Punter misses a £1 Million shot, but still turn £20 stake into £120k on the horses

William Hill found themselves hit in the pocket by a lucky punter from Sheffield, who landed the win of a lifetime on the horses on Saturday. The bookmaker had a lucky escape though, because they could have been paying out £1 million. The winner, who wishes to remain anonymous, took a £10 each way bet and turned it into a massive £122,550. The horse racing punter correctly landed the predictions of winners from four races from Saturday’s cards at Southwell, Taunton and Kempton for his £20 stake.

After opening with a 4/1 winner in the 3.10pm at Taunton with Dormouse, the lucky punter landed back to back massive 20/1 winners. Outside shots Flying Pickets and Ace of Spies both pulled off surprise wins and Southwell leaving the punter’s final shot at Kempton the one to round it all off. A nervous wait was fulfilled with a happy ending, when the aptly named Good Luck Charm crossed the line first in the 7.55pm at Kempton at a price of 9/2.

The win came off the back of an each way fivefold, with a non-runner, Cadeaux Pearl at Southwell hindering the punter’s chances of taking William Hill’s maximum horse payout of £1 million. Had Cadeaux Pearl ran won, the lucky punter’s day could have been even better, even more profitable. Cadeaux Pearl had been quoted at 14/1 before his withdrawal and so the million pound shot was scuppered. Still, it may have been a silver lining because if the horse had ran and had failed to place, the punter would have walked away with nothing from his bet.

So, it wasn’t a bad day’s work from the anonymous winner still. William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly said: “Had our mystery punter had five runners he could have been a millionaire or he could have won nothing. “As it stands, however, we are sure he will be happy with his day’s investment.”