His father is Frankel, the greatest horse that looked through a bridle. And there must have been high hopes for Najidi Storm, also a half‑brother to a winner of the oldest Classic, the St Leger, after he won on his first trip to the races last month.
But on Tuesday Najidi Storm became the shortest-priced loser in the history of British racing, beaten into second in the glamorously titled Cleansing Service Group Novice Stakes at Goodwood at odds of 1-33.
The aptly named Wreck It Ronnie won the contest at what now look like generous odds of 10-1 in a field of just three. The winner had been beaten a combined 22‑and‑a‑half lengths in his only two previous outings, but made virtually all the running in the hands of Kieren Fox and no matter how hard the jockey Lewis Edmunds tried he could not reel him in on the Harry Charlton‑trained favourite.
The other runner in the 10‑furlong event, Dream Of Albion, was a well tailed off 76 lengths back in arrears. The previous record was held jointly by Doom (2023) and Royal Forest (1948), who were both beaten at a starting price of 1-25.
Redcar 1.21 Kirton Angel 1.51 Hatamoto (nb) 2.21 Al Jolson 2.51 Lucky Hero 3.21 Chesneys Charm 3.54 Sweet Kiss 4.24 Stormy Pearl 4.54 We’ve Got This
Sedgefield 2.00 Datstheholyallofit 2.30 Stellarmasterpiece 3.00 Limerick Leader 3.30 Tropical Talent 4.00 Glory And Honour 4.30 Moro Rock 5.05 Max Of Stars
Carlisle 2.12 Flower Youmzain 2.42 North Star Kodi 3.12 Blue Hercules 3.47 Royal Duke 4.17 Donald 4.47 Zermatt Star 5.17 Only Dream Big
Kempton 5.00 Mmmbop 5.30 Mercantile 6.00 Gunfighter 6.30 Lex Victoria 7.00 Enchanted Queen 7.30 Musical Soldier (nap) 8.00 Uzincso 8.30 Augustus Gloop
Of course the bookmakers were still moaning, claiming they failed to make money after the shock outcome. Brian O’Keeffe of Boyle Sports said: “We’ve witnessed the shortest-priced loser in British racing history, but that doesn’t mean it was a good result for the layers.
“Najidi Storm might have been an ‘acca’ buster for a number of punters, but when one is put in that short they’re often keen to look elsewhere. This time, their eye was drawn to the winner, Wreck It Ronnie, who was unfortunately the biggest liability in the race in our book.”
Paul Binfield of Paddy Power said: “Wreck It Ronnie sure lived up to his name with favourite-backers and the winner was actually a loser in the book with punters taking a chance against the very short-priced ‘jolly’.”
