Cheltenham: Bookmakers celebrating after big-priced Festival winners

Bookmakers head into the final leg of the Cheltenham Festival in good spirits after hanging on to their advantage over the week on St Patrick’s Day.

Proceedings on day three got off to a dramatic start when 5-6 shot Galopin Des Champs fell at the final fence with the Turners Novices’ Chase at his mercy, leaving second favourite Bob Olinger (6-5) to run out a fortuitous winner and give the layers a great start.

On the Betfair betting exchange, Galopin Des Champs was matched at the basement price of 1.01 for £39,488 (€47,027) while Bob Olinger was matched at the ceiling price of 1000 for £10 (€11.90).

Third Wind was one for the layers as the 25-1 shot denied 11-2 co-favourite Alaphilippe in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle. Coole Cody (22-1) winning the Craft Irish Whiskey Co. Plate Handicap Chase and Chambard (40-1) in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase were also good results for the bookies.

However, the Willie Mullins-trained Allaho did the business for punters with a scintillating display to land back-to-back victories in the Ryanair Chase. His starting price of 4-7 was very skinny compared to 3-1 when he was winning favourite in 2021.

Flooring Porter (4-1) was a popular winner for the Irish in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle but there had been late support for Klassical Dream from the Mullins camp. And Love Envoi (15-2) took the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle as a gamble on the once-raced Dinoblue, from the Mullins’ yard, came unstuck.

Coral’s David Stevens said: “In recent seasons we’ve tended to have the worst of the results on the first three days, but then got out of jail on the Friday, the biggest day of the week, but this year we went into day three slightly ahead,