An Irish pensioner banked nearly half a million pounds from bookmakers Paddy Power after placing one of the most extraordinary Cheltenham Festival bets of all time on Friday. The male punter, aged 69, landed the enormous windfall from a 50-cent each-way Lucky 63 bet, which cost £54 (€63) to place, as all six of his selections romped home to deliver him an incredible £483,000 (€558k).

A Lucky 63 is a combination wager comprising 63 different bets of the same value placed on six selections, meaning the return was colossal as a series of bets all succeeded with the winners continuing to arrive. The gamble began brilliantly with massive outsider Apolon De Charnie claiming the opener before Wilful and Dinoblue crossed the line first in the subsequent two races.

Johnny’s Jury then secured victory in the fourth at steep odds before Gaelic Warrior prevailed in the feature race of the Festival – the Cheltenham Gold Cup – to set up an extraordinary finale for our shrewd gambler.

Barton Snow duly delivered the goods in the sixth race of the day, edging out Its On The Line by a neck to secure an astonishing payout for the Irish customer, and complete one of the all-time great Cheltenham betting coups.

Paddy Power said: “What a sensational way to round off Cheltenham week – it’s one of the greatest bets of all-time.

“When a huge outsider wins the opener the groan from punters can usually be heard all across the Cotswolds, but this customer would have been cheering to the rafters, although little did he know then what was to come.

“I’ll be popping around his house later for his lotto numbers this weekend. Seriously, well played, and enjoy the winnings.”