Biggest plunges in SA Greyhound Racing for 2021
In a sport which provides so much excitement and intrigue, betting plunges just add an extra element to the wonderful of Greyhound Racing. This year in South Australia, we have been able to witness some extraordinary moves, which have been both successful and unsuccessful, so let’s have a look at the biggest plunges in SA for 2021.
Number #5
Dog - Aston Cosmo (Box #5)
Thursday, 4/02/21 - Angle Park
$9.50 - $3.60
We go back to early in February and find number five on the list, with a Matty Payne trained Aston Cosmo finding very heavy support for his grade 5 city attempt. Those that remember will know that this was the day that Adelaide received a huge downpour, which led to the wettest track I have ever seen racing on. The move itself was interesting, he opened double figures and only received some specking overnight and even on the day he was subject to a little bit of support. Before the meeting he was still around the $7 mark, but closer to the race is when the punters launched and the plunge was on. The map was favourable and so was his racing pattern (staying middle track), which was really beneficial on the soaked track. The result was an easy watch, with punters enjoying the sweet ride and Aston Cosmo landing in the good books for many!
Number #4
Dog - Sherwood Bale (Box #1)
Saturday, 18/09/21 - Angle Park
$17-$2.60
It was just a quiet Saturday morning, provincial 2 meeting with nothing to get overly excited about, until this massive go for the Tony Nobes trained runner. Going into the meeting, Sherwood Bale had some nice form behind some really nice types, so when he lobbed box 1 in this moderate field with wide runners all around him, he certainly looked a good chance. The markets came out on Friday night as they generally do with the Saturday morning meetings and the opening price of $17 was snapped up in a flash. He was around the $6 mark on Saturday morning but the punters just kept taking the massive overs before he got to his rock solid closing price of $2.60. Punters made their prayers to the ‘overs God’, but he wasn’t awake! As Sherwood Bale went down by the barest of margins after he looked home as they straightened up. A simply cruel finish to a thrilling plunge.
Number #3
Dog - Leroy Deploy (Box #3)
Monday, 19/04/21 - Murray Bridge
$11-$3.20
The move away from Angle Park for four months during the year provided a change in scenery for many dogs and Leroy Deploy was one who came over from Victoria to have a crack at the frequent one turn racing on offer during the period. Leroy came over to the state as a grade 6, with only a few wins under his belt and it allowed him to find a relatively easy race to kick off, apart from the talented Spring Drama which had drawn the red. Trained by Ryan Tugwell who is teamed up with Lauren Harris, the pair are known for pulling off some really good plunges, particularly with new dogs first up for them. However, the word on the street is that it wasn't kennel money and instead a few of the ‘pros’ which thought the Victorian form behind Leroy was superior to these dogs. Most of the damage to the price had been done the night before and early in the morning, but he was still rock solid at $3.20 when the market closed. The race panned out okay with Leroy jumping well before copping pressure to his outside, but he was too tough and too good as he held out the challenge and went on to land the money.
Number #2
Dog - Ikaruga Bale (Box #8)
Wednesday, 13/10/21 - Gawler
$19 - $2.40
Boy did this move create plenty of discussion, even receiving some nation wide media coverage. It was just a lowly pathways race and punters had to wait all day to see it, being run on the eleventh race on the card. Ikaruga Bale had moved recently to the care of Troy Murray and put in a couple of alright/unlucky runs prior to lobbing in this event. These runs flew under the radar and as a result he opened an enormous price. The end result was that the ‘pro’ punters were all over it when markets opened early in the morning, and the price evaporated. Box 8 was no concern and the only thing that stopped him from winning looked to be the other favourite in the race, ‘Crimes’, which had been going well. Ikaruga Bale was very firm the entire day and pre race, with punters that missed out on the price having no opportunity to pick up some scraps. The lids opened and Ikaruga Bale came out poorly before making a good mid race move, eventually hitting the front as they turned for home. After that can only be referred to as ‘the great game’ and the ‘overs God’ got one back on the punters.
Number #1
Dog - Cawbourne Boomer (Box #8)
Thursday, 18/03/21 - Angle Park
$6 - $1.90
Here it is, our biggest move for the year. Yes, it isn't the biggest in terms of fluctuations but this was a sustained go on a city race which attracts a much larger volume of money. Going into the race, Cawbourne Boomer, who was trained by young Tara Rasmussen had been racing without luck against quality opposition at Murray Bridge, which helped in getting a price. He drew well and had a perfect map which was going to give him every opportunity to win, in a race that lacked a bit of depth. The markets opened the night before and the $8 was up for about an hour before the smart punters came, and over the course of the next two hours, ‘Boomer’ was into $3.50 as the punters went to sleep. After being declared by seemingly every man and his dog on race day, ‘Boomer’ received more support to start a $1.90 favourite. The race panned out perfectly, with the speedstar, It’s Smudgy leading and ‘Boomer’ landing on her back. From there it was a fate complete with ‘Boomer’ running down the leader and landing the monster go.
Honourable Mentions
Dog - Show Me Bucks (Box #2)
Monday, 02/08/21 - Murray Bridge
$7 - $1.60
Trained by Tony Rasmussen and owned by Nick Lalli, the notoriously huge betting duo had their eyes set on this first starter up at the Bridge. In what was predominantly overnight money, the massive opening price was totally wiped out by race time as the white and black chaser started odds on. He was fairly away but pretty green in a field, going down by 3 lengths and giving the bookies a sigh of relief.
Dog - Compulsory Hero (Box #2)
Tuesday, 12/10/21 - Murray Bridge Straight
$1.70 - $1.15
Not the standard plunge in terms of a massive opening price, but the betting on this race was just total one way traffic, with Compulsory Hero opening $1.80 and ending up $1.15, seemingly holding every bet on the race. It was a steady field so he certainly had his chance, but things went bad very quickly as he was very poorly away. He picked himself up to make steady headway midrace before putting in a huge surge late and… landing the cash. A good effort and a really nice plunge for those who love them odds on.