Neil Andrews
It is good to observe a touch of innovation from Tellytrack. The introduction this week of Neil Andrews’ Betting World show in three new live slots, including Saturday and Sunday morning, should lift the quality of the sparse magazine programme line-up on the racing channel. The show has often gone out at irregular time slots, and has come a long way after starting life as an overcooked advertorial for the promotion of horse and sports betting.
Strange. For a television channel that deep down obviously wants to promote horseracing and sports betting, little is apparently being done to inform the non-informed market of the relatively exciting new happenings. Punting the new Betting World show and line-up in the confines of the existing framework and platform of your captive audience of victims is hardly going to tittilate the tastebuds of a whole new unconquered world of well-heeled voyeuristic virgins, who are just crying out to be touched by something completely different.
The marketing and PR support of the channel, as a whole, is actually invisible. After Googling the key characters and names, I came up with nothing of great consequence. There was no mention, never mind hype, on either of the Phumelela, Saftote or Betting World sites. I did find a reference to to Neil Andrews’ driving a Renault Megane and hating to cook for Mervyn Joffe. I also found a really silly interview with Supersport’s Crystal Arnold about asset utilisation, and a tiny picture of the front cover of a magazine that one wouldn’t find lying around on the tables of the waiting rooms at Phumlelela’s head office. Not to say that everybody there hasn’t bought a copy, of course. But that’s old news.
I will be the first to admit that I am a regular viewer of the Betting World show and it is not only entertaining and informative, but certainly gets one considering the alternatives to Kimberley and Fairview. And hell, I looking for the distraction of a bit of Irish Ice Hockey or something similar after the Fairview third race on Monday. I have been a punter for close on forty years now, and we all know the mindset of the ‘nothing can shock me’ ideal. Forty years experience doesn’t help to pick up the 40-1 winners either and I would like to publicly ask somebody to explain how on earth Raggle Tag won. Her trainer Jacques Strydom was making his way back by road from a fairly successful raid on the Greyville Super Sunday meeting – his Great Heart ran a cracker under Anthony Andrews to pick up a third cheque in the MR 78 Handicap – so he was not on hand to explain. But Raggle Tag actually won the first leg of the PA. That was after nineteen straight unplaced efforts, which included an admittedly not delinquent 7,75 lengths behind, just seventy-two hours earlier at Arlington on Friday. I listened to the post-race interview expecting to hear the usual feasible, after the event, racing explanation. But after a very polite Apprentice Stallone Naidoo had thanked everybody, Rod McCurdy introduced a very excited lady by the name of Karen, who said it was her first winner as Assistant to Jacques Strydom. To her credit she never came with that ‘I told you so’ nonsense, and just said she was thrilled. Relying on his legendary powers of recall(sic) , McCurdy asked her rather mysteriously, if she had once lived behind him. I don’t know where that was headed, but the interview ended without punters being any the wiser. Taggle Rag is one for the notebook. Just to be safe.
Sports betting helps us to get over the Taggle Rags of this world , and the Betting World Show has In time, and with the quality and general confidence of the guests, improved dramatically. It has become obligatory and informative viewing for those who are keen on trying sports betting, but who may not have the time to study the Polish under 18 Netball league, amongst other exotic options. British born Neil ‘Vinny’ Andrews is a polished presenter, whose humour and innuendo is generally a meter or two above most heads . But he is undoubtedly knowledgeable and has a wide interest in varying sports. His guests, like the Rugby expert and very informed Gary Lentin, who is an unlikely fitness expert, and Tellytrack’s own Shaheen Shaw, compliment him well, and one hopes that he will make more use of the lovely Crystal Arnold too. The Supersport presenter was in the news recently as the lady of colour who stripped off to become a white cover-girl in the June issue of the SA Playboy magazine. There was as usual much ado about nothing but after Joost Van Der Westhuizen had been given the boot by the channel, after the holey underpants video, anything was possible.That’s Amore, as they say. But Arnold has thankfully survived her escapade though and we look forward to seeing her back – and front, for that matter – on air.
Conversely, the Winning Ways show illustrated that canned television can turn stale very quickly. Particularly in a dynamic sports environment. This week’s show was obviously recorded prior to the Super Sunday meeting and the feature races were then slotted in afterwards , with the Goodman and Lafferty prerecorded preview comments. The only problem is it was being broadcast after the big day and in a time when we are used to hearing constructive feedback and analysis of what actually went down – not largely worthless previews. This was not a great start to the season for a show that has generally been rated very highly, and the ratings could undoubtedly be soaring in favour of the Andrews show. It is probably understandable though that Tellytrack do not want to unleash the terrible twins in a live situation. That would be real entertainment and we could hear some home truths. But archived dated stuff doesn’t work either.
So try and take a grab a peek at the Betting World show on Saturday morning at about 07h30. You won’t be disappointed. This press release was actually penned without the influence or input of any racing administrator. Amazing.
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Breeders Are Busy!
This is not the time to be bugging breeders with small-talk and social chit chat.The first foals have arrived already and a quick call to Pippa Mickleburgh at Avontuur confirmed that their first one is on the ground. The talented Azabu Park has had a beautiful bay filly by Jet Master. This baby is thus a full sister to the talented Jet Trail and the recent exciting maiden winner Amazing Grace. Avontuur have another thirty two mares still to foal and next in line is the former Mike Azzie sprinter, Mochachino, who is carrying her first foal by Var. She is followed by Mike Bass’ Fillies Guineas winner Sports Chestnut, in foal to Jet Master. Pippa says that Var is fit and ready for his full book of 95 mares.The season just past has been his best ever.
For the Val De Ra fans, Pippa says she is very excited to have watched her in work in KZN last week and the champion Gr1 winning sprinter is apparently looking a million dollars and is due in Cape Town in October. Watch this space!
