How did Norton's Coin start at 100-1

It was a standout 200/1 early morning day of the race with Korals

Bird i was with at the time backed it , never heard the fckin last of it

loads of horses started at massive prices in those pre Betfar days ,remember backing Bartons Bank at huge odds 80-1 i think when second to Mr Mulligan in 1997 .........

200/1 with Ladcrooks as well.

Looking at his form, he had a consistent, but unspectacular form-wise, previous season.

However Gold Cup season, he was soundly beaten in all bar one race, coming 2nd to Willsford, who himself was just out of Novices'
Nevertheless, Willsford trounced the field in a gruelling Midlands National as a 7yo only a few months later.

The Desert Orchid factor meant some tempting prices on good horses

Pegwell Bay and Ten Of Spades were 20s
Yahoo was 40s
and Kildimo was 50s!

Had a tenner ew at 200/1 in Ladbrokes Evesham.....hence my username!

If lads were 200 real price 500 +

Looking at his form, he had a consistent, but unspectacular form-wise, previous season.  i thought it was that year he was placed at the festival in the cathcart?

Should have been odds on , clown market

I would normally agree with you Howard (about Ladbrokes) - but Desert Orchid was odds-on that day - making pretty much every other runner good value imo.

I know for a fact that Korals had an internal inquiry as to how they layed so much at 200/1 before they cut it to 100/1. All those 5'ers and 10'ers each way went under the radar back then. Managers should have phoned them in - but they didn't!

TM ,certainly ew bets were favoured providing you could get on

My greatest thrill in racing, fancied it so much I even made a friend back it who didn't gamble, backed it in the cathcart the year before when second to Observer Corps plus when it won a hcp at Cheltenham, yep it went 200/1 on the morning of the race but couldn't get out from work to back it & by lunchtime it had reverted to 100/1, think there were 10 runners & thought four had no chance & others with negatives thought it had to finish in top four so basically it was an ew bet hoping for a place, no fluke it broke the track record, cant believe it was 31 years ago.

observer corp was the one i was trying to rem from cathcart thanks

Still got the Racing Post from the following day headline " Shock of the century "

I hoped the thread would bring out some good stories.

I was at Cheltenham and backed Nortons Coin when he was beaten by Willford. NC was mainly being campaigned at 2m4f that season prior to Gold Cup and was hammered at Newbury race before Cheltenham. He was giving horses a lot of weight in some of those races. Never backed NC for Gold Cup but when Willsford beat him I started following Willsford for the rest of his career and had several good priced wins including Scottish National at 20/1 ante post.

Was gutted when he died of a heart attack at Cheltenham as Jenny Pitman has considered retiring him as he was rising 13yo and changed her mind. For such a brave horse on the track Willsford was timid in his box and used to shy away from the door from most people.

I still remember studying the field and thinking I did not fancy any of them to win , not Toby Tobias not Dessie …...I did of course ignore the 100/1 shot , not even looking at it ….as 100/1 shots don't win Gold cups.

Alastair Down is still kicking himself - every day - for NOT backing Norton's Coin

I imagine that it was the day that he took to the drink in Olympic standards.


'Mildmay of Flete Syndrome'.

There is no point studying the race over breakfast in the morning because for some reason the winner rears up and bites you on the nose in the preceding weeks or months when you return home from the races and tell your other half that, while you lost enough that afternoon to fund a coup in a small African Republic, you have, none the less, "seen the winner of the Mildmay of Flete".

So it was that in late January 1990 I left Cheltenham in the darkening gloom having seen the horse who would land the Mildmay of Flete six weeks later. That very evening I rang a fellow Flete freak and for the first time the dread words escaped my lips: "Norton's Coin."

A week before Cheltenham, on a quiet early evening at The Sporting Life, I rang Sirrell Griffiths, then known only to his cows and blood relations.

"Good evening sir," I said, "just checking Norton's Coin is okay because I think he's a good thing for the Mildmay."

Gratifyingly the reply came back: "That's what I thought, so I took him up to Peter Cundell's gallop this week and he's better than ever."

Pausing only to give the thumbs-up to the small group of colleagues wise to the impending touch, I said: "That's marvellous Mr Griffiths," but before I could add "cheerio", he dropped the neutron bomb. "Only thing is I was at market this morning and got back too late to declare him for the Mildmay. But don't worry, he's in the Gold Cup and will run in that."

