The Melbourne Cup in Australia last week produced its usual melee of folklore. This time one of the more entertaining stories comes from neighbouring New Zealand, across the Tasman Sea.
A homeless man in the city of Wellington won NZ$106,000 (R1.17-million) for correctly predicting the order of the first four horses home (a Quartet bet in South Africa) in Australia’s most famous horserace – traditionally run on the first Tuesday in November. His outlay was NZ$5 (about R55).
The man, who only wished to be referred to as Robert, told the New Zealand Herald newspaper his winnings would go towards a deposit for a new house. He had been living rough in a garage for nine months.
Robert struck the bet while drinking with a group of friends in a working men’s club in Petone, Wellington, and discovered he had landed the bet when smoking a cigarette in the garden bar.
He celebrated the life-changing win by buying drinks for his mates and the club gave him a celebratory bunch of flowers.
“It was quite, quite an emotional process, mate,” the man told the New Zealand Herald. “I couldn’t believe it, and I thought to myself, there must be something wrong here.
“So, I went into my easybets and realised that there was a green tick next to my $5 first four easybets with $106,000. I’ve gone from being homeless, sitting in a garage, to finally being able to afford a deposit on a house now.”
Last Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup was won by 7-1 chance Without A Fight, with Soulcombe (17-12) getting second, Sheraz (150-1) third and Ashrun (25-1) fourth.
TAB, New Zealand’s largest pool betting firm, said it recorded record turnover on the Cup meeting, with NZ$28.4-million staked.
In Australia, one of the biggest wins to reach the news was a Win bet on Without A Fight, which netted A$900,000 (R10.7-million) for a $100,000 (R1.2-million) outlay.
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