Sunday afternoon

Just as imagined over the last couple of months, the eventing all came together, and Phillips won. After watching the final showjumping round which won it, I've just been sitting back watching the bookies and exchange reactions. I watched it on interactive, it's just started on terrestrial, and it's a Sunday afternoon before bank holiday, and the sports personality market has been slow to react this year, so the market has been a bit slow, so I've hoovered up a few prices from slow bookies between 16 and 28, and watched the prices all come in. Zara went favourite at 16.38 on betfair, and with the first of the bookies, betdirect at 16.41. I imagine once more people find out about the result, and the snowball effect takes hold she'll go odds on. With such a charismatic and popular personality, the spotlight is unlikely to be lost between now and December, and there's the medal ceremony to refocus memories and emotions whereas Murray only has performances. I can't imagine a Ryder Cup win over an embarrassingly weak US side would give enough opportunity for an individual to come to prominence, or Murray winning the US open, and only the First ashes Test, perhaps a Monty 10for or a Freddie allround match-winning performance stand in the way of a very nice win.

Thinking again

My betting over the last few months has been erratic. I haven't had time to study form and possible outcomes too much but that hasn't stopped me placing bets, which have inevitably been losing ones, simply following money or impulse. As I've got a bit more time on my hands now, I need to finally find a winner from the hapless and hopeless group of British sportspeople who will be named sports personality. I've had lots of bets on this at value prices, when the opportunity arose for someone to come to prominence in a way which would capture and sustain the public interest and imagination. I was hit by injuries, Rooney and Flintoff chiefly, and rank bad performances. There are now so few sporting opportunities left that it won't take a huge achievement to win it, and spare us from a non-sportsman winning the award. Zara Phillips is the European eventing champion, and I think a gold in the team or individual event at Aachen would put her in the frame for SP. The BBC will be covering it, so as a rarity will have extensive highlights to plug; the Fools on Horses is in the recent memory of viewers; she has a popular and charismatic personality; a female was unfortunate to win it last year - though Phillips still won the sportswoman of the year, despite Macarthur and Radcliffe leading the market for the main award most of the year; her mother won it to add to the sentimental value. All in all, the 125 and 100- 1 I've got looks hugely interesting. Basically I think if she wins the gold, she wins sports personality. She was 8-1 prior to the European which she won, and has seemingly improved since, so the opportunity seems a good one.