The one word that still turns a layer’s face grey: Destriero

THE battles on the infamous uphill climb after the last obstacle aren’t the only ones that will be played out on the Cotswolds this week.

The one word that still turns a layer’s face grey: Destriero

The layers and the backers are also going head-to-head and with both bringing bulging war chests to the fray it makes for contests that are almost as interesting as the ones involving horses.

An estimated €55m is wagered on-course over the four days of the festival by around 220,000 punters attending the event, with another €150m through betting shops and online accounts.

There have been many successful betting coups over the years and more failed ones. Some are carefully planned and carried out with military precision; others are just a case of professionals and public alike latching onto a good thing.

DARAGH O CONCHUIR recalls three of the top stings to have been carried out at Cheltenham.

1. Reveillez/Kadoun Jewson Novices Handicap Chase/Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle 2006

JP McManus owns more national hunt horses than anyone else, but it is his feats in the betting ring that earned him the soubriquet The Sundance Kid. Cheltenham has been the scene of his greatest successes, winning £250,000 on a single bet when Mister Donovan took the Sun Alliance Hurdle in 1982. In his own words he “cleaned up” when Istabraq won the first of his three successive Champion Hurdles in 1998. His battles with late bookmaker ‘Fearless’ Freddie Williams were the stuff of legend and he lost a few of those before emptying the Scot’s satchel of £925,000 on the day before St Patrick’s Day of 2006.

He started by wagering £100,000 on Reveillez at 6-1 and his joy at the end of the Jewson Novices Handicap Chase was not confined to seeing his famous colours making it first past the post.

A relatively modest bet for McManus earned him the final £325,000 profit when he placed £5,000 each way on another of his charges Kadoun at 50-1 and the gelding ensured that winning prize money in the Pertemps Final Handicap Hurdle was just a tasty supplement by lasting up the hill.

It was a day to forget for Williams, whose Jaguar was forced off the road on the way back to his hotel after the racing by masked robbers, who relieved him of another £70,000.

2. Forgive‘N ForgetCoral Golden Hurdle Final 1983

FORGIVE ‘N FORGET is remembered as a Cheltenham veteran, whose best moment came when winning the Gold Cup in 1985, but whose life ended when breaking his leg while cruising in the same race three years later.

Given his subsequent feats it is no wonder that Forgive’N Forget’s trainer, Horse and Jockey native Jimmy Fitzgerald, and his owner Tim Kilroe from Roscommon, hatched a plan from a long way out to nail the bookies and make a financial killing in the Coral Golden Hurdle Final in 1983.

Renowned as one of most competitive races throughout the duration of the meeting, the Coral — now the Pertemps — is usually a race that the serious players stay away from, given that you’d generally have a better chance finding a needle in the Sahara, but the two Irish men knew they had the artillery.

If the bookmakers had known that Forgive’N Forget had been purchased from renowned gambler Barney Curley — he of Yellow Sam fame — they might have sniffed that the omens were against them. But there was nothing they could do as one of the biggest ante-post gambles in the history of the festival began. Despite a field of 23, and with a 19-year-old from Ashbourne, Mark Dwyer in the plate, Forgive’N Forget was backed off the boards from the time the weights were announced right up to the off, his price plummeting all along from fancy double-digits to 5-2 favouritism.

The confidence was justified for the English-based Irishmen and many’s the hat that was thrown in the air as Dwyer showed all the ability that was to make him a star across the water, keeping a hold of Forgive’n Forget until just before the last flight. The chestnut son of Precipice Wood scooted past market rival Brunton Park to win by a handy three lengths, in the process, earning connections what is reputed to be close to £1m.

3. Destriero Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 1991

WALK into the Cheltenham betting ring and mention either Destriero or Noel Furlong and you’ll see a lot of veteran layers go pale. They might also refuse to accept your business as punishment for reminding them about the time they were taken to the cleaners by a carpet distributor and sometime poker king.

Furlong once won a million dollars in a poker game, but by that stage he had shown that he possessed the money and the nerve to carry out a coup, following up a £1m raid with The Iliad in the Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown in January 1991, by claiming to have pocketed twice that when Destriero strode home by four lengths from future Champion Hurdler Granville Again in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle two months later.

It was one of the greatest gambles of the modern era, the execution of which was masterful, his army of accomplices placing bets in different shops to disguise the coup. Furlong revealed that his assault had been planned for some time, even choosing not to run Destriero the previous Christmas “as we didn’t want to end up getting 2-1 instead of 6-1”.

It could have been worse as Furlong also had a slew of doubles with The Iliad but he fell, allowing the men on the rails to breathe a sigh of relief, despite their pain.

More in this section

Sport

Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers. and reporters

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited