Opinion | A win written in the stars – as we all hold our breath

On the 12-12-12, how many omen punters were on number 12 – Glory Win – in the first race at Happy Valley last night? And how many were doubling their bets given the ancient Mayan civilisation predicts the end of the world is next week?

Adding to the sense of impending doom was an Andy Leung Ting-wah-trained winner – something long cited as a sign of the apocalypse, and a win by 50-1 pop Peppermint that left a nasty taste in everyone’s mouths.

In a culture already steeped in superstition, betting becomes an outlet for all sorts of bizarre beliefs and zany systems. For instance, don’t ever touch someone on the shoulder when they’re betting – it’s considered extremely bad luck.

And, while this one might be exaggerated a touch, it was said that lucky number eight was always over-bet in the old days, and no one wanted a tip for the four – that number sounds too much like the word for “death”.

Anyone taking Glory Win’s win as a Nostradamus-like sign and launching into a “number 12 roll-up” was in for a long night as the next seven “12s” – the bottom weights at Happy Valley – all ran unplaced.

In his last season as a trainer, Leung seems to be pulling out all stops and is on a hot streak. He hadn’t won in more than a month leading into last night’s fixture, but “hot streak” is a relative term used here.