Billionaire horse trainer questioned after 200-1 winner leaves punters speechless and jockey smirks ‘that was easy’
A BILLIONAIRE horse trainer left punters in disbelief as he rattled in a 200-1 winner.
Plasterer-turned-property mogul Luke Comer is already responsible for the biggest-priced winner in history, with 300-1 He Knows No Fear.
Navajo River tried his best to match that price when causing a monster upset of his own at Roscommon on Tuesday night.
The gigantic win sent shockwaves through the sport – especially as Comer trained the 200-1 third for the same trainer too.
Sandwiched in the middle in second was 8-11 Fisherman’s Beach in the 1m4f Flat maiden at the Irish track.
He Knows No Fear shattered records with his remarkable win at Leopardstown in August 2020.
And three years later – albeit at a different track – Comer showed this is the month to back one of his big-priced outsiders.
Incredibly, Navajo River returned a Betfair starting price of 982-1, with punters totally unwilling to back the three-year-old colt who had been beaten a combined 80 lengths on his first three starts.
But under 2lb claimer Paddy Harnett, Navajo River, who is owned by Comer, ran out a resolute winner.
He bided his time near the back of the field before pouncing late on, snatching victory at the post to win by a head.
Victory was worth around £6,500 while Comer also picked up the £995 third-place prize courtesy of Dark Miss, who he also owns.
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Mind you, that’s small fry for the property mogul who, along with his brother Brian, is said to be worth a combined £2billion.
Comer’s representative Jim Gorman was asked to explain the horse’s improvement in form and he said the colt had benefitted from ‘a step up in trip and strong gallop’.
Having considered the report offered, the raceday stewards noted the explanation offered.
Gorman told Racing TV afterwards: “I don’t know how that happened.
“He was disappointing the last day and Gary [Carroll, jockey] got off him and said he was really green and that was all the information I got.
“Nobody had a bet today – miracles don’t happen all of the time!
“He could be a nice staying horse and please God he’ll go forward from there.”
While jockey Harnett added: “He gave me a beautiful ride the whole way around and it was easy.”
One lucky punter showed their bet slip backing the horse, but most were left in disbelief after seeing the result.
One said: “If you picked that, do the lottery.”
And another commented: “Unbelievable. Anyone see that coming?”
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