Neil in Trelawney-style prediction shocker!

[Neil Ward]

By virtue of my job, I received an invitation to this year's Grand National (the longest and most watched steeplechase of the year).  The race is sponsored by one of my clients, Martell, and they very kindly flew myself and a guest to Aintree (Liverpool), wined and dined us - along with 350 others - and allowed us to watch the races from their VIP lounge.  

I am not a gambler (apart from doing the National Lottery each week) and I am not interested in horse racing in the slightest, but it was one of those invitations that I was in no position to decline.  I decided to bite my tongue about the potential cruelty to the horses running in this rather boisterous race, and attend.  Further to this, I decided to pick a horse and bet on it.  I thought, 'If I become a gambler, I can always sue Martell...'

There were 40 runners, and I decided to choose one that had some link to Harry Potter.  This made the choice easy: it had to be a horse called Red Marauder - a bit of an outsider, but not incapable of finishing upright.  A very helpful turf accountant explained what all the different bets were and suggested that I try an "each way bet" on my chosen horse.  This meant that I placed £10 each way on Red Marauder at 33-1, and that I would win something if it won the race or if it was placed in the first four.

The going was very soft (in other words, it was raining cats and dogs and the course was a quagmire) and the race was a complete shambles; some said they only ran it because it would not look good to cancel it in light of the foot and mouth scare.  Horses fell and refused hither and thither, and halfway through the race there were only seven still in it.  By the time the end was in sight, there were just two horses left in one piece, with a rider still in the saddle.  You know what's coming, don't you? (especially if you're in the UK and saw it on the news)  - Red Marauder won the race!!  I could hardly believe my eyes as it passed the winning post.  I was speechless.

I won £193 from my £10 bet, so, you could say that Harry Potter made me rich.   

Neil

PS - Dame Maggie Smith was there.  We didn't speak, but I wondered if she had chosen Red Marauder too.

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