Jonola14

30 August, 2008

Jonola14 Productions

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"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

April 13, 2008

COME FIRST, OR DIE

The Grand National is the one time of year when I go to the bookies and place some money on a horse I know nothing about in the hope that it will jump all the fences, not unseat its rider and come first in the race, all spurred on by a lot of shouting at the tele and ultimately earning me a few quid.

Historically I've been pretty successful, picking the winner four years in a row but I've had no luck in the past two years, especially last year when I lost by a nose. Stupid horse.

Anyway, this year I decided to place my bet online. Using cashback referral site Quidco, I took advantage of their special offer and joined Betfair.com, earning myself Â£50 just for doing so. Result, I was already up and the race hadn't even started yet. I went onto Betfair and made my choice. Next stop, race day.

Comply Or Die was my horse, it was being well backed but Cloudy Lane was the early favourite. I also plumped for Kelami, a French horse that the BBC website tipped for a good finish. At 85-1 it was hard to resist.

The usual phonecalls from Shaun, Simon and Wibbler all ensued, asking me for my top tip. Strange, given that I know nothing about horse racing, but for the Grand National I do tend to have some luck.

"And they're off" the commentator announced, the horses all bouncing off each other as the mayhem of the Grand National got underway. For some reason I was quite subdued in the early stages, my horses hadn't been mentioned but some of the other front runners had fallen so my horses had a better chance of winning. This was good.

Kelami fell. I was gutted, but not surprised. My Â£500 win wasn't going to happen this year, so it was Comply Or Die, or nothing. The leading horses broke from the pack and Comply Or Die was amongst them. I changed from slouch position, to edge of the seat. The last couple of jumps beckoned. "GO COMPLY!" I yelled, thinking at the time that that might have been a line from Flight Of The Navigator.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN!" I yelled, hoping the neighbours would forgive the loud outbursts. Comply Or Die was out front, it was a sprint for the finish but there was a late challenge and it was touch and go for a while, but with a bit more yelling Comply Or Die got over the line and Betfair soon credited me with my winnings.