‘I nearly wet my pants’ – bookmaker accepts $500,000 bet on Al Riffa at an eve-of-Melbourne Cup lunch
Al Riffa has returned to Lexus Melbourne Cup favouritism after being the subject of a single A$500,000 (roughly £250,000) 7-1 win bet during a famous eve-of-race lunch at which the Irish St Leger winner’s new owners also placed a six-figure wager on the topweight.
In remarkable scenes at the annual Call Of The Card event, an enthralled audience at Melbourne’s Crown Casino reacted with cheers when racecourse bookmakers Chris Lester accepted the huge bet from a representative of Australian iGaming firm Easygo.
Rumours had swirled around the event that Frankie Dettori was set to attend the function and shout out a A$1 million bet request on behalf of one of the organisations to which he is connected.
Dettori, who had taken his final American rides at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday, was unable to make it to Australia but he subsequently used social media to announce an Al Riffa promotion in conjunction with one of Easygo’s highest-profile businesses, stake.com, which closed its UK division earlier this year following a Gambling Commission investigation. Stake is also not regulated in Australia and is prohibited from taking bets from Australian punters.
Lester was one of four bookmakers working at Call Of The Card, during which the layers offer prices about all 24 Melbourne Cup runners.
“That is probably the biggest bet we’ve ever had at Call Of The Card,” said Lester. “I think the biggest bet last year was to win A$1 million but there were a lot of those this year. It was massive.
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“I had heard rumours there was going to be a big request for Al Riffa but when it came out I nearly wet my pants. I had to think about the potential risk but I’m lucky as I have the ability to bet back with Ladbrokes.”
Lester added: “Al Riffa is clearly the best horse in the field but no horse has won carrying 59 kilos for over 50 years. That’s what concerns me. We’re happy to take him on.”
Chris Lester: “I had heard rumours there was going to be a big request for Al Riffa but when it came out I nearly wet my pants”Credit: Reg Ryan/Racing Photos
Much more positive about the Joseph O’Brien-trained five-year-old’s prospect is Jamie Lovett, whose Australian Bloodstock managed to secure a A$200,000 (£100,000) bet on Al Riffa, now a best-priced 6-1 market leader.
“Some of the owners involved in the horse love a bet, and we believe in him, so we’re going in boots and all,” said Lovett.
“He has a fair bit of quality and he’s a fast stayer. He has done everything right since he arrived, so if he gets the right sort of run, I can’t see him not being involved in the finish.”
Also active during Call Of The Card was Kieran McManus, who placed a number of Melbourne Cup bets, including one on his father JP McManus’s runner Goodie Two Shoes, a stable companion of Al Riffa.
Lexus Melbourne Cup (4.00am Flemington, November 4)
Coral: 11-2 Al Riffa, 6 Half Yours, 7 Presage Nocturne, 15-2 Valiant King, 17-2 Buckaroo, 12 River Of Stars, 14 Absurde, 18 Flatten The Curve, 20 Meydaan, Vauban, 22 bar.
Read more:
‘If I could have a bet, I would stick a bit on him’ – which jockey thinks his mount has the Melbourne Cup ‘X factor’?
Soggy Melbourne welcomes back the internationals as Willie Mullins bids to win the race he has coveted more than any other
Willie Mullins out to claim more international riches and Grand National fences return – here’s what you can’t afford to miss this week
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