Ol' Fashion Horse Sense Gives Punters A Triumph
The Age
Tuesday July 15, 2008
Betting plunge goes by the book with a little help from smoke and mirrors.
OVER the years we've all heard of some of the most successful betting plunges or stings that have been executed on racetracks across Australia. Subterfuge, secret early-morning gallops are all part of the build-up to the dream of that successful betting coup. While few are successful and many ended in tears, in the early 1980s one of the most well-thought-out schemes left punters Australia-wide aghast at its simplicity and it's financial reward. In 1981, a group of professional punters from South Australia purchased a gelding subsequently named Final Triumph and sent the horse to one of Australia's most skilful horsemen, Ted Cameron, to be trained. While Final Triumph showed ability, injury issues meant that his racetrack debut was delayed on at least four occasions. Cameron told the group that after much trial and error Final Triumph was not only ready to race but ready to win anywhere they wanted to race him. This was a dilemma for the owners, who wanted to squeeze the biggest dollar at the best price from the horse with suspect legs. They knew that Final Triumph was experienced after four barrier trials and was so close to peak fitness that to give the horse "a quiet run" would result in all of them spending 12 months watching races over the fence. But the group were astute and keen to put in place one of the most novel set-ups anyone had seen in years. So Final Triumph was dispatched to Mildura, at that time a lowly outpost that only horses at the end of their career would compete at. They sent two instructions - that the horse only win by a length and not a cent be wagered on Final Triumph. After blowing from 4-7 favourite out to 7-1, Final Triumph, ridden by Alf Matthews, duly saluted by a length. Luck was on the owners' side as professional punters of that day used videos from every country track except for Mildura. Four weeks later and Final Triumph was on a float from Adelaide to Melbourne to start in a 1400-metre highweight at Caulfield, a huge jump in class. Price assessors felt that on the strength of a one-length win at Mildura coupled with the fact he was friendless in the ring indicated he was out of his depth. The group was comforted by the fact that newspapers around Australia gave the horse little or no hope. And their hearts warmed to one-line comments in form guides that read, "Looks out of his depth here", or "Just won a maiden at Mildura. Much harder here."The smokescreen was working. The group then set about locking up daily doubles and other forms of betting from Tasmania to the Gold Coast. With punters positioned all over Australia, Final Triumph was backed from 33-1 into 9-2 second favourite and went on to score easily, landing one of the biggest plunges of that decade. But more importantly, the Final Triumph success proved that a plunge of that size can be achieved by going by the book. No deception, no trickery, just making a lot of money by doing the right thing.
© 2008 The Age
