'We'll be taking on Paisley Park' - bookies refuse to fear another Golden Hour

This time last year, we were in the dark about what came to be known as the Golden Hour. At the start of Thursday's card, Frodon and Paisley Park were two distinct horses with amazing stories attached: Frodon, who was bidding to make his jockey Bryony Frost the first woman to ride a Grade 1 winner over fences at the festival, while Paisley Park was carrying the hopes and dreams of owner Andrew Gemmell, blind since birth but a racing nut all his life.

Victory for either of them would have been a cause for celebration, but victory for both lit up Prestbury Park with a brilliance rarely seen even at this most illustrious of venues. The papers, the internet and the world of social media took the pair to their hearts and racing vaulted from the Cheltenham turf to the living rooms of the usually uninterested. Racegoers were elated and many punters celebrated the well-supported successes (at 9-2 and 11-8), but for the poor bookies there had to be a downside as they decided whether to side with the horses or field against them.

Here we speak to those who stood, watched and sweated as the Golden Hour unfolded – and we ask whether lightning could strike twice.