It’s obvious that the price is important when you’re buying a house or shopping for a car. Astute value-orientated punters realize that the odds are important too when backing horses.

It can be hard to get your head around it, but the search for winners is not all that matters. Any horse can either be a good bet or a bad bet depending on the probability it has of winning.

An even money shot with a 60% chance of success is a smart bet, but a terrible underlay at 7/10. Of course, it is not a simple matter to calibrate precise chances of victory, and any edge is subjective. But punters motivated to make long-term profits must try to distinguish between positive expectation wagers and those to be avoided when the odds are unacceptably low..

Typically, bookies built in an over-round, percentage profit so that, in theory at least, they can lay bets about every runner and make a profit whatever the result. Ante post, the odds might add up to 125% (25% margin to the books) or even more. As the market forms the bookies’ margin may decline with total percentages adding up to 105%, giving the layers a 5% advantage.

Interbet prides itself on offering the best odds around. Nearing race time, the odds on the Interbet Exchange get closer still to 100% - sometimes even dropping below 100%, which is of significant benefit to punters.

At this point, the bookies are betting to lose, and the odds have shifted in the punters favour. This advantage to punters never happens with traditional bookies and will never happen with overseas betting exchanges, either. A point to ponder when striking your next win bet.

The heavy hitters stepped out at Sha Tin on Sunday in a series of high- class Group races. Ka Ying Rising (s/s 114 ++) is being touted as possibly the best sprinter in the world after freewheeling in way clear of toiling opponents in course record time; whilst Romantic Warrior (s/s 118 +), who has won G1’s in Australia and Japan, added another lucrative stake back on home ground without drawing deep breath. And the ultra- consistent, Voyage Bubble (s/s 111) received a perfect steer from James McDonald to win the Jockey Club Mile.

In the best of local action, Rascallion (s/s 109) bravely fought off the cavalry in the Cape Mile at Kenilworth. Vaughan Marshall’s valiant warrior prevailed in a blanket finish over Zapatillas (s/s 109) Gimme a Prince and Montien (s/s 108.)

The horse to take out of the race is Gimme a Prince. If he cracks a draw in the Kings Plate, then he could be hard to hold out. He did well to make up so much ground in Saturday’s contest. With a sectional upgrade, (22.9 seconds for the final 400m) he merits an excellent speed fig of 113.

Another notable number was recorded by Snow Pilot (s/s 106 ++). He went clear and drew off by a steeplechase margin in a 1400m contest. The 2023 Cape Guineas winner is a tough horse to get close to, never mind pass, when in a galloping mood.