Gold rush leaves bookies blubbing
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RELIEVED punters were jumping for joy last night after Native River tore to victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The popular winner helped dish out a last-minute bashing to the bookies. Jockey Richard Johnson, below left, steered the 5-1 shot to glory, edging out favourite Might Bite in a thrilling spectacle on the final day of a frantic four days of racing. It was a welcome win for race-goers after a dismal run saw all the favourites beaten in the last three races. Nicola McGeady, from Ladbrokes said: “Punters across the country are celebrating this year’s Gold Cup hero Native River. Might Bite was the nightmare result, but Native River wasn’t kind to us either. “The Colin Tizzard superstar was the most popular ante-post selection.” More used to a different type of racing, the injury-prone, tweedwearing Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond, 48, enjoyed his day at Cheltenham with wife Mindy. I’m A Celebrity and Made In Chelsea posh babe Georgia Toffolo, 23, looked the part on the starstudded fourth day in a pink blazer and trilby. Rivalling her in the brains and beauty stakes was gorgeous Carol Vorderman. The 57-year-old rocked an animal print cowboy hat and black leather jacket as the annual showpiece event came to an end. Organisers say this year’s festival set a new record attendance, with more than 262,000 punters watching the four days of horse racing. Meanwhile, more than £20million was expected to be spent on the Gold Cup alone in the UK and Ireland.