Billesdon Brook

The winner of seven of her twenty starts, including two at Group One level, and with an official handicap rating of 116, Billesdon Brook is not a horse that would typically fall into the ‘outsider’ category. However, Richard Hannon’s Champs Elysees mare will always be best remembered for her shock victory in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket in 2018, for which she started rank outsider of the fifteen-strong field at 66/1, making her the longest-priced winner in the history of the fillies’ Classic.

After a successful juvenile season, in which she won three times, including the Group Three Prestige Stakes, over 7 furlongs, at Goodwood, Billesdon Brook made her three-year-old debut in the Group Three Nell Gwyn Stakes, also over 7 furlongs, at Newmarket. Sent off at 9/1, she could find no extra in the final furlong and eventually finished fourth, beaten 5½ lengths, behind comfortable winner Soliloquy, trained by Charlie Appleby.

Soliloquy reopposed, on identical terms, in the 1,000 Guineas, but Billesdon Brook clearly improved out of all recognition at Newmarket – in fact, to the tune of 19lb, according to Timeform – and won with authority, in a decent time. She travelled well throughout, made rapid headway from the rear of the field with three furlongs to run and, after striking the front inside the final quarter of a mile, stayed on well to beat Laurens by 1¾ lengths, with favourite Happily a further half a length further back in third. According to winning jockey, Sean Levey, Billesdon Brook, who was racing over a mile for just the second time in her career, ‘sailed all the way to the line’.

Foinavon

In the history of the Grand National, first run, officially, in 1839, five winners have been returned at a starting price of 100/1. However, the most famous of that celebrated quintet is undoubtedly Foinavon, the winner of the 1967 renewal under truly extraordinary circumstances. Having been turned down by three other jockeys, unheralded no-hoper Foinavon eventually became the mount of John Buckingham, but his trainer, John Kempton – who was still combining riding with training at the time – headed not to Aintree, but to Worcester, where he rode the winner of the opening race.

In the National, though, a dramatic series of events began when a loose horse, the aptly-named Popham Down, ran down the twenty-third fence – ironically, the smallest fence on the course at just 4’ 6” – and initiated what commentator Michael O’Hehir called ‘a right pile-up’. Popham Down cannoned into his nearest rival, Rutherfords, causing him to unseat his jockey and, in the ensuing mêlée, all bar one of the horses still standing fell, unseated rider or were otherwise brought to a standstill.

The notable exception, of course, was Foinavon, who was steered wide on the course and jumped into a clear lead. Michael O’Hehir was not exaggerating when he said, ‘And now, with all this mayhem, Foinavon has gone off on his own! He’s about fifty, a hundred yards in front of everything else’. Indeed, John Buckingham later admitted that he looked around, disbelieving, at the 30-length lead Foinavon held over his nearest pursuer when he reached the twenty-fourth fence, the Canal Turn.

Many of the jockeys who came to grief at the twenty-third fence – which, since 1984, has officially been known as ‘Foinavon’ – remounted and set off in vain pursuit. However, Foinavon had stolen a march on his rivals and, although favourite Honey End, ridden by Josh Gifford, made significant headway over the final half a dozen fences, he was still 15 lengths behind at the winning post.

Outsider Wins 1928's First Big Race (1928)

An outsider blast from the past!

How to Get an Accumulator Odds Boost

While it’s important to shop around for the best betting odds to ensure you get the value, it’s also great if you can find a bookmaker where you can enjoy an odds boost. Odds boosts can come in many form and are also known as price boosts, with a particular betting selection going bigger in price and allowing customers to enjoy a bigger return.

The bookmakers regularly provide odds boosts when it comes to the big sporting events. They want to give punters a decent chance of winning and that includes accumulator bets which are trickier to profit from due to the fact that you need a certain number of selections to win in order to claim a return.

Some bookmakers such as bet365 have acca boosts available whenever a customer puts together an accumulator with a certain number of selections. The acca generally has to be particular football teams rather than selections from betting markets such as Both Teams to Score and Over/Under 2.5 Goals.

The acca boost that you can get on your football accumulator primarily depends on the number of selections that you make. So you might get a small bonus for a winning treble on your footy acca, although a winning six-fold can expect to yield a large bonus.

The great thing about an accumulator betting boost is that not only can you land the expected winnings from this wager, you can also earn a little bit extra on top. It’s a great incentive to bet an acca and these are fun types of bets to enjoy in the first place.

You might also find there is acca insurance available with a particular bookmaker. This means you can get money back on an acca if it comes narrowly close to winning, with most bookies saying that one leg letting you down will lead to a refund.

Sometimes, there are odds boosts available as single bets and many bookies showcase these on the homepage. You might find yourself betting with a bookmaker such as William Hill and finding on the bet slip that they’re willing to bump up the price when it comes to your selection.

Take your accumulator betting to the next level by taking advantage of acca boosts. You don’t need to overstretch yourself when it comes to this sort of betting and we always recommend a certain number of selections along the way.