Way back when this column was just a baby, the Tenner Bet wrote an impassioned attack on gamblers who cited hard luck as a valid reason for failed punts.
Back then I argued that the only failure that counts in gambling is failing to prepare.
Well, guess what? It was total garbage and I speak now from bitter experience having wasted several man hours that will never be refunded. Here is the evidence: three weeks ago, Louis Oosthuizen, a best-priced 90/1 to win the Augusta Masters missed out on a green jacket after losing a play-off to Bubba Watson, this despite a chip for eagle at 15 that lipped the hole, bounced off the pin and rolled away whereupon the South African secured birdie. That eagle would have given Oosthuizen the win without the need for extra holes. A fortnight past, Sunnyhillboy suffered the horse racing equivalent of a lipped putt when being caught on the line to finish second in the Grand National.
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