Racing: Computer may be the best bet

By MIKE DILLON


There are many ways to approach taking a Pick6, even a $2 million Pick6.

Last week's $1 million Pick6 at Hastings threw up some interesting pointers.

Going into the crucial last leg, seven horses were covered, but they did not include the winner, the favourite Sing In The Sun.

What is interesting is that despite private selections easily outweighing Easybet selections in dollar terms, of the 12 bets remaining in the last Pick6 leg, seven of them were on Easybet tickets.

Also, of those left live two $32 Easybet investments were the highest in dollar terms.

The lowest was the $4 self-selection as one of the two tickets on Stanica.

The horse carrying the most investment, 2.32 units, was runner-up Jurys Out, who staged a desperate home-straight battle with Sing In The Sun to be beaten on the line.

Three of the four tickets to have Jurys Out running were for $7, $5 and $8.

If that suggests you don't have to spend reasonably big to put yourself in with a real chance then good luck with your $5 investment in a nightmare Pick6 on heavy footing at Ellerslie this afternoon.

Do yourself a favour, talk to your next door neighbour - if they are taking a Pick6, join forces and widen your scope.

If someone gets today's Pick6 for just a few dollars, they should give up betting because they will have used up the luck of 10 lifetimes.

A couple of sensible ways to approach a Pick6 is to maybe sort out two anchors and couple them up with three horses in the remaining four legs.

That costs $41 for full units.

Another is to go relatively wide in three or four races, take two or three in another two legs and perhaps stand one selection out in the last leg and take that as a percentage bet.

If you or your syndicate have $50 or $75 to spend, ask for a percentage bet and that will probably get you something like 22 to 25 per cent of a full unit.

If you go very wide in a couple of legs, perhaps 15 per cent of a unit.

Don't worry, that's still a lot of money when you're aiming at a $2 million pool.

A 10 per cent winning ticket on Sing In The Sun last Saturday would have given you $100,000.

Go wider with a smaller percentage rather than bigger.

The Pick6 legs:

Leg 1

Sheka (No9) and Velasco (No12) stand out. Both will cope with the conditions and both finish their races off strongly.

If there is to be an upset, Pin Up Boy (No2) is the most likely.

Leg 2

This is tough. Daraazi (No2)has a bit going for him. He has finished off well in two career starts at 1200m and 1400m and gets an ideal 1600m here. He handles rain-affected ground and has apparently trained on well.

Melba (No10) has the form on the board. She has hardly missed the money this winter and has drawn nicely off the inside rail, where the ground is almost certain to be more testing. Sullivan's Lady (No12) and Roscommon (No15) are must-includes and for those looking for roughies Coiled Spring (No5), Resport (No7) and Miss Unicorn (No14) fit the bill.

Leg 3

You have to have Empyreal (No5), even though the track is going to be a bit worse than he prefers. He has plenty of class and a repeat of his last-start second here would take him close this time.

Straight Eight (No7) and Expectalite (No3) rate highly in an interesting field.

For those looking to go wide in this leg, include Danamator (No8), King Of Jacks (No6) and Simply Regal (No4).

Leg 4

Tickle (No8), Tantalic (No7) and Millnorm (No1) look the big three.

Tickle won't mind the conditions and will appreciate this more than last week's 1600m at Matamata. She looks a stayer with a real future and the light weight today is a bonus.

Tantalic would appreciate rain today - he loves loose, wet conditions.

That was an improver's third on this track last start and he appears to be in the right form at the right time for this race.

Millnorm is the old winter warhorse and even with 57kg he's going to be poking his nose into it somewhere. Crown Prince (No2) is the next best.

Leg 5

I Rock My World (No2) loves getting back and swooping home late and this race looks to lend itself more to that than his previous race a few weeks back when he finished third to Caballos. Loose, wet conditions would play right into his corner.

Sir Jesse James (No1) and the rapidly improving Spherical (No6) rate highly. The best tip is to ignore Sir Jesse James' beaten performance last start.

Leg 6

This is not an easy race. ARC board member Russell Warwick rates the chances of his horse Mandana (No13). She won stylishly in the mud in a special conditions maiden on this track last start and has worked well since.

Dangers are One Warrior (No4), Sir Peter (No5) and Ramillies (No9). The real values come in the form of Better Boy (No6) and Jetset Doll (No14).