Premier League owner loses six-figure bet after betting on his own horse in Cheltenham Festival day two opener

BRIGHTON owner Tony Bloom is understood to have lost £100,000 after backing his own horse at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Seagulls chief, 53, is believed to be the person behind the six-figure wager which was placed on Atlantique in the Novices' Hurdle.

But Bloom was left bitterly disappointed as pre-race favourite Ballyburn claimed a comfortable victory.

Atlantique came home in third, a long way off the winner.

And to rub insult to injury, the winning horse is co-owned by football superagent David Manasseh - the former representative of Gareth Bale.

Manasseh represents SIX of Bloom's Brighton players and will have upset the club's owner with Ballyburn's performance on Wednesday.

The agent also works for the England internationals Luke Shaw and Jordan Pickford.

He made his money as a city trader, before he packed it in to play poker.

He reportedly won £2m "playing for fun", winning six titles and a reputation as a cold-blooded killer on the table, hence the nickname "The Lizard".

With that cash behind him, Bloom focused on growing Starlizard, a betting consultancy firm that reportedly brings in £100m a year.

Celebs who love Cheltenham

And over the past five years he has begun to dabble in the ownership of horses.

Energumene is Bloom's best horse - a winner of the 2022 Champion Chase at Cheltenham and Punchestown Champion Chase.

But it was veteran Withhold who sent traders at Paddy Power into a spin when landing an almighty gamble in 2017.

Bought for £170,000, Bloom switched his horse to trainer Roger Charlton, got him gelded and kept him off the track for nearly a year.

A promising run at Newbury had him priced up at 25-1 for the Cesarewitch, a 2m2f race at Newmarket every October.

Down to 12-1 the night before, he shortened to 9-1 the following morning before "big punters" hammered him down to 5-1 favourite for the off.

Bloom has never spoken about whether he backed the horse, but he would have been mad not to.

Charlton described the victory as a "demolition job", bringing with it £155,625.

Bloom rarely visits racecourses to see his horses run in the blue and white of Brighton.

But he has enjoyed great success, with 16-1 Penhill winning the Novices' Hurdles at Cheltenham Festival, and with it the £71,187 prize.

A year later Bloom won the Stayers' Hurdle at 12-1, scooping another £192,707.

Remember to gamble responsibly

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chases their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed