I was not surprised to find my friend hunched over the results of the big racing day near a Jockey Club outlet.

It was his annual indulgence now, though he has given up hopes of Lady Luck ever smiling on him. So he has stopped betting, only follows the main annual race just for kicks, he says.

I sat down beside him at the vacant shopfront as he scanned the results intensely. After a few minutes, he noticed my presence and nodded a hello.

I could see he was not pleased, though I was not sure if it was my presence or the race results that had caused the displeasure. “Punters must have had another tough day. Most of the favorites didn’t do well,” he said, clearing my doubt.

“I too would have lost heavily if I had bet on the favorites I picked before the race day. See here,” he said and passed me a sheet of paper. It was the lineup for the races on which he had marked out his picks.

“I thought you were an expert in this,” I said as I ran through the list of races and his choices in each one.

“So did I. Not any longer. The house is always the winner,” he replied.

The names on the list meant nothing to me nor the mysterious numbers next to them. But some fancy names caught my eye as I scrolled the list.

I saw his favorite in the first race was a chestnut called Jobless Bunch. “What made you pick this horse?” I asked, curious to know how these experts pick winners.

“Good horse that. Has been in fine form recently and increasing its pace,” my friend said. “But didn’t win.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“It needs a good jockey and support team. Lacks both. Others in the race have a better pedigree,” my friend explained.

“Oh, that is sad. So many things can influence a race,” I replied.

He had also picked a horse called Public Voice as his favorite for the second race. Even underlined the name twice. So he must have been doubly sure of that.

“What happened to the second race? Looks like your selection was strong,” I said. “It was also highly tipped, wasn’t it?

“Didn’t even get a look in. It was disqualified before the race. Didn’t get off the gates,” he said.

This was too complicated for me. I didn’t even know how horses could be stopped from running in a race. But I didn’t want to ask too many details and make my friend further desolate.

“So who was the winner in that card?” I asked. He looked at the result sheet and said: “New Bobbies. A new entrant, but a powerful one. Led the field from the start and no challengers.”

He then tapped on the result sheet and said: But I did pick a winner in the next one. Business Master!”

I glanced at the sheet in my hand. Yes, there was a tick next to its name.

“It is always favored and its owners spend lavishly to keep it in shape. Those who know the odds would not bet against it. Always the winner,” the racing guru went on, though I was not sure if he was talking about the horse or something else.

“I am afraid I don’t have any horse sense when it comes to such things,” I said.

I looked at the other names on his list – Public Rent, Sweet Dollars, Cardboard Granny, Ancient Plumber… the list went on. All of them had lost. I decided not to ask about them.

“Did you pick any other winners?” I asked, hoping talking about successes would change his mood.

“I did. Tourist Dream,” my friend said with a smile. “Was not sure of her form. Especially as the filly was down with a virus. But I knew she would be a winner as she has great lineage. Some punters are convinced it will scoop more in future.”

“But the real upset was Galloping Stox’s loss,” my friend continued. “It is a popular horse and has a legion of fans. I think the jockey must have made some mistake. Usually it breezes through.”

I was on unfamiliar turf on this subject and decided I better hoof it before he continues his analysis of winners and losers.

“Glad you didn’t actually lose money since you have stopped gambling. Keep it that way,” I said as I got up to leave.

“I know my winning streak is over,” he said. “Now all I do is watch the winners run away with the bounty. I am just a spectator now.”

I left him there, reminiscing his good old days. As I headed home I was thinking about the time he was the top dog. You have to budget for changes all the time, I guess.

(A fictional satire written by Hari Kumar, who is a journalist based in Hong Kong.)

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play