2 minutes Absolute Steel Shocks punters by turning over short priced favourite Lowry's Bar
Wow, talk about an underdog story! Absolute Steel, the 200-1 long shot, totally blew everyone's mind by snagging his first win over hurdles, tying him for the biggest upset in a British race since 1990. This five-year-old, trained by Tom Lacey, was basically the dark horse in the 2m2½f novice hurdle, especially after losing by a whopping 111 lengths in his first two races.
His racing history wasn't exactly stellar, finishing dead last in his first race and barely beating one horse in his next hurdle debut. But then, Absolute Steel took on some tough competitors, including Josh The Boss, who had just raced in a Grade 2, and the crowd favorite, Lowry’s Bar, who was on a winning streak aiming for his fifth win.
Despite not running in a straight line and zigzagging before most of the hurdles, Absolute Steel, with Stan Sheppard riding, led the whole way and won, leaving Lowry’s Bar and the rest in the dust. He even smashed the betting odds, which were a jaw-dropping 813-1 at Betfair.
This was the first time we've seen a 200-1 winner in Britain since a horse named Inspiratrice won back in December 2022, while the record for the longest shot ever was Equinoctial at 250-1 way back in 1990. And over in Ireland, the record's a 300-1 tie between Sawbuck and He Knows No Fear.
Sheppard, not too shocked by the win, thought Absolute Steel wasn't as bad as his last race made him look. He felt the horse had some potential, even if his previous performances didn't show it. It seems like the other favored horses didn't bring their A-game, but hey, Sheppard wasn't totally surprised by pulling off this massive upset.
To add to the drama, Micheal Nolan, who rode Lowry's Bar, faced more disappointment when his favorite in another race, Goshhowposh, had to pull up in a qualifier won by Shallow River. What a day at the races, right?
Biggest Priced Winners in the UK
- 250-1 Equinoctial, Kelso, November 1990
- 200-1 Beechy Bank, Warwick, September 2002
- 200-1 Arctic Blue, Chepstow, March 2005
- 200-1 Maoi Chinn Tire, Wetherby, October 2010
- 200-1 Lights Of Broadway, Taunton, January 2012
- 200-1 Dandy Flame, Wolverhampton, July 2016
- 200-1 Intercessor, Newbury, June 2020
- 200-1 Runninwild, Redcar, May 2021
- 200-1 Astapor, Hamilton, June 2022
- 200-1 Inspiratrice, Taunton, December 2022
- 200-1 Absolute Steel, Exeter, February 2024
Did you know?
Here at betting.bet we are no strangers to long shots. in January we tipped 100/1 Magic Mike in a betting.bet sponsored race at Chepstow.. After passing the post first the stewards made a bizarre decision to overturn the result and cost many punters on the tote a fortune.