Stan Hey: 6-5 Against

Look away now if you don't want to see what New Zealand's odds are for beating England at Twickenham today – from the shortest, 1-33 at Blue Square, to the longest, 1-14 at Betdirect.

There is more fertile betting territory in tomorrow's big football games. In the Manchester Derby, Sir Alex Ferguson will be reminding his team that City did the double over United last season. Meanwhile Mark Hughes will be keen to enhance his CV now that Ferguson has retirement on the horizon. I fancy City to win – 100-30 with Bet 365 or William Hill, £10 stake.

Over at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea need to shape up after a run of scratchy form, while Arsenal will settle for anything that's not a season-ending defeat. A draw seems a fair option, £5 at 13-5 with Boylesports.

Predictably, I was not a Scoop6 winner last week – out by the second leg as usual – but I found two winners, including Possol, yet another success to come from last season's Jewson Novices' Chase at Cheltenham. The race has produced seven winners in all, including Big Buck's, the favourite for today's venerable handicap, the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

Paul Nicholls's five-year-old took the Mildmay at Aintree, over 3m 1f, and should stay today's trip. Whether he can triumph off 11st 7lb is questionable, as typical Hennessy winners carry less than 11st. Indeed, I'm going for the bottom weight, Island Flyer, who won three chases last season and lost by the width of my betting slip at Wincanton three weeks ago. Payback comes at 7-1, £10 win.

*The Irish duo of Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley were yesterday cunningly placed, just six strokes off the lead, after two rounds of golf's World Cup in China.