Bookmakers breathed a collective sigh of relief on Friday night as an audacious gamble came up just shy.
Tramore racecourse in Waterford was the venue for a dramatic night of racing that saw four horses go from long outsiders to hot favourites, leaving bookies at the risk of paying out huge sums of money.
And they very nearly had to, as two of the four horses in question won their races, while the other two horses finished second in a photo-finish, and third in a separate race.
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Bookmakers Ladbrokes and Paddy Power both revealed that they had taken a number of substantial bets on Friday morning on a quartet of horses that were either trained or set to be ridden by a member of the Mullins family. This caused odds to shorten sigficantly, with one horse being cut to 4/6 from 100/1.
The first horse to race was So Scottish which was trained by Emmet Mullins. The horse, which went off at 1/4 having been as high as 5/1 at one point, came up agonisingly close losing in a photo-finish to winner Doyenna.
Tony Mullins trained Molly Fantasy, who was cut to 4/5 from 20/1, was the second of the four horses in question and despite having not raced in over 400 days, romped to victory with Danny Mullins on board.
The major worry for bookmakers came in the form of Twoplustwo equals, as the Paul Tobin trained horse came in from 100/1 to 5/4. Danny Mullins couldn't pull off another remarkable victory on this occasion however, eventually finishing in third place.
The final horse of the Mullins quartet Space Tourist, which was representing Willie and Patrick, took home victory in the fourth leg ensuring that all four horses placed.
"There was nothing major in liabilities from an each-way point of view and we dodged the bullet getting Twoplustwo Equals beat, ironically by a Willie Mullins-trained, Patrick Mullins-ridden winner,” Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield told The Racing Post.
After Molly Fantasy's win, Tony Mullins spoke to Racing TV after a remarkable day of action. In the short interview, Mullins spoke of how he told the horse's connections to back the mare, which perhaps sheds light on why so many of the Mullins horses saw their odds shortened on Friday.
"We were all set for last year's [Tramore] festival but then we had to wait a year [due to injury] and she started working very well.
"I told the connections I was expecting her to win, and they duly did what should be done when you're told that. Off that handicap mark of 85, I thought she was well in. We had to wait a year so it's nice that it paid off."
He added: "We put a hood on her on the advice of David Mullins, who actually rode work for me on her one morning, and it changed her. It settled her down because she is a little panicky. Everything worked and she won like I hoped she would.
"Danny is riding brilliantly. To ride one that was as well backed as that and sit out second-last until well after halfway, it takes someone that's riding at the top of their game."
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