The Westminster Stakes: Endgame?

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There are a lot of people out there who believe that Archbishop Nichols has this one in the bag and are putting their money on him. Abbot Hugh Gilbert's meteor is waning; Fr Radcliffe's star inexplicably continues to burn; and the rest are either clinging on to their odds or are waning seriously.

Remember: this has NOTHING at all to do with whom the Pope will select, but everything to do with how the people who bet on this sort of thing (mainly Catholic insiders from the UK and Ireland) read the tea leaves. Are they forgetting that coffee grounds are used in Rome? Are they banking on a strong consistent message from the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, allied to curial agreement, breaking down any resistance from a Holy Father? Is this a sign that the money is being piled on in anticipation of a decision to be announced imminently? It's good fun, this is.

Rt Rev Vincent Nichols 7-4 (2-1) (7-2)
Dom Hugh Gilbert 6-1 (4-1)
Fr Timothy Radcliffe 6-1 (10-1) (6-1)
Rt Rev Kevin McDonald 8-1 (6-1) (5-1) (7-2)
Rt Rev Alan Hopes 8-1 (6-1) (11-2)
Bishop William Kenney 8-1 (15-2) (6-1)
Rt Rev Arthur Roche 10-1 (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Fr T Finegan 10-1
Cardinal Pell 12-1 (10-1)
Fr Aidan Nichols 12-1 (11-1) (5-1) (6-1)
Rt Rev Peter Smith 12-1
Archbishop Michael Louis Fitzgerald 116-1 (14-1) (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Patrick Kelly 16-1 (14-1) (12-1) (10-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Bernard Longley 16-1 (14-1) (12-1)
Rt Rev Michael Evans 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue 20-1 (16-1)
Bishop George Stack 20-1 (16-1)
Fr Christopher Jamison 20-1
Bishop John Rawsthorne 25-1 (20-1)
Bishop John Patrick Crowley Non-runner (33-1)