BOOKIES are fearing the worst after a massive gamble on five horses all from the same yard took place.
Trainer David Jeffreys has seen one of his runners go from 50-1 to just 6-4.
But each one of the horses – spread across the day’s three meetings – has shortened dramatically in price.
Notnow Seamus has gone from 20-1 to 6-4 and is the first of the Gloucester trainer’s runners.
He goes off in the 1.00 at Southwell while Perfect Predator runs in the 2.03 at the same track at 6-5 having been 12-1 yesterday.
Jeffreys has Getaman – 5-4 from 12-1 – in the 3.40 at Kelso, the same race he saddles The Gold Bug, who has been cut to 4-1 from 8-1.
But it is the trainer’s final horse that has seen the biggest surge of market support.
Blood Eagle in the 4.20 at Plumpton has been cut to 6-4 after being a gigantic 50-1.
The five-year-old has run at odds as high as 250-1 in his previous four races for Jeffreys.
And in his most recent contest – at Wetherby on February 17 – he finished last by 158 lengths.
Prior to that he was 15th of 16 at Doncaster in January – beaten by 102 lengths – and 12th of 13 at Hereford in November, where he was beaten by 79 lengths at odds of 200-1.
Incredibly, none of the five horses have finished placed in any of their previous starts for Jeffreys.
This latest coup follows hot on the heels of another last month that almost cost bookies £10million.
It was only the final leg of a big-price treble failing to win at Musselburgh that thwarted the gamble.
That gamble involved three horses at two tracks and started off well with Fire Away winning after going off at evens having been 25-1.
Blowing Dixie was the next to oblige, winning at 4-6 after being backed all the way down from 16-1.
It meant Gallahers Cross – who was backed into 4-5 having been 33-1 – needed to justify favourtism to land the gamble.
But he could only manage fourth, meaning the 15,000-1 treble did not come in.
More to follow.
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