Sport is made for betting

A quality card at Caulfield on Saturday, and in line with recent policy, the big race will be the last of the day. Great for us expats living on the other side of the world! While this year's race can't live up to last year's duel between All Too Hard and Pierro, it's still a strong race with plenty of chances. Regular Aussie racing contributor Kieran Fitzgerald, @kjob85 signs in with his preview of the 'stallion making' race of the spring, with replay video links added where applicable. Unfortunately there are no free links available to either the Bill Stutt Stakes or the Guineas Prelude, at least that I've found. ------------------------------------ $1m Caulfield Guineas 1. Dissident Before his disappointing ninth in his last start (the George Main) at Randwick, Dissident had put in a string of impressive runs in Sydney, including a second place in both the Run to the Rose and the G1 Golden Rose. His run in the latter was impressive, with a strong ru...

If you've been a football fan for many years, chances are you got hooked on Championship (later Football) Manager at some stage. These days, it's far too complicated for my needs, I have commitments in life and as enjoyable as it was, by golly, it was addictive. I can't be going there again.... or can I? For many of us, the 01/02 edition was the best version ever. And now you can play it with current players. A mate just posted this on Facebook. This is going to be very hard to resist..... All you need 1. Register at http://www.champman0102.co.uk 2. Download and install http://www.champman0102.co.uk/downloads.php?do=file&id=178 Moderation fellas, moderation...

Another preview from the astute Matt Bisogno from Geegeez pulls the field apart. Follow him @mattbisogno . There's also plenty more Arc day content on his site . -------------------- Prix de l’Opera The Opera is a Group 1 for fillies and mares run over a mile and a quarter, and generally won by a genuine Group 1 distaff. It’s another race the three- and four-year-olds have monopolized, with just Satwa Queen (2007) winning for the older nags since 1974. That doesn’t bode at all well for either of Pagera, re-routed here from the Prix de Royallieu on Saturday, or Roger Charlton’s Thistle Bird, both of which are five. Indeed, three-year-olds have something of a stranglehold on the race, having won all of the last five Operas, and thirty of the last forty. British and Irish fillies have won nine of the last twenty instances of the Opera, though only Roger Varian’s Nahrain has conquered the locals in the last seven years. With the Royallieu over a mile and a half seemingly at he...

Some late additions to the Arc day content, this time the raffle sprint which opens the card, the Prix de l'Abbaye. Shrewd racing analyst Matt Bisogno from Geegeez pulls the field apart. Follow him @mattbisogno . There's also plenty more Arc day content on his site . ------------------ Prix de l'Abbaye It’s the most subscribed race of the whole weekend in Paris, both from a number of runners perspective, and a number of British- and Irish-trained runners perspective too. And within that is the problem: it’s very, very hard to find the winner, as odds of 6/1 the field imply. From a pure ratings perspective, it’s a two horse race: Jwala and Sole Power are the only two ‘proper’ Group 1 horses in the field. From a draw and ratings perspective, it’s a one horse race: Jwala has the rating and the draw, Sole Power is wide again in this event, having finished a really creditable fifth from stall 15 last year on heavy. He’s fared slightly better in 13 this time, and the ground...

The biggest day in European flat racing (for me anyway) is Arc day at Longchamp. A terrific field has been assembled with plenty of chances. I've taken the reins for this one. Last year I gave Solemia a chance in my preview but didn't back her. It was only after I got a few thank you tweets that I noticed how much chance I'd given her! Don't be afraid of backing something at odds - Danedream and Solemia in the last two years haven't been favoured... ====== Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Very Nice Name . Qatari-owned runner with a stupid name. Beaten 3.5L in the Dubai Sheema Classic behind St Nicholas Abbey and three lengths behind Orfevre in the Prix Foy with every chance. Doesn't have the turn of foot to win an elite race like this. Peslier jumps off, replaced by Italian jockey I am unfamiliar with. 160 on Betfair, might get a nice smother from gate 1 but that probably means he runs seventh rather than fourteenth. Prix Foy replay Novellist - unfortunat...

Closing out the trio of fine previews from Owen Alsop is the Prix de la Foret. Follow him on @owenalsop to read more of his work. --------------------- The Prix De La Foret This year’s renewal of the Group 1 Prix De La Foret looks to be a quality renewal with several high class contenders in the field. These are headed by the wonderful, multiple Group 1 winning mare, Moonlight Cloud . Unbeaten in three starts this term, having picked up two more Group 1 victories along the way, Moonlight Cloud is definitely the one to beat, and if she turns up in the rich vein of form she has been so far this season, then I cannot see her getting beaten. If favourite backing and taking short prices was my thing then I would be having a substantial bet at around the evens mark, but as it isn’t, I won’t be. She is a super mare and great for racing, I hope Moonlight Cloud wins on Sunday and wins well, from a racing point of view. When it comes to finding alternatives to Moonlight Cloud, the firs...

Next up in @OwenAlsop 's assault on the undercard is the race three, the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. ------------------------- The Prix Jean Luc-Lagardere Run over seven furlongs and France’s oldest juvenile race, the Prix Jean Luc-Lagardere is another tasty entrée served up prior to the Arc on Sunday. The 2013 renewal sees a select field of eight go to post in a bid to claim a share of the €350,000 purse. Following 2000 Guineas favourite, Kingman’s withdrawal earlier in the week, the market is now headed by the Niarchos family owned, Karakontie . A winner at Group 3 level on his most recent outing, Karakontie has arguably some of the strongest form in the book for this Group 1 contest. On debut, Karakontie brushed aside Ectot who hasn’t been beaten since and has scored readily at both Listed and Group 3 level in the meantime. Karakontie will not be deterred by the softer going and in time, I’m positive, will make a successful transition to the mile division. Stephane Pasquier...

Probably Europe's finest weekend of racing is underway at the beautiful Longchamp racecourse in Paris. It's not all about the Arc, there's a fantastic support card as well. Covering three races on the undercard is Owen Alsop. You can follow his work via @owenalsop . First up, it's the G1 for the juvenile fillies. ----------------------- The Prix Marcel Boussac Exclusively for two year old fillies, the Prix Marcel Boussac has thrown up a host of classic contenders in previous years and is a real flag ship event for juveniles in Europe. Superstar Arc winning filly, Zarkava, 1000 Guineas victor Finsceal Beo and champion juvenile, Rumplestiltskin are but a few that have their names forever ingrained on the Marcel Boussac. Who will be joining them up in lights for this 2013 edition? The market is headed by Freddie Head’s Royalmania who will be bidding to give her owners, the Wertheimer Brothers, back to back victories in this Group 1 event following Silasol’s success ...

Rugby league in the southern hemisphere concludes this weekend with the NRL Grand Final. Time to draft in an expert, NRL aficionado Chris Ryan, to dissect Sydney's night in the spotlight. Follow him via @imdabomb82 . ------------------------- NRL Grand Final Preview – Sydney Roosters v Manly Sea Eagles And so it is, that after 26 regular season rounds, three weeks of finals, endless Burgess clan stories, an overload of Sonny Bill Williams and the odd Canberra player making a goose of themselves, we are down to the final two, the Chooks and the Sea Eagles, let the feathers fly! This looks set to be a classic grand final match-up, as the competition’s two best defensive units go at it in front of a packed house - that is if the competing fans manage to find their way to Homebush, with neither sets of fans all that renowned for their ability to get out of their own postcode, let alone travel to away games. We have a rare situation for a Grand Final, whereby these teams have alr...