13 March 2024 , 11:15
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A “lucky” punter made the perfect start to the 2024 Cheltenham Festival by going through the card on Tuesday.
The William Hill customer picked all seven winners on day one of the meeting to collect nearly £35,000. Keeping record-breaking Irish trainer Willie Mullins onside was key to the betting strategy.
The Cheltenham Festival’s all-time record holder raced towards a century of winners at the fixture with a first-day treble. He punished bookmakers when a hat-trick of favourites went in Gaelic Warrior, at odds of 5-2, State Man (4-11) and Lossiemouth (4-6).
The four other races fell to horses at bigger odds with Slade Steel winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 9-2, followed by Chianti Classico (11-2), Lark In The Mornin (6-1), with Corbetts Cross (5-2) claiming the last.
From an outlay of £5 the punter’s winnings came to a grand total of £34,825.94.
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William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps said: "It wasn’t a good Day One of the Cheltenham Festival for us, and one lucky punter took bookie bashing to the extreme as they went through the card to land a near £35k payout from just a £5 stake.
“Rachael Blackmore got the accumulator off to a flyer when Slade Steel won the Supreme, followed by all three of Willie Mullins’ hotshots flying home at short prices, either side of Chianti Classico’s triumph in the Ultima.
“Neither of the final two races were won by favourites, but this punter had a keener eye than most to pick Lark In The Mornin in the Boodles, before Corbetts Cross romped home by 17 lengths in the last, to comfortably bring home almost £35k.”