Don't worry? I'd rather he said don't breathe.

Even 21 years later, I blush to recall the things I called that blameless man after I slammed the phone down. But "Welsh idiot", "finish last" and "shouldn't have a licence" were easily the most polite. And I cringed inwardly at all the people I had told Norton's Coin was a good thing for Cheltenham.

Six weeks later, as Norton's Coin, available at 200-1 in the morning, came to the second-last in the Gold Cup, a fellow Mildmay sufferer standing next to me on the lawn put down his binoculars and said: "Al, you really don't want to watch this."

Late that night the phone rang and it was one of my oldest friends. "Alastair, you're some genius," he said. "Two hours ago I walked into the White Bear at Shipston and fulfilled a lifelong ambition of buying everybody a drink, including the 230 Irish visitors who stay here and run the beds in shifts between poker games. There isn't a bottle of champagne left in Warwickshire."

And quietly, in Adlestrop, I eased the cork out of a bottle and told my saintly wife Frances that sometimes a glass of champagne had to be drunk to the wonderful unpredictability of life and the good fortune of much-loved friends.

Good piece that and it's true to say that I've had the same feeling mr down had that day a few times over the years.

I had what for me was a large bet then of £30 on Toby Tobias and I remember watching the race convinced that as long as it had the beating of Dessert Orchard it was home and hosed and until the last 100 yards it did not enter my head that I wasn't going to collect.

Note the only big winner I had at the meeting, I backed New Halen which won at 66/1 ! its been downhill ever since

My biggest festival winner was the year before, Ikdam @ 66s. Its very rare I even have a bet at the festival nowadays.

Ikdam was that the triumph hurdle ?

Thats it!

Fife,I was on Toby and felt similar,fairly sure an old pal the late Alan Fothergill made the paper the next day as I think he had 50ew on Nortons coin while working at Hexham that day.

Panglima

VC backed new halen to win 6 figures on the day

Ribero gal backed Norons coin on the day

ps did you have a walk up to the old dog track yesterday

hope you are well

Ronnie.

ribero1, I was still quite naive then and when I fancied a horse I would convince myself that it was home and hosed whereas now my horse could be 10 lengths clear coming to the last and I still fear the worse.

Ronnie sadly their nearly all OLD dog tracks

Hi Ronnie,tbh forgot it was there,Fife I know the feeling!

Pumphol

used to love the old Cleveland Park, it was an awful long walk to Thornaby station with just a few coppers in my pocket and hope there was no ticket inspecter on the rattler.

happy days sad to say gone forever.

hope you are well

Ronnie.

What a brilliant thread, really nostalgic reading tales of these great old timers.

Willsford in particular was an astonishing horse, to have the speed to beat top 2 mile handicap hurdlers in the county hurdle and, as stated previously in this thread, subsequently showing abundant stamina to win a Midlands and a Scottish National, the latter as a 12-y-o, really was extraordinary.

He must have had some constitution as well, running time after time and never seemingly soured by his exertions, sadly it may have been said exertions that ultimately took it's toll.

You are correct Ribero1 my great friend AMF did have £50 EW on the beast at 200/1, I was at Cheltenham , didn't know he was backing it, never had a penny on!

I can remember an ambulance in the best mate and big mac saying its carrying the punters out.

Ronnie.

Have photo on lounge wall of Sirrill Griffiths riding Nortons Coin on beach at presumably Budleigh Salterton .....looks like a 100-1 shot in photo !

Why Budleigh? He lived, trained and farmed near Carmarthen. I was on the Members lawn that day and because I didn't really fancy anything I enjoyed watching him win in almost total silence. His form was fairly modest and had mostly been at 2.5 miles!

worked in a factory and a few workmates backed it....it was the first one i ruled out

Senility kicking in Sage , was thinking of Oliver Carter ,(more happy memories -windmill tilting ) photo is defo Sirrill though .

I thought Dessie was a certainty and put £100 on at 8/11.

paulo47  Feb 21 10:30 

Have photo on lounge wall of Sirrill Griffiths riding Nortons Coin on beach at presumably Budleigh Salterton .....looks like a 100-1 shot in photo !
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The Horse - or SIRRILL?