Melbourne Cup: Jamie Melham’s Half Yours triumph should have been obvious for us punters to see
The epitome of disappointment is when you’re at the 400m mark of the Melbourne Cup and you know it’s over. But as we punters chased value, it paid to pay attention to the fairytale.
The epitome of disappointment is when you’re at the 400m mark of the Melbourne Cup and you know it’s over.
While there may be back-up trifectas and First 4 options floating around, when your major bets involved Valiant King finishing in the top four it’s heart-breaking.
When Jye McNeil presented to us as they came around the bend it was obvious we were in trouble.
So with it out of business there is a sudden desperation to look at what else you have written down on the form guide.
There is a Chris Waller First 4, an international First 4 and a couple of other boxed options.
When they went past our vantage point No.20 was going to win. A check of the form guide said it was Goodie Two Shoes.
But what we didn’t see was Jamie Melham producing a gem on Half Yours.
If you’re into fairytale stories it was obvious, 10 years after Michelle Payne became the first woman to win the Cup then it was a fair chance when the best female jockey we have ever seen is on the favourite.
But of course we spent the previous 48 hours looking for value.
The favourite is never a comfortable position to be in for the Cup, or so we thought.
What is rammed home is how our strategy of chasing the First 4 with everything we have got is justified.
With the favourite winning it still payed $176,500. Yep I’ll let that sit for a moment.
So the favourite beat an international who was trained by Joseph O’Brien who knows a thing or two about what sort of horse is required for Melbourne.
Third was a Ciaron Maher horse so naturally you should have included all of his.
And fourth was a Chris Waller horse who ran second in the Caulfield Cup behind…. drum roll please, Half Yours.
It’s such a simple calculation.
The only solace is we”d had a good Spring and we are “playing with their money” for Cup Day.
In this time of need we search for positives and having the field in the first leg of the quaddie is all we can scrap together.
But sadly our interest has waned. Suddenly the music and the cocktails in the marquee are becoming more and more appealing.
The glass half full look at things which or course we will take is chasing the big bucks in the First 4 is absolutely the right call.
And at some stage in our career it is going to hit pay dirt.
But for now, sadly, it’s about what cocktail is going to help us forget the 2025 Melbourne Cup.
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Originally published as Melbourne Cup: Jamie Melham’s Half Yours triumph should have been obvious for us punters to see
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