Over 2500 players entered Epsom Oaks day Betting Tournament hoping to punch their ticket to the £50,000 Tournament of Champions and take home their share of the cash prizes on offer.
The tournament began with the Woodcote stakes from Epsom, where Rory Delargy put forward his selections beforehand for the Quinella and Trifecta perms.
Order of pref: Self Praise, Xanadu, Estate, Com. Straker, Blatant. First four in trifectas as well, for small stakes.
— Rory Delargy (@helynsar) June 3, 2022
Legend Of Xanadu got the better of Self Praise and Commander Straker in a driving finish in race one, with Delargy landing both his Quinella and Trifecta. Rory Patrick Brennan wasn’t far behind after, after he also managed to find the Trifecta in the opener.
Leg Two saw Totally Charming get the double up for William Buick. Sent off a joint-favourite, he provided a small over pay to lucky punters who backed him, including Harry Findlay. The 2000 Guineas tournament winner steamed to the top of the leaderboard after having a sizable punt on the George Boughey trained gelding.
Jamie Benson got off to a bad start. Benson tipped a Trifecta in race two, which included the William Haggas trained Fireworks, but the four-year-old couldn't provide Benson with a much needed spark to ascend the leaderboard.
Before the Coronation Cup in race three, Dave Revers pointed to Hukum being overpriced for the Group One.
Thought Hukum looked overpriced at 11/2 in the Coronation Cup @EpsomRacecourse (3.10)
— Dave Revers (@daverevers) June 3, 2022
The ex-Racing Post man was rewarded for his shrewd detective work by a career best performance by the Owen Burrows trained five-year-old, readily scampering clear of favorite Pyledriver in the closing stages to score in good style.
James F was the biggest beneficiary of the race though, hitting a nice touch on the 11/4 shot. Harry Findlay slid down to third after not playing anything in the race whilst Delargy worked his way back up to be 6th after hitting a second Quinella of the tournament, which returned him a three figure score.
There were few changes after race four. Royal Champion was a topical winner on the Jubilee weekend, Roger Varian’s gelding ran out a comfortable winner and his 14/1 price tag was overshadowed by a handsome £19.25 return with Tote+.
Delargy and Findlay both slipped down the leaderboard after the outsider went in, leaving James F at the top. Benson was still yet to score but put plenty of faith in his NAP, which was to go in the following race.
Benson promised tears if the John and Thady Gosden trained Emily Upjohn could not justify favouritism in the Oaks, and sadly he was to have his heart broken. The Musidora winner was slow out of the stalls and would have to come from the back if she were to carry Benson’s hopes.
Travelling wide up the stand side, Emily Upjohn delivered her challenge late under Frankie Dettori but it was Tuesday who prevailed in the photo.
Mark W surged to the top of the leaderboard after placing all his faith in the Aidan O’Brien trained filly. Also getting involved at the top was Terry P, he smartly backed the Irish raider to win and place. The front two in the feature race were closely followed by Nashwa to complete the Trifecta, with the tricast paying a mere £44.90, the trifecta returned a cool £121.00.
The Manor House colt Ever Given caught the eye when taking out the Surrey Stakes in race six. The three-year-old made Joshua P’s Placepot perm and he geniusly backed the colt as a single too, taking advantage of the £5.00 Tote+ (SP 16/5) overpay. Mark W was still on top going into the final leg after making a small profit.
A shock victory in the final race on the Epsom card came for local trainer Laura Mongan after William Carson gave 80/1 shot Bowman a bold, enterprising ride to win the Derby festival handicap.
The four-year-old went completely unfancied in the market, even after being a runner up last time at Kempton.
The £81.00 Tote+ return was not backed by any of the leading contenders in the Betting Tournament in the final race, meaning Joshua P stayed on top.
Runner-up finisher Gordan Bernard D landed the lucrative Catterick Placepot whilst Chris P got himself into third place after scoring the Epsom quadpot.
Despite sliding down to fifth, Terry P like the rest of the top 10 finishers, will receive an invite to the £50,000 Tournament of Champions later this year.
Join tomorrow’s Derby Day tomorrow now! Oaks & Derby Day Tournaments ( tote.co.uk)
