Adding to the excitement of the Woodbine Oaks and the Derby Trial yesterday at Woodbine, a 20-cent ticket bet by an HPIbet player took down the entire $150,140 pool in the early pick-5 in races 2 to 6. The lucky player spent $216 for a 20-cent wheel that looked like this (winning horse in brackets):

2,(4),6
(1),2,5
5,(7),9,10
1,2,3,(7),8,10
4,6,(7),9,12

The winning horses in the sequence paid $48.90, $54.10, $23.30, $18.60 and $9.90 (a favourite).

How tough was it? Could any Bigg rules have been applied to try to win the thing? Let’s see how possible or impossible the sequence was:

Race 2: Uh-oh. This was the dreaded non-winners of two races lifetime (nw2L) condition which regular readers know I consider the most chaotic condition in racing. Anything can happen and, true to form, the longest shot in the 12-horse field, #4 Luckman, won. But the pick-5 winner apparently decided that the just-claimed horse was a contender because the trainer was a perfect two-for-two off a claim. Sharp reasoning!

Race 3: This was the Hendrie Stakes for fillies and mares and the second-longest shot in the seven-horse field, #1 Hazelbrook, won. The horse seemed hopelessly outclassed by a bunch of experienced stakes horses but that was the very reason to add this horse. In Hazelbrook’s only race this year, a victory in an optional claimer, the trainer, Lorne Richards, with a good record this year of 7-1-3-0, saw something in the 4-year-old filly that made him think she had the talent to beat stakes horses. The handicapping angle here is “trainer intent.”

Race 4: A 10-1 gelding, #7 Too Much Talk, won this maiden turf race. What did he have going for him? He had the highest Turf Tomlinson of 358 (see below). Ta-dah! It was only the sophomore’s second start and his first start on the main track was excellent (after being brushed at the gate and racing last, he weaved his way through traffic to finish second) but it was his Tomlinson figure in the Daily Racing Form—his breeding credentials—that was the clincher. The pick-5 winner went four horses deep in this leg.

 

 

Race 5: An 8-1 horse, #7 Day Tripper, won this optional claiming turf route race. He had just won his maiden race by almost three lengths, gate to wire, showing how game he was. A couple of good handicappers I know love to play Big Win horses right back. The pick-5 winner went very deep in this leg, taking five horses.

Race 6: Someone’s heart was probably beating very fast as the 2-year-old winner of this race, #7 One for Chap, went to the lead and held off #8 Awesome Bourbon by a length because the pick-5 winner did not have #8. A good reason to have added #7 to the ticket was that he was one of two Mark Casse horses in the race and his first lifetime start was a good one: going off at odds of 9-2, he broke inwardly, stayed inside, then pulled seven wide for a belated closing bid.

So that’s what it took to win a cool 150 grand. A heady afternoon of creative and perhaps intuitive handicapping. Did you play it and, if you did, how close did you come? It proved to be a fascinating puzzle we players love to sink our teeth into. Next time, will I be writing about your rich takedown?

See races 2 to 6 from yesterday’s Woodbine card here.