For most punters, the eight-race card at Southwell on Friday, the 21st of March, won’t live long in the memory. Eight races, consisting of seven handicaps and one Novice contest, provided competitive punting action but little to set the pulse racing. Unless, of course, you happened to be an intrepid St. Helens punter who selected the second half of the card to strike with one of the most incredible punts in recent memory.
Having witnessed an 11/8f, 15/8f, and even money favourite win races two, three, and four, our hero backed that the tide would turn against the market leaders. Turn it did, and spectacularly so. Stepping in with a £1 Lucky 15 and £5 fourfold for a total outlay of £20, by the end of the Southwell card, the inspired punter was celebrating a £96,578 payday. Not a bad way to start the weekend we wouldn’t say.
Leg 1: Dutch Gets Up, But Only Just
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Start Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dutch Kingdom | Liam Wright | Darryll Holland | 14/1 |
| 2nd | Legal Reform | Kieran Shoemark | Michael Herrington | 2/1 F |
The road to riches began in the Weekly Free Bets With BetMGM Extra Handicap with the Darryll Holland-trained 14/1 shot Dutch Kingdom. Possibly encouraged by the horse’s narrow second on his only previous outing at the track, our soon-to-be wealthy bettor sided with the five-year-old in a competitive heat.
Deep inside the final furlong, the sequence of winning favourites looked set to continue as market leader Legal Reform nosed ahead. However, Dutch Kingdom rallied and stuck his head down when it mattered to score by a short head.
Leg 2: King Keeps the Ball Rolling
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Start Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | King Of Fury | Sean Kirrane | Michael Dods | 12/1 |
| 2nd | How Impressive | Oisin Murphy | Hugo Palmer | 8/1 |
| 3rd | Touchwood | James Sullivan | Ruth Carr | 66/1 |
Sticking to the theme of solid all-weather form, King Of Fury earned the vote in the Best Odds Guaranteed AT BetMGM Handicap. Never out of the first three in four starts on the all-weather and a winner last time out at Kempton, the five-year-old was the 12/1 selection on his first start for Michael Dods.
With favourite King Of Ithaca enjoying no luck in running, King Of Fury hit the front at the 1f poll and fended off all-comers to score by a relatively comfortable neck. At this stage, the St. Helens oracle was already handsomely in profit, with the 14/1 and 12/1 double element of his Lucky 15 returning £195. Much more was to come though.
Leg 3: Toby Well On Top
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Start Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Toby Tops | George Wood | Dylan Cunha | 6/1 |
| 2nd | Balgowan | George Downing | Seamus Mullins | 13/2 |
| 3rd | Fiftyshadesaresdev | Aiden Brookes | Micky Hammond | 6/1 |
Despite their double-figure SPs, it wasn’t too hard to see the appeal of Dutch Kingdom and King Of Fury. However, it required a little more imagination, despite the shorter odds, to envisage 6/1 chance Toby Tops coming home in front in the Gamble Responsibly At BetUK Handicap. In six previous outings, the Dylan Cunha-trained four-year-old had compiled the rather uninspiring form figures of 666686.
Not an obvious winner in waiting, but the Siyouni gelding was one of the least exposed runners in the line-up and dropping to Class 6 company worked the oracle. Not that a victory looked likely turning into the straight. Second from last rounding the bend, the mount of George Wood still had five to pass at the furlong pole. However, once switched into the clear, the response was electric, as Toby Tops stormed home for a 1½l success. With a treble in the bag, our punter was set to collect at least £1,791.
Leg 4: Sevensees Sends Return into Stratosphere
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Start Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Sevensees | Warren Fentiman | Stuart Williams | 10/1 |
| 2nd | Moulin Booj | Callum Shepherd | George Scott | 2/1 F |
| 3rd | Popular Dream | Joanna Mason | Derek Shaw | 9/2 |
Three legs down and only one to go. All of a sudden, there was a lot riding on the Stuart Williams-trained Sevensees in the Free Bets With BetUK Bet Club Handicap. Formerly based in Ireland with Johnny Murtagh, the son of Sea The Moon had shown encouragement on his all-weather debut when finishing a slightly unlucky fourth over 6f at Chelmsford.
Both wins in Ireland had come over the 5f trip, and jockey Warren Fentiman was taking no chances that his mount would suffer trouble in running this time. Rousted straight into the lead, the five-year-old refused to be reeled in, holding on tenaciously to deny the late charge of market leader Moulin Booj by a richly rewarding head.
Ladbrokes Left Reeling
No doubt a rather loud cheer went up on Merseyside when Sevensees crossed the line. Once the dust had settled, our hero collected £21,503 for the Lucky 15, plus a whopping £75,075 for the £5 four-fold.
When reflecting on the remarkable win, Alex Apati of Ladbrokes stated:
“Our plucky punter truly has put the luck in Lucky 15 here.
“You’ll do well to find a closer finish than Friday night’s 7.00 at Southwell.
“And while there was still a long way to go in the bet at the time, that short-head victory for Dutch Kingdom ended up being the £95,000 difference maker for our customer.”
