NERVOUS? YOU BET I WAS!
Cheltenham punter cashes in his £5 wager after fearing his horse could blow last race... and wins £250k when it falls at the fourth
IT’S an excellent example of why, as the saying goes, you should always quit while you’re ahead.
Last year racing fan Paul Dean picked the horses he thought would win five forthcoming races and staked a £5 accumulator bet on them.
If all five won, he would take home a whopping £511,225.
The first three won, and this Wednesday so did the fourth. But it left Mr Dean with an agonising decision.
Should he take the final gamble and hope that the fifth horse, the clear favourite Envoi Allen, would win the Novice Chase at the Cheltenham Festival yesterday?
Or should he accept that it might not win – thereby losing him everything – and instead agree what is known as a partial cashout with the bookies?
After a long night of fretting Mr Dean, 40, from Stockton- on-Tees, opted for the partial cashout – meaning the bookmaker guaranteed him £250,000 whatever happened and £322,000 if Envoi Allen won.
It was a wise move, for Envoi Allen and his jockey Jack Kennedy fell at the fourth fence, with the horse appearing to clip the top of the obstacle.
Mr Dean was jubilant last night, but said his biggest concern had been for the welfare of the horse. ‘That was the most important thing to me, much more so than the money,’ he said.
‘Usually I would have been watching this race at Cheltenham. Winning £250,000 makes up for not being there in person. I could have cashed out at £275,000 and not had a stake in the race but I was always going to take some risk.
‘It’s the thrill of watching the race. I didn’t want to lose that by taking all the cash. I don’t have any regrets at all. I was just more worried about the horse.’
Mr Dean had spent a night debating with his parents Eric and Margaret, both 69, whether he should risk it all having celebrated the fourth win – 25/1 horse Bob Olinger at Cheltenham on Wednesday – with a bottle of Bollinger.
His predicament resulted in less than four hours of sleep and an hour-long walk at 5am yesterday to clear his head.
The first winner had been Golden Horde in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on June 19 last year, followed by Hello Youmzain in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes a day later. The third winner was Shishkin in the Arkle Chase on Cheltenham’s opening day this Tuesday.
Mr Dean said last night: ‘The nerve-racking part was everything leading up to today, and all the other bets. I wasn’t worried about watching the race this afternoon.
‘It’s a life-changing amount. I am planning on buying a house and then renting it out. I will be set up for life. I definitely made the right decision.’
He said his passion for racing started at only five years old, when he attended the Grand National at Aintree with his father. ‘My horses came second and third and that was just it for me. I have loved racing ever since,’ he said.
‘I study the form in great detail, sometimes eight hours a day. This win means I can finally spend more time betting seriously.’
Mr Dean said he planned to celebrate with a bottle of champagne and a takeaway, adding: ‘I am going to take a trip to New York with my Irish friends. And both my parents turn 70 this year and so I want to take them on holiday.’