Orelue, Mcculloch revel in tipsters’ competition wins
MARK Orelue (The Lark) and Mario Wayne Mcculloch (Slip Saddle) are out to further bolster their reputations as they seek to retain their top spots in the Capital Betting and Wagering Limited/jamaica Observer Tipsters’ Competition.
Both have started the 2019 campaign with proverbial targets on their backs after a fantastic tipping performance saw Orelue snaring top spot in the Most Wins category, while Mcculloch came out as the champion in the Monetary category. Each tipster will receive $50,000 for his efforts.
Orelue, who was copping his third-consecutive title, lauded the competitive nature of the contest as he had to stave off a heated challenge from Ruddy Allen (Kool Kat) after leading the year-long race for most of the way, finishing with 334. Kool Kat was eight winners behind on 326.
Donald Bahadur was third on 315 winners, fourth was Leslie Mclean (Hot Spur) with 303 winners, and fifth was The Genius with 301 winners.
“It is always good to win, but the little young fellow Kool Kat was relentless, because we were one-two for the entire year — nobody separated us — and I think he actually went by me once. At that point I thought to myself that, this brother is relentless, so I must give him that and it was good fun competition.
“I tip a certain way and I am glad that it is working. The way I tip, I always try to get the best horse in a race. Sometimes you read a race and it comes out that everybody going for one horse, but I don’t care about that. I am not a bandwagonist, so sometimes I like when I am the only one that tip a horse because I think I saw something that everybody else missed, and it has worked so I am pleased,” Orelue said after collecting his winning prize.
Meanwhile, Mcculloch, who was once at sea, recovered exceptionally to cop the Monetary category, ending the year with $23,051. His closest rival was Roshane Douse (The Future), who ended with a $17, 365, while Sherdon Cowan (The General) finished in third with $16,190. Mclean was fourth with $15,698, while Bahadur ended with $12,323.
“It is good to be back in the winners’ enclosure. One year I won both sections so it is good to win at least one this time around, and it is always good to be back on the winning trail.
“I will be trying very hard to retain my title, but the Lark and all the other tipsters provide good competition so you never know what can happen. But I will be trying my best to ensure that I hold on this title, if not winning the other,” Mcculloch shared.
Each tipster starts the year with a nominal figure of $20,000 to place their bets. They can bet a minimum of $250 per race day.
The competition offers quarterly prize money of $20,000 to the tipster who accumulates the most money of $20,000. The tipster with the most wins at the end of the quarter also gets $20,000.