‘Bloodbath’ for the punters
Paul Nicholls’ chaser was attempting to become only the second horse in history to win three consecutive Queen Mother Champion Chases but the distress signals were out early and he could only finish fourth, leaving Big Zeb to run out an impressive winner.
Along with that there were big-price wins in the RSA Chase as Weapon’s Amnesty (10-1) floored the Nicky Henderson duo of Long Run and Punchestowns, while Spirit River (14-1) prevailed in Coral Cup.
Poker De Sivola in the National Hunt Chase and Cue Card in the closing Bumper – at 40-1 – were other results that had the bookies laughing all the way to the bank for a second day running.
“We can’t recall when a festival started so badly for punters. It has been a stellar day for the bookies,” said David Hood of William Hill.
However, William Hill were hit by their special St Patrick’s Day offer which meant they had to raise the starting price of any Irish-trained winner by two points.
“Weapon’s Amnesty and Big Zeb were both really well backed by Irish punters, and we estimate that cost us an extra few hundred thousand in pay-outs,” Hood said.
Ladbrokes were singing from the same hymn sheet and despite the victory of Sanctuaire in the Fred Winter, they were still well in front.
“All the key races once again sprang shock results,” said David Williams of Ladbrokes. “We’ll be getting the St Patrick’s Day drinks in for anybody who can find us. They should head to Cloud Nine because that’s where we’re sitting at the Festival half-time stage.”
The victory of Sanctuaire for Nicholls and Ruby Walsh cost Sky Bet a pretty sum but they were still claiming a big victory.
Totesport’s George Primarolo described the second day as a “bloodbath” for punters.
“The festival has been a feast for the layers,” he said. “However, yesterday’s results were merely a snack compared to today’s main course – it’s been a bloodbath for punters.”
