Victor Chandler

Lee Westwood is a best-priced 4/1 with Victor Chandler to win his first Major in 2012 after ending this year with a victory in the Thailand Championship. No one would be more deserving of a Major next year than the Worksop-born 38-year-old, who has been at the very top of his profession for more years that anyone cares to remember, but that first success in one of the four big tournaments of the year continues to elude hime. If he could just put together four rounds of the quality he showed in the opening 36 holes in Thailand, there are few in world golf who could live with Westwood. Rounds of 60 and 64 had the prize in safe-keeping at the halfway stage and his final 22 under-par total was seven shots too good for US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

Another English golfer still seeking a maiden Major  is world number one Luke Donald. I suspect if asked, the world number one would have traded his five victories in the US and Europe in 2011 for one of the Majors but, at 34, he still has a few years ahead of him in which to gate-crash one of the big ones and can be backed at the same 4/1 as Westwood with Victor Chandler to end his wait next year with the US Masters (16/1) currently rated his best chance with William Hill. You can get 9/4 with Victor Chandler that an Englishman wins a Major in 2012, which on the face of it appears fair value as the likes of Justin Rose, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter have all shown enough to suggest they’ll be thereabouts in at least of the couple of the Majors.

It’s been a traumatic year for Tiger Woods but the former world number one has shown he is no back number over the last couple of months and can be expected to storm back up the rankings again in 2012. He is only 7/4 with Boylesports to win a Major next year and 9/2 with sportingbet and Victor Chandler to top the US PGA Tour money list. Donald can be backed at 12/1 with Skybet to repeat this season’s notable achievement while Rory McIlroy is 9/1 with the same firm. American sensation Webb Simpson is 18/1 with bet365 and Paddy Power. McIlroy is 9/2 with Skybet to top the European rankings and win the Race To Dubai.

Lee Westwood returned to winning ways in stunning fashion in last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Worksop-born player is a worthy favourite at the general 5/1 ahead of the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

It’s not only Westwood‘s recent form that makes him such an attractive proposition at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, it’s also his record at the luxurious golf resort in the desert. Westwood won the Dubai World Championship in 2009 and was third 12 months ago when finishing just a shot off the pace. He’s had no trouble winning back-to-back tournaments in Korea and Indonesia earlier this year  so is clearly worth following once in the groove and he may be operating under less pressure than the likes of Luke Donald (a general 11/1), who knows a place in the top nine would be good enough for him to make history as the first player to top the US and European money lists in the same year, that’s providing Rory McIlroy doesn’t win in Dubai.

The young Ulsterman is suffering from a virus, however, and struggling to maintain energy levels which isn’t ideal with so much riding on the next four days. The US Open champion is a general 6/1 to win in Dubai. Sergio Garcia has enjoyed a successful second part of the year and should be refreshed having taken a few weeks off. The Spaniard is available at 14/1 with most layers while the 20/1 about Paul Casey with bwin very much catches the eye. Most bookmakers are paying out on the first five for each-way purproses and the Englishman wouldn’t be far away if reproducing the form he showed in the final three rounds of last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Others to consider include Ian Poulter (27/1 on betfair) who was beaten in a play-off in Dubai last year by Robert Karlsson (a general 25/1) and Germany’s Martin Kaymer (a general 14/1). The latter has won twice on the European Tour this year but his two previous appearances in this event have been disappointing and that may be the case again this season and, if I was forced to put up a big-priced outsider in this it would be Gregory Harvet. The Frenchman has secured a top six finish in three of his last six tournements, a second in the UBS Hong Kong Open last week guaranteeing his place in Dubai. He’s consistently recorded four-round under-par totals over the last few weeks yet Victor Chandler are prepared to put up 80/1 against his name. He’s the alternative value bet but Westwood may well show his class again in a tournament he clearly loves.

