One lucky or incredibly wise punter has collected over £56k from an original bet of just £20 - and declared he has ‘completed’ Cheltenham Festival.
The Festival returned in style this week, with over 60,000 spectators drinking in the action on a daily basis as fans were allowed to attend for the first time in two years. Irish star jockey Rachael Blackmore, who made history last year as she became the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle aboard Honeysuckle and was also crowned the Festival’s leading jockey, dominated once more, winning the Gold Cup in stellar fashion.
While Blackmore crossed the line in first place on a number of occasions, perhaps Jonny Ratcliffe was the true winner at the famous racecourse.
With screenshots as proof, Ratcliffe revealed on Twitter that he had placed a £20 bet at 10,166.08/1 and was due to collect winnings of £56,610.92.
He bet on Edwardstone (7/4) outright in the Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy, followed by Stattler (5/2) outright in the National Hunt Novices’ Chase. Ratcliffe then backed Sir Gerhard (13/8) outright in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Galopin des Champs (4/5) outright in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
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In the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, Ratcliffe went for Facile Vega (4/5) outright and Allaho (4/5) outright in the Ryanair Chase, which the champion horse won in dominant fashion. He then bet on Flooring Porter (3/1) outright in the Stayers Hurdle before accurately predicting Blackmore would secure the win in the Gold Cup aboard A Plus Card (3/1).
Finally, Ratcliffe secured the dramatic win with Vauban (15/8) in the Triumph Hurdle.
The punter wisely ensured his bets were covered by the ‘non runner money back’ protection, with Galopin des Champs scheduled to run in a different race. Once the horse was moved, the bet was voided as a non runner - and it meant Ratcliffe was well on his way to securing the sensational prize.
Blackmore, a pioneer for women in sport, said she had fulfilled an ‘impossible dream’ after becoming the first female rider to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It’s another honour in the cabinet after she won the Grand National last year.
“You can never dream too big because this is something I never thought would be possible,” the 32-year-old said.
A Plus Tard won by 15 lengths from 2021 winner and stablemate Minella Indo, securing glory for Blackmore and trainer Henry de Bromhead.
