Racing Post’s James Stevens wins top prize in West Country naps competition

Stevens has been with the Racing Post since 2018 and has been covering the West Country since 2022. Despite being restricted to tipping local runners, he managed to win with a profit of £22.36 to a £1 level stake. This success led to him receiving a prize of £4,000 after leading the contest for several weeks. He attributed his success to winning tips on horses such as Chianti Classico, Sans Bruit, and Redbridge Rambler.

Stevens expressed his surprise at his achievement, stating that it had gone far better than expected and he plans to repeat his performance. He acknowledged the difficulty of only being able to tip horses trained in the West Country but credited the region’s talent for helping him. He also mentioned that the first bit of his winnings had gone to his parents and that he planned to use some of the money for a trip-of-a-lifetime to Japan and possibly a holiday in Turkey. In total, Stevens napped 63 winners from 155 selections, finishing £16.37 clear of the runner-up, Steve Mullen, who tips for The Sun.

Mullen secured second place with a final-day victory from Minella Cocooner in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown, putting him 28p ahead of Racing Post’s On The Nose analyst team.