Sporting Selections

Last updated Tuesday, January 3, 2007 5:04 PM

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Xmas no 1 video game

Sorry for not posting the comments and we now feel that having done our thoroiugh research the reasons for backing it are possibly unfounded, sometimes you have to take a price as it might disappear very quickly - our sincere apologies - but you never know!

I'm a celebrity - winner

With the imbalance of male/female contestants we feel it is likely that others will be added to the show and if the programme runners have any sense they will be adding some decent contestants to keep the viewing figures up

In a weak looking African section she certainly looks a short-priced favourite and we believe she will also make it to the final 5

Miss World - qualify for final

Phillipines & Namibia & Italy

There are lots of prices here which seem bizarre in the extreme, with 2 to go through from each region and 3 fasttracked.All 3 are towards the top of the outright betting list and should easily qualify from their own regions.To be honest we could probably put up another 5!

It's that time again! Although early days a lot of pundits reckon the Phillipines girl could go far this year and in the last couple of years they haven't been far wrong.

Mens Downhill Beaver Creek

Certainly the man in form and certainly not available at 50/1! He goes in the Super G tomorrow but is only quoted at 9/1 - we prefer the 14/1 for the Downhill on Friday as before this year his best ever World Cup Downhill result was here and he was 4th in the first training run.

Mens Super G Beaver Creek

Over the last couple of years this has seemingly become the Americans better discipline with 3 wins from 15 runs. He finished 3rd in Lake Louise and in the Downhill training run yesterday went quite well from an early poor draw.

US Qualifying School

The young Norwegian is a real talent but is a very streaky player so whether that will be suited here is open to question.He has been itching to go after returning from injury and although he won his stage 1 Euro Q school event he failed to progress so this is his only real avenue and we expect him to suprise a few.

US Qualifying School

European tour players have a habit of playing well in this from a limited amount of starts. Last year Davis won and Owen was 4th, in 03 Gronberg won, Cejka was 2nd in 02 and Stephen Allan won in 00. Quite something to live up to but the Welshman certainly has the ability even though he lost his card after finishing 13th at Q school last year.Now based in Florida he could well be the next European player to play well.

US Qualifying School

We backed him for the Q school 2 years ago when he finished runner-up to Gronberg on these courses having won the stage 2 event here in 2001 - so he clearly likes the venue.He hasn't managed a lot of starts on the PGA tour this year but in his 10 starts on the Nationwide tour he has racked up 4 top 6 finishes, we expect to see him contending at the end of this marathon.

Havret is a bit of a nightmare to handicap as he is a very volatile player but when he is on song he is a very talented player.He had a fairly solid end to the season with a top 20 in the Volvo Masters which is better than a lot on show here.

The promising young Aussie has been playing the summer on the Nationwide Tour where he has managed a cople of top 5 finishes.Since his return to his native country he has won on the Von Nida tour and now plays a course where he is obviously at home with finishes of 8th and 11th in his 2 visits.

Srirot plies his trade mainly on the Japanese tour these days but he still plays a few events in Asia - he has played in 2 small Asian tournaments in the last 6 weeks and finished 2nd and 4th.He has also proved over the years he can mix it with the better players in these co-sanctioned events with a 4th here last year and a 4th in the Volvo Asia Masters in 03 - totally overpriced in our opinion.

The South African often plays well in these smaller co-sanctioned events around the globe and he can boast 3 top 8 finishes here over the years.He is in solid if unspectacular form but 80/1 seems too big a price.

Mens Super G Lake Louise

After some excellent training runs for the downhill Buechel did well to finish 3rd so comes into todays event full of confidence in what could be said to be his strongest discipline.

Mens Super G Lake Louise

This is arguably the young Norwegians best discipline and this could be the event for his first breakthrough.He was fastest in the 2nd training run for the downhill and was 9th in the final one but had an equipment infringement,was disqualified and had to start after the main players but managed an impressive 6th place.He has a decent starting position today and could surprise a few.

Mens Downhill Lake Louise

The winner of 2 back to back World Cup downhills last season - this seems a big price about the young Austrian. In taining yesterday he started slowly but came back through the field to finish 6th and as one who often took his training form into the event proper last year he should be bet now.

