The amateur options when a professional gamble takes place

The Dublin Racing Festival lived up to the hype. I was delighted to see Honeysuckle and Rachel Blackmore win so well. I make her favourite for the Champion Hurdle now. And the winner of the appropriately named Future Stars bumper on the first day was amazing - Kilcruit looked like he had joined in with 3 furlongs to go.

However I am slightly ashamed to say that as a punter I was just as excited by the gamble that was nearly landed. The racing coverage in the Guardian is at least as good as in any broadsheet and Greg Wood's article covers the details thoroughly. 

Mr Wood is a bit disapproving but I suspect most of us punters have a sneaky regard for this attempt to beat the bookmakers. 

From what I can gather the backers were in Ireland and they placed a series of doubles, trebles and trixies to fairly small stakes at evening before prices. It is virtually impossible to get a really large bet on at a big price the night before, but these 3 horses were all 25/1 plus so the odds rack up quick in multiples. For instance a £5 trixie will cost £20, but if all 3 selections win at 25/1 the return is over £54k.

The 3 horses selected in this gamble had all been running badly recently but had back form which suggested they could win if returning to their best. Clearly whoever was behind the gamble knew that all 3  were about to do that. Fire Away and Blowing Dixie won easily. The 3rd leg was in the 4.25 at Musselbrough, and the selection Gallahers Cross ran with enthusiasm and looked a likely winner as well, before fading close to home probably because its keenness in the early stages had taken a toll.

So what can us recreational punters do when such a gamble occurs? My thoughts are as follows-

1. Stand back and admire, and 

2. Don't join in at odds on - if the horse was 25/1 the night before and is now 4/6 then any value disappeared a long time ago.

3. Consider laying it on the exchange - the only problem is that everyone else is thinking the same. When I looked the 2nd leg of the gamble - Blowing Dixie in the 2.35 at Southwell - was 1/2 or shorter with bookies but 2/1 on the exchange.

4. The only angle is the 'not to win' / 'not to be placed' markets which some online bookmakers offer. I lost on the not to win with Blowing Dixie, but got it back with a small bit on top in the not to win and not to be placed market for Gallahers Cross. I managed to back the latter at 6/5 not to win, when it was a 2/1 lay on the exchange.

5. Remember Fujiyama Crest if you try 4. above!