Steve Perks and the Lester connection

By Ian Carnaby

When you talk to people who take gambling seriously, it’s noticeable how many of them refer to ‘an edge’. Often it means inside information, although committed exchange players know that the very latest technology can be even more important.

If he ever thinks about it, the average television viewer probably believes the pictures he sees on his screen are absolutely ‘live’ with no delay at all. They aren’t, of course, because nothing happens instantaneously. If he hasn’t had a bet, a split-second here or there hardly matters. But just imagine a 20/20 cricket match on the other side of the world where a team is chasing 34 in fourteen balls and the delay in transmission is one whole delivery. Just think how an exchange player with the very latest equipment might benefit if a colleague on the telephone shouted ‘Six!’ as soon as bat met ball.

When I was playing for bigger sums than I do now, I never had an edge. Like a lot of people, I considered systems. Roulette players have probably thought about ‘doubling up’ since Fyodor Dostoyevsky stopped off at Wiesbaden. You become more sophisticated as you go along, waiting for three reds, say, before starting to back black. Then it’s not just a run of eight reds required to beat you, it’s 11. Then, bearing in mind how little you’re trying to win, even if you think it’s virtually guaranteed, you realise you might as well stake 1-2-5-12, not 1-2-4-8 because, if a bad run sets in and disaster looms, you might as well win more than one unit via your miraculous late escape - if it materialises.

Many, many years ago, a friend and I played a system like this, limiting ourselves to one hour in the casino. We played three times and won three times but, on the final occasion, it was only on the sixth spin that we turned it round. In that moment, we knew there was no point in going on. For a start, long runs of one colour come up far more often than most players realise and, in any case, the green zero is there to break up your rhythm. On top of that, only a gambler with ice in his veins can stake large sums to win a few units. Suddenly, you have major doubts and it’s time to do something else.

In my case, the only form of wagering where I think I might have made a steady profit, had I been prepared to spend time on it, was on the spreads. Some things just hit you between the eyes: as soon as Harry Redknapp left Fratton Park, that was the time to buy Tottenham’s points and sell Portsmouth’s. He really is that good. The best bets are those where you know from start to finish that you will have no regrets because the opportunity is there and you might as well get on with it.

On the turf, I often think I’d have done better by concentrating on certain trainers - Sir Gordon Richards (“When we run them in sellers, they don’t get beat”), Bill Wightman, the late Les Hall and Richmond Sturdy.

Richmond Sturdy spotted good apprentices early

I often think about old Sturdy. He spotted good apprentices as soon as they appeared on the scene and Geoff Lewis and John Reid both won races for him, the latter when still claiming 7lb. I thought about the trainer again this week when the sad passing of Steve Perks at 54 was announced. He went much too soon, it goes without saying, and you always wonder what it means when the piece includes the words: ‘He had his share of personal problems’. You can’t take it any further than that, obviously, but you surmise they were worse than your own. Worse than any 3am thoughts after eleven straight blacks, anyway.

It said in the Racing Post that Lester Piggott had complimented Perks, coached by the great Reg Hollinshead, on his riding style. Well, Lester would have known all about that. The better part of 40 years ago, the great man won the Ebor for Sturdy on Tintagel II. A grand servant to the Shrewton stable, Tintagel II had started to deteriorate a couple of years later when Sturdy ran him in the Eaton Handicap at Chester. Lester was on board again, but the trainer also ran Pirate Bell, virtually unconsidered in the market and ridden by one S Perks. Lester did not seem unduly surprised or put out in any way when Pirate Bell breezed past and won at 14 to 1.

I wonder if he recommended the lad to Sturdy? Maybe we should ask him. Then again, he’d only pretend he didn’t remember. Just imagine having both Richmond Sturdy and Lester Piggott on your side. You wouldn’t need to bet on anything else, would you? Even Dostoyevsky would have made a profit. That was the problem, really. Old Fyodor was around at the wrong time.