THE BERNIE THE BOOK COLUMN


SHAUN TO ROLL BACK THE YEARS AT THE CRUCIBLE- PERCY FOR JP AT AINTREE


CAN IT REALLY BE as long ago as 2005 when a fresh faced, chubby SHAUN MURPHY hit our TV screens to capture the World Snooker crown as a debutant in Sheffield? Incredibly so and now some two decades later, I think he will recapture the crown in a very open year. He might have lost his baby face looks but, now with former world champ Peter Ebdon as his mental guru, he has banished the demons of self-doubt and as his win at the Masters recently testified, he is peak- ing just in time for an extended stay at the Crucible. Backers of Ronnie need not book any hotel rooms for the second week! Shaun is available at a tasty 12/1.


I’m hoping the draw pans out so that my second pick is in the different half of the draw, and that is old granite rock MARK (the jester from Leicester) SELBY at around 8/1, but bets should be tempered until the full draw is revealed.


The tournament starts on the 19 April.


Look out for any markets that offer a Chinese world champion, I have been scouring the novelty bet and anything around 10/1 should be snapped up especially as the bet comes with free prawn crackers and spring rolls!


Dangers abound and in those of you who just play match bets, I would lay Ronnie (mind), Mark Williams (eyes) and Mark Allen (confidence) and back Judd (juggernaut), Jak Jones (crucible) and Zhang Anda (inscrutable)


THE NEXT BIG THING


I have long been championing the virtues of the Irish trainer Gavin Cromwell and last month’s Festival certainly boosted his popularity and performance. And so to the National at Aintree on 5 April.


I think the same combo to the Gold Cup can go in again with JP at the helm with PERCEVAL LEGALLOIS.


At 16/1 in a 34 horse marathon, bets should be tem- pered but nevertheless should be backed together with my other fancy, MINELLA COCOONER at 50/1 from the all conquering stable of Willie Mullins.


GREEN JACKET BECKONS FOR…?


Sandwiched between these two weekends (see what I did there?) is golf’s first major of the year. The Masters from Augusta in Georgia and this presents a great betting opportunity. Why? I here you opine...


1. Unlike the other majors with field sizes around 150, the Masters is limited to about 80, 20 of whom are past champions and some touching 90!! Gary Player for example.


2. You need course form and years of playing the course. Just look how well the likes of Ben Crenshaw and Freddie Couples score year in year out.


3. That apart, you need a red hot putter to counter the stimp meter and without actually experiencing how hard the greens are compared to the rest on the PGA ,then just watch the 5 and 6 putts accumulate.


So, who to back?


Always back the German (Bernard Langer) in any make the cut, Senior or even Sauerkraut market! But seriously I think the two to challenge for the Green Jacket are COLLIN MORIKAWA (16/1) and LUDWIG ABERG (14/1). Both extol the tem- perament, length and putting technique to win.


In the debutant market I would chanceASHLEY BHATIA if he is qualified, but I would certainly back him on the exchanges/performance linked markets, such as Sporting Index. On conventional bookie sites he is trading at around 50/1.


I


must admit at first I thought the horse was named after a character from Tolkein, but further research has led me to deduce he is an Arthurian knight of Welsh extraction. I digress....


PHTM APRIL 2025


All that’s left to say is Allez La France as I headlined in February, with victories for not only France’s rugby team but also PSG.


Until next time Good punting


Bernie the Book 85


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86