BLOOMIN’
Billionaire Australian poker champion and his horse is favourite to win Melbourne Cup... but Brighton owner Tony admits: Nothing will ever beat Premier promotion
EXCLUSIVE
to race at York next weekend in preparation for the big one in Australia.
“It’s another passion of mine,” said Bloom.
“I think it has a reasonable chance, but it’s one of the toughest races in the world to win.
“At the moment, it’s favourite, although still a doublefigure price. But it’s a great horse and, all being well, I’ll be watching it come home.”
Bloom already has happy memories of Melbourne.
It was the scene of his first major win on the world poker circuit, winning the Australian Championship there in 2004.
In fact, the Brighton-born professional gambler earned himself the nickname “The Lizard” during his poker career – reportedly for his coldblooded decision-making.
He then went on to make a personal fortune, reported to be in the billions - by setting up an online poker website in the 2000s and using his mathematical brain to set up a model for betting on football fixtures. But it was only when he bought Brighton – the club he has supported since a boy – and pumped millions into saving it that he came to more public notice in 2009.
Taking the Seagulls from the brink of extinction to the top flight, playing in a stunning new stadium, still ranks as his greatest achievement.
And it will stay that way – even if Withold is first in Melbourne.
Bloom said: “Winning the Melbourne Cup would be pretty special, pretty unbelievable, but I don’t think anything is going to compare to taking Brighton into the Premier League. My first passion on a sporting front would be Brighton and Hove Albion – nothing would compare to that.”
Beating Manchester United for a second time – Jose Mourinho’s men lost at the Amex 1-0 at the end of last season – would rank high, too.
Bloom has used his mathematical and betting expertise to help Brighton compete in the top flight and last season they finished 15th to stay up comfortably.
Much of that was down to the club’s successful recruitment policy, which uses data analysis to help spot undiscovered talent, such as attacking midfielder Pascal Gross – who scored the winner against United last time out.
“I’d say most Premier League clubs will be using a lot of data analysis these days,” insisted Bloom
“It can be good, bad, indifferent, depending on how you do it. But you still want the scouting system in place, people watching live games and assessing the character of players because that’s really important.
“They’ve got to fit in, not just have the right technical ability.”
Bloom’s vision and energy has transformed Brighton and with horse-racing, poker and business ranked among his other passions, you wonder how
he fits it all in.
This summer he added to his football interests by buying Belgian Second Division club Union Saint Gilloise – meaning he now has two teams and one horse to cheer in the coming season.
You can be pretty sure that the No.1 priority, however, is what happens at the Amex today.
A victory for the underdogs in England and the favourite in Australia sounds like the perfect double bet.