It has been the year for shocks on racecourses but the biggest of all arrived at Exeter on Thursday when Blowers became the longest-priced winner in British racing history.
The two-mile maiden hurdle, which came under starters orders at 12.30, wasn’t supposed to make headlines but Blowers – sent off at 300-1 – turned the narrative upside down when scoring by three-quarters of a length from hot-favourite On The Bayou.
Here was the kind of result to draw gasps and shrieks of disbelief as Blowers – ridden by James Best and trained by Nigel Hawke, whose stables are in nearby Tiverton – starting price lowered a record that had stood for 36 years.
Equinoctial had set the previous record in Britain when winning at Kelso in November 1990 at 250-1 but there was no fluke about the way Blowers – who is named after the great cricket commentator Henry Blofeld – stuck to his guns.
This continues an incredible year for surprises: Qirat, trained by Ralph Beckett, became the longest-priced winner of a Group One in July when he obliged at 150-1 in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Blowers (right) is neck and neck with favourite On The Bayou at the final hurdle…
…and the horse, ridden by James Best, pulls clear on the final stretch to claim a historic victory
That record didn’t last long, though, as Powerful Glory was a 200-1 shot when he won the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot in October. On the same afternoon, Cicero’s Gift was a 100-1 winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
But Blowers took things to a new level. Speaking to Racing TV, winning jockey Best revealed his good fortune.
‘Ella Herbison was meant to ride him,’ said Best. ‘I was on my way to riding out on the M5 at 610am and a random unknown Irish number rang me. Sometimes I don’t answer and I didn’t know who it was.
‘It was Ella. She said: ‘Do you want to ride one in the first at Exeter?’ Sadly, she got stuck in traffic and didn’t make her flight. Thank you to Ella for thinking of me and for Nigel and the owners to allow me to ride.’