Grand National punter turns £2 guess into £29,000 due to Nick Rockett’s 33/1 win
One Grand National punter took home £29,000 thanks to Nick Rockett’s 33/1 victory under the ride of amateur Patrick Mullins.
The eight-year-old – son of notorious National Hunt sire Walk In The Park – wasn’t the shortest price of the many runners for reigning champion trainer Willie Mullins but came out on top by two-and-half-lengths to win the £1million race. Though, connections weren’t the only ones revelling.
A happy punter turned a £2 flutter into a whopping £29k thanks to an accumulator featuring selections at Aintree, Newcastle and Dubai, with a certain Frankie Dettori lending his hand to the blockbuster four-fold.
The Ladbrokes customer’s £1 each-way punt got off to the perfect start, as 10/1 shot Cruz Control cruised to a five-length victory in the Freebooter Handicap Chase in Liverpool.
Newcastle’s Saturday jumps card was next on the agenda, and the 2:40pm selection was Hogarth Racing’s French-bred Flic Ou Voyou – valued at 22/1.
Yet, such a large price was not reflected in the result, as the 11-year-old prevailed by an unexpected 11 lengths, with Ryan Mania doing the steering.
(Image: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
For the third leg, Meydan was the destination, and their valuable Dubai World Cup card – featuring the world’s richest horse race – would give the accumulator its next winner.
Four-year-old Raging Torrent – a 3/1 favourite for the 2:45pm Godolphin Mile – was the pick, and with Dettori onboard, victory was tasted, and the bet reached its final leg – the National.
This punter sided with Stewart Andrew’s eight-year-old, but if he finished outside the places, all past winners would be in vain. In fact, if Nick Rockett did muster up a place, just £196.99 would have been banked, thanks to the gamble being an each-way shout.
However, no such slimmer pickings were in order, as the 33/1 Thyestes and Bobbyjo winner added the lauded National to his resume, landing the punter an eye-watering sum – £29,347.23 to be exact – from such a minute stake.
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said on the gamble: “On the biggest racing day of the year, one customer landed one of the best bets we’ve seen for some time!
“Our plucky punter had Cruz Control as their first pick, and in cruise control was exactly how the first three legs of the bet came in.
“It’s the stuff of dreams to take home just shy of £30,000 from a £1 each-way bet, and to do it via a 33/1 Grand National winner means they’ll be dining out on this for years. Many congratulations!”
