Life's a Gamble by Roy Brindley

Author:Roy Brindley [Roy Brindley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Transworld
Published: 2010-02-04T00:00:00+00:00

14

The Turn

IT WAS 2 January 2001 when I once again crammed my possessions into my car and found myself on the road. Things were a little different this time: this time I had somewhere to go, and life was good.

The new house in Kilpedder, all mine, was pleasantly tidy, and I cannot tell you how proud I felt to have my own place. Ireland was an adventure too, and in no time I’d made friends with Imelda’s two sons and a daughter, all of whom were around my age. Plus, unsurprisingly, I soon became a regular at Dublin’s two dog tracks, Shelbourne Park and Harolds Cross.

I’d bang away on the keyboard with a phone next to my ear all day long, and at night I’d be at the tracks. It was not the worst life imaginable, although the prospects of my keeping money remained as likely as filling a pierced bucket with a hosepipe. And it was flowing in: at the time I was also supplying a betting guide and tips for a few races from Wimbledon each night for a gambling company in Sweden that was now using the races to make up part of their national lottery; additionally, I wrote for an Irish publication, the Sporting Press newspaper. In fact, I was working so hard I couldn’t get to a betting shop to squander it. I ordered a Sky package, which allowed me to watch all the horseracing at home, while I could now bet via the internet.

When the racing was over there was time for some conventional TV. One evening, flicking through the abundance of tat which infects our televisual airwaves as I ironed a shirt ready for a night out in Dublin, I paused on hearing the name Noel Furlong. Furlong had landed one of the biggest horseracing gambles in history when his horse, Destriero, won the 1991 Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham. That win cost bookmakers a reputed £1 million as the owner/trainer had got his money on all over the place just moments before the off, meaning the bookmakers were unable to contract the horse’s starting price. The programme was a documentary about the 1999 World Series of Poker, and Furlong, who went on to land the million-dollar first prize, was the star of the show. I watched every second and thought to myself, ‘That’s fuckin’ brilliant. I’ve got to get myself some of this.’ Seconds after it finished I scanned the TV listings and found it was repeated six hours later. I set up the video recorder and must have watched that documentary at least half a dozen times over the following twenty-four hours.

Later that same week, a Spike Lee-directed movie called Clockers, about inner-city gangland crime, was due to be screened. I’d caught a trailer for the film and thought it was worth a watch. However, as the movie started I realized I’d made a mistake and I was about to see a flick called Rounders. I decided to watch the film all the same.

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