Racing: Gliding's rotorua cup win completes $207,000 multi-bet haul

Gliding's victory in the Rotorua Cup on Saturday resulted in New Zealand's biggest multi-bet payout, the TAB said yesterday.

Gliding was the last of a four-leg multi bet and returned the successful punter $207,390.70, said TAB bookmaker Kevin Gutschlag.

"It's our biggest ever multi payout," Gutschlag said.

He said the previous highest payout was for a similar type of bet of about four legs last year.

"We had one that was $100,000 in harness racing last November."

Multi-bets are where a punter combines any selections on any races on which the TAB is operating fixed-odds betting.

Gutschlag said Saturday's winning bet started on a thoroughbred meeting at Wanganui on Thursday when Faelaha was chosen to win race seven.

The next two winners were both greyhounds - High Flyin Teddy and Ceejay's Magic - at an Otago meeting that night and the bet was completed with Gliding on Saturday.

The punter is no small time gambler.

Gutschlag said the actual size of the winning bet was $192, with the odds of the four coming to $1080.16.

Faelaha was at a dividend of $6.79 in final field (fixed-odds) betting, High Flyin Teddy ($3.75), Ceejay's Magic ($2.75) and Gliding ($15.42).

Gutschlag said the winning bet was placed through an internet account and the bettor was known to them as a "seasoned punter - but obviously a very astute one".

Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers joked after Gliding's win that he was happy to accept a tip from the punter.

"My address is RD 2 Marton."

Gliding, who paid $10.85 on the totalisator, upstaged his more fancied stablemate Balmuse who was a well beaten 10th in the $100,000 group three race.

Myers said he wasn't surprised Gliding came out on top because of his ability on wet ground which Saturday rated heavy.

The Lord Ballina five-year-old gelding has won six of 10 starts on heavy tracks.

The horse only joined the Myers' stable this year after previously being trained in the Wairarapa by Jim Wallace whose father Jim snr owns the horse.

Gliding was sent to Myers with a potential jumping career in mind.

Said Myers: "He's had a jumping trial and goes well over fences."

Gliding's win continued a good record for horses from the central district region in the Rotorua Cup.

It was the sixth win for a central district horse in the last 10 years.

The race was not without incident when two starting gates were slow to open. One of the horses affected, Melanion, was later declared a late scratching after finishing sixth.

It was deemed that the other horse had caused the slow opening of gates, which work in pairs, by the rider trying to anticipate the start.

- NZPA