The racing novice won with the equivalent of a 102-1 shot, turning her $110 entry fee into over $11,000 in our Metro Mayhem $25,000 cash pool Tournament.

Pennynpup initