Making money from horses is a sucker's game. We all know that yet we happily partake. There are some out there who take the 'smart' bets however. Big stakes for little reward but next to no chance of losing. It's never going to provide big thrills but it is going to keep the bank balance ticking over, providing something catastrophic doesn't happen.
At the 2m novices' hurdle at Sandown today, something catastrophic happened. Barry Geraghty's mount What's The Scoop jumped the last and powered past Starvin Marvin to take the race. Only he didn't.
According to the commentator, over £29,000 was traded at 1.01 (the lowest possible price) in Betfair's in-race trading. It's a no lose bet after the final hurdle, but there's no such thing as a no lose bet so then this happened.
WATCH: “Starvin Marvin has been handed the most unlikely and dramatic of victories.” https://t.co/v9o37txcYr
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 11, 2016
Heart breaking.
Geraghty, for his part, has tried to explain what happened.
He jumped the last big and I knew he was having a look at the stands up the straight. It is a daunting place and he was having a big look when he got to the front.
When the rail ran out he just turned left - I still thought if I could pull him back on course five or six yards from the stands rail he would still win.
He just panicked as well as being a big baby. He is really intelligent - like his owner and trainer.
Perfectly understandable when you're dealing with a skittish horse but we can't imagine those gamblers will take it well.
