by Shayne Driscoll
Reflections don’t come much fonder than Grand Final Eve at The Valley in September 2008.
As an avid Hawthorn supporter with tickets to see his beloved team take on the more-fancied Cats at the ‘G on the Saturday, with some friends I headed to The Valley on the Friday night to kick off a weekend sure to be full of laughs, without expectation. OTI having three runners on the night added to the excitement.
Kitted out in my Hawthorn jumper, with my friends I arrived at The Valley just in time to see our three-year-old filly Okaylah head out onto the track in Race 3. We rushed to get our bets on (small as they were at the time) and take up a vantage point on the front lawn. Suffice to say we were immediately anticipating a big night ahead when she duly saluted at odds of around 6-1.
With Cefalu our next runner in Race 6, we had some time to focus on the more relaxing opportunities presenting themselves on this evening, which we did. Before we knew it, the JRA Cup field was heading out onto the track. Again, we rushed to place a bet on our 100-1 shot, who was third up and likely looking for longer. Cefalu was part-owned by AFL identities Chris Judd, Matthew Pavlich and Dennis Cometti, and so perhaps as an omen on this football themed weekend, Cefalu surprised all when he won by a nose.
Celebrations recommenced and, with pockets well full, attention turned to Race 8 and the third of the OTI runners on the night, Annenkov. As a very small part-owner of Annenkov, this was the main event. But surely he couldn’t win as well. Stepping out at 20-1, he did! And in grand fashion too, leading throughout and holding over a length margin on the line. OTI had recorded a treble on Grand Final Eve!
Now keep in mind that 2008 was well before the now fashionable multi’s were in vogue, but it doesn’t take a maths genius to work out that the odds of the OTI treble were around 12,000-1. Suffice to say that this small time punter had a night to remember, which in turn became an unforgettable weekend when the Hawks upset the Cats against all odds.