Weekend Review: Flat racing returns and 18-fold football acca lands £500k for Ladbrokes punter
Favourable results at Doncaster give bookies a boost as international football lull strikes and Verstappen fires up F1 title defence
The UK flat season’s traditional curtain raiser – Doncaster’s SBK Lincoln meeting – was a boon for bookies as a swathe of positive results left them ahead with the Grand National meeting under a fortnight away.
In the result of the weekend for the layers, Johan won the Class 2 Lincoln Handicap over one mile after going off at 28/1 (opened 33/1) as was ridden home by a length and a quarter by Silvestre De Sousa.
The Mick Channon-trained five-year-old held off 17/2 shot Saleymm to secure the victory.
Betfred’s Alan Firkins said: “It was great to usher in the new turf flat season at Doncaster on Saturday, and a decent Lincoln outcome, although plenty of shrewdies upon seeing the names Channon and De Sousa in tandem had a little interest at fancy prices.”
28/1 winner of the Lincoln!
Johan lands the first big handicap of the season on stable debut for @Mick_Channon!pic.twitter.com/dwnKImvlVQ
— Sporting Life Racing (@SportingLife) March 26, 2022
Janis Strauts, Virgin Bet head of trading, said results and turnover were strong for the first weekend of flat racing.
He said: “Doncaster on Saturday saw the return of flat racing in the UK, with the highlight being the Lincoln Handicap. We offered one extra place in this competitive race and Johan winning at 28/1 was a great result for us.
“Also on the card were two listed races, the Cambridge Trophy, won by 14/1 shot Volatile Analyst and the Doncaster Mile, where the classy favourite, Chindit made a winning reappearance at 8/13,” he added.
At Kempton, Living Legend gave owners Barbara and Alick Richmond their first listed winner after beating Al Zaraqaan by a nose.
Punters were also pleased to see the 12/1-shot get the win, with Strauts confirming it was one of the true bettor-friendly results of the weekend.
He said: “Kempton staged a good meeting, and the Magnolia Listed Stakes were the highlight. Living Legend took the win at 12/1 and was the only real result on a punter-friendly card, resulting in a marginal profit for the meeting. Sunday was another good day for us profit wise on what was a low-key day.”
Additionally, Firkins laid out the latest odds for the Grand National a week on Saturday, with there being little to choose between the favourites.
He said: “The top of the market has a very classy look to it. At around 9/1 and 10/1, little separates the likes of Any Second Now, Delta Work, and Escaria Ten, with a vintage renewal a more than distinct possibility.”
Elsewhere, the international break saw England (13/20) ease past Switzerland (9/2) 2-1 as Harry Kane moved level with Sir Bobby Charlton as England’s second all-time top goal scorer.
Gareth Bale led Wales (17/10) to a 2-1 victory over Austria (2/1) with a sumptuous display as he looks to drag his country to its first World Cup since 1958.
Gill said: “England winning was what patriotic punters wanted to see and their 2-1 win over Switzerland left us in the red.”
Meanwhile, one Ladbrokes football punter turned a £2 take into £505,984.88 after correctly predicting 18 match results across League One, League Two and international friendlies.
A @Ladbrokes customer turned £2 into £505,984.88 yesterday, correctly predicting EIGHTEEN football results.
Their acca included:
2x 95th minute winners
1x 92nd minute winner
1x 90th minute winnerWithout a doubt the best bet I’ve ever seen.
— Alex Apati (@LadsAlex) March 27, 2022
The monster multiple had odds of 252,991/1, with the customer needing four stoppage time winners from Spain, Colchester, Mansfield and Mauritania to walk away with the once-in-a-lifetime score.
Ladbrokes’ Alex Apati said: “Quite simply, we’ve never seen anything like this. Our plucky punter must not have any fingernails left after yesterday’s late drama. Turning two quid into half a million – it might just be the best winning acca story of all-time.”
Finally, in F1, world champion Max Verstappen (3/1) secured his first win of the season in Saudi Arabia after a thrilling finish saw him scoot past Charles Leclerc (3/1) with a few laps to go.
VERSTAPPEN WINS IN JEDDAH!! 🏆
Leclerc finishes just behind in second, Sainz takes third#SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/FaAhZ5w0v6
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2022
Gill said: “In the Saudi Arabian GP, a thrilling end to the race saw Max Verstappen come out on top of Charles Leclerc, a result which left us ahead as punters had looked past the Red Bull superstar after the previous week’s double DNF for the team.”