Bettors Pocket

An interesting observation in Harness Xpress in which the writer stated that Thomas McBride should have been disqualified for not starting from the Unruly as required.

Reads like he thought the stipes picked on the easier target.

Not a bad couple of good super consistent horses in ATC 2014, The Faithful and Bettors Pocket. From Perth I thought that Bettors Pocket had run second ... certainly should have. Roll on the New Zealand Cup. Sky Major was terrible tonight after a perfect 1 / 1 trail. Go Major Star tomorrow at Kilmore.

Yes Conwell I have to agree with you. I have often been one of the first to defend Tony Cameron as a driver but I have watched tonight's race a few times and have just rolled my eyes each time. David Butcher on New Years Jay should not have and would not have had access to the passing lane, but for Tony Cameron's indecision which opened it up for him. I see in the stipes report that Tony Cameron was fined $300 for his actions.

Posie has certainly progressed as a racehorse when you see the quality of horse that finished behind him tonight - Shandale, Aliante, Beyond the Silence, Jo's Dream and the preferred stablemate Hank Bromac (preferred in that Tony Herlihy initially chose to drive this horse over Posie, that is before he withdrew from all of tonight's drives).

I am going to try very hard not to use any curse words in this post.......but what was that Tony Cameron?!

If he'd stayed on the markers at the top of the straight he would have run 2nd and gone very close to winning it. Instead we get anther indecisive drive that costs us $3K (the difference between 2nd and 4th) as well as costing me my place bet on him at $3.10.

I'm all for giving junior drivers an opportunity but he has now officially had too many chances for my liking.

What a good race on Friday for Bettors Pocket. Great draw but a lot of action is certain in this race so too far back on the pegs may not be ideal. Would be ok if Tony Herlihy drives because he is the master of the push out in the back straight however he may not choose our horse once more. Interesting that he was nominated for this higher class race ($20,000) than the Grass Cup ($7500) for which he was also eligible. Hopefully this reflects the trainers opinion of our horse. Usually The Faithful runs against these types of horses so a good performance will put him right up there.

We need Major Star back to help boost the numbers...

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but Bettors Pocket was originally nominated for the $15k Thames Pacing Cup at Alex Park tomorrow night which was a standing start over 2700m.

As there were only 3 nominations for this race it did not go ahead.  

Next Friday (24th) at Alex Park is the $20k Winter Cup which is also a handicap over 2700m. I assume that he will also be nominated for this race, so let's hope they can get enough nominations for this race to go ahead.

I thought that Tony pushed Posie along early to obtain a better position but Thomas McBride was too quick and he then eased back, hoping that one of the others might come around so he could get the one-one , but no such luck.

There is always one horse which ends up in the "chair" and he was the unlucky one in this instance.

Still it does keep him tuned up for another day in the hope that he obtains a more competitive draw.

P.S. Posie was originally nominated for a standing start 2700 metres but the race drew only 4 entries so didn't get off the ground. He therefore ended up in this preferential draw 2200 mobile by default which was not obviously the preferred race.

Tony Cameron is certainly a better than average junior driver but on Friday night I think he had a drive that could best be classified as a learning experience. Tto have such a clearly undecided start planned for Posie resulting in him ending up parked for the race was effectively game over. I hope that Tony Herlihy had a word with Tony Cameron some time after the race giving him some guidance on what he should have done better. I do rate Tony Cameron as a driver but as a junior he does get things wrong sometimes.

I was pleased to see a scratching in last nights race as I figured that would put us 3 back in the running line at the business end after dropping to the back of the field at the start. Unfortunately what happened was 2 of the horses inside us also thought that dropping to the back of the field was the best tactic and Tony Cameron ended up not going forward and not really going back either, stuck in no mans land. If he had decided to drive him positively out of the gate there was a decent chance that he could have gotten down to the markers either in front of or behind his red hot stablemate and in a much better position as the field was reasonably strung out over the first half lap.

As I pointed out in an early post, all of Posie's wins have come from either in front or in the trail. He simply isn't the type of horse that can sit parked for over a lap at Alex Park and win.

Why would you choose to sit Bettors Pocket in the death seat for the entire trip in a six horse field unless you had classes on the opposition which was not the case tonight? The leader weakened so there was a opportunity to arrive down the outside before the horse behind the leader (winner) got clear, but not if you have already run your race. Hopefully The Faithful will be driven better than he was in the Jewels last year when he was three wide, no cover, the trip, up at the front of the field. He can't create the pressure up front but he can take advantage of it. Hopefully it is a very, very fast race.

I'm not completely sure what to expect from Posie from the outside of the front line this Friday as all of his previous 5 wins have come from either in front or in the trail.
He hasn't shown a lot of gate speed in the past so I can't see him crossing to the front early, so he'll need to make a midrace move to get handy to be a winning chance.

Quite a nice race on Friday with Bettors Pocket the widest of the seven starters. Hank Bromac (also trained by Tony Herlihy) is reserve for The Faithful's Harness Jewels race on Saturday so I wonder which horse he will drive on Friday. Is there a large group going to Cambridge for the big day? Have a look at the past winners of the 4yo Emerald ... some of the very best in history have won it. The Faithful may be a touch embarrassed it that company if he wins but I guess he can't read. I hope that you all enjoy the day and a winning two day double would be great.

Thanks for the update David Young. Nice pun at the end.

Hi Des. Yes I was on course Friday, went to the stables before the race and whispered in his ear like a few others . He looked every bit the part and oh so relaxed, just waiting for the chance. the race itself so exciting and the best spectacle you could wish for, and yes syndicate members were jumping, lets hope it continues . did not get down to the stables after the race so don't have Tony Hs comments but going onlooks before the race and the race itself bettor things should come.

Thanks barryf. It is interesting to look back at the comments made by various members under the previous Bettors Pocket headings on this blog which were commenced over a year ago. Bettors Pocket has certainly grown in stature, winning the performance bonus last Friday for wins at Alexandra Park. Who would have thought early on that he would be capable of winning three races in Auckland, including the Franklin Country Cup, with more to come hopefully. I agree that the training team deserve great credit.

Des, it's a great tribute to Tony Herlihy and his team to have developed Posie to the (touch wood) fool proof pacer he is today. Having seen him at his first private appearance on AGH's track as a yearling,  there looked to be some potential there but a number of quirky habits to sort out.

His physical development has impressed many of us this season and I recall right hand man Tremain Thorby being very bullish of his prospects this season at the meet the members night last year.

Was lucky enough to get him at 12's with the bookies although only $2.70 on the place machine.

Others will be able to quote the comments from Tony post race no doubt as I didn't make on course.

Time to start a new category in recognition of Bettor Pocket's excellent performance last night. He did everything perfectly from start to finish. A great drive and not even driven out at the end ... it looked to be a comfortable win. What did Tony Herlihy say after the race ? There are still a few weeks to earn $10,000 to get into Harness Jewels calculation. What are the plans for the horse as he is improving all the time? On television he appears to be a great looking horse. Did everyone on course enjoy the experience and did anyone take the 11/1 price on offer?