A night at Wimbledon dogs

(Courtesy of Flickr)

Mike Doyle, a punter with forty years experience under his belt, punches the air as he wins his sixth race on the trot.

Mr T. Davison’s Talksport Miss put in a tremendous effort when coming from a seemingly hopeless position to win the fifth race on Tuesday night’s bags meeting at Wimbledon.

Despite his slow start, Talksport Miss recovered brilliantly and Mr Doyle reflected that this is key to a successful finish, “Sometimes it’ll get out awkwardly and get eased out but it is how it breaks – that makes all the difference.”

The following race went with form. Having finished in the top two in his past five races, Droopys Wren was a red-hot 8-13 to win and had the inside draw in his favour.

Youngster Ashley Sea failed to make his nice turn of early pace count and slumped back to a disappointing finish.

Race of the day

Still the punters were not downhearted but rather getting warmed up for what proved to be the race of the day. Bardy Boy, the favourite at 2-1, managed to nick a big enough lead to hold on, but Mr Gage’s Aldworth Blaze came away cleanly and forced a photo finish. By the sounds of the groans of the crowd, it seemed many had tried their luck on this 22-1 outsider.

It’s this sense that anything can happen which creates a real buzz to the place. As Tote Manager, Sue Walter, commented, “Flukes do happen, a rank outsider might come in and that’s what makes it exciting.”

The demise of Walthamstow Stadium has clearly boosted the popularity of Wimbledon dog meetings, having now only Romford to compete against in London.

The introduction of the Super Six Pack deal, which includes drink, food and most cleverly by the marketing team, a £5 return voucher, more young people were amongst the regulars.