By Rachel Hart
One lucky New Zealander has received a Christmas present the rest of us only dream of.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, won almost $800,000 at the races - a record fixed odds payout by the TAB.
A little flutter at the races is one thing, but he placed a $2,800 bet at the Ellerslie Races on Monday.
"I started analysing the form on the Sunday," he said. "I found that I liked the look of the six horses so the logical thing was to box them up. To get all six was like hitting the jackpot."
And what a jackpot! He won $776,245.
The mystery winner didn't even make it to the races, instead he watched them on the box, with his girlfriend in the next room.
"She didn't know the bet I had, but she knows how I bet", he said. "I'm a pretty hardened punter so it takes something big for me to get excited, so she knew something was happening."
Fazzle, Brave Warrior, Mary's Book, Green Supreme, No Fear and Tanha Strike all romped home. Although
the man doesn't have his hands on the cash just yet.
"I think the TAB is a little bit taken aback, and a bit shocked. They're having to do a garage sale or something to raise the funds," he said.
"I'll probably try and invest some, I suppose. But no I won't stop doing what I am doing. They won't be getting it back in a hurry. They'll get some back, put it that way."
And he's already got his sights on that next bet.
"We've got the New Year's Day races. I used to go out night-clubbing and have a wicked night. But, now I go to bed and wake up fresh for the races.Now that could really be a New Year's Eve celebration to remember.
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