Gemma Collins makes huge Cheltenham Festival future declare after touchdown large 9/1 winner
TOWIE star Gemma Collins won £5,000 at Cheltenham Festival on St Patrick’s Thursday after placing a £500 bet on 9/1 outsider Meetmebythesea
TOWIE’s Gemma Collins was a big winner on St Patrick’s Thursday at Cheltenham.(Image: PA)
Gemma Collins has jokingly claimed she’ll purchase Cheltenham Racecourse following her £5,000 windfall on day three of the Festival. The Only Way is Essex celebrity struck it lucky on St Patrick’s Thursday in Gloucestershire after placing £500 on a single bet.
Meetmebythesea triumphed at 9/1 in the afternoon’s second race for Ben Jones, defeating Gold Dancer and Regent’s Stroll for the £64,300 prize money over two miles and four furlongs. Collins was unable to hide her delight when speaking to ITV Racing following her four-figure triumph.
The 45-year-old was present to award the winner of the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, which was claimed by 33/1 outsider Home By The Lee. After backing her racing instinct and landing the profitable victory, she confessed her boldness increases with each annual visit to Cheltenham.
She said: “It has just ignited a fire in me. Every year I come [to Cheltenham Festival] I get more confident with the bets. This is why I’d urge anyone to come! Because last year I didn’t win..
“This year, I’ve won £5000! I just put £500 straight down to win on Meetmebythesea!
“I just had a hunch, everyone was saying no don’t do it, but my intuition’s telling me different ‘this horse is going to win!’.
“Next thing you know. £5000!”
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She added: “I am going to buy the track!” The 9/1 winner wasn’t the sole surprise of the afternoon on day three as Jonbon came second yet again, beaten by the Henry de Bromhead-trained Heart Wood.
The overwhelming favourite Fact To File was withdrawn less than an hour before the race was due to start. Trainer Willie Mullins felt obliged to scratch his horse from the Ryanair Chase Grade One contest.
He said speaking to Racing TV: “We walked the track – JP [McManus] walked the track and I happened to walk it coming across the track from exercising horses and looking at Bambino Fever – and I thought wow, this ground will be too good for her.
“And sure enough, in the first race she wasn’t able to act on it.
“Talking to JP, these horses are too difficult to acquire and get as you’ll see at the sales after racing and when you have them, you mind them.
“We waited and waited all day for the rain that was half-promised, it hasn’t come so we made the decision not to run.
“These horses are too hard to find, too hard to get. In jump racing we want to have soft in the description of the ground. Good ground we think is not good enough for the type of individual we are buying and trying to race and have the top horses at the best festival.
“If the ground is going to be like this then we are not going to bring them.
“We were promised watering and I am not sure the watering we were promised was done, so I’m a little bit annoyed at that. I know the weather forecast hasn’t been kind but very few people complain about too much rain and a bit of watering, but this isn’t good for the type of horse we are bringing over here.
“I know it suits some horses but for the majority of the good, big, National Hunt horses, we would like it a little softer anyway.”
