The Tenner Bet

Deputy Sports Editor

Saturday 22 September 2012

IT'S been somewhat gloomy around Tenner Bet towers in recent days, what with a succession of losers and Mrs TB's dark mutterings about getting off my rear end to help out now we've paid off the maid to cover for them.

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James Morgan

So what better way to lighten the mood than by turning our attention to the Singapore Grand Prix and its floodlit glare?

I may well have mentioned in previous columns that I have a 100% record when betting on Formula One. Indeed, I would even go as far as to say I mention it every time I write a column on F1 betting.

The great irony here is I don't have much love for cars racing around a track and in the pantheon of sports betting it falls somewhere between punting on spiders climbing a wall and a wager on Russian roulette, not least because there is always the worrying possibility of bloodshed (you don't want to know what happens to that losing spider). Anyway, enough of the doggerel. Here's the analysis.POLE POSITIONIn the four years since high-profile racing returned to the Marina Bay Street circuit, the event has tended to be dominated by the drivers who start highest up the grid. That said, Fernando Alonso won from 15th in 2008, although Renault later faced a charge over race-fixing after Nelson Piquet Jr was instructed to crash in order to facilitate a smoother passage for his team-mate. The odds on the winner coming from pole sit at evens and that looks a decent price for correctly predicting something that has happened with such frequency.This grand prix is unique because it takes place at night but, as a street race, it tends to be similar to those at Monaco and Valencia, with not much overtaking and little in the way of incident. It is also worth noting that the last four races in the F1 season have been won by the car on pole.THE RACEThe tight set-up is in contrast to Italy and Belgium where the Mercedes and Ferrari-powered cars dominated and should swing some of the balance back towards the Renault and Lotus cars.Sebastian Vettel won here last year and was second in 2010 while Alonso has had two wins (albeit one was in that controversial 2008 race) and a third in 2009.The Spaniard prevailed in Valencia and should provide more of a match for Lewis Hamilton's McLaren at the head of the field than in Belgium and Italy. However, the last two winners in Italy have gone on to win in Singapore, which is a positive for the Englishman, who is clearly the form horse.THE BETDespite Hamilton and Alonso's obvious claims, the nod goes to Vettel (5/1 to win, general) who, despite a poor run has pedigree at this circuit, and can take advantage of uncertainty in the McLaren camp over speculation linking Hamilton with a move to Mercedes. The German to take pole is the other pick (5/2, general).SEASON'S TOTALThere was a big plunge on Ursa Major for last Saturday's St Leger, possibly because of the Tenner Bet's inside track on the John Gosden horse.It was fourth, a length and half down on Michaelangelo for a place that would have paid 5/1. Alas, Thought Worthy didn't live up to its name. I was right about Camelot, though. Profits are running at a loss of -£38.69

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