No. 1972
MONDAY 9th - THURSDAY 12th SEPTEMBER 2013
ISSN 1023 / 6996
5
Suited. St John Gray's smart Australian bred 4yo Adams Rock could follow up on his last win when he goes to post at the Vaal on Tuesday
ARLINGTON
12:30pm (Monday) p.3
VAAL
12:30pm (Tuesday) p.13
CLAIRWOOD
12:10pm (Wednesday) p.22
KENILWORTH
1:00pm (Wednesday) p.33
VAAL SAND
1:10pm (Thursday) p.42
MR 94 DIVIDED HANDICAP at Vaal on Tuesday
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The major talking point on the horizon this week will be the abolition of couplings in the Pick 6 bet. Punters are naturally competitive by nature, and the lure of the challenge of pitting one’s wits against the odds of winning big money, will hopefully have the effect of revitalising the anchor exotic and boosting pools accordingly. he platform for the bet relaunch is a healthy one, and a jam packed week lies ahead, with bumper fields the order of the day.
Vaal outside meeting is our point of focus, there will be plenty to test new interest in the Pick 6, and monitoring the pools and dividends could be an eyeopener. TAB have made a policy decision to abolish the Quality Street coupling safety net in the Pick While a good quality 1400m 6 and this will take effect from MR 94 Handicap at Tuesday’s Monday’s Arlington meeting.
This is a move that is no doubt intended to give the jaded product a much needed shot in the arm. It has been some twenty years since the Natal Tote reduced the Pick Six betting unit from 50 cents to 10 cents, because of a similar step taken earlier in the Cape, and which resulted
in pool-increases of up to 50%. The second 10-cent Pick Six meeting benefitted coincidentally from a double carryover, which resulted in the pool soaring to a whopping R3.4 million at the time!
Buying Power
A simple consideration of present day buying power will show that we definitely have not gone forward in the last decade or two. There is just so much more distractive competition in this disposable world. Consider Cellphones, Casinos, the Lottery and international sports betting opportunities,
(GB)
to name but a few. Then throw in the industry created competition of the introduction of fractional betting some years ago, combined with the economic reality of a shift in power to a handful of yards training the bulk of horses in centres like Kimberley and Port Elizabeth, with meetings consequently dominated by large coupling. These have had the effect of simplifying (really?) and reducing the magnetic attraction of the big payouts of bygone days. But let’s hope that the move away from couplings will work.
Australian Bred
The twelve strong field in the MR 94 Handicap lies slap bang in the middle of the Vaal Tuesday exotic and punters may be able to get away with two or three horses and rather opt to keep their bullets for other legs, where they may be needed. Cont. p.2