Bookmakers hit hard on day three

PUNTERS hit back after two losing days to bash the bookmakers on the penultimate day of the Cheltenham Festival. The Irish duo of jockey Ruby Walsh and trainer Willie Mullins came to the rescue of backers, chalking up four winners to cost the layers an estimated £10million, having both drawn expensive blanks in the first two days. Walsh swept to the front of the jockeys’ list at the meeting and is two clear of the field while Mullins is just one behind arch rival Gordon Elliott (5-4) in the race to be top trainer at the meeting. ‘We always knew it was dangerous to write off Festival kings Mullins and Walsh after two blank days, and so it proved,’ said Coral’s David Stevens. ‘Yorkhill raised the loudest cheer of the week so far when winning the first race, and they followed up with Un De Sceaux and Nichols Canyon, to leave us reeling, before Let’s Dance was our last dance with a £10m knock-out.’ Even the demise of short-priced favourite Unowhatimeanharry in the Stayers’ Hurdle won by Nichols Canyon could not save bookmakers as many punters plunged on the winner, ridden by a red-hot Walsh. Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: ‘St Patrick’s Day (Thurdsay) of the Festival has finally brought punters some luck. Ruby Walsh rescued the week after he romped home on Yorkhill and Un De Sceaux. We were obviously pleased that Unowhatimeanharry was beaten in the Stayers’ Hurdle, but there was a lot of momentum behind Nichols Canyon too after Walsh got the day off to a flyer. ‘We’d been getting greedy and have ended up with a few Ruby bruises, but we’ve still got our noses in front heading into the final showdown.’ However, Jon IvanDuke for William Hill took a different view, saying: ‘Usually four winners for Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh on any day at Cheltenham would spell disaster for bookies, but somehow we have emerged unscathed. ‘In fact, we’ve made a small profit on the day to make it three-nil to the bookies.’