Weekend Review: Punters pleased with Premier League return as Galileo Chrome wins at St Leger
Bookies avoid opening weekend bloodbath as Everton beats Spurs while behind-closed-doors horseracing boosts coffers
The return of the Premier League was a welcome one for punters as the top teams duly obliged across the board.
Wins for top four hopefuls Arsenal and Leicester City, as well as reigning champion Liverpool, saw bettors line their pockets over the opening weekend.
Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said Liverpool’s 4-3 victory over newly promoted Leeds United garnered the most attention.
GET IN, REDS!! ?
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 12, 2020
He said: “It was almost double the turnover of our next biggest match this weekend, and as is usually the way when Liverpool win, it went to the punters. Some things seem constant, such as Liverpool scoring a bucketload of goals, winning at home and ultimately lining punters pockets.”
Everton’s 1-0 win against José Mourinho’s Tottenham, courtesy of a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header, was a silver lining for the layers.
Betway’s Chad Yeomans said: “There were a few beaten favourites over the course of the weekend, with the highlight for us being Everton’s 1-0 win away at Tottenham.”
Gill concurred with Yeomans, adding: “Spurs were our saving grace as they helped avoid a bit of a blood bath on day one. Their home loss to Everton was exactly what we wanted to see, and it took a fair few of accas with it as well.”
Off the mark. Start as we mean to go on ??? #UTFT pic.twitter.com/AnVml5mu37
— Dominic Calvert-Lewin (@CalvertLewin14) September 13, 2020
In the horseracing, Galileo Chrome won the first British Classic of the year in the St Leger at Doncaster as last-minute replacement jockey Tom Marquand sealed the victory for trainer Joseph O’Brien.
Marquand secured the ride on Friday after original jockey Shane Crosse tested positive for Covid-19.
Yeomans said: “It was a great weekend of horseracing with Galileo Chrome winning the St Leger for O’Brien and Marquand, to topple Berkshire Rocco and Pyledriver, who had been very well backed in the past fortnight, back in third.”
William Hill’s Rupert Adams added: “St Leger was a terrible result the winner was 16/1 at the start of the week and was well backed all week – finished as a 4/1 shot.”
Galileo Chrome wins the 2020 Pertemps St Leger at @DoncasterRaces for @TomMarquand and @JosephOBrien2! pic.twitter.com/m2Gk0akMlF
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 12, 2020
Gill added: “In a fantastic weekend of racing, the St Leger went to 4/1 shot Galileo Chrome, who was well supported from a bigger price earlier in the week. With favourite Santiago down in fourth we came out ahead there.”
Across the Irish Sea, 8/13 favourite Ghaiyyath lost out to Aidan O’Brien-trained Magical in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Ghaiyyath has won all four of his races this year and was heavily backed, but was overtaken in the final furlong by Magical to secure the win.
Yeomans said Magical’s victory made for a “good result for the book” with Gill noting: “Whilst the winner was not completely unsupported, confidence in the favourite was rock solid and we came out well ahead there too, in what overall was a great set of results for Kindred.”