A 250/1 outsider has become the third longest-odds winner in Irish racing history after obliging at the price at Naas on Monday.
It’s Bobsled Time had been beaten by 50 lengths or more in his opening two runs over hurdles, but quickly put that form aside to win by two-and-a-quarter lengths over 17 furlongs at the Irish venue.
As remarkable as the huge price that punters were able to avail themselves of, the triumph also represented trainer Richard Morrissey’s first win over fences in some 4,539 days!
Feeling the Rhythm
It’s Bobsled Time is, you probably guessed, is owned by the Cool Runnings syndicate, whose stable also includes the winless Kool Runnings.
Jockey Michael Kenneally slipped into the black, yellow and green silks on Monday – a nod to the Jamaican bobsleigh team in the film of the same name, and was handed about as much of a chance as the Jamaicans were in the 1988 Winter Olympics on the Canadian ice.
When settled at the rear of the field, there didn’t seem much chance of a Hollywood ending for It’s Bobsled Time, who had shown little in the way of promise in his first two starts.
But he just started to nibble under Kenneally’s prompting as they entered the home straight, gaining ground on the leaders before taking the lead with a few hundred yards to run.
The 9/2 chance Ritz Plan made a bold dart for the line and stayed on, but It’s Bobsled Time was very much feeling the rhythm as he too stayed the trip to score by two lengths.
𝟐𝟓𝟎/𝟏!
It’s Bobsled Time (for the Cool Runnings syndicate 👌) comes from way back to score at a monster price for the Richard Morrissey stable @NaasRacecourse pic.twitter.com/eqZzmIjz1Z
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 15, 2025
Kenneally, a 7lb claimer, timed his run perfectly.
“They went good and hard early and, on that ground, they were always going to stop,” he said.
“I was happy to creep away, and he was gutsy and game.”
It was something of a tainted victory for Morrissey, who has waited 12 years to see one of his horses win over fences. And yet, he wasn’t at Naas on Monday – one of his children was off school with illness and he was forced to stay at home.
“I was gobsmacked! I was eating my dinner and I nearly choked,” Morrissey commented later.
And speaking of the Cool Runnings syndicate, it perhaps wasn’t as lucrative a winner as it might have been.
“There are four lads involved in it and they’re cursing me,” the trainer revealed. “He [It’s Bobsled Time] only did one bit of work during the week because he had a dirty nose. I told them I didn’t fancy him. I think one of them had a fiver on it, that was all.”
But others did profit to some tune on the unexpected victory. Reports suggest that some punters were able to avail themselves of odds of 500/1 with some bookmakers, while odds of 1001.00 – 1000/1, in layman’s terms – were matched for £250 on the Betfair Exchange.
That was a nice win for backers just days shy of Christmas… although layers may well have been left nursing a sore head courtesy of It’s Bobsled Time’s heroics.
The Biggest Odds Winners in Horse Racing
Incredibly, that 250/1 SP about It’s Bobsled Time isn’t the biggest priced winner in Irish racing history.
That honour goes to a pair of 300/1 winners… both of whom have obliged in recent years.
He Knows No Fear was the history-maker back in August 2020, landing an Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Leopardstown – trainer Luke Comer’s first win on the flat in nine years.
He was followed in May 2022 by Sawbuck, who landed a maiden hurdle at Punchestown – despite being described by the Racing Post as a ‘modest sort with no realistic chance.’
There have been 17 winners recorded at odds of 150/1 or longer; incredibly, or perhaps not, 16 of those have come since 2020.
On British soil, the longest-priced winner in history is Equinoctial, who landed a huge win at Kelso way back in November 1990.
In 2025, we saw the biggest odds winner of a Grade 1 race in the UK. Powerful Glory took the spoils in the Champions Sprint on QIPCO British Champions Day at a cool SP of 200/1.