Biggest pricer I've had a result from. Oddly i posted (and backed !) a 100/1 winner on here at a minor meeting when Brendan Powell decided to run half his stable in one day (he was already in trouble then) He had 100/1 20/1 AND 6/1winners at one meeting. I did all 6 races in doubles, trebles and accas and won a fortune (as i believe did a couple on here i believe).
ive backed 66/1 winners ante post that have won but my biggest single return was a Tote payout ( in the good old days when you backed blind and the idiots didnt ruin the market as they do now....."oh look Dave the favs 9/2 on the tote and only 6/4 with the bookies..right im having £200 on it...bugger its now 5/4 on the tote! Doh!")
In 1989 i was certain id seen an odd "non trier" of Richard Holders (common in those days...him and Baker used to take the Bristol pee!...oh yes, who rode a lot for him? Oh yes, FA himself, Nicholls! Hmmm!). The odd thing it kept coming 2nd to decent horses, albeit by respectable distances ie ran on when race was over). I was sure it could have won most of them. Anyway, come the day, My long term fancy Black Bucaneer of Jenny Pitmans was 7/2 fav but what was lurking down the bottom at 66/1, Holders horse Ikdam! Now Hills were tinkering with accepting tote bets where you just identified by writing TOTE against your bet. It was the first year. Id backed Black Bucaneer at 16/1 ante post and thought it was a certainty (it had beaten Ikdam twice) but i coulnt ignore the devil in my head that kept saying "Ikdams not been trying!" I had a good few months so i laid out £10ew and proudly wrote "tote odds" across the bet. Altogether i had £30 ew on Bucaneers so started wildly cheering as it hit the front with one to go...it pinged the last and I thought Mark had it in the bag.....but whats that all on its own on the far rail...the one the commentator was ignoring. i could see it coming with a withering run yet he kept ignoring it. So 50 yards from the line the commentator screams "and its Black Bucaneer coming to the line but now joined by.................Ikdam!" My heart sank then jumped again as i had a 66/1 winner of the Triumph! i was in a shop in Slough dancing like an idiot desperately trying to work out what was the best result, then cursing the forecast (why i never know, i never did them!)...then the wait began...silence in the shop as a 66/1 had just won (except one dancing lunatic!)..."why didnt just take the 66/1?" "knowing my luck it will return 23.5/1 or worse".....anyhoo, they started coming out for the next race and no tote return yet! The agony! In truebetting style i said "sod it" and had £30 win on irish horse at 6/1 in the next...and it won! While said lunatic started his dance again...the words boomed over the speakers "we finally have to tote returns for the 1st race at Cheltenham...." no one was bothered but a few noticed the lunatic had stopped dancing and had his head in his hands...."1st No 14 Ikdam".....a massive gap...."win....massive gap....£247.70 and place £64.30"...i nearly collapsed! i did the maths and realised over £3k to come back to a young lunatic on £40 a week! I never bettered it but should have won on Yahoo at 66/1 later in the day when Tom Morgan throw the race away to a beaten Desert Orchid,...but that would have been greedy!
That win has stuck with me as proof your own eyes are the best judge. I KNEW Ikdam had the beating of those horses and it did!