Laddies Poker Two and Paddy Power's most costly Flat gamble in history

From 10 to 1, our countdown of the greatest gambles of all time. A new instalment will be published every weekday for the next fortnight. Today – No.4: Laddies Poker Two and the 2010 Wokingham

The background

The crew behind this particular heist need little introduction. Laddies Poker Two was owned by Messrs Smith, Magnier and Tabor, the famously shrewd Coolmore triumvirate behind many of the greatest names in the sport's recent history.

The trio hadn't been involved in Laddies Poker Two for any of her four previous runs, the most recent of which came back in 2008, but she was sold at the end of that year, at which point her trainer, Jeremy Noseda, always had the Wokingham in mind.

"After she was injured on her final start at three we laid her out for the 2009 Wokingham, and it was always the plan to go there without a run beforehand so as not to give the game away. We always thought it was the race for her, but unfortunately she had a setback and so we had to wait a whole year before trying again, when all of the same things applied."

The build-up

With no plans for a prep run, the key to this fragile filly was simply keeping her sound all year. At the beginning of the week it was mission accomplished and Laddies Poker Two was trading at 25-1.

It's not known how much the Coolmore trio filled their boots at that stage, but it was enough to move the market. And once the price began to contract and the betting public knew 'the lads' were having it right, there followed a tidal wave of support that meant that by the off Laddies Poker Two had been hammered down to 9-2 favourite. It's amazing how much the involvement of owners as wealthy, and as fond of a bet, can do for the confidence levels of the average punter.

Confidence levels of connections had also increased just half an hour before the race when Fleeting Spirit finished fourth in the Golden Jubilee Stakes.

Noseda later revealed: "She was fragile and difficult to train, but she had huge talent. That summer I also had Fleeting Spirit, and she ran very well in fourth from a bad draw in the Golden Jubilee. At that time Laddies Poker Two was most probably better than her."

Fleeting Spirit was already a Group 1 winner at this point, having landed the 2009 July Cup. Suddenly that confidence off a mark of 95 begins to make sense.

The race

As if to hammer home the point she was much too good for a mark of 95, Laddies Poker Two travelled like a good thing down the stands' side and quickened like a better thing to win by two and a half lengths in a course-record time.

That distance behind the winner would have been good enough for only sixth in 2021, yet on this occasion Striking Spirit had also beaten the rest with ease. The field had been spreadeagled.

"It was a big day for us all," said Noseda, "getting it right after what turned out an extended amount of time, and it was more than satisfying for everyone concerned."

Paddy Power are still calling it the most costly Flat gamble in their history.

The aftermath

There wasn't much of an aftermath in truth – or at least not for Laddies Poker Two on the racecourse.

As if to emphasise Noseda's genius in getting her to Ascot on the day in such condition, she was never fit to race again. It probably took connections longer to collect than she spent on the track in a five-race career, but when you have waited so long to execute a plan what happens next is probably less of a worry. There was one day that mattered and she won on it.

If you thought that was the end of the Laddies Poker Two story, though, you'd be wrong. Her first foal by Galileo was a certain Winter, who won the English and Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Nassau. In Winter's progeny Laddies Poker Two's legend could live on.