A bit of a long shot so its best to stick with the top 5 option.- Ramsay gets to play here as reigning Australian amateur champion - which he won on the Royal Melbourne Links.He was top amateur at the Open earlier this year and grew up on the Carnoustie Links - there is definitely a theme here and this week we play at Moonah Links!

Another player who has performed well on the Nationwide tour this season. The young Australian has always been thought of quite highly and has the potential to be a top player in the coming years.

Chalmers has had a solid year on the Nationwide tour including a win and has regained his PGA card. He has had a 3 week break from playing so will be refreshed and ready to go in an event he has won before. Price update - Ladbrokes go 80/1

I'm a celebrity - 1st to quit

Anyone who has seen this man on TV or read his autobiography will know he is a very volatile man and in our opinion he must be nearer the top of the list to walk out

I'm a celebrity Top Female

Our successes in entertainment markets has convinced us that we should start looking at other markets in this field - so we thought we would start with this dross! In our humble opinion the former Neighbours star should go far.

In each of the last 3 years the winner of one of the stage 1 events has gone on to win the final stage - this year we have the choice of Ozaki, San Filipo, Lundstrom and Jarvis. We will side with the Canadian who won his stage at this venue (different course) by 10 shots!. He does seem to play better on the West coast and last year was a solid 8th in the final in Florida.

US Q school Stage 2 - Bayonet

Once rated the number 1 player in the world for his age - he won the Junior golf chamionships at 3 ages as did a certain Eldrick Woods!However he took 2 years out of his game on a Mormon mission and hasn't been the same since! His best finishes have always come in California and 2 years ago in stage 1 he shot -5 to win by 6 over 4 rounds here. He has been suffering from a back injury but he could well be inspired to regain his card.

US Q school Stage 2 - Oak Valley

We think Skybet have made a bit of a mistake here with the pric eof the man who has played this course the last 4 times at this stage. In 01 he was 2nd after rd 1 but then faded and then in the last 3 years has gone 1st, 3rd, 4th. He won on the Nationwide Tour in California in 2000 and has not had too bad a season on tour.

European Seniors Tour Championship

The Frenchman has had a very solid year on tour but he seems to have developed a liking for playing outside of the GB & Ireland - in his last 10 events outside this area he has had a win and 4 top 4's. If you look at his average finishing position it is 31st in GB & Ireland yet if you discount his one poor performance in Portugal last time it is 6th elsewhere!This could be due to the fact that he was brought up in Morocco so hopefully the desert climate of Bahrain will suit him.

European Qulaifying school

McArthur was the runaway winner of his 2nd stage qualifier after only turning pro in September. He had an excellent amateur career playing at the top level and on the American collegiate system.

European Qulaifying school

Players that have done well in stage 2 of the Q school often perform well in the final stage.The Frenchman was jt winner at the weekend and was the winner of the Alps tour order of merit this year where in 16 starts he had a win, 7 top 5's and 4 top 10's!

LPGA Tournament of Champions

We cannot understand the price - the last 2 weeks has seen her start at odds of around 50/1 and she hasn't played that badly, with no Annika in the field she should really be a third of theseodds.

HSBC Tournament of Champions

Probably the next star of Asian golf the 17 year old won the World Junior Champs in San Diego earlier this year. Last week he played in the Asian tour event as amateur and stunned a lot of people by winning - especially as he birdied the last 3 holes and then won the play-off. The chances of him winning are remote but in this game you never know!

New York Marathon - mens

With the news that one time favourite Martin Lel has withdrawn we believe that the defending champion is worth a bet at these odds.He had always disappointed at the longest distance until this event last year but showed on this difficult course he could beat the best in the world.

New York Marathon - womens

Sorry for not posting our reasons earlier but we knew that the favourite Radcliffe was not going to start and they had left off 3 athletes we believe should be in contention.

New York Marathon - mens

With only 5 athletes actually quoted this looks like a solid bet to us especially as there are at least 3 athletes included in the field that we would consider betting at less than 20/1. We won't say who they are as we are still waiting for other books to price up!

Yet again we tip one of our favourite lady golfers who seems to turn it on for certain events. She played very well in Korea last week apart from a 2nd round 78 yet still finished 8th and clearly has an aptitude for the course with 2 runner-up finishes. The bet is somewhat tempered by the presence of Annika who is going for a five-timer!