‘He was given a ridiculous handicap mark’ - odds-on favourite trades at 1.01 but is beaten by 66-1 outsider

Trainer Tony Newcombe celebrated his first winner of 2024 when his 66-1 rank outsider beat the odds-on favourite, who traded at 1.01 on the Betfair Exchange.

Liricist, who had an official handicap mark of 32 after three runs, was running from 13lb out of the handicap in the 7f nursery and hit an in-running price of 419-1 on the way to beating the George Boughey-trained Inshad by a length.

A total of £2,787.03 was traded on the runner-up at the basement price on Betfair.

“He was given a ridiculous handicap mark by the handicapper,” said Newcombe. “I thought he was a 55 [rated] horse and they gave him 32, which was a bit of an embarrassment.

“I was half expecting him to run well, but at the same time, the word from the George Boughey yard was that the favourite is a 75 [rated] horse.”

Tony Newcombe: trainer of LiricistCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

The Yarnscombe-based trainer has sent out only 14 runners on the Flat this year and the son of Prince Of Lir was his first winner since August 2023.

He added: “We’ve had very few runners this year and we’ve got quite a few two-year-olds who aren’t quite ready to run.

“He’s a homebred by the owners, Joli Racing, who I’ve trained for over many years. They sell them at the sales, but if they don’t get what they want, they send them to me. 

“It’s a welcome winner and a winner with a two-year-old for a long-term owner is brilliant.”

Liricist's winning rider Ray Dawson quickly doubled up with success on Lexington Blitz in the 5f novice.

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