Racing: Managers judgement on the line in Pick6

Sam Spratt. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Sam Spratt doesn't really want to know what was going through the mind of her manager Mike Brown 400m from the finish of the last leg of the $1.4 million Pick6 at Ellerslie on Saturday.

Brown watched the race with five of his mates in the bottom bar at Ellerslie.

He was holding a ticket on behalf of all of them containing 10 per cent shares in four horses still live in a Pick6 that was going to pay between $750,000 and $1 million.

The eventual winner, Brompton, one of those four horses, got to the front at the 400m and the obvious challenge was Vivaldi's Gone, a ride Mike Brown got for Spratt, but was missing from his syndicate ticket. It would have been a long walk to the weigh-in for Brown to congratulate Spratt if she had beaten Brompton.

The Cambridge galloper worked clear easily, though, for James McDonald and the six-strong syndicate picked up $109,554 for their 10 per cent share of the giant pot.

Vivaldi's Gone was beaten out of second late by Waitoki Ahi.

The syndicate were lucky, though, because trainer Gary Alton had been keen to scratch Brompton on Saturday morning, but was talked into starting.

This particular syndicate did not have either the second or third horses.

Also in the syndicate was Garry Cossey, Best Bets form analyst and manager of James McDonald.

Hoofit would have knocked a few, but not too many, out of contention in winning the first Pick6 leg at $7, but Heydental Tourist did massive damage in winning leg two at $18.50.

Singapore Sling put in a further blow when she got up and beat everyone's anchor Dating in leg three, paying $13.

The next two, Hurricane Mickey ($5.10) and Magna Carta at $5.70, were relatively easy, but as is always the case in Pick6, the numbers left live late in the jackpot thin very quickly and only a handful of full units were live coming into the last race.

Only 1.3 of those were on Brompton, which could have been 13 10 per cent shares.