Punter pockets mammoth £1.5million from £50 stake in Melbourne Cup
A PUNTER had a day to remember after they scooped a monster £1.6million from just a £51 bet in the Melbourne Cup.
The apparent genius correctly chose the first four home in the unlikeliest of finishes.
Not only did he pick 90-1 outsider Knights Choice, ridden by former Australian The Voice contestant Robbie Dolan, to get his nose in front.
He also had the Japanese runner-up Warp Speed, third-placed Okita Soushi and finally fourth-placed Zaradozi.
He must have been in bits during the closing stages of the race, especially as the first two home were separated only by a short head.
But the punter was unaware just how much cash he had won after the race.
A spokesperson for Ladbrokes, who took the bet, said: “The customer initially thought they had won A$780,000, so you can imagine their surprise when the full dividend was revealed.
“They boxed Knight’s Choice, Warp Speed, Okita Soushi and Zardozi and have turned their A$100 (£51) investment into A$3.2 million (£1,630,530), which is already in their Ladbrokes account.
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“It’s a life-changing result and shows that anything can happen in the Melbourne Cup.”
And this wasn’t the only enormous payout after the race.
Another punter took home the full £371,032 first-four dividend after a £12 mystery bet on a TAB (Australian betting company) machine in their local pub in Bairnsdale, Victoria.
The machine dished out the saddle numbers of the first four finishers to the lucky lady.
There can’t have been many questions asked about who was picking up the bill.
TAB spokesperson Nick Smart said: “It’s a great story of a punter trying his or her luck on a TAB mystery bet in Australia’s great race at their local pub or RSL and winning big.
“Congratulations to the winner and we’re sure it will be a big night at the Bairnsdale RSL.”
The European runners may have flopped Down Under – Willie Mullins’ Vauban and Absurde finished 11th and fifth respectively.
And Brian Ellison’s Onesmoothoperator finished down the field in the same neck of the woods as Harry Eustace’s Sea King.
But there was certainly no shortage of feel-good stories at the Flemington showpiece.
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