2023s Betting Winners, Losers, Mistakes and More

by Roy Brindley, 18 December 2023

Showing a profit on sports betting is never easy. Win, lose or draw, most punters have a story to tell. The biggest upsets have made their way into folklore. Leicester City FC landing the 2015/16 Premier League comes to mind. The Foxes defied 5,000/1 pre-season odds to win the title for the first time in the club’s history.

Brawn F1 and its driver, Jenson Button, also caused an upset – but in the same dominant fashion – when winning Formula 1s 2009 World Drivers’ and World Constructors’ Championships. Motorsports betting sites reported the team were heavily backed on 100/1 odds following the first day of pre-season testing, where they shone.

Valiant Force (nearside) stunned punters when winning Royal Ascot’s Norfolk Stakes at odds of 150/1. ©GettyImages

Behind every big-priced winner, there is a story. Similarly, short-priced losers typically come with a headline. This year, there have been plenty of stories of bookmakers and punters left in despair or in clover. Here, you can read our guide to sports betting’s biggest upsets and mistakes of 2023.

The Enigma That Is Auguste Rodin

A three-time winner as a two-year-old, culminating with success in the Group-1 Futurity at Doncaster, Auguste Rodin went into the winter of 2022 as the ante-post favourite for the 2000 Guineas. Such was the impression the Aidan O’Brien-trained horse had made; he was quoted on just 16/1 to complete the Triple Crown.

But, as the 13/8 race-day favourite, Auguste Rodin ran a stinker in the 2000 Guineas. The colt finished twelfth of the 14 runners beaten 22 lengths having never been in contention. It was a hugely disappointing effort, suggesting he had not ‘trained on’.

Barring his trainer, who offered little explanation for the flop, most people quickly wrote off Auguste Rodin’s Derby chances. The history books now show Auguste Rodin won the Epsom Derby four weeks later. A month after that, the son of Japanese sire Deep Impact collected the Irish Derby.

The Wheels Fell off Again

The no-show in the 2000 Guineas was forgiven and forgotten. Auguste Rodin was now a champion, and the world was at his hooves. Success in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes would have cemented a reputation as one of racing’s all-time greats. However, punters once again got their fingers burned to a crisp as Auguste Rodin produced a woeful effort in the contest.

Before turning for home, the three-year-old was struggling, and when asked for an effort, instead of moving forward, he went backwards. 126¾ lengths was Auguste Rodin official margin of defeat. He had produced a stinking effort for a second time in four starts.

HUKUM🇮🇪2017 (SEA THE STARS – AGHAREED BY KINGMAMBO)#Hukum 2023 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes G1 pic.twitter.com/NRJ10A9weP

— HORSE RACING 100 (@HORSERACING1002) July 29, 2023

In the immediate aftermath, O’Brien described himself as “baffled” by the performance. Days later, the trainer said his star was “a bit stiff and sore”. Nevertheless, two weeks later, Thoroughbred Daily News quoted O’Brien as saying: “He’s [Auguste Rodin] good, and he’s on the Leopardstown programme at the moment. He’s done two or three pieces, and everything has been lovely so far.”

Auguste Rodin did take up his engagement at Leopardstown and won the Champion Stakes by half-a-length. He finished the season taking the Breeders Cup Turf in Santa Anita, California. Interestingly, he was snatched up in this contest – it was something previously offered up as an excuse for his Guineas flop.

Likewise, a dislike of flying was tentatively put forward by O’Brien as an excuse for Auguste Rodin’s Ascot flop. The west coast of America involves one or two very long flights! And so, like a packet of Benson & Hedges, those who lost their money on the enigmatic Auguste Rodin’s will confirm this horse – who stays in training in 2024 – comes with a health warning.

Manna Mia a Killarney Mix Up

Ano Manna will never go down as one of horse racing’s all-time greats, but the Irish-trained filly crossed the line first and ‘won’ three races in 2023. Confused? Read on …

Winning handicap races in Killarney during July and August, the three-year-old Ano Manna was sent off as 7/2 favourite to complete a hat-trick of wins at the picturesque course on September 30. She seemingly completed the job when pulling clear approaching the line in the €6,785 contest.

Ano Manna loves Killarney and wins for a third time here!

A brilliant performance for trainer John Feane with Leigh Roche in the saddle 🏆 @thetotecom @LeighRoche1992 pic.twitter.com/pmWwuzz5N8

— KillarneyRaces (@KillarneyRaces) September 30, 2023

However, 20 minutes after the race, it was announced that Ano Manna had not run in the contest due to an identity mix-up. It was an imposter, stablemate Indigo Five, who had taken part in and won the 12-runner race.

The time delay meant most punters that had backed the ‘winning favourite’ had collected their winnings. Once the mix-up – that cost trainer John Feane a €3,000 fine – was confirmed, bookmakers had to honour people who had backed Bang Po. This horse was promoted from second place to first position.

