Bet365: No.1 for
Ascot Betting
Punters profit at Royal Ascot 2010
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Bet365: No.1 for Ascot Betting |
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Punters profit at Royal Ascot 2010 |
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Bookmakers and layers were left licking their wounds as punters had their best Royal Ascot for years - over 40% of the winners during the five day meeting were favourites in the Ascot betting. Initial estimates suggested that the meeting had cost the bookmakers over £45 million, making the £10 million price tag on McCoy’s Grand National victory aboard Don’t Push It seem like a mere drop in the ocean. The opening day provided more than just a spectacular schedule with three Group 1 races, it delivered a sensational result for punters in the Ascot betting and a blood bath for the bookies. Goldikova, the French wonder filly and heavily backed 11/8 favourite in the Queen Anne Stakes, rewarded her many followers by winning by a neck in a thrilling finish under Olivier Peslier. Having hit the front a furlong and a half from home, Goldikova appeared vulnerable as Paco Boy finally escaped traffic problems to make a surging run under Richard Hughes, closing rapidly on the filly. The company of the Richard Hannon trained Paco Boy, second favourite in the Ascot betting at 11/4, seemed to re-galvanise Goldikova and she responded to Peslier’s drive to win by a neck. The Barry Hills trained Equiano was a popular winner of the King’s Stand Stakes. Sent off the third favourite at 9/2 in the Ascot betting, the race did not begin well for him. Jockey, Michael Hills, had to sit tight as Equiano fell to his knees on leaving the stalls. The partnership remained intact and soon recovered sufficiently to take the lead and maintain it, beating Henry Candy’s Markab by one and a half lengths. Favourite in the Ascot betting, Kingsgate Native could only finish sixth under Ryan Moore. The third race was the eagerly anticipated St James’s Palace Stakes. The Richard Hannon trained colt, Canford Cliffs, was joint favourite at 11/4 in the Royal Ascot betting, despite having been beaten twice by stablemate, Dick Turpin, before scoring impressively in the Irish 2000 Guineas. Punters cheered whilst bookies grimaced as Canford Cliffs took the lead from Dick Turpin 75 yards from the finish, beating him by a length under Richard Hughes, unhindered by the loss of front shoe en route. The joint favourite in the Ascot betting, Makfi, failed to reproduce his winning 2000 Guineas form finishing a disappointing seventh under Olivier Peslier. The Coventry Stakes brought another triumph for the Hannon team as the heavily backed Strong Suit, ridden by Richard Hughes, justified 15/8 favouritism to steal victory from Richard Hills and Elzaam on the line, winning by a nose. Strong Suit had been held off the pace and encountered obstacles galore when trying to make his run. He cannoned straight into another runner’s quarters at one point, more than breaking both horses’ momentum. Richard Hughes commented that it was as if the colt were blind, as most horses, even inexperienced ones, will try to run round other horses rather than directly into them. The highlight and only Group 1 contest of the second day, the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was another big race for favourite followers and Prince Khalid Abdulla. Byword, trained by Andre Fabre, was sent off the 5/2 favourite in the Ascot betting. He was heavily fancied having run a close second to the triumphant Goldikova at Longchamp. Fabre admitted to having some doubts about his youthful and relatively inexperienced jockey, Maxime Guyon, but not in his colt’s ability. Guyon kept Byword close to the leaders throughout and took the lead impressively just before the furlong pole. His main challenger was the second favourite in the betting, the Henry Cecil trained Twice Over, ridden by Tom Queally. After struggling to escape the pursuing pack, Twice Over, also owned by Abdulla, was driven out by Queally to close on Byword but was second by half a length. The parade of successful favourites in the betting continued unabated with a memorable climax on the final day of Royal Ascot. The shortest favourite of the entire meeting, the Sir Michael Stoute trained Harbinger, started at 8/11 in the Royal Ascot betting in the Hardwicke. The colt travelled well throughout the race, never far from the front. Two furlongs out, he imposed his superiority on his less fancied rivals, taking the lead and never looked like being seriously challenged. Jockey, Ryan Moore, enjoyed the easy victory as did a plethora of punters. He beat the second favourite, John Gosden’s 8/1 shot, Duncan, by three and a half lengths. The very next race, the Golden Jubilee Stakes, was a truly international Group 1 contest and another triumph for Royal Ascot punters. Joint favourite in the betting, Aidan O’Brien’s Starspangledbanner, made virtually all to beat James Fanshawe’s 50/1 outsider, Society Rock by one and three quarter lengths. The Wokingham was yet another tale of woe for the bookmakers. Laddies Poker Two was the focus for massive amounts of late money. The Jeremy Noseda trained horse had been a 16/1 shot earlier in the week but was backed down from 10/1 to 9/2 in the Ascot betting on the day. He beat the Dandy Nicholls trained Striking Spirit, a 16/1 shot, by two and a half lengths. For the bookmakers and layers, 2010 was a Royal Ascot atrocity but for the favourite followers in the betting, it was a meeting to be remembered.
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