An Irish pensioner won almost £500,000 after placing a staggering bet with Paddy Power in one of the greatest-ever Cheltenham Festival wins.
The 69-year-old pocketed £481,947 (€558,000) from a 50-cent each-way Lucky 63 bet as all six of his selections won.
A Lucky 63 is a combination bet made up 63 different bets of the same value placed on six selections, meaning the payout was vast as a series of bets all began to click as the winners kept rolling in.
‘What a sensational way to round off Cheltenham week – it’s one of the greatest bets of all-time,’ said a spokesperson from Paddy Power.
‘When a huge outsider wins the opener the groan from punters can usually be heard all across the Cotswolds, but this customer would have been cheering to the rafters, although little did he know then what was to come.
‘I’ll be popping around his house later for his lotto numbers this weekend. Seriously, well played, and enjoy the winnings!’
A lucky pensioner (not pictured) won almost £500,000 from a 50-cent bet at Cheltenham Festival (pictured: Gaelic Warrior and Paul Townend celebrate after winning the Gold Cup)
The punter struck gold from the off as 28/1 outsider Apolon De Charnie won the JCB Triumph Hurdle, jockeyed by Patrick Mullins.
Next up it was Wilful (14/1) and Dinoblue (11/8) who got past the post in their respective races.
The lucky pensioner found another pot of gold when Johnny’s Jury won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle from steep odds of 20/1.
And things only got better when 11/4 Gaelic Warrior won the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup.
That meant responsibility fell on the shoulders of Barton Snow, who got the job done by beating Its On The Line by a neck.
