‘Bloodbath’ for the punters

BOOKMAKERS were cock-a-hoop after day two of the Cheltenham Festival with one of the bankers of the week, Master Minded, blown out of the water.

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.