Constitution Hill’s dramatic exit from the Champion Hurdle has earned the bookies fortunes.
The Nicky Henderson-trained superstar, who was undefeated in ten starts over hurdles, was the most popular horse with punters over all the four days.
As one of four hot favourites in Tuesday’s Grade 1 races the betting industry was braced for losses in the multi-millions if the first three horses won and he was able to anchor the final leg.
Kopek Des Bordes got the accas rolling, winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 4-6, but in the next race 1-2 favourite Majborough was beaten into third place in the Arkle Trophy.
The third leg went as scripted when Lossiemouth captured the Mares’ Hurdle at odds of 4-6.
Yet though Constitution Hill lined up the 1-2 favourite, the race showed nothing is certain in jumps racing.
He exited at the fifth flight when stepping on the obstacle and after State Man was left to assert and open a clear lead approaching the final hurdle, he too came down, leaving 25-1 chance Golden Ace to claim an unlikely win.
In 2015 when Annie Power crashed out at the last hurdle in the Mares’ Hurdle after Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh had cleaned up in the earlier three Grade 1 races, the incident was labelled ‘the £50 million fall’.
Tuesday’s action was no less dramatic, the favourite’s fall ensuring thousands of Cheltenham Festival accumulator bets and single ante-post went down.
In-running Golden Ace was backed at a high of 129-1 while State Man hit a low of 1-25 and Brighterdaysahead 1-33, according to Betfair.
William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps said: “Heading into day one of the Cheltenham Festival, it’s no secret that we were fearing the worst with the incredibly popular four-fold racking up serious liabilities. However, with both Majborough and Constitution Hill fluffing their lines, the bookmaking industry has somehow avoided a huge loss, quite possibly in the region of £50 million.
“Kopek Des Bordes got punters off to the perfect start, but things turned in our favour when Majborough got beat at long odds-on in the Arkle. Myretown was a big punt and duly obliged in the Ultima, and Lossiemouth did her legion of followers a turn with a nonchalant victory in the Mares’ Hurdle. The Champion Hurdle really was a huge win for the bookies, though, and overall day one sees us definitely ahead of the punters with three days to go.”
Sky Bet spokesman Michael Shinners said: “I can’t lie, it’s gone very, very well. I would suspect as an industry that race alone must have been in excess of £10 million.
“Not necessarily in singles but in multiples. Constitution Hill would have been in every single multiple today and across the Festival and that’s been beaten, and then Brighterdaysahead has been beaten, and then State Man has been beaten.
“It was just the most incredible Champion Hurdles I’ve ever seen.”
Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “It was a day that could have spelled disaster for the bookies and we were on the ropes from the opening race.
“But with a few results swinging our way, it’s safe to say we swerved some major nightmare scenarios. We can certainly claim victory on day one, although we won’t be counting any chickens just yet with so much left to play for.”
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