What a week it’s been for longshot backers!
On Monday, the presumed no hoper It’s Bobsled Time won a maiden hurdle at Naas Racecourse from an SP of 250/1 – his trainer Richard Morrissey’s first winner in more than 4,000 days.
Even more incredibly, around £250 had been matched at 1000/1 on the Betfair Exchange – leaving layers with an almighty headache and a big bill to pick up.
Well, just three days later, we saw another horse obliging at mammoth odds… this time, the British racing record for the longest priced winner in history was broken!
Blowing Them Away
Having been pulled up on his maiden start at Chepstow, it’s easy to see why Blowers was so readily dismissed by the bookmakers.
Named after the iconic cricket commentator Henry ‘Blowers’ Blofeld, the five-year-old was installed as the 300/1 outsider for a maiden hurdle outing at Exeter on Thursday.
Anyone optimistic enough to back Nigel Hawke’s horse – and there were betting slips shared on social media in the aftermath of the race – was made to fear the worst yet further when Blowers taken down to the start early for the 12:30 renewal and was very keen and sweaty before the off.
Unsurprisingly, given his hyped-up nature, Blowers powered away at the start and left jockey James Best hanging on in a bid to temper his charge’s energetic instinct.
Blowers then jumped markedly left at the second and third obstacles and veered around the track before the fourth… at this point, he looked every inch of his 300/1 price; an implied probability of winning of just 0.3%.
With three left to jump, the market principles – 5/4 favourite On the Bayou and 11/8 second fav Lasko Des Obeaux – were being primed for a run to the line, joining Blowers at the head of the field.
Best was working hard to keep his mount in the contest, but he was headed two out and then produced an untidy jump at the last.
👀 Blowers – 300/1 winner in the opener at @ExeterRaces pic.twitter.com/2GuQm9zJxC
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 18, 2025
Staying On
But Lasko Des Obeaux began to tire on the heavy ground, and the expected charge from On the Bayou never really materialised; in fact, he rather began to tread water – no shock, given that 50mm of rain had fallen on Exeter the night before.
Shaken up by Best, Blowers found a little extra – not much, but enough to pass On the Bayou and stay on gamely.
Making history! 🏆 Blowers storms home to win our first race at a huge 300/1 — now officially stated as the longest-priced British winner!
All smiles with owner/breeder Robert Pudd, jockey James Best and local trainer Nigel Hawke.
Well done👏 pic.twitter.com/TvWb1JIhKR— Exeter Racecourse (@ExeterRaces) December 18, 2025
The favourite then found his extra gear and made a play for the line, but Blowers – somehow, some way – had just enough in the tank to see out a three-quarters-of-a-length victory.
“I was a little surprised at his price, but I guess it’s the way the markets go,” Hawke said afterwards.
“We ran him at Chepstow and the amateur jockey we had on couldn’t hold one side of him, but you saw what Besty did on him today and he didn’t stop galloping.
“I think 300-1 was a bit ridiculous to be fair, and I’m not saying we knew what we had but we knew we had a horse with some ability.”
Ironically, Best wasn’t supposed to have taken the ride. Ella Herbison had been booked for the flight, but missed her flight over from Ireland – allowing Best to take his place in British racing history.
“Thank you to Ella for thinking of me and for Nigel and the owners to allow me to ride!” he said afterwards.
Blowers was bred by Mr and Mrs Pudd, a couple renowned for the small West Country operation.
At 300/1, Blowers is confirmed as the longest odds SP winner of a British horse race.
Bookmaker Coral confirmed that 82 bets had been placed on Blowers to win, with just £2 each way being the highest stake. Paddy Power, meanwhile, reported taking just two bets on the rank outsider.
Blowers replaces Equinoctial in the record books. It was way back in 1990 that he won a handicap hurdle at Kelso from a starting price of 250/1, a milestone that has stood for the past 35 years.
There have been 300/1 winners over in Ireland. He Knows No Fear was the first back in August 2020, landing a Leopardstown maiden to claim trainer Luke Comer’s first win in nine years.
Less than two years later, he was followed into the history books by Sawbuck, who also took the tape at Punchestown at an SP of 300/1 in May 2022.