The Long & Short Of It

Former trainer Barry Hills once said 'Never bet on an odds-on. If you could buy money, they would sell it at a shop down the road'.

Hills may have been exaggerating, but there’s no doubt that if 1/20 is as long as you’ll go, punting might not be for you. A £1 bet at that price would return a mere 5p profit.

A few years ago backers of Tree of Liberty learned that lesson the hard way. Kerry Lee’s gelding was beaten into second by the Brendan-Powell ridden Cap’n in a two-mile chase at 1/20.

The defeat made Tree of Liberty the shortest-priced loser in UK and Ireland National Hunt racing since 1909. Clearly, the ignominy affected him. He hasn’t managed to get his head in front since.

Another horse from whom we’ve heard very little since their record-breaking achievement is He Knows No Fear. In August 2020, Luke Comer’s colt made history at Leopardstown after he won a one-mile maiden at odds of 300/1 making him the biggest-priced winner in history.

The victory came after an uninspiring debut run which saw him finish 12th of 14. It seems the true reflection of his form was the latter as he hasn’t been placed since.