A MYSTERY lucky punter from Basingstoke is in the money after winning £1million on an amazing accumulator horse racing bet.

The 40-year-old man, who wishes to remain anonymous, picked all six winners on a multiple bet on the card at Sandown Park, in Surrey, last Thursday evening.

The tipster, who works in finance, put a total of £5,400 on a Lucky 63 bet with bookmaker Coral, with the total odds of winning standing at around 200/1.

Simon Clare, PR and broadcast director at Coral, said it was the first time the firm has paid out £1m to a punter.

He said: “It is an extraordinary achievement to go through the card like this, and he deserves every penny of his £1m win.

“He is a really nice guy and has been a Coral customer for a few years now, so if someone is going to win £1m off Coral, I’m glad it’s him.”

Mr Clare added: “This guy is not an ordinary Joe – he put £5,000 on a bet. But to get six successful horses out of six at the same meeting is a fantastic achievement.”

The punter, who placed his bet over the phone, went down to Sandown with his friends on Thursday night, so he was in the right place at the right time to see history, and his fortune, being made.

The first horse to come in was the aptly-named Chain of Events, at 7/2.

The big race of the meeting was won by Brown Panther, owned by former England striker Michael Owen, in the Group Three Henry II Stakes, while odds-on favourite Sharestan won the Brigadier Gerard Stakes by a nose to keep the accumulator part of the bet alive after the fourth leg.

The Basingstoke man went to the Coral box on the course in an excited state to tell them about his lucky run. He returned there ecstatic after his final horse, Ishikawa, the 5/2 favourite, scrambled home by half a length – but he didn’t seem to realise that he was about to become the winner of a cool £1m jackpot.

He asked Coral’s representative Mark Elks what he had won, and when he was told it was £1m, he stood dumbstruck – before asking for a hug!

The lucky punter toasted the win with Champagne before heading to a pub in Esher High Street with his friends to carry on the celebrations.