Against the odds / Roddy L'estrange:There was a perceptible spring in the step of the middle-aged, slightly portly figure who crossed the courtyard at Clontarf bus garage and hauled himself a little wheezily into the driver's cabin of a number 130 bus.
It was seven bells on a crisp Monday morning and Vinny Fitzpatrick was aglow inside. Never one to wallow unduly in self-pity, Vinny was convinced his rough patch, in both his personal and professional life, was behind him. He had good reason to feel upbeat.
The first light in a grey sky had appeared the previous Saturday morning when he was told to report for duty at Clontarf after a stint in the sticks at Harristown. It meant an extra hour in bed and a return to the roads, and the people, he knew intimately.
Later that day, he'd slipped into Boru Betting, if not quite bold as brass but with a relaxed air in the knowledge that Angie, whom he adored, wasn't working.
She was on holiday in Egypt with her ex-husband, Ron, who was attempting to win back her affections. "I hope he gets bitten by an asp," muttered Vinny as he scribbled out his bets, a tenner on three doubles, and a score on a treble.
Not for the first time, Vinny had pinned his hopes on the Paul Nicholls-Ruby Walsh National Hunt axis.
As he waited for the off at Sandown, Vinny reflected on the mind-boggling number of big-race winners Nicholls had trained since the season hit top gear in mid-November. Not all of them were huge prices, but a winner's a winner.
There had been Kauto Star (Betfair Chase and King George), Denman (Hennessy Gold Cup and Lexus Chase), Mr Pointment (Becher Chase), Twist Magic (Tingle Creek) and Turko (Future Stars Chase).
For clued-in punters, it had been like taking candy from a baby, thought Vinny. Little did he know, this Saturday it would be his turn for a sugar-fix.
With the customary tingle in his fingers and toes, Vinny took his usual pitch close to the big-screen TV near the door and watched events unfold.
Master Minded at 9 to 4 got Vinny off to a perfect start, and when Walsh booted home Breedsbreeze 35 minutes later at 6 to 4 in the Tolworth Hurdle, Vinny had won € 81.50 and was already quids-in for the day. Before the next, a handicap hurdle in which Walsh rode Five Dream, a 16 to 1 shot for Nicholls, Vinny tried to calculate how much he stood to win.
Adding was generally a strong point - he'd got a C in honours maths in his Leaving Cert at St Joseph's, Fairview, in 1976 - but nerves got the better of him and he soon put his pencil aside. As the runners were called in, Vinny tried to recall when Walsh last rode a 16 to 1 chance, especially after riding the two previous winners. Did the punters know something he didn't? As the race unfolded, Walsh held Five Dream back in mid-division. Around him, punters berated Ruby for being too far off the pace, but Vinny wasn't concerned.
Sandown was notorious for an uneven patch of ground on the side of the course adjacent to the railway. Horses tended to go too fast down that stretch and then run out of puff on the climb to the finish. Slowly, stealthily, Walsh steered Five Dream through a posse of tiring horses, taking the lead at the second-last flight. By now, Vinny had lost it. "Go on Ruby, you good thing, go on, go on, go on," he screamed at the telly.
Over the last, Five Dream still led. Walsh was hard at work. Another horse was closing fast. "Ride, Ruby, ride," urged Vinny. Five Dream flew past the winning post, unbelievably in front.
Around him, Vinny felt the slap of congratulations on his shoulders. His good friends Brennie and Kojak were among the gang of Boru Betting punters who knew what was riding on the outcome. "Vinny, the pints are on you," grinned Brennie.
It took Vinny a while to regroup, even longer to approach the counter to collect his winnings. How he wished Angie could have been there to witness his finest hour. "She's probably stuck in some pyramid pretending to be happy," he thought.
His docket was checked, after which the manager asked Vinny would he take a cheque or would he prefer cash. "Cash, please," said Vinny politely. The notes were counted out; the total came to € 3,820.75 - more than Vinny grossed in a month. The remainder of Vinny's Super Saturday had been a blur. He'd opened a tab in Foley's for the lads and he could vaguely recall making plans to go to Cheltenham in March. This bright January morning, feeling clear-headed and invigorated, he was enjoying being back on familiar ground and was greeted like an old friend by the 130 regulars.
The route took him past Seafield Avenue, where he'd played soccer as a kid on the pristine pitch at Green Lanes - he was slow but had a useful left peg - and then swung by Mount Prospect Avenue, stopping directly outside Angie's house.
Vinny couldn't resist a quick glance to his right.
"Some day, I'll be back and this time I'll show big Ron who's the real loser," he said softly to himself.
Bets of the week
• 2pts Green Bay Packers to win NFC Championship (9/4 Boylesports).
• 2pts Portsmouth to beat Sunderland (6/4 general).
Vinny's Bismarck
• 1pt Lay Middlesbrough to be relegated (3/1 Paddy Power, liability 2pts).
