The greatest Cheltenham Festival gamble kicks off one hell of a party
Greatest Festival Moments - No. 8
Unsinkable Boxer lands an almighty plunge
There were 53,906 people at Cheltenham on the opening day of the 1998 festival. As Mark Johnson walked out of the commentary box after describing Unsinkable Boxer's victory in the afternoon's final race, he wondered aloud that all but 200 of those people must have backed the winner.
Here was perhaps the greatest Cheltenham Festival gamble. It was also one of the great Cheltenham Festival moments, a riotous celebration of Martin Pipe's genius and the joy that comes from punters joining forces to share a wonderfully successful plunge.
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Published on inGreatest Ever Festival Moments
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- One of the most scary, spellbinding and uplifting things you'll see on a racecourse as Desert Orchid prompts sheer bedlam
- Tears flow as heroic Honeysuckle does it for Jack with her own fairytale ending
- 'I can still hear the roars and shouts' - Dawn Run gets up to unleash unfettered pandemonium
- Denman v Kauto: the moment realisation set in after months of excitement, anticipation and debate
- Two magnificent individual victories; one quite incredible Cheltenham Festival afternoon