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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Melissa Jones

Punter could turn just £5 into £275k with amazing Cheltenham Festival ante-post acca

A punter's dream of turning just £5 into a life-changing sum begins in the very first race of Cheltenham 2022.

Liam Honeybourne's five-fold, which has a return of almost £275,000, gets underway in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.

He backed Jonbon, now no bigger than 4-1, at 25-1 for the curtain raiser, a race the horse's trainer Nicky Henderson has won with some of his best horses.

The £570,000 purchase has taken all three of his hurdles start to date – and bids to follow the stable's stars Altior and Shishkin with an opening triumph.

If it's 1-0 to Honeybourne, from Hereford, at the kick-off, his bet will run on to Telmesomethinggirl.

The mare was one of Henry de Bromhead's winners at last year's meeting, a haul which included the feature Gold Cup with Minella Indo.

Telmesomethinggirl, picked out at 12-1, is now the 3-1 favourite for the Mares' Hurdle, which is also run on the Tuesday.

Rachael Blackmore and Telmesomethinggirl will reunite at Cheltenham (PA)

Wednesday's headline act is Shishkin, the 4-5 favourite for the Champion Chase.

Henderson's ace got the better of Energumene in a thrilling clash at Ascot on January 22 – and Honeybourne secured odds of 6-4 for the rematch.

In one of the clashes of the meeting, Shishkin has a length supremacy to uphold over his big rival.

Energumene hails from Willie Mullins' stable, the all-time best for winners at the fixture.

But acca punter Honeybourne will he hoping the yard will again miss the target in what is now the Turners Novices' Chase.

Mullins horse Galopin Des Champs is a challenger to Bob Olinger, the fourth bet selection at 4-1.

Trainer Nicky Henderson with star chaser Shishkin (Getty)

The pair are both around 5-4 at the current prices for the head-to-head on Thursday, to which L'Homme Presse adds further spice if in A1 condition.

Four winners lines Honeybourne up for a crack at the Gold Cup with big race pick A Plus Tard.

At 12-1, those odds are four times higher than the current 3-1 backers can take with the bookmakers.

Under Rachael Blackmore, A Plus Tard finished second 12 months ago and the Gordon Elliott-trained Galvin is one of his main rivals this year.

Protektorat, part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson and the dual hero Al Boum Photo are also in the mix.

Should the bet come off, the bookmaker will be paying out a total of £274,625.

But if it gets through several legs, the firm may offer a substantial 'cash out' alternative.

In 2021, Paul Dean landed a £250,000 windfall in that manner – and it proved the right decision as his last pick Envoi Allen fell.

He then went and won £140,000 on Gold Cup day to cap a brilliant week following the action at Prestbury Park.

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