Nobody who knows Joe Posa will believe this.
The former fine Auckland rugby forward rep owned a winner at Ellerslie on Saturday - Altiero - and he didn't back it.
When you add the fact that Altiero paid $9.25, the story becomes bizzare.
Declaring Joe enjoys a bet is like saying they can be a bit one-eyed in Canterbury.
But big Joe was not at Ellerslie on Saturday, he moved to Melbourne 18 months ago so he and his wife could be closer to their art student daughter.
To tease Posa, Altiero's race was one of four from Ellerslie the NSW TAB bet on, but the Victorian TAB has not got around to extending its coverage to that extent.
Altiero was bred by trainer Robert Priscott, a longtime mate of Posa's. The pair were joints owners in a select syndicate which raced class stayer Sindicato a couple of decades ago.
Altiero's dam Tempesto is the only broodmare Priscott owns and he kept her out of sentimentality. She traces back to Fairscott, Rapido and many of the horses who helped to establish his father Bruce as a fine horseman.
The surprise about the win was Altiero's dividend, extremely lucrative when you consider that at her only previous start the filly had finished strongly into second on her home track at Te Awamutu and that day looked a definite improver.
You can bet yourself blind it would not have been $9.25 if Joe Posa had been at Ellerslie.
* * *
Now here is a likely story.
The owners of impressive Saturday winner Likely Story will tell you the horse is for sale - likely story.
Also a long story.
It started 30 years ago when Frank Ritchie was asked to take a cranky maiden mare Pallas Green, which had just been sacked by a prominent Takanini trainer.
"I had three horses at the time and I would have taken a three-legged cat to train," said Ritchie.
Long story short, the mare won three races, a great friendship was formed between Ritchie, Clive Edkins, Bruce Freeman, Richard Fickling and Rex Jenson and at stud Pallas Green left Hawkes Bay Hurdles winner I'm Victor and more importantly, to Avaray, Pallas Ann.
The five-way syndicate bred group one-winning mare Winning Wave from Pallas Ann and suddenly the rules changed.
Clive Edkins died from cancer two years ago and with his wife Heather filling the breach, the members realised they could not breed a top class mare like Winning Wave to the stallions they had traditionally afforded almost from the fish and chip money.
They have a lovely Entrepreneur-Winning Wave colt going through the Karaka ring in February, the mare is due to foal to Soviet Star and is booked to Dreamwell.
But suddenly $60,000 in stallion fees are in the frame, which made it pretty important to put Winning Wave's brother, Likely Story on the market when he won a trial at Avondale eight weeks ago.
The keenest to sell has been Rex Jenson, but Likely Story's raceday form has been so hot the progressively increasing selling price has hardly kept pace.
Jenson figured a win on Saturday would clinch a sale.
But the $300 he spent on Pick 6, anchoring his own horse with three or four in each of the other five legs changed the rules.
Jenson was one of the three winners of Pick 6 and as he left Ellerslie with his cheque for $83,333 he said he might today still consider selling the horse.
Likely Story.
* * *
What a difference a month can make.
Two or three weeks ago Classify's Queensland winter carnival form had an ordinary look to it.
Then he won the $A165,000 St Leger and at Ellerslie on Saturday he won a car for his owners without even being on the track.
Classify was drawn from all the horses that raced at Ellerslie through the season to win a new Holden Barina.
It does not quite match last year's Auckland Racing Club giveaway scenario, where the horse was long dead when his name was drawn.
Now the syndicate of trainer John Wheeler, John Hamilton and daughter Monique have the problem of solving who drives the car.
* * *
Master Pom, perhaps a strange name for a horse bred, owned and trained by an Irishman, will step up a grade to take on the $35,000 Taumarunui Cup on Saturday.
If you have any doubt he will see out the extra distance of what is certain to be a tough race, just watch the video of his Ellerslie win on Saturday.
Master Pom looked like being run down in front for much of the home straight, but in the closing strides was going better than those behind him.
There should be plenty of opportunities for him in the next couple of months.
Racing: If Altiero's owner had been at Ellerslie ...
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