Festival Pain Continues For Punters

'An absolute bloodbath' was the succinct analysis of Paddy Power after another wretched afternoon for punters on day three of the Cheltenham Festival.

Although Inglis Drever and Taranis emerged popular winners in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and Ryanair Chase respectively, it failed to mask another turgid gambling day for downtrodden racegoers.

Black Jack Ketchum's fall and Monet's Garden's reverse were particularly hard to stomach, as were victories for Butler's Cabin (33-1) and Oscar Park (14-1) in the last two races.

L'Antartique's 20-1 win in the opener also swung the pendulum in the favour of the bookies, who watched on in glee as not one favourite was placed throughout the afternoon.

'It's just getting embarrassing,' said Paddy Power, spokesman for the Irish bookmakers.

'I almost want punters to win on Friday because things have got that one-sided - it's an absolute bloodbath.'

Paddy Power's joy was echoed throughout the bookmaking community, with Coral overjoyed at the outcome.

'Another great day for the layers,' exclaimed spokesman David Stevens.

'The final two winners were the icing on the cake, making it three winning days on the trot.'

William Hill feel they are home and hosed in their yearly scrimmage with the win-hungry masses.

'It's 3-0 to the bookies following another day of upsets,' bragged Hills spokesman Ben Clarke.

'Oscar Park and in particular Butler's Cabin were particularly blinding results that have given us an almost unassailable lead with one day to go.'

The Tote were also happy campers with an increase of nearly £63,000 in turnover.

Whereas last year's meeting generated £2,368,815, the pools yielded £2,431,717 12 months later.

'We are slightly down from Wednesday and there was less money recycled, but that was largely down to the poor gambling day for punters,' said Tote spokesman Damian Walker.

(C) PA Sport