We’ve got used to top class racing in the sunshine at Ascot so far this summer and King George Diamond Day was no different with the World Pool rolling into town again with overpays galore.
Just like at Royal Ascot, our World Pool Betting Tournament was back in operation and in the same vein as the Royal meeting, the tournament had its fair share of twists and turns as well as, what is quickly becoming, the trademark late drama.
Read on to find out how the tournament was won, featuring win bets, exotics and a successful ITV7 Placepot.
How The Tournament Was Won: King George Diamond Day
Frankie Dettori and Lazoo got favourite backers off to a flying start in the Princess Margaret Keeneland Stakes at Ascot. Tipped up by Andrew Mount, the Ralph Beckett star landed Mounty not only a nice win bet but also the Exacta, with Kinta chasing her home. The Exacta returned a £14.52 dividend with Tote+ to help Andrew Mount take an early lead, while Rory Delargy got hot on his heels with a Trifecta landed at Newcastle.
The German raider, Novemba was the hype horse going into the second race from Ascot, but he couldn’t sustain the front-running tactics and had to settle for third. Instead, it was left to Jumbly and Oscula to battle out a head bobbing finish which eventually went to Jumbly and Hollie Doyle by a nose. The winner saw an overpay for Tote+ customers picking up £4.95 compared to the 10/3 SP, while the Trifecta+ paid £105 more than the Tricast. However, it was over at York where Mark W climbed into third with a pair of successful Exotics.
The International Stakes is one of those big field Ascot handicaps that always proves difficult to find the horse you’ve backed, but followers of Fresh will have been delighted to see him emerge from the pack and put Royal Ascot disappointments behind him. Overpays were plenty as a result with the Win, Exacta and Trifecta all providing incredible value through the World Pool.
- Win: 8/1 SP v £11.77 Tote+
- Forecast paid £105.59 v £321.52 Exacta+
- Tricast paid £414.23 v £1,806.64 Trifecta+
Seamus D was one player to really benefit with the overpay on Fresh allowing him to take a wide margin lead, while David G and Gabriel V both landed a nice Trifecta at York to move them into second and third on the leaderboard.
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes is a race that always goes down in history and the performance of Pyledriver certainly lived up to that reputation. The globetrotter pulled clear in impressive fashion to score by 2¾ lengths from Torquator Tasso, who was a fast finishing second.
Despite his passport being stamped in Hong Kong and Meydan, he was largely left untouched by the World Pool and overpaid at £22.88 with Tote+ compared to a 18/1 SP, which was a nice reward for Tote’s Jamie Benson who’d backed him in the win market.
Christopher A also moved up to second after landing the Placepot7.
Charlie Appleby and Godolphin continued their good record in the Pat Eddery Stakes by adding their third winner in four years with the well supported Naval Power. There were no big moves at the top, but previous Scoop6 winner Rodger A got himself into contention after landing a York Trifecta and backing Pyledriver earlier on.
Hollie Doyle once again showed her class in the saddle to land a double on the day and add another victory for Archie Watson with Tempus winning the Porsche Handicap Stakes.
Benson had NAP’d the Queen’s horse Saga who failed to fire, but still, he remained in 14th place with plenty of punters starting to reel him in with just one race left to go at Ascot.
His play for the finale was with Corazon, as well as a few small Exactas & Trifectas. Unfortunately for Benson, his pick could only finish fifth, which meant our Tote ‘hack’ had to settle for 33rd on the final leaderboard. An end of day profit for Benson of £218.20 meant a decent day at the races with those above him netting a Beat Benson dividend of over £200.
* AMENDMENT *
Benson finishes 31st Place - One of the players who Beat Benson did not qualify. https://t.co/3PXG9rfh9N
— Tote Betting Tournaments (@TheTote1000) July 23, 2022
At the top of table it was a battle to the end, with Seamus D landing a place bet on Live In The Moment to topple Andrew Mount, and land the King George Diamond Day World Pool Betting Tournament and £1,000, plus a seat at the £50,000 Tournament of Champions on British Champions Day.
