Black figures at last, the Douglas Whyte supporters wailed in relief last night as the Durban Demon was posted a $2.40 favourite to end a run or four losses in today's Jockey Challenge at Sha Tin.
Whyte made the Jockey Challenge his own throughout November and early December but has gone down at each of the last four fixtures, all at short prices. And while early players may have burned their fingers at a shade of odds-on, what about some of the intrepid punters who have risked the big money to support their hero 'in play'? The in-play betting, introduced in November, has added a fresh and increasingly popular dimension to the challenge. After each race, the odds makers reset the markets to take into account the results already to hand.
So you can back the jockey who just won the previous race to land the challenge, but take a reduced price because the mountain he has to climb is 12 points less daunting.
But there's a downside. After Whyte won two early races last Sunday, his price got down to $1.05 (after race five). On December 20, he got down as short as $1.12 and both times the champ was belatedly nailed. So anyone chasing those losses has some heavy work ahead of them.
You can certainly pick some holes in Whyte's book of rides but most of them look like being in the money on form alone, and that's before you factor in the Whyte magic and his unparalleled consistency.
His main rival, Darren Beadman, can get two or three winners but lacks the numbers, with just one ride from the first six races. By then the Whyte bird might have flown.
