Fury Road© Photo Healy Racing
Idiosyncrasies in the Rule 4 withdrawal system meant Christmas came early for some supporters of Fury Road as Gordon Elliott's gelding sauntered to win the Grade 3 Monksfield Novice Hurdle at odds of 1/25f, but rewarded early-shoppers with a handsome dividend of 2/5.
Gigginstown House Stud initially had three of the six declarations but withdrew Sixshooter following a defeat at Gowran yesterday.
Paddy Power bookmaker last evening installed Fury Road as the 8/11 favourite, ahead of stablemate Abacadabras at 11/10, meaning any punters who availed of those odds will have seen just a 45 cent deduction from their winning bets despite Abacadabras's withdrawal.
A €10 stake placed on Fury Road at 8/11 therefore returns €14 against just a €10.40 dividend placed at the starting price odds of 1/25. Notably, Fury Road's price crashed to 1/3f before the dramatic withdrawal of Abacadabras at 9.48am.
Gigginstown's noted non-punting owner Michael O'Leary was famously quoted in 2013, during a debacle with the Turf Club, as saying “you would swear we are some bunch of spivs running around organising betting coups” and today trainer Elliott, explained “they were calling it yielding on Friday morning so we said we'd take our chance.
“But when all the rain came and it went yielding to soft we said we'll leave him (Abacadabras) alone and not pull the legs out of him at this stage of his career and keep him for the Royal Bond Hurdle next week.”
In today's Grade 3 'contest', Fury Road batted away three inferior rivals to complete doubles for Elliott and jockey Davy Russell, who won the opener with Thatsy
Following Fury Road's win, the Gold Cup and dual-Grand National winning trainer stated “it was as straightforward as it should have been but he’s a nice horse and is better than that form.
“He could step right out to three miles if we wanted, and he jumps very well.
“He could go for the three-mile race at Limerick or the Lawlors Grade 1 race at Naas. He’s a big staying horse.”
Issues with the imperfect Rule 4 system arise on occasion when one of two closely priced horses, at odds of even-money or nearby, is withdrawn.
Quotes from Alan Magee
