With a record-breaking total of £232.73, some £60 better than any previous score, senior SIS racecourse controller Arthur Jones stormed clear of his 59 rivals and was a runaway winner of the 2010 HWPA/Paddy Power tipping competition. Arthur headed the field after the 40-1 winner Orsippus landed his nap (double points) at Aintree and he never looked back. A couple of 20-1 naps at Newmarket and Doncaster, together with decent totals from his holiday base on the Spanish beaches propelled him further ahead and he came home unchallenged.
The tussle for second place was much closer as Timeform’s Martin Dixon, making his debut in the competition, and freelance Kettering man, Paul Jones, flip-flopped several times after Jones had overtaken Dixon with an impressive £73.13 total profit at Glorious Goodwood. Only on the final day at the Paddy Power Open meeting did Jones clinch the £1000 runner-up prize.
A couple of 20-1 naps contributed to Racenews reporter Ed Prosser’s fourth place, one spot lower than he achieved last year, and a late spurt at Doncaster and Newmarket’s Autumn meetings enabled Raceform Update’s David Smalley to win the battle of the Davids for minor money. Betfair/Timeform correspondent David Cleary consistently gets into the top twelve and he edged out the Sporting Life racing editor David Ord
for the sixth- placed money.
Arthur Jones has set a daunting target for future competitors. All who took part enthusiastically in the 2010 contest extend their thanks and gratitude to the Paddy Power firm for their generosity in supporting this long-running tournament.
1st ARTHUR JONES (SIS) £232.73 WINS £3000 Cash
2nd PAUL JONES (Freelance) £140.29 WINS £1000 Cash
3rd MARTIN DIXON (Timeform) £136.09 WINS £500 Cash
4th ED PROSSER (Racenews) £126.60 WINS £400 Cash
5th DAVID SMALLEY (Raceform Update) £102.77 WINS £300 Cash
6th DAVID CLEARY (Betfair/Timeform) £101.94 WINS £250 Cash
7th DAVID ORD (Sporting Life) £100.04 WINS £100 Free Bet
8th HUGH JOSEPH (Retired Ed RFO) £92.12 WINS £50 Free Bet
9th JOHN SEXTON (Freelance) £83.05 WINS £50 Free Bet
10th MARK BEESLEY (N’ampton Chron) £82.95 WINS £25 Free Bet
11th IAN CARNABY (TV Broadcaster) £81.22 WINS £25 Free Bet
12th CHARLES FAWCUS (Retd Mirror Corr) £80.98 WINS £25 Free Bet