300-1 winner at Leopardstown becomes biggest-price scorer in history

He Knows No Fear became the biggest-price winner in Britain or Ireland since records began when scoring at 300-1 for trainer-owner Luke Comer and jockey Chris Hayes in the mile maiden at Leopardstown on Thursday afternoon.

The previous biggest winning SP was 250-1 when Equinoctial scored over jumps at Kelso in 1990.

It would be easy to bill the 300-1 shock as a David and Goliath story if Comer wasn't one of the richest men in Ireland.

But still, for all of that money, it doesn't necessarily guarantee success and this was a good day for the operation, now managed by Jim Gorman.

In what was effectively He Knows No Fear's first race, after he fluffed his lines by missing the kick on his official debut at Limerick, the colt was allowed go off at 300-1, largely down to the fact a big chunk of the market was taken up by the long-standing maiden Agitare.

Explaining the improvement, Gorman said: "He got left in Limerick, so we didn't really know where we were with him.

"A lot of our horses just weren't in great form and we backed off a lot of them. We knew going to Limerick he was a nice horse and it's great for Luke as it's his own stallion and his own mare – that gives him the biggest thrill."

Unfortunately for Gorman, it was a case of once bitten twice shy as, having had a tickle on the horse at Limerick, he failed to part with any cash at such fanciful odds.

He Knows No Fear catches Agitare just before the finishing lineCredit: Patrick McCann

Gorman explained: "We had a few quid on him each-way at Limerick but he just broke so badly. All of our horses for the past couple of weeks have been running well and they've been knocking on the door."

He Knows No Fear was partnered by Chris Hayes, who delivered him just in time to snare the even-money favourite Agitare on the line.

Prior to Thursday, the longest-priced winner in Ireland was Killahara Castle, who won at odds of 200-1 at Thurles in 2017.

Coral's PR manager John Hill said: “He Knows No Fear lived up to his name at Leopardstown, causing the biggest shock in the history of UK and Irish racing.

“The previous record at Kelso came over jumps. This was on the Flat, which makes it even more surprising.

"Results like this are what make sport so great as every now and then the underdogs come out on top."

A record-breaking triumph

He Knows No Fear has broken the record for the longest-priced winner in the history of racing in Ireland and Britain, writes John Randall.

The previous Irish record was set by 200-1 shot Killahara Castle when triumphing by five lengths in a Listed novice hurdle at Thurles on December 17, 2017. No previous winner in Ireland, Flat or jumps, had started at more than 100-1.

The British record is held by Equinoctial, who started at odds of 250-1 when landing a novice hurdle at Kelso on November 21, 1990.

The previous joint Irish-British Flat record was held by several 200-1 shots, the most recent being Intercessor at Newbury on June 13 this year.

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