Ever since horseracing began in Australia, the two most important staying races on the calendar are the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and bookmakers have been holding all-in doubles betting on these two races for many years now.
In early July (the Melbourne Cup is run on the first Tuesday in November) there are around 600 entries for both cups and by all-in betting I mean that the enormous odds available about two horses winning these events are offered this early before the races are run because if either or both of your selections don’t get a start, through injury or lack of form, you do your money cold.
After seeing an advertisement in one of the sports papers on how to obtain these doubles charts from Syd Lyon, one of the biggest and most respected bookmakers in Melbourne, one of my punting mates, Andrew and myself, decided to write in and “have a go” at these doubles for an interest or just plainly for a laugh.
“Forget it,” one of the old gamblers working at our place told us, “I’ve been entering these doubles for about 15 years now and I haven’t even finished up with a runner in either of the cups. The chance of getting a starter is remote and the chance of winning both races are that slim you’d have more chance of winning first prize in tattslotto.”
Not to be discouraged however, we sent in for the chart and received one about a week later. We decided to take two doubles each at $2.00 a throw for about eight or ten weeks and if be some miracle we had a collect out of it we would go “halves” in whatever we won.
The first week we studied the form of some of the possibililties but it soon became apparent that picking the right combination was going to be an enormous task. I wonder how many possible combinations there are when there are 600 entries in both races.
Two of the horses under consideration were Mighty Kingdom and Hyperno. Mighty Kingdom, because he had won the group one Sires Produce Stakes the previous Autumn, and Hyperno was considered because he had won the Adelaide Cup, which is run over 3,200 metres, the previous year, the same distance as the Melbourne Cup.
The odds were huge: 12,000 to 1, mainly because not many three year olds run in the Caulfield Cup nowadays and Hyperno was under an injury cloud and hadn’t raced for about a year. As time drew closer to cup time Andrew and I were both pleasantly surprised by the good form shown by Mighty Kingdom in the three year old classics and Hyperno was racing and showing moderate form.
A week before the Caulfield Cup Mighty Kingdom won the Caulfield Stakes, a traditional lead up to the Caulfield Cup, in convincing style against open company. Astute trainer Tommy Smith declared him, much to our delight, a starter in the Caulfield Cup. This he won with consumate ease and we were faced with the prospect of “untold riches” if Hyperno could win the Melbourne Cup.
It was the only thing on our minds for the next two weeks and we could talk about nothing else. Our confidence was boosted somewhat when Hyperno ran a strong fourth to the champion and favourite for the cup, Dulcify, in the MacKinnon Stakes on the Saturday before the big race.
The day finally arrived and Mark and myself, (Marg and Craig decided to stay at home and watch the event on television) armed with an esky full of sausages and beer (the poor man’s version of chicken and champagne) set off on our ‘Day at the Races’. There was no sign of Andrew at the pre-arranged meeting place and there was no sign of him anywhere in the big crowd as anyone who has been to Flemington on cup day would fully understand.
I was really too nervous to talk to anyone except for this nice lady who asked me which horse I fancied and she was quite astounded when I informed her that if Hyperno won, my mate and I stood to collect $12,000 each. Just before race time, Dulcify was the raging hot favourite with our ‘nag’ at about the fourth line of favouritism at 12-1.
“They’re off and racing in the Melbourne Cup of 1979”, announced the course broadcaster amid the cheers of the large crowd. Hyperno settled well about midfield, his jockey, Harry White, was trailing Dulcify, probaby deciding that if he could beat him he would win the race. As they raced past us for the first time my heart was pounding and I took a nervous glance at Mark who had also bitten his fingerrnails to the quick. The tension was almost unbearable.
The race continued fairly uneventfully until with about 800 metres to travel when Dulcify stopped as if shot (I was later to learn he had broken hown hopelessly and tragically had to be put down) and as Hyperno ran around him I yelled to no one in particular: “Hyperno’s run past Dulcify!!”. With 200 metres to travel, Hyperno and Salamander, ridden by ‘The Professor’, Roy Higgins, were fighting out the finish and above the deafening roar of the crowd we were screaming: “Go, Hyperno!”.
The horses heads were bobbing as they hit the finish line and the course commentator could not split them but to my dismay the radio broacaster opted for Salamander. An agonising wait followed and after what seemed like an eternity, the announcement came over the loud speakers: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the judge has called for a developed print.”
“I think its got done Dad,” Mark said, probably trying to prepare me for that heartbreaking moment when Salamander’s number would be displayed on the screen.
My eyes were glued to the blank result board and all of a sudden, as if by magic, the number 2 of Hyperno appeared on the electronic screen. I jumped up, gave Mark a bear hug, kissed the old lady behind us, leaped up and down like a lunatic waving my winning ticket in the air and exciting told everyone around us I had just won $12,000, a small fortune (or at least for me) back then.
I met Andrew at the foot of the grandstand stairs, and after dancing the jig and jumping around like fools (can you blame us) we made our way to the bar and ordered a hundred beers and shouted everyone within reach, telling them about our ‘little windfall’. It was probably the most friends I had ever had that afternoon and I got home very drunk late in the day. The only thing Marg had to celebrate with all afternoon was the cooking sherry.
The next day Andrew and I were interviewed by the channel 10 news at the bank where Syd Lyons presented us with a cheque for $12,000 each and also a giant cardboard replica which we still have in our possession. Marg and I invested the $12,000 and it not only gave us the financial security we needed at the time but also, from the yearly bank interest we received from it were able to have some great holidays.