'I'm absolutely blown away' - punter wins NZ$10m after remarkably predicting Everest finishing order

A New Zealand punter is celebrating an incredible NZ$10m (£4.87m/€5.62m) payout after correctly predicting the finishing order of The Everest at Randwick on Saturday.

The punter, who wished to remain anonymous, was the sole winner of a promotion run by the New Zealand TAB and said he "didn't put too much thought" into his picks for the free-to-play competition.

The odds of correctly picking the finishing order for all 12 horses in the race is nearly 500 million to one.

Saturday's A$20m race was won by the Joe Pride-trained Think About It in stunning fashion, with I Wish I Win, trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, finishing second.

The competition was available to all NZ TAB account holders, with the monster payout covered by insurance.

“I’m absolutely blown away," the punter said. "I saw the promotion on the TAB site and thought I’d give it a crack. I didn’t put too much thought into my picks and just dropped the runners where I thought they could go.

"I honestly could not believe I’d won it. I actually thought it was a hoax when they first rang me – I called the TAB back, and it took quite a lot of convincing before it sank in. To have pulled it off, winning $10 million in a free-to-play competition, is truly incredible for my family and I."

Randwick: where The Everest took place on SaturdayCredit: Mark Evans (Getty Images)

Cameron Rodger, managing director of Entain New Zealand, operator of the TAB, said: "It was great to see so many Kiwis getting involved in The Everest through our Mega Millions promotion, and to have someone take home the $10 million prize is an amazing result.

"The Everest is the world’s richest race on turf and this customer has managed to take home more than the winner’s purse by pulling off one of the most impressive selecting feats we have seen.

"The race had over 400 million possible finish results and he managed to nail the exact one needed. We’re thrilled with the customer engagement this innovative competition was able to generate and a huge congratulations to our winner."

The Everest finishing order

1 Think About It 17-5f
2 I Wish I Win 4-1
3 Private Eye 6-1
4 In Secret 9-1
5 Cylinder 10-1
6 Hawaii Five Oh 17-2
7 Espiona 16-1
8 Buenos Noches 19-1
9 Shinzo 20-1
10 Overpass 8-1
11 Mazu 50-1
12 Alcohol Free 50-1

Read more: 

'I'm going to pass out' - elation for local jockey in Sydney as Think About It lands world's richest turf race worth A$20m 

Simon and Ed Crisford bandwagon rolls on to Australia - but British runners absent in Melbourne Cup 

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