A multi-million pound swing: Goshen unseat crucial for bookies at Cheltenham

Goshen's dramatic final-flight fall when clear in the Triumph Hurdle delivered a multi-million pound swing for the layers according to Ladbrokes Coral director of PR Simon Clare.

The flashy juvenile was well supported for the opening Grade 1 on Gold Cup day and was sent off the clear 5-2 favourite.

The gelding tore apart the field but unseated rider Jamie Moore at the final flight, leaving Burning Victory to pick up the pieces and win at 12-1.

The race was among the best of the week for betting turnover, and Clare said: "The Triumph Hurdle was an absolute corker of a race, with the presence of Solo, Goshen and Allmankind, and that propelled it up to the third best betting contest of the week.

"The last-flight fall of Goshen delivered a multi-million pound swing in favour of the layers."

It ranked second only to Paisley Park's odds-on defeat in the Stayers' Hurdle won by 50-1 outsider Lisnagar Oscar.

Ladbrokes Coral best winning races

1 Stayers' Hurdle
2 Triumph Hurdle
3 Foxhunter
4 Martin Pipe
5 Champion Bumper

While the Triumph delivered a strong result for the bookmakers, the handicap winners were largely easy to find, with the Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate won by Simply The Betts, the firm's worst result.

Clare added: "The festival handicaps delivered most of the biggest blows to the bookies. Aside from Epatante’s victory in the Champion Hurdle, four of the top five heaviest losses over the four days were handicaps with the success of Simply The Betts in the Plate comfortably the worst result of the week."

Once again the race which generated the greatest turnover was the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup, won for a second time by the Willie Mullins-trained Al Boum Photo.

Clare said: "The Gold Cup once again ruled supreme with twice as much money bet on it compared to the second biggest, the Champion Hurdle."

Ladbrokes Coral worst losing races

1 Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate
2 Champion Hurdle
3 Coral Cup
4 County Hurdle
5 Northern Trust Novices' Handicap Chase

The top seven races for turnover with Ladbrokes Coral were all Grade 1s with Tiger Roll's presence lifting the Cross Country up the charts to number eight from a lowly 17th of the 28 races last year, while the rest of Friday's last-day races also performed strongly with the exception of the Grand Annual, which plummeted 12 places to 21st in the list.

The Champion Chase suffered from the late absences of Altior and Chacun Pour Soi and came in last of the Grade 1 features at number 16.

Clare concluded: "This year was great for the festival novice chases, with the Arkle a notable climber to tenth from 26th, the RSA to 13th from 19th and the Marsh Chase to 14th from 23rd."

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