Big Argument, Never rock Reggae 6 bets

THOUGH a half of Sunday's Reggae 6 races were won by favourites - T BRADY, ROCK-OLA and COALITION - the payout of $35,724 was influenced by two horses, BIG ARGUMENT winning the second event and NEVER, who finished down the track as a 6-5 favourite in the fifth after being widely used as a banker.

After T BRADY won as a 1-2 favourite should, dropping from $700,000 to $350,000 claiming, BIG ARGUMENT turned the Reggae 6 on its head, ditching approximately 3,370 of 3,800 tickets, a mighty blow for a 3-1 winner.

Truth be told, form players could hardly be faulted. After beating TURNONTHELIGHT at the level on June 15, BIG ARGUMENT finished down the track in consecutive races, losing both events by double digits.

However, had one of the many rules of thumb for claimers been applied by bettors, BIG ARGUMENT would not have destroyed so many bets. Trust no claimer's last run, especially after changing hands.

Claimed for $700,000 on July 26 by Norman Smith, BIG ARGUMENT reversed his two dismal runs under Michael Marlowe for whom he had won on June 15. Ironically, TURNONTHELIGHT was again the victim of a BIG ARGUMENT turnaround in form.

Another punters' nightmare, equipment changes, almost resulted in a 20-1 shocker in the fourth, HUMILITY, tongue-tie fitted, was caught at the wire by 7-2 chance ROYAL MAVERICK, who, himself, was refitted with blinkers and the figure-eight ditched, handing trainer Patrick Lynch his 500th career win.

NEVER, Marlowe's four-year-old grey, who has specialised in second and third-place finishes since getting off the mark, left Reggae 6 bettors kicking themselves in the fifth. NEVER finished down the track in the one-mile event for non-winners of two-races, four-year-olds, won by MONSTER VIGOROUS at odds of 7-2.

Saturday's Reggae 6 carries with a single-winner bonus of $7.79 million.

sports@gleanerjm.com