300/1 winner makes history at Leopardstown

It’s rare enough to see a donkey priced at 300/1 in a horse race.

Even rarer to see a horse on offer at such high odds so to see a 300/1 winner is barely believable, but that was the story in Leopardstown on Thursday afternoon.

Priced at 250/1 in his last outing in Limerick when finishing 12th out of 14 runners in a moderate field, trainer Luke Comer wouldn’t have been overly surprised to see his three-year-old He knows no fear start at the longer odds of 300/1 in Thursday’s Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden flat race.

The millionaire property developer may have been surprised though, to see his charge bolt up the finishing straight to overtake Jim Bolger’s even money favourite Agitare. He knows no fear certainly lived up to his name today.

Ridden by Limerick jockey Chris Hayes, the history maker settled into a better rhythm in Foxrock but a victory looked improbable until the closing stages. With the finishing post nearing, the horse came into his own and eventually collared the long-time leader.

😲

300-1 winner at @LeopardstownRC! pic.twitter.com/KRekjz66S3

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 13, 2020

Previously, the highest priced winner in Ireland was Killahara Castle who won a novice hurdle in Thurles in December 2017. Meanwhile, the various bookmakers reported a substantial interest in the horse, considering the inflated odds.

“Almost 100 plucky Paddy Power punters lived up to their horse’s name and somehow managed to pinpoint the winner,” said spokesman Paul Binfield.

“These punting heroes have either been struck by divine inspiration or are extremely shrewd form judges who managed to see the positives from the winner’s debut at Limerick – where he was slowly away and made no impression from two furlongs out before trailing home a distant 18 lengths behind Comfort Line.”