Easygo leads Melbourne Cup plunge on Irish stayer Al Riffa

Easygo, the parent company of Stake.com, have sensationally backed top weight Al Riffa to win $3.5 million in the Melbourne Cup.

In a lively Call of The Card at Crown in Melbourne, the crowd erupted when a request was made for a $500,000 bet at $8 on Joseph O’Brien’s contender. 

Stake.com, founded by Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, is one of the largest betting operators in the world. They aren’t regulated in Australia and aren’t permitted to take bets from Australian customers.

EasyGo, the parent company, has its operational headquarters in Melbourne. It was EasyGo who made a major splash with the biggest bet on Monday.

Bookmaker Chris Lester took on the full $3.5 million in liability.

Australian Bloodstock, who own Al Riffa, then placed $250,000 on the horse across multiple bookies, while Wolfden and Tony Gee both had $150,000 as the Irish-trained stayer shortened to $7.

Looking to carry the heaviest weight to victory since 1968, Al Riffa was by far the best-backed runner at the Call of the Card.

However, a host of other horses were bet to win $1 million, with Pointsbet’s Sam Swanell heavily involved. 

Japanese raider Chevalier Rose was backed to win $1.5 million each way with a bet at $61.

Kieran McManus, the son of JP McManus, who has his first runner as an owner in Al Riffa’s stablemate Goodie Two Shoes, was also prominent in Monday’s action.