A SMUG Mike Dean was celebrating after smashing the bookies with his 66-1 outsider.
The former Premier League ref was at Wolverhampton on Friday to see his unfancied runner Jump The Gun scoot home at monster odds.
Victory in the six furlong race was worth just over £8,000 for Dean and the Let’s Be Lucky Racing syndicate he heads up.
But it was his interview afterwards that suggested he’d left the bookies eating beans on toast for the next week.
Even just a tenner on Jump The Gun would have returned a tasty £660 profit.
Dean didn’t elaborate on how much he staked, but his extra smug demeanour suggested it was not unsubstantial.
Grinning in the winners’ enclosure, Dean said: “I love racing and I have four horses in this syndicate.
“The horse has been running OK, had a wind op, ran a good second at Doncaster but was a bit disappointing since.
“He just needs some cover and to weave his way through the field, today you couldn’t have scripted it any better.
“66-1… I’ve had a right touch on it, to be fair.”
It was justice for Dean, who went from ecstasy to agony watching the same horse get nutted on the line just a few weeks ago.
Dean was cheering when Jump The Gun went clear of the rest in a handicap at Doncaster on St Leger weekend.
Apprentice jockey William Pyle looked to have done enough on the 14-1 chance only for 10-1 Rathbone to prove stronger in the closing stages.
Cameras captured Dean ready to erupt in celebration – only for him to wince in pain as his horse was confirmed runner-up.
Still, it wasn’t all that bad as the owners walked away with a tidy £5,438 for their horse’s efforts.
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