Those beaten and local training outfits were fast to offer congratulations to Braidon Small for taking out the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool with Instigator under him.

Back in 2023 Small learned of his brain tumour, underwent surgery and endured radiation plus chemotherapy to pave the way for returning to racehorse riding, jumpers in particular.

“You get up and keep moving forward. That’s what you’ve got to keep doing,” Small told racing.com after Instigator scraped home by the slimmest margin in Australia’s harshest test on Thursday over 5500m featuring 33 jumps.

Son to Cyril Small, who rode Vo Rogue through the late ’80s and into the ’90s, Small had a win drought of nearly three years ended by Instigator at Terang last month but was downcast by the Aaron Purcell-trained gelding’s showing in the Brierly Steeplechase (3450m) on Tuesday at Warrnambool.

“I went home with my head between my knees and sulking,” Small said.

“I’ve always had full faith in Aaron and the team at home and Aaron wouldn’t have run him today if he didn’t think he was right.

He obviously ate up well, trotted up well this morning and he had a bit more pep in his step on the way to start, not his usual tactic, so he was obviously feeling good.

That was great fun.”

The finish saw Instigator ($11) prevail by half a head against Hit The Road Jack ($4), Gambu ($26) 15 lengths adrift in third place.

Numbers worked in Small’s favour on May 7.

“In our family, our lucky number is seven,” Small said.

“I didn’t want to fill myself with a lot of nonsense, but he had saddle blanket seven and was in race seven.

I told no-one, I wouldn’t even let myself believe it.

We had a big job at hand, and I was more worried with that than numbers and stats and that sort of stuff.”

Instigator, bred in Germany, had his initial start at Cologne on May 7 2017, winning a maiden at 1800m.

May 7 becomes Instigator’s final racing day, given Australian rules prohibit running past age 13.

“It’s a forced retirement this year, otherwise we would be bringing him back next year,” Purcell said.

“This is the horse’s last start ever and it’s amazing it’s come off.

Braidon has been with us a long time, 10, 15 years and been working hard and this is the race we’ve always wanted.”

This victory is Purcell’s second in the Grand Annual Steeplechase, following Ginolad’s success in 2008.

Discover the finest betting sites with excellent racing betting markets for the Grand Annual Steeplechase.

After a career-best win against Junto Nakatani, Naoya Inoue is already being linked to a host of names, but he has been warned that he will be ‘slain’ on home turf if he accepts a clash with one rumoured dance partner.

Inoue landed the cleaner work in a unanimous decision triumph against ‘The Big Bang’ earlier this month, that being his seventh consecutive defence of the undisputed super-bantamweight title and a victory that will help define his career.

Whilst talk of a move to featherweight has been rife, Inoue announced beforehand that he plans to remain at 122lbs for one more fight.

It is beginning to become clear that unified super-flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is that man, and the Texan’s trainer, Robert Garcia, told the Ring that he believes his charge will keep up his ‘legend slayer’ tag if the fight happens.

“Bam is already known as the ‘Legend Slayer,’ and it doesn’t get any better than Inoue,

“I think the timing is perfect timing, if they end up fighting early next year. By then, we’ll have a lot of answers at 118, and we’ll have Bam back in the ring, hopefully by October, against another top bantamweight.”

“Jesse has the skills to compete against the best in the world, and he wants to fight Inoue … Inoue is still very fast and powerful, but I think Jesse has the skills, smarts and accuracy as the technical fighter to pull it off. We definitely have all of the skills to beat Inoue.”

Rodriguez has expressed his willingness to venture to Inoue’s backyard for the fight, and Saudi powerhouse Turki Alalshikh has confirmed his interest in organising a clash between the pound-for-pound stars in early 2027.

Gamble With Your Friends is a new arcade casino experience by TENSTACK and features one-to-six-player lobbies. In this title, gamers and their friends share a single bank account and have a massive debt on their hands. Players indulge in this “casino-crawler” and play various games to complete the daily quota given by their loan shark.

Since the game relies on luck, winning every match can be challenging, especially with the added stress of meeting the daily quota. To help you out, this article offers the best tips and tricks to increase your chances of winning in Gamble With Your Friends.

Best tips to win in Gamble With Your Friends explained

1) Play Duck Race

Duck Race is an ideal game for beginners, which offers the highest odds of making money in Gamble With Your Friends. Start the game with small bets and keep track of the ducks that win every time. Repeat this process for four to five rounds. Reload your save file and then place bets on the tracked options.

If you reload the save and play the races you tracked earlier before the day ends, the game guarantees the same outcomes. This method will let you to place correct bets and score a profit on each run. For the process to work, however, you need to make sure the day doesn’t end. Therefore, you need to be careful and keep an eye on the daily clock.

2) Play Dragon’s Tower

Dragon’s Tower is another game that can help you win in Gamble With Your Friends. Start it with your friends and record or memorize the locations of the bombs. Reload you save file and place your bets according to the placement of the bombs, and you’ll win every time.

This trick works because the Dragon Tower’s random sequence is not refreshed after a save has been reloaded. Reloading does not affect the outcomes of games and events. The outcomes will be constant as long as you are not playing on a table that requires manual interaction. It’s also worth noting that reloading doesn’t affect shop items.

3) Know your items

Items are an important aspect of Gamble With Your Friends and can increase your chances of winning if used with care. You can purchase your preferred items with Tickets by exchanging them in the item shop. If you don’t find the desired items, then you can reroll the list until your favorite item appears.

Items like Golden Chips are especially helpful when you are spending big in this TENSTACK title. They cost four Tickets per chip and can be used to get a one free all-in bet, removing the risk of losing. Use this item on a machine that hosts the largest payout to make the most of the free chance.

4) Use the Holy Statue

The Holy Statue is an item you can get for seven Tickets. While active, it prevents all losses nearby. To secure a win, you should use this item at the Street Craps table. During the first roll, it can be a win, a loss, or a draw. However, when the Holy Statue is active, the result will either be a win or a draw.

You can coordinate with your teammates and ask them to activate a statue at the time of a roll. If the roll comes out as a loss, it will be converted into a profit or a refund during the Points Phase.

That covers our guide for the best tips and tricks to win in Gamble With Your Friends.

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