From £1 Each Way to £11k in Winnings: Racing Punter Has a Tuesday Afternoon to Remember

Jockey with Light Blue Silks on Bay Horse

It was pretty dreary Tuesday afternoon, by all accounts, with a – no disrespect intended – fairly mundane card of National Hunt racing to match.

But even when the action on the track is humdrum, opportunities to profit can still present themselves – as one Betfair customer found out to the tune of £11,770 courtesy of Southwell Racecourse on Tuesday.

And given that they had staked just £1 each way, it was a reminder that even smaller budget punters can, very occasionally, enjoy their moment in the sun.

What a Legacy

Time Winner Jockey Trainer Odds (SP)
15:00 Scott’s Legacy Sam Twiston-Davies Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies 8/1 (11/2)
15:30 Raby Mere Lewis Stones Caroline Fryer 18/1 (28/1)
16:30 Codetalker Charlie Hammond Stuart Edmunds 13/2 (6/1)
17:00 Dartmouth Rose Jack Quinlan Matt Crawley 9/1 (17/2)

The Betfair punter opted for a classic each way four-fold, with selections ranging from 13/2 to 18/1.

At those prices, they may have been better served – generally speaking – to have placed a Lucky 15 or even a Yankee. But they were obviously happy to take on the risk of a straight acca and, £11k richer, they will no doubt be saying ‘thanks but no thanks!’ to our pearls of wisdom!

Let’s rewind back to 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, where Scott’s Legacy was the selection in a maiden bumper at Southwell.

It was a family affair for the Twiston-Davies gang, with Sam in the saddle and Nigel and Willy on training duties. And it would once again prove to be a winning combination, as despite hanging left on the run-in, Scott’s Legacy had enough in the tank to reel in previous leader Music Song.

Sent off at an SP of 11/5, our punter had managed to avail themselves of 8/1 thanks to a BOG offering.

Tristan Durrell and Freddie Gordon are locked in a frenetic battle to be crowned Conditional Jockeys champion for the 2025/26 season. Durrell was on board the favourite, Peckforton Hills, in the 15:25 at Southwell on Tuesday.

But our punter had backed Lewis Stones instead, who was in the saddle of the eye-catching French bred Raby Mere.

The seven-year-old had shown little since being switched from Olly Murphy’s yard to that of Caroline Fryer, with an SP of 28/1 – our punter had taken 18/1 – reflective of those struggles.

However, Raby Mere had won twice on fast ground in 2025, and thanks to a perfectly timed ride from Stones – who was happy to sit in midfield until the business end, the 94 rated horse was able to showcase that fondness for quick conditions once more.

He and Peckforton Hills went stride for stride in the home straight, but it was Raby Mere that showed more to take the tape by two lengths.

Cracking the Code

Clock Showing 4:30 Close Up

After taking the 16:00 race off, our punter was back for the next half an hour later; a Class 4 handicap hurdle contested over 20f.

These races are the backbone of non-elite British racing, yet can often be a tough mystery to solve for the handicapper – let alone punters.

The customer had opted for Codetalker, a six-year-old from the Stuart Edmunds yard ridden by Charlie Hammond.

Having won at Fakenham in December off a mark of 103, Codetalker had placed in his next two starts at 108 and 109.

So a 2lb penalty wasn’t too drastic for such a progressive horse, with the dry ground – unbeknownst to the handicapper – also playing to the six-year-old’s strengths.

Codetalker pretty much led the field from wire to wire, aside from a brief challenge from Fine Casting, and ultimately ran out a comfortable five-and-a-length winner.

Three down, one to go. Would Betfair be able to tempt their customer to cash out?

No chance.

Dartmouth Rose was the selection in the final race of the day at Southwell. In October, she had won over 20f on good ground at Fakenham off a mark of 83, so a 2lb drop – in fast conditions once more – offered jockey Jack Quinlan plenty of reasons to be positive.

He and trainer Matt Crawley had seemingly devised a simple plan: make all the running and see where they were heading into the final few furlongs.

The answer would be a decent distance in the lead, although Quinlan had to give Dartmouth Rose a shake on the reins two from home as she appeared to idle.

The 11/4 favourite, Cher Monsieur, was staying on, but Dartmouth Rose found some extra focus with the line in sight and held on for a near four-length margin of victory.

And that was that: our punter had turned their speculative £1 each way acca into a payout of £11,770.

Not bad for a humdrum Tuesday afternoon….