Thaindian News

London, Apr 30 (ANI): Bookies in Britain took a hammering of 10 million pounds after a horse called Royal Wedding raced to victory just hours after Prince William wed Kate Middleton.

The nine-year-old horse won by three lengths in the 5.30 steeplechase at Fontwell, Sussex, at odds of 4-1 and was backed by millions of “hunch” punters.

Trained locally to the Sussex track by Nick Gifford, he was ridden by Grand National-winning jockey Liam “Gnashers” Treadwell, and hit the finishing post first just over six hours after the wedding at Westminster Abbey.

“On the day Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot, there was only going to be one winner of the race,” the Sun quoted Corals spokesman David Stevens as saying.

“And Royal Wedding didn’t let the side down, becoming the most aptly-named winner since Party Politics won the Grand National just five days before the 1992 General Election.

“We think that loads of Sun readers placed bets on Royal Wedding, and the bookies will be paying out millions as a result.

“The pay-out could be up to 10 million pounds across the industry because the horse’s odds drifted out to 4-1 just before the off.

“Who knows, maybe some of the Royal guests even had a flutter, after all, the winnings might help towards those wedding costs,” he stated.

Bookies took a similar hammering in 1973 on the day Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips and a horse called Royal Mark won.

“This horse has given us bookies a massive kick in the crown jewels,” Ladbrokes spokesman David Williams, said.

“Royal Wedding backers are over the moon. Loyal royalists who kept the faith have scooped a small fortune,” he added. (ANI)