Ringing in Two Wins in a Night

There have been even more cases of mistaken identity in greyhound racing. In October, a small female greyhound called Stophers Nala won a grade D3 sprint at home track Central Park. Less than 30 minutes later, she was taken from her kennel and asked to race again in another sprint contest that was two grades lower.

It was a case of mistaken identity, and unwittingly, she was masquerading as her kennel-mate, Stophers Noel. Over two kilos heavier and a different sex, the dogs should have never been confused. Much to her credit, Stophers Nala ran and won for a second time in the evening.

The mistake was noticed before the greyhounds left the track. Local stewards immediately called an enquiry and voided the contest. A Nottingham race was also voided during the autumn. On this occasion, over 90 minutes had passed before it was discovered a ringer had mistakenly taken part in an A5 contest – finishing unplaced.

Honey Leaves Sour Taste at Swindon

But greyhound racing’s biggest faux pas of 2023 came at Swindon when 131-race veteran Ballygibba Sea led at the first bend in an A9 contest to win, drawing away, by over ten lengths. The ‘winner’ recorded a time almost a second faster than her previous best time clocked two years beforehand.

Ballygibba Sea’s most recent starting prices were 20/1, 18/1, 18/1, 20/1 and 12/1. On this occasion, the greyhound was sent off at 18/1. There was no indication she was about to win in a time two seconds faster than her most recent effort.

pic.twitter.com/cdltxyEhpy

— DaveyB (@DaveATBranch) December 15, 2023

Of course, it was later announced that the winning greyhound was not Ballygibba Sea, but a dog named Strideaway Honey. The ringer typically raced in contests five grades higher than the one she contested. That would explain a lot, but many questions remain unanswered.

Why didn’t the Paddock Steward pick up on the identity mix-up before the greyhounds went on parade? What was Strideaway Honey – trained by a different trainer and not engaged to race at the meeting in question – doing at the track? And why did it take Swindon Stadium a week to confirm the wrong dog had run and won on September 22?

The Greyhound Board of Great Britain did intervene. It released a statement: “On the evidence collated and received by the GBGB relating to the race at Swindon Stadium, two professional greyhound trainers have been temporarily warned off pending further investigation”.

If there is a silver lining to this cloud, Strideaway Honey found herself a new trainer and won her next three starts under the correct name and in the correct grade of race.

1/25 Players Doomed at Redcar

If, in greyhound racing, 2023 was the year of mistaken identity, then horse racing was the year of big-priced winners and losers. At Royal Ascot Valiant Force, when scoring at 150/1, returned as the joint longest-priced winner ever at the Royal Meeting.

An Irish winner, Navajpo River, scored at an even more impressive 200/1 when landing a Roscommon Apprentice Maiden contest. He touched off the odds-on favourite and, finishing third, came another 200/1 poke, Dark Miss. Luke Comer trained both big-priced horses. The tricast paid a mouthwatering €2,247,40 dividend.

1/25f beaten at @RiponRaces 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EnyWZWLWVC

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 5, 2023

But in terms of shocks, the defeat of Doom at odds of 1/25 in a two-runner race at Ripon represented horse racing’s biggest upset in 75 years. The William Haggas-trained horse travelled so strongly in the race that betting exchange punters backed him at 1.01. Nevertheless, he was beaten on merit, underlining the adage, “There is no such thing as a certainty in horse racing.”

The Shortest Priced Losers in British Horse Racing

300/1 Shot Wins a Race of Another Kind

It is easy to forget cycling is a team sport, and its history books are littered with examples of the best riders not winning a Grand Tour when they should have. Just ask Greg Lemond, who was forced to give Tour de France victory to his teammate, Bernard Hinault, in 1985. Another memorable gift is Chris Froome falling on his sword to allow Bradley Wiggins to win the 2012 Tour de France.

Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard flank Sepp Kuss, the winner of the 2023 Tour of Spain. ©GettyImages

2023 was no different. In a year that saw Team Jumbo-Visma’s Primoz Roglic land the Giro d’Italia and Jonas Vingegaard take the Tour de France, the Tour of Spain was expected to be a victory lap for the pair. 5/4 and 9/4 in the outright betting, a 1-2 finish looked inevitable to the onlookers with short memories.

And punters certainly never stopped to consider Jumbo-Visma would allow its American rider, Sepp Kuss, to fly under the radar and take the third and final Grand Tour of the season. But, as reward for supporting Roglic in the Giro d’Italia and helping Vingegaard score at the French Tour, the loyal lieutenant was gifted the victory, spearheading a 1-2-3 for the Dutch team.

A super-domestique for the bulk of his career, cycling betting sites quoted Kuss on 300/1 at the outset of the Tour of Spain. His victory made him the first American Grand Tour winner in ten years and the biggest price Grand Tour winner in history.