seed if they win out. The other real interest lies with the 2 wild-cards in the NFC & with the AFC. Any number of teams are in the mix and those spots almost certainly won't be decided until the last week of the season.

Barring a minor miracle the AFC will be decided through New England ... if NE had have lost today they would have fallen to the 3 seed. But opposition teams often make basic errors against them - time & time again. Today Pittsburgh didn't double-team Gronk enough which gave the Pats an easy TD and then the Steelers needlessly turned the ball over right at the death. And then there's 'that' catch which was overturned. As a result of all that the Pats are on track to win the AFC again (at least) Of late, only 2 AFC contenders (KC & the Ravens) have won in Foxborough. Over in the NFC the Rams have put their foot down ... so much so that they might have knocked Seattle out of the playoffs completely. The Seahawks, Cowboys & Detroit all need Atlanta to slip up now ... or one of the other 10 & 4 NFC South teams. The Eagles have secured a bye going into the playoffs and should be able to hold on to the 1 seed in the NFC. The Vikes are gearing up for the playoffs whilst the Saints & Panthers both should make it. I reckon any number of teams can win the NFC - it might come down to who gets hot at the right time.

Not sure anyone knows what a catch is Clint ... 'upstairs' adjudications can vary to say the least! Edit: Having now seen the catch/non catch I reckon they need to clean the ruling up. I believe the Steelers player caught the ball and was in control of the ball when it broke the plane ... so it's a TD. The ball can be dislodged in other ways when the ball has broken the plane but in those situations the TD is given. So make the ruling uniform.

Did the Steelers player have control of the ball then fumble it?

He might do ... its a 16 horse field under WFA conditions over 2500m. But there can only be 6 overseas horses in the race whilst the local horses (10 in all) are voted into the race by the public. Considering how great Bowman's form has been, you'd reckon he'd get a ride in the race ... I watched and had a couple of small outlays in the G1's from Hong Kong last week. Trifecta's only but the pools were quite hefty. Think I went 1st, 2nd & 4th on three occasions! (based on a 2, 5 & 5 combo)

Nice one Wadda ... I was out and about for a bit yesterday so didn't see many of the races. I even missed my Ascot race but found out that I'd won when I logged on to my account. I have a habit of winning when I don't watch a race 'live' so I may have to use that method as a default mode again! Us punters are a superstitious lot aren't we?

We don't allow 'preliminary' tips Clint ... no such thing.

The cricketing public is running out of whipping boys DA ... mind you, that Perth track is an absolute road.

I saw that Crystal Dreamer won again for you @Wadda We Sing ... any luck with your parlays? As for next week at Ascot (yep, their carnival is still going) the CB Cox Stakes (2100m) is being run ... it's a Group 2 WFA race worth $250,000 and the event is often used as a run-in to the Perth Cup (Jan 1) If I get a chance I'll post up the field with barriers later in the week. There's also a big Group 1 race on next Sunday from Japan (the 'Arima Kinen') ... a top field should be assembled as the race is worth approximately $6miilion. The free-to-air racing channel is probably covering the race.

Got a good percentage of the trifecta but just missed the first 4 ... it's always nice to turn a very small outlay into a decent 3 figures. Could have been a good 4 figures but thems the breaks. Didn't have Mr Utopia - ugh! These small fields can still yield good dividends ... the form from that Zuccheros race held up (2nd & 3rd in that race ran 2nd & 3rd in this race)

In order for the Tri or F4 to pay a half decent dividend in the race, a couple/few roughies need to feature in the finish - that's what I'm banking on. At this time of the year I usually just restrict myself to the one race to bet on - had a look at Villiers Stakes at Randwick but couldn't find a combo that satisfied. Anyway, good luck at Caulfield today Wadda and good luck with the Zephyr @Demon77

The AJ Scahill Stakes (race 7 Ascot, 8.10pm) is down to 8 runners with the scratching of Variation so I'll be looking for a greater percentage in the Tri & F4. Settled on 2 horses to win ... Silverstream and for a bit of value, Zuccheros. However, any of the other 6 horses can feature so it's then just a matter of which ones to leave out! Another value runner Django ran 2nd to Zuccheros over the 1400m last start and is lightly raced this campaign. Both value runners are up in the weights though.

Full Album ... George Benson - In Flight

Here's last year's final tally in the tipping comp ... Final Leaderboard (2016/17) 12 - Gorgoroth 8 - cowboy_from_hell 7 - Clintosaurus, DeeSpencer -------------------------------- 6 - JV7 4 - Macca Gorgoroth set the high score last season although it was the first year where we had the current amount of bonus weeks. Clintosaurus leads the current comp with 12 points (see above) so we'll probably see a new record score set. A total of 6 points are still up for grabs

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