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JP McManus sparked sensational scenes on the eve of the Lexus Melbourne Cup by staking more than A$2 million of bets on the race – including A$1m (£523,000/€627,000) worth of wagers on leading British candidate Hopewell Rock.
McManus, betting in conjunction with friend and fellow racehorse owner Paul Byrne, will see Trustyourinstinct and last year's runner-up Goodie Two Shoes carry his famous silks in Australia's greatest race, but while he and Byrne combined to have large bets on both those horses, the legendary punter made the Ebor runner-up Hopewell Rock his number-one pick.
Speculation had been rife that McManus would bet in telephone numbers during his first visit to the annual Call of the Card function, at which bookmakers Chris Lester, Lyndon Cleary, Natalie Hinkley and Robbie Waterhouse took bets on stage in front of a sellout Crown Palladium audience of more than 1,000 people.
At an event where the outsiders are offered first, McManus and Byrne began by backing Soul Of Spain to win A$2m at 33-1. They then backed Zakouma to pocket A$2m at 40-1 before ending the first half of the function by backing Goodie Two Shoes to win A$2m at 25-1.
McManus, sitting in between Byrne and trainer Joseph O'Brien, continued to be active after the interval, initially by backing 13-1 shot So You Are to win A$2m, in addition to staking enough to earn A$500,000 if the Bendigo Cup winner is placed.
The punting partners then stepped up a notch with a A$150,000 bet on the O'Brien-trained James J Braddock at 20-1, leaving them with a potential A$3m win.
However, their biggest investment was soon to follow, with Byrne taking the microphone and asking for A$1m on Hopewell Rock at $10, equivalent to 9-1.
Leading rails bookmaker Lester laid them A$500,000 at that price, with Cleary accepting another A$30,000. Hinkley, working for Swiftbet, then took A$150,000 at 17-2 before she and Lester each agreed to lay A$160,000 at 8-1, thereby ensuring McManus and Byrne had succeeded in getting A$1m on the George Boughey-trained five-year-old.
The duo completed their book by staking A$100,000 on McManus's Trustyourinstinct at 6-1 before backing ante-post favourite Point Of Law to win A$2m at 15-2.
JP McManus and Paul Byrne made a big impression when betting at Call of the CardCredit: Jay Town/Racing Photos
McManus, whose table guests also included Sir AP McCoy, top jumps owner Ronnie Bartlett and ITV broadcaster Kevin Blake – a shareholder in James J Braddock – admitted he had "got into the swing of things" when speaking after the event.
"I certainly enjoyed it. It's exciting, I must say," said McManus. "It's something different and I think we can learn from it. I don't know if anything like this will ever happen in Britain and Ireland, but it certainly adds to the occasion and it creates a lot of excitement. I only wish they would do it elsewhere."
Asked about staking A$1m on Hopewell Rock, he added: "We thought he was the most likely winner and we thought the odds were generous."
Asked the same question, Byrne said: "We spoke to people, combined thoughts and considered which horses looked like value. Hopewell Rock has been very well prepared, the Ebor is a good way into the race and he's unexposed. He was the one we landed on."
Reflecting on the Call of the Card experience, he added: "For someone like me who is relatively young, it feels like what it must have been like to be in the betting ring in the 80s and 90s. It's like going back in time in a good way.
"It makes having 100 grand on I Am Maximus look very small, even though that was front page news at home. I'm going to have to go home now and get used to having 200 quid on a horse. That's the truth of it."
Read more . . .
JP McManus, AP McCoy and a hurling legend have come to Melbourne for the craic - and to win the Cup
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