A Lucky 63 is an interesting bet type.
Punters make six selections, with all possible permutations covered by 63 different bets: six singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, six five-folds and a six-fold acca.
And, of course, if you back your Lucky 63 each way, you ultimately place 126 individual bets – the win and place part of each of the combinations described above.
It’s a high risk, high reward solution that requires a wager of 63 or 126 times your stake… but when your luck is in, the payouts can be remarkable.
As one Irish pensioner found out when placing an astonishing Lucky 63 at the Cheltenham Festival last week…
The Long and Short of It
| Race | Winner | Odds (SP) |
|---|---|---|
| Triumph Hurdle | Apolon De Charnie | 28/1 (50/1) |
| County Handicap Hurdle | Wilful | 9/1 (14/1) |
| Mares’ Chase | Dinoblue | 11/8 (11/8) |
| Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle | Johnny’s Jury | 18/1 (20/1) |
| Gold Cup | Gaelic Warrior | 3/1 (11/4) |
| Hunters’ Chase | Barton Snow | 8/1 (9/2) |
From near-enough even money favourites to 28/1 outsiders, the punter – known only as a 69-year-old customer of Paddy Power – didn’t follow a particular strategy with his selections.
The only criteria, it seems, is that each horse had a bold chance of winning their respective race on Friday.
First up was Apolon De Charnie in the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Willie Mullins was mob handed in the race with eight of the 20 runners, but it was one of the more unexpected entries that would come away with the win.
If you locked Best Odds Guaranteed in place for Apolon De Charnie, you would have landed an epic 50/1 winner, as the four-year-old made smooth progress through the field to take the lead during the run-in and hang on to defeat Harry Skelton’s Maestro Conti.
Our punter might have been a bit cheesed off not to have taken 50/1, but he still got a 28/1 winner to kick off his Friday at the festival.
Next up was something of an underdog in the 9/1 chance, Wilful.
Jonjo O’Neill’s seven-year-old won a valuable handicap at Ascot just before Christmas, so was well fancied by the shrewder operators for as strong run at Prestbury Park.
O’Neill’s son, Jonjo Jr, was in the saddle and positioned his horse where so many enjoyed success at the festival as a prominent frontrunner on the fast ground.
And Wilful lived up to his name, staying on gamely to land the William Hill County Handicap Hurdle.
Our punter’s Lucky 63 position was already looking handy with two singles and a double in the tank, before his third selection of the day – 11/8 favourite Dinoblue – took to the track for the Mares’ Chase.
In theory, this should have been his most comfortable chance of success, and it looked every inch to the case as Mark Walsh sauntered around the New Course on the bridle.
Dinoblue was pecked at by the hardy Only By Night on the home straight, but Willie Mullins’ nine-year-old had enough in reserve to keep herself in front.
Snow Joke
The Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, the fourth race of the day, had 22 runners in the field – it’s no mean feat picking out a winner in such company.
Johnny’s Jury was our punter’s selection. He had won on both of his previous two starts for Jamie Snowden, but hadn’t been tested at graded level… until Friday, that is.
The six-year-old was also stepping up in trip to three miles for the first time, so the odds were against the 18/1 chance in the eyes of many.
But not our plucky Irish raider. He watched on as Johnny’s Jury, looking out of contention with two to jump, found plenty on the run in for home, hugging the rail and finding more than Fruit De Mer to prevail by just over a length – albeit jockey Gavin Sheehan was subsequently banned and fined for breaking whip rules.
Next up was the big one: the Gold Cup. The strike rate of Mullins and Paul Townend in the race was enough to convince our punter that Gaelic Warrior was the horse to beat in the showpiece.
And so it proved, with Townend barely having to move a muscle aboard the eight-year-old, who cast aside any doubts about his form in 2025/26 with a commanding eight-length victory.
Five down, one to go. Barton Snow was the horse upon whose shoulders our punter’s hopes now rested. In the past calendar year, the nine-year-old had won five consecutive hunter’s chase races across England – but would he improve at Grade 2 level?
The answer was yes, just about, as despite a mistake at the final flight, Barton Snow had just enough in hand to beat the favourite, It’s On The Line, by a neck.
Some media firms, who should know better, have described this gargantuan Lucky 63 win as ‘43p into £485,000.’ That’s not true – the punter placed 43p on each permutation, for a total outlay of £54.78.
But even so, £54 into £485,000!? That has to go down as one of the finest bets in horse racing history.