Can't believe any bookie was taking bets at that stage.
Also object slightly to the use of Yellow Sam just to get attention. I've met Barney Curley a few times, and he is by some distance the most interesting person I've ever bumped into on the turf. Nearly died as a teenager - spent two years in a sanitorium, with TB I think it was - and thought seriously about training for the priesthood before ending up as a gambler. He had nearly 50 horses in his yard at the peak of his powers, and almost all of them were paid for by punting.
He also raffled his house in Ireland about 30 years ago, and has been a father figure to several top jockeys, including Dettori and Spencer. In fact, I believe Dettori's current house was owned by Barney before he had it, and vice versa. Rather than get involved with estate agents and the rest, they just swapped.
He's always been one to find every loophole going. One of his favourite tricks back in the 1980s, before you had to jock horses up at the overnight stage, was to declare one of his with a 7lb claimer in the saddle, the back it off the boards as they were walking around the paddock. Then, once it had been backed from 10-1 to odds-on, Declan Murphy would suddenly hop over the paddock rail and climb aboard.
I can see why people kicked up a fuss and got it stopped, but you always knew it was a possibility when Barney was involved and it added greatly to the colour of the game.
He lost his son in a car accident outside the gates of the yard about 15 years ago, which was a blow he's never really recovered from, but he's also raised many millions of pounds for orphanages in Africa over the past decade.
Hope the horse wins for you all, but believe me, if Barney - or anyone like him - had anything to do with it, you would not find it advertised on Albion internet boards.
I agree,some say Barney would never give you the time of day let alone a tip about a coup,very clever man,Horse Racing will lose a good man when he retires ( again).
