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Blowers stuns punters to win off Betfair Exchange SP 573.0572/1
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He was 300/1 on Betfair Sportsbook for Exeter triumph
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Blowers became the biggest priced UK horse racing winner ever when he triumphed off a Betfair Exchange starting price of 572/1573.00 in the opening race at Exeter on Thursday.
He went off at 300/1301.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook, and was the same price across the industry, before delighting his backers with his record-breaking victory in the Maiden Hurdle.
Blowers beat the previous record, which was held by Equinoctial who won at Kelso in November 1990 at 250/1, by a considerable distance.
The Nigel Hawke-trained five-year-old, who was ridden by James Best, saw off the 5/42.25 Harry Fry trained favourite On The Bayou by three-quarters of a length.
It was only Blowers' third run. He previously pulled up at Chepstow a couple of weeks ago, although Hawke was not as surprised as bettors by his horse's win.
300/1 was "a bit ridiculous"
Hawke said: "I think 300/1 was a bit ridiculous to be fair, and I'm not saying we knew what we had but we knew we had a horse with some ability and the owners always breed a nice type of horse.
"He had done nothing wrong at home and just had to learn to race. He will have learned a lot today and he can't do any more than win - and that's what he's done now. He definitely won't be 300-1 next time."
Hawke, who won the Grand National as a jockey, has form where discovering big stars is concerned.
The Devon-based bought Tiger Roll for £10K in 2013, giving him his first run in a juvenile hurdle, before selling him for £80K the following year. The horse went on to win the Grand National and recorded five victories at the Cheltenham Festival for Gordon Elliott.
Betfair punters back record-breaker Blowers
Thursday's Exeter card on was abandoned with two races left on the day but that didn't matter to Blowers backers whose celebrations were well underway.
Betfair's James Mackie said: "Congratulations to a few lucky punters that managed small stakes each-way bets on the winner, but overall, Blowers was a winner in the book on the day."
The racing continues on Friday, and you can read our experts' best bets (including Mackie's tips for Ascot), before Saturday's action which is dominated by the cards at Ascot and Haydock which will both feature on ITV Racing.
Read previews, including Paul Nicholls' exclusive insight on his runners, and much more on Betting.Betfair.