Joy for punter Richard Ames as he scoops £50,000 Racing Post Lucky 7 prize

Some would argue life is a game of luck and for Richard Ames he enjoyed just that when scooping the £50,000 Racing Post Lucky 7 prize after landing all seven winners on the opening day of Aintree last week.

The 56-year-old, who lives in Bournemouth, has been a regular gambler for 40 years. Winning the William Hill-backed prize on April 4 was an obvious highpoint, but Ames is familiar with the flipsides of punting as well.

"I know how hard it is to get seven winners in a row," he said on Friday. "This does mean a lot to me and it's quite an achievement.

"It sounds mad but I had a dream I’d win the Jackpot, and I do like playing these competitions for a bit of fun."

On choosing his seven selections, Ames said: "I picked Kalashnikov for the first even though I had lost £100 on him in February – I didn't fancy the favourite [La Bague Au Roi].

"Kemboy I fancied as for me he was the best horse in the field, while I didn't think Buveur D'Air would stay so I went for Supasundae. My girlfriend loves Abba and Dancing Queen is her favourite song so The Glancing Queen had to be her choice!"

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Ames, who used to work as a civil servant, added: "The first four were form picks and the last three were based on happy memories and fun games."

Asked how he was going to spend his winnings, he stressed that more gambling would play only a bit part.

He said: "I’m not going to gamble it all away! I'll probably put £5,000 towards charity and use £5,000 to take my girlfriend on holiday as without her I probably wouldn’t be here!"

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