• Lee Westwood to win Dubai World Championship at a general 5/1
• Paul Casey (Each Way) at 20/1 with bwin
• Gregory Harvet (Each Way) at 80/1 with Victor Chandler

Experience of Aintree‘s Grand National fences should never be underestimated. Winning form at the track is an even bigger plus and that makes last year’s winner Hello Bud a very tempting proposition again in the Betfred Becher Chase, despite his advancing years.

Nigel Twiston-Davies‘ gelding will turn 14 on New Year’s Day and is at an age when most racehorses will be doing nothing more strenuous than nibbling a carrot or acting as the trainer’s hack. But Hello Bud is the exception to the rule and clearly enjoys the test these big fences pose. He’s only 3lb higher than 12 months ago when he had Ballyvesey (a general 20/1) back in fourth and his comeback fifth at Wincanton proves he is no back number. That outing should have blown away any cobwebs and the bold-jumping Hello Bud can light up Aintree again at the general 8/1.

Always Waining is another who rarely disappoints around Aintree and he’s won the Topham Chase for the past two years. Two recent runs over hurdles should have put him spot-on for this and Betfred are probably being a little generous in offering him at 12/1, though there is just a question mark about his stamina over this longer trip. Dessie Hughes has trained the winner of the Becher Chase twice in the last three years and relies on Rare Bob this time. Available at 12/1 with Boylesports, the nine-year-old has won four times over fences and has more chance in this than when reappearing in the Champion Chase at Down Royal last month, though still has his fair share of weight. Ireland may have more chance with Another Palm, who ran a cracker in the Cork Grand National last month having shown himself to be a progressive stayer in the spring. Still only a six-year-old, Noel Meade‘s chrage (a general 8/1) still has some scope though these fences will expose any lack of experience.

Huntingdon winner Max Bygraves (a general 16/1) is a doubtful stayer but Grand National fifth Niche Market (9/1 with most layers) will be staying on when others have cried enough and West End Rocker also has stamina in abundance, though it’s a little worrying that the 16/1 chance with Paddy Power, Stan James and Victor Chandler has failed to complete his last three starts.  Shalimar Fromentro (12/1 with Victor Chandler) and Swing Bill (a general 14/1) are also worth opposing but further rain would bring Bangor second Nicto De Beauchene into the equation at Skybet and sportingbet’s 11/1, though he’s high enough in the weights now.

Barely have the tyres cooled and the pit lane garages been locked up for the winter than bookmakers are already looking ahead to the 2012 Formula One season with Sebastian Vettel a best 11/8 with Betfred, totesport and Victor Chandler to complete a hat-trick of World Drivers’ Championships after running away with the title this year.

The German had the crown in safe keeping with four races to spare in 2011, becoming become the youngest-ever driver to win back-to-back titles, and it appears punters think he will prove a cut above the opposition again next year. Vettel won 11 times during the season and the 24-year-old’s next target will be to surpass Michael Schumacher‘s record of 13 victories in a year. Vettel described his team Red Bull as ‘faultless’ after finishing second to team-mate Mark Webber in the final Grand Prix of the year in Brazil and they are 11/10 to win the Constructors’ Championship next year with Skybet ahead of McLaren (13/8 with William Hill) and Ferrari (6/1 with bet365 and Skybet).

Behind Vettel, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton is a best 5/1 to win his second world title, with Ferrari‘s Fernando Alonso available at 6/1 with Skybet and Hamilton‘s team-mate Jenson Button 7/1 in several places. Hamilton‘s problem this season has been inability to steer clear of trouble. Some of his fellow drivers believe the Briton is much too aggressive on the track and lets his heart rule his head on occasion. His long-running feud with Felipe Massa certainly did neither driver any favours. Hamilton now has a few months to cool off and there are signs that McLaren are beginning to close the gap on Red Bull, but whether they’ll do that before the new season gets under way again in the spring is questionable given that F1 made a big effort to make the sport a more level playing field just 12 months ago and it’s unlikely there will be any more radical changes to rules over the winter.

There are more than 18,000 golf courses in North America and over 6,000 in Europe – but how long will it be before China overtakes both? The strength of the yuan at the moment in comparison to other major currencies, and a seemingly endless supply of able workers, means that China can afford to build like no other nation on the planet and the Omega Mission Hills World Cup has another new venue this year. The Blackstone course at Mission Hills Haikou has been described as immaculate by those who have already tested its recently-planted turf, though this will be no stroll in the sunshine. Carved, in part, out of volcanic rock, there are a number of irregularly-shaped bunkers designed to trap the unwary and the back nine will test the world’s best.

Brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari are bidding to become the first to retain their crown for more than a decade when they line up for Italy on Hainan Island and can be backed at a general 11/1. But this year’s competition, which features two rounds of fourball and two rounds of foursomes, looks a lot tougher than 12 months ago and Francesco is struggling with a wrist injury so we’re not looking any further than Ireland. Rory McIlroy and close friend Graeme McDowell are both Major winners and tied for second place when the event was last staged two years ago. They are bidding to become the first Irish pair since 1997 to lift the World Cup but are undoubtedly, on paper, the best team in the competition and Victor Chandler have rather gone out on a limb in putting them up at 9/2.

England are represented by Ian Poulter and Justin Rose and should also be thereabouts at the 7/1 offered by Ladbrokes, bodog and sportingbet, though the former has been a bit out of sorts lately. The USA once dominated the event but haven’t triumphed since Tiger Woods and David Duval stormed to victory in Buenos Aires in 2000. This year’s pair, Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland, are nowhere near that class and worth opposing at the general 9/1, unlike South Africa. Like Ireland‘s pair, both Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen are recent Major winners and the pair are also in form. The former is fourth in the European money list and impressed in last week’s President’s Cup, while the latter has finished in the top 10 in every tournament he’s contested since the start of last month. South Africa, who have won the World Cup five times, look a big threat at the general 11/2 while Scotland‘s pair of Stephen Gallacher and Martin Laird are likely to be competitive and could be worth a small each-way interest at William Hill‘s 33/1 but we’ll stick with the classy Irish to bring home the yuan.

Fresh from dominating the final round of the Australian Open the Internationals team, made up of non-European players, are determined to buck the trend and beat Team USA in the Presidents Cup for only the second time in nine attempts.

Since its inception in 1994, the Americans have dominated this Ryder Cup-style competition, enjoying far more luck against their largely Australian and South African counterparts than the Europeans, and team captain Fred Couples again has a strong line-up at his disposal. The likes of Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson and Webb Simpson will don the Stars and Stripes, while Bill Haas and 14-times major winner Tiger Woods are included as Couples’ wild-card picks. Tiger looked to be coming back to his best in Sydney and will be one of the chief attractions at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club where he is a 7/1 chance with Betfred to be Team USA‘s top points scorer. Likely playing partner Stricker is a general 9/1 to be his team’s top scorer, while the ever-improving Matt Kuchar is rated a 10/1 shot with Skybet, Paddy Power and Stan James.

The betting to be the International team’s top scorer is equally open with in-form Jason Day vying with Adam Scott for favouritism at a general 6/1. The interesting one in this market, however, may be Robert Allenby. One of five Aussies in the International squad, he boasts a terrific record at Royal Melbourne and it would be no surprise to see him come back to life after a largely disappointing 2011 on the US PGA Tour in which he’s only managed four top 10 finishes and seen his FedEx Cup world ranking slip 27 places. This is his local course and he’ll have a vociferous following on the tees and fairways so could be a worth a small interest at the general 12/1, while South African Charles Schwartzel is also a decent bet at Skybet‘s 8/1.

Royal Melbourne saw Team USA’s only Presidents Cup defeat in 1998 and 2011 could see history repeating itself. The Internationals are a best Evens with Ladbrokes and Stan James to notch a rare win, while the USA are 11/10 with bet365 and Victor Chandler to retain the trophy. Most layers are offering 14/1 against the tie. Team USA have six Presidents Cup rookies but nine of their 12 players have Ryder Cup experience so shouldn’t be fazed by the format or pressure but the ‘home’ team may just have their measure on this occasion.

Tiger Woods will return to action in the Emirates Australian Open this week ranked 58th in the world. It’s only a year since Tiger lost the number one spot to Lee Westwood but he’s trying to look forward rather than reflect on a traumatic period in his life which has seen his career blighted by controversy and injury. One of the most recent contentious aspects of Woods‘ fall from grace has been the breakdown of his friendship with former caddie Steve Williams, who admitted that remarks he made about the American last week “could be construed as racist”. Williams has since issued an apology but a reconciliation is unlikely in Sydney this week as the New Zealander caddies for local favourite Adam Scott, who is a general 8/1 to win the tournament. Woods is 11/1 with Betfred, totesport and Victor Chandler and has been promised that he won’t be paired with Scott and Williams in the first two rounds, though it will be interesting to see what happens if both are in contention on the final two days.

The Emirates Australian Open is big enough to stand on its own, however, without relying on a possible flare-up to spark interest. It’s being staged at the Lakes Club again this year and has attracted a host of big names from the US PGA Tour including Jason Day (11/1 with bet365 and William Hill), Hunter Mahan (16/1 with bwin and Paddy Power) and Dustin Johnson (a general 16/1). One who deserves a change of luck, however, is Matt Kuchar.  He’s tied for second place in The Memorial and filled the same spot in The Barclays Championship recently so could be a decent bet at the 20/1 with Boylesports, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power in Sydney.

This is a tournament in which the home team have proved almost irresistible in recent years, however. Lee Westwood is the only player from outside the southern hemisphere to have won the Australian Open since 1994 and South African Tim Clark the only non-Australian to have triumphed since 1998, so it may pay to concentrate again on those familiar with local conditions. Holder Geoff Ogilvy is 16/1 with Ladbrokes and Paddy Power, while Aaron Baddeley has won the tournament as both an amateur and a professional and is a general 20/1 this year.  I’ll put up the latter as a viable candidate again this year and he can also be backed at an attractive 15/8 with Skybet to achieve a top 10 finish.

Chelsea head to Blackburn this weekend in the Premier League, in the hope of stopping the rot. Chelsea have lost their last two matches now. A nine-man defeat against fellow Londoners  QPR was followed up by a nightmare defensive display against Arsenal. New boss Andre Villas Boas has definitely injected more of an attacking, free flowing ethos into the Stamford Bridge crew, but it has come at the price of being wide open at the back. They need to tighten things up back there if they are going to press forward, and they also need to sort out a settled strike partnership, as neither Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba or Nicolas Anelka are really making any valuable contributions. Chelsea have a good chance to get back on track against Blackburn, who are struggling along with a difficult season. Rovers are third from bottom with just one win on the season, which came against Arsenal. Blackburn just can’t stop the goals going in at the back, and with Chelsea’s defensive problems, it could be quite an entertaining affair at Ewood Park on Saturday. Chelsea of course are favourites to win, as they are still scoring quite freely, but Rovers produced a thrilling 3-3 draw against Norwich in their previous game. Online bookmaker Victor Chandler have a great promotion special running for your Blackburn v Chelsea betting. If your Winning First Goalscorer bet comes up with a second goal in the game, then Victor Chandler will double up on your original odds. This is a superb offer, covers your First Goalscorer market on the match very well. Among the First Goalscorer options, Fernando Torres is favourite at 7/2, while Daniel Sturbridge (who has looked like Chelsea’s most dynamic if unpredictable striker) is well priced at 9/2. The back up crew of Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka are around 6/1, while one of the stars of Chelsea’s season, young Spaniard Juan Mata is very well priced at 15/2. So there are good options in your Blackburn v Chelsea betting at Victor Chandler

Victor Chandler offer a free £25 bet for new customers registering an account. This generous sign up bonus is given as a free match first bet. The bookie will match the value of your first bet on a new account, with a free bet up to the maximum value of £25. So you can sign up with VC Bet and get some nice free betting cash to play with, and to hopefully pick up some extra profit! The Blackburn v Chelsea First Goalscorer special certainly offers a lot of value in the market, and the chance to double your money can’t be missed!

Blackburn v Chelsea Outright Winner Odds at Victor Chandler
Chelsea 1/2, Draw 7/2, Blackburn 13/2

The key to finding winners at this late stage of the Flat season is often uncovering those that are comparatively fresh in comparison to their rivals. One such is Willing Foe, who lines up for this weekend’s Betfred November Handicap, the last big race of the UK Flat season, with only one run to his name this year. That came at Newbury two weeks ago when the Godolphin gelding shaped with a great deal of promise in finishing fourth to Kirthill, staying on strongly inside the final furlong. The extra quarter-mile at Doncaster is hugely in the four-year-old’s favour as he won over the trip at Newmarket last year. At 13/2 with bet365, Skybet and Paddy Power, Willing Foe is plenty short enough in a field this size but he may eventually prove better than a handicapper and can make amends for a no-show in the race as a three-year-old.

There are bound to be dangers, of course, and one looks to be The Betchworth Kid. The promising Lucy Barry claims 5lb off Alan King’s versatile gelding who was runner-up to Times Up in the race 12 months ago when September’s Ffos Las winner Classic Vintage (16/1 with Coral, Victor Chandler and William Hill), Tepomokea, Montaff and Willing Foe were behind. The Betchworth Kid is only 3lb higher now and looks a stand-out each-way prospect at the general 20/1 as he goes well with give in the ground. Kiama Bay, 14/1 with sportingbet, has had a terrific season but Zuider Zee (a general 12/1) always seems to find at least one too good and never threatened on his latest start at Yarmouth, though trainer John Gosden has a good record in this race.

Merchant Of Dubai, sixth in the race in 2009, is dangerously well handicapped and may attract some each-way interest at Ladbrokes and sportingbet‘s 25/1 but has been a big disappointment this year and a better bet may be Pekan Star, who has only had five career starts. Roger Varian’s son of Montjeu should have no probelm with the step up to 1m4f and may be the type that’s best at the start and end of the year. He’s a general 10/1 and it would be no great surprise if he came out on top but I fancy Willing Foe to end the season on a happy note for favourite backers.

I really don’t like giving unwarranted page space to TV programmes like Strictly Come Dancing but I really think it’s about time someone of authority put some kind of terms and conditions on using the term ‘celebrity’. It wasn’t the programme itself that has brought this matter to a head rather a chat show interview with the recently-departed (only from Strictly) Nancy Dell’Olio.

Now I know most celebrities with an ounce of self-respect would rather eat their own toenails than appear on one of these talent shows, and that means that TV producers have to not only scrape the bottom barrel on occasion but also lift it to see what’s crawling underneath. But how far do you have to dig to find a woman whose only claim to fame is that fact that she once shared a bed with a womanising ex-England manager? When asked on the aforementioned chat show, she couldn’t even describe what she does in the real world! Admittedly, you have to make allowances for the fact that Ms Dell’olio is Italian but as she does most of her legal ‘work’ in the States, you would imagine she has at least a basic grasp of the English language. Though maybe not, as she did seem to struggle to understand even the basic concept of actually moving her feet in time to the music, something of a pre-requisite in a dance competition! Nancy, bless her, says she wants to continue dancing despite finally being given the boot by viewers – those more cruel than I would probably say they hadn’t realised she’d started yet!

The general consensus of opinion is that the competition will eventually evolve into a match between McFly drummer Harry Judd (2/1 with Boylesports, Ladbrokes and Skybet) and West End star Jason Donovan (11/5 with Victor Chandler), though our 8/1 advice Holly Vallance is still in there twirling. All those familiar with the film ‘Young Frankenstein’ will have already been comparing Audley Harrison’s performances to that of Gene Wilder’s tap-dancing monster and the former heavyweight boxer is a hot favourite at 5/6 with Ladbrokes to be the next voted off the show.