But with a young child and about to be married, he had scaled back his punting considerably as other things in his life took priority.

He hadn’t had a bet since the spring carnival, but was keen to have a lash last Saturday.

On his buck’s trip at Yarrawonga with a bunch of mates, the crew were having lunch at one of the local pubs before going on a cruise of Lake Mulwala later that afternoon.

After lunch and a few beers the punters among the group placed a few bets to listen to while on the cruise.

Marbles had a quick browse of the form guide and decided on two horses he was going to back.

“I like two good things,” he said to his mate Dids.

“Five All is a good thing at Caulfield and I also like Go Ken at Ascot.

“The old man gave me $150 to spend on the buck’s party.

“I’m going to have the lot all-up on the pair and hope for a bit of luck.”

Marbles went to place the bet but with the fixed odds betting not available on the Ascot meeting was unable to place an all-up bet.

He decided to pocket the $150 and not worry about having a bet.

On the cruise, the buck was happy with his decision before Five All lobs at Caulfield and pays a juicy $5.60.

No prizes for guessing that Go Ken also wins at Ascot and also returns a nice dividend of $4.80.

Fuming on missing what would have been a collect of over $3500, Marbles jumps off the boat into the lake cursing his misfortune.

He climbs back aboard the boat only to get that sinking feeling when he realises his mobile phone is in his pocket.

Worse still, he had only just upgraded his phone before Christmas and is now up for $1000 to replace it.

Hopefully Marbles can have a bit more luck on his honeymoon later this month.