As crowds return to racecourses for the first time in five months, a four-horse gamble has materialised on runners at Carlisle and Redcar trained by Iain Jardine.
The easing of government lockdown restrictions in England and Scotland from today means spectators are allowed back on track and punters are seemingly looking to mark the occasion by following a supposedly linked gamble which started to take shape on Sunday evening.
Four horses - all from the same Jardine stable in Dumfries - were cut in the betting for their respective races not long after the initial markets were formed, and the sustained support hasn't stopped this morning.
It's not the first time Jardine's name has been closely associated with such an industry-wide, multi-horse gamble, having trained one of the winning selections in a three-horse plot which ended in the final leg being denied at Musselburgh back in February.
The Jardine-trained Blowing Dixie won at Southwell on that occasion after being punted from 9/1 to an SP of 4/6 favourite, and bookmakers are presumably wary of another potential hit.
Unlike that day, Jardine trains all four of today's plunge horses, starting with Tomily in the 1.35 at Carlisle who was as big as 16/1 on Sunday night. Four-year-old handicapper Jump The Gun (2.45 Carlisle) was 14/1 in a place last night and into 7/4 on Monday morning. Wiganese - 7/4 from 14/1 in places at one stage - is a racecourse debutant in division two of the novice event at Redcar (3.40), while last-leg duties fall to Flood Defence (Carlisle's 5.00), who like Jump The Gun is owned by Let's Be Lucky Racing. The course and distance winning mare was even money from 15/2 with one firm before drifting back out to a general 3/1 by late-morning.
The four horses are:
TOMILY - 1.35 Carlisle (Click here for FREE video form and racecard)
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