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Rodger Alderson, a former Maths teacher, managed to find the perfect combination to score last week’s Royal Ascot Scoop6. 

Now living in the Welsh countryside, Alderson placed a £8 Scoop6 perm on Friday to land £26,245.57.  

“It was absolutely gob smacking, it’s hard to put into words really because it’s a hell of a lot of money,” said Alderson. 

“You don’t expect to win, that’s not why I'm betting and therefore that is what makes it more exciting. If you're not betting to win money then it is a total bonus.” 

Rodger is keen race goer and an avid small stakes punter, he spoke of his love for the multi-leg bets like the Scoop6. 

He said: “I enjoy a bet most days. I’m not betting because I expect to win, I bet because I enjoy watching the races more then. I suppose my philosophy really is to bet small and hope to win big - that’s why I enjoy the Scoop6 and Placepots, I very rarely have a single win bet.

“When I do the ITV7 I'll automatically put on the Scoop6 and Placepot or Jackpot based on those selections.”  

Indicating he is more of a Jumps racing fan than the Flat, Rodger was surprised to land a big pot on a major Flat racing festival. 

“I got into horse racing through my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, they live down here. They took me to Cheltenham, probably about 10 years ago, and I really enjoyed it then.” 

“I only really bet when I went to meetings at Cheltenham and Ludlow but then when I retired I started following it a bit more and getting interested.” 

Rodger described his interesting process for unearthing the winners, he said: “I’d say it’s a combination of interest and gut feel and a hell of a slice of luck. 

“There is only a couple I thought could win, so I doubled up on a couple of the others - hence the £8 rather than the £2.” 

“In the bigger races I tend to go for jockeys rather than horses, my crucial two wins in my Scoop6 were Tom Marquand and Hayley Turner. 

“I think when you've got a 30 runner race over five furlongs, if you run it 100 times you’d get 100 different results, that’s why I go for the people that are in form and hope they can ride a good race.”

Latin Lover’s victory in the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes got Rodger over the line in the last leg and also remarkably provided trainer Harry Eustace with a first Royal Ascot winner on his first Royal Ascot runner. 

Latin Lover -Hayley Turner winners of The Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes. Royal Ascot 17.06.2022

Rodger revealed he didn't even watch the race in real time, he said: “In the afternoon I saw things were going well but my son-in-law is a keen racing fan and he was at work so I recorded the last race so I could watch it with him, so we didn't watch it live. 

“It took a bit of nerve and my family knew I was doing well so I told everyone not to ring me or text me until I had watched it.”

Because he opted into the daily Royal Ascot Betting Tournament, Rodger also secured some further prizes. 

The retired Mancunian blitzed the betting competition field to win the daily cash prize of £1000 and also scored a VIP prize. 

Courtesy of Racing Breaks, because Rodger was the top profit-maker over Royal Ascot week, he has won a VIP trip to Paris.

The trip includes return travel for two with a two night stay in a 4-star hotel in Paris, Weekend Winning Post enclosure tickets to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp and Rodger will be attending an exclusive drinks evening with Frankie Dettori and other racing celebrities. 

A seat at the Tournament of Champions is also awarded to the daily top ten finishers, giving them a chance at scooping the £50,000 winner takes all prize on British Champions Day.

He said: “It is incredible, it really is the icing on the cake, I’m going to take my wife.

“I’ve been around the world teaching and I've been to France but I've never been to Paris. It's nice if you can say I've been to one of those events. 

“I’m a massive sports fan. I went on the Lions tour in 2017, I like the big occasions. I go to finals day for the cricket at Edgbaston but I'd never dreamed I'd be going to see the Arc.”

What to get involved in our next Betting Tournament? The next chance to book your seat in the Tournament of Champions will be at Ascot once again for QIPCO King George Diamond Day on Saturday 22nd July​. 

For more information head over to our Betting Tournament Guide: Betting Tournaments | Tote


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