News

A massive gamble which resulted in a multi-million pound win for a syndicate of punters has seen the final piece of the jigsaw fall into place – almost two years after the bets were struck.

The gamble centred on four horses running at Brighton, Wolverhampton and Towcester between 4pm and 7.30pm on May 10, 2010.

Three of the horses in question were trained by legendary Irish gambler Barney Curley, while the fourth had also been in his care before being transferred to trainer Chris Grant.

Three of the four - Agapanthus, Savaronola and Jeu De Roseau - won at odds of 2/1, 6/4 and 6/5 respectively, while the fourth, Sommersturm, was a beaten 1/3 favourite.

Despite that defeat, the range of multiple bets still gleaned £4m, but some bookmakers, including 888sport and the online division of Betfred, cried foul, withholding £29,000 and £823,000 of the syndicate’s winnings respectively pending an enquiry by the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority.

But a two-year investigation has now come to an end and Betfred.com and 888sport have decided to honour the remaining bets, which will no doubt prompt a few more celebrations in the Curley household.

Some of the bookies are probably still thanking their lucky stars - if the fourth horse, Sommersturm, had justified odds of 1/3 favourite, the total pay-out would have been greater than £20m.

So really they had a £16m win. But they might not see it like that.