Racing expert Kevin Blake was the toast of many punters yesterday when his three selections won at the Cheltenham Festival.
Blake picked Mrs Milner (12/1) in the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle, Telmesomethinggirl (6/1) in the Mares' Novice Hurdle and Mount Ida (9/2) in the Kim Muir Handicap Chase.
One punter from Waterford wagered a €20 each-way treble on Blake's selections on Thursday, and when Jack Kennedy steered Mount Ida to victory in the last race of the day, the punter won €10,294.24
Sarah Kinsella, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “We have to hold our hands up and say we were taken to the cleaners by this Kevin Blake treble and our Waterford customer was right to follow him.
"We have to tip our hats to them and congratulate them on such a stunning win of €10,294.24.”
So many punters will be wondering who Blake, a race planner for Joseph O'Brien, fancies on Gold Cup Day?
Writing on his blog for Betfair, he said: "The McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (13:55) is always a brutally-tough race to decipher, but we'll give it a crack. Martin Brassil has been a bit light on ammunition in recent years, but he showed with City Island that he is more than capable of striking on the big days when he gets his chance. You Raised Me Up represents him in this contest and this could well be the culmination of a long-tern plan.
"The eight-year-old has already shown that he is suited by a race of this nature, as when still a maiden over hurdles he went very close to winning the ultra-competitive Ladbrokes Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival last year. A late non-runner in this race the following month, he has won his two starts in lesser company in good style this season and has been delivered to this race off an attractive racing weight.
"Conditions will suit and it wouldn't surprise at all to see him run a very big race. With the Betfair Sportsbook paying a mighty seven places, backing him each-way with them makes plenty of appeal."
Blake added: "The other race of interest is the big one of the entire week, the WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup (15:05). It really is an enthralling renewal of the race and strong cases can be made for plenty of them, but I'm siding with the ever-divisive Santini.
"The nine-year-old has always appealed as being likely to be ideally suited by the extreme test of stamina this race usually presents. Unfortunately for him, the pace was uncharacteristically sedate in last year's renewal leading to a bunch finish, yet Santini still ran an absolute belter to finish a neck second to Al Boum Photo.
"While his preparation this season hasn't been filled with encouragement, one can be certain that Nicky Henderson has been coaxing him along with a view to peaking on Gold Cup day. Crucially, Henderson has decided to apply a first-time visor which should very much help him."
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