Woman wins $410k from $7.50 worth of bets

A WOMAN has raked in the most miraculous windfall all because of some blind luck and inexplicable logic.

The lady bet on horses purely because she liked the names.

A LUCKY mum has scooped up approximately $AUD410,000 on a $7.50 bet after four horses she picked solely on their names romped to victory at Goodwood, England.

The single mum-of-two, in her 30s, went online to place a number of doubles and trebles on five horses at Goodwood Festival this week, The Sun reports.

Her fortunate day began when her first choice — Dark Red in the 1.50pm race — romped home at odds of 12/1.

The horse was later disqualified after a steward’s inquiry and downgraded to second place, behind the Queen’s horse Fabricate at 20/1.

But the lucky mum was saved by bookmaker William Hill’s “first past the post policy” which honoured her bet and paid out on her selection.

Amazingly three of the mum’s other picks then went on to win — Thechildren’strust at 100/1, Breton Rock at 50/1 and El Astronaute at 33/1.

Her final selection, Darkroom Angel in the 5.15pm race, led for much of the race but the three-year-old filly ran out of puff and finished in 10th.

Had it won, she would have landed $1.66 million — the bookmaker’s maximum payout. Yet despite the final horse not winning, the Cheshire mum still managed to scoop a life-changing $410,000.

The woman, who does not want to be named, now plans to use her winnings to buy a new house for her family in Ellesmere Port, Wirral.

Her bet in full was 10 x 10p each way doubles, 10 x 10p each way trebles, a 5 x 5p each way fourfold and a 1p EW fivefold for a total stake of $7.50 (or £4.50).

The lady got very lucky.

Rupert Adams, a spokesman for William Hill, said: “Some of our racing traders have been in the game for 40 years and none of them can remember such an astonishing bet that so nearly cost us a million.

“A few were almost having heart attacks watching the final race, but the punter inside all of us was cheering on the lady’s last selection and it was in front for a long way.

“But I am not sure if the boss would approve of that. It was every punter’s bet of a lifetime — winning a fortune for less than a fiver (in British pounds).

“A few quid outlay and the lady has a new house — talk about finding your dream home.”

Mr Adams said the woman likes to occasionally “bet for fun” and chooses her horses based on their names.

He said: “The lucky lady made her selections purely on the names and only ever bets in pennies.

“She had seen Dark Sunset win at Uttoxeter on Friday and that’s why she picked Dark Red and Darkroom Angel.

“Then she selected Breton Rock at 50-1 as she liked the name.

“El Astronaute she had never heard of before, but thought the name was out of this world and glamorous, so she put him in.

“And probably funniest of all — she selected Thechildren’srust as she read in a newspaper that the horse had no chance of winning.

Everyone loves a punter that wins big.

“She says her picks are always big odds, as she likes to use her winnings to take the family out to tea at restaurants that do two-for-one deals.

“She is a very down to earth lady and if she carries on betting in pennies and a few pounds then we’ll never get the winnings back from her.

“We wish her and her family well with her winnings.”

The lucky mum’s big win has set her following in the footsteps of Britain’s most successful female gambler, Agnes Haddock.

Agnes was in her 40s when she landed $1.1 million with a $3.30 bet on the popular ITV Saturday bet the Tote Scoop6.

She said: “It’s brilliant when girl punting power produces the goods. Well done to this woman — let’s hope lots of other ladies win big at Glorious Goodwood.

“My six picks on that tremendous day 10 years ago were all based on nice names.

“We all love battering the bookies.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was republished with permission.