Bookies in record Festival bonanza

Lydia Hislop13 April 2012

Bookmakers are poised to celebrate breaking all records for Cheltenham Festival takings.

They had been expecting their highest turnover ever as a direct result of Chancellor Gordon Brown's decision to scrap betting tax last October.

But torrid results for punters and champion jockey Tony McCoy have swelled the bookies' satchels.

Favourites would have to sweep the board today, or champion jockey McCoy do a Dettori-style 'magnificent seven' to avert bookmakers from their best-ever Festival result.

Just three favourites have won in 13 races to date. Punters were crying into their Guinness in the pubs of Cheltenham last night after every race other than Queen Mother Champion Chase returned winners in double-figures, including 33-1 chance Hussard Collonges in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase.

"Yesterday was a fantastic result for bookmakers and Tuesday was pretty good, too," said Coral spokesman Simon Clare. "McCoy is winless and he's the jockey punters always follow. Most of the other favourites have been beaten as well. Combine that with record betting turnover and you've got a bookies bonanza."

"We've taken more money than ever before on the Festival and the results have gone our way, too. There's still one day to go, but even if the favourites for the Gold Cup, Triumph and Stayers' Hurdles all went in, it still wouldn't dent us much. Every single favourite would need to win - or McCoy to go through the card."

McCoy is enduring a week to forget. It was bad enough to finish second on leading fancies in Tuesday's first two races, but then Valiramix's freak fatal accident in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle left the six-times champion in tears.

Yesterday, he twice suffered the indignity of choosing the wrong horse from retaining trainer, Martin Pipe. Ruby Walsh powered the Pipe-trained Blowing Wind home from McCoy on stablemate, Lady Cricket, in the Mildmay Of Flete. Pipe's second jockey Rodi Greene won the Coral Eurobet Cup on the yard's 25-1 shot Ilnamar, while McCoy was last of 27 on 11-2 favourite, Golden Alpha.

Star-spangled challenge
The Clare Balding column

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