Mystery punter loses £725,000 on Brighton owner Tony Bloom's horse at Cheltenham in latest epic battle with bookie

A MYSTERY punter lost £725,000 on Brighton owner Tony Bloom's horse at Cheltenham.

Champion Chase hero Energumene could only finish third in the rearranged Clarence House Chase on Saturday.

This is the latest epic battle between bookies Star Sports and the punter - thought to be the same person.

The punter did get the better of the bookmakers when staking £150,000 on Energumene at 100-30 in last year's Champion Chase at the Festival.

The nine-year-old ran out a brilliant winner in the mud as big rival Shishkin got pulled up with a bone injury.

That win netted the high-spending punter a cool half a million profit in all.

But the bettor gave all of that back and more at the home of jumps.

The punter put £350,000 on Energumene at 4-7 and £375,000 at 8-15.

Rumours claim Bloom himself was behind the gargantuan bets - although nothing has been confirmed by the billionaire or bookies Star Sports.

Had Energumene won then the punter would have netted £400,000 profit.

The Willie Mullins-trained horse was sent off 4-9 favourite but finished behind shock 14-1 winner Editeur Du Gite and 5-2 runner-up Edwardstone.

Bloom was believed to be at Cheltenham on Saturday before getting a helicopter back to Brighton.

Bloom - known as the 'the lizard' - has been labelled the 'cleverest man to ever place a bet'.

A genius with numbers, he has amassed a fortune through data and his betting company StarLizard.

Speaking of the punt and his battle with the bettor, Star Sports owner Ben Keith told Sun Racing: "I have no opinion on any race. I didn't watch the race. I just let it all happen and trust the market.

"Bookmaking is not about winning individual battles, it's about winning the war.

"And win or lose on a race, it doesn't break my stride."

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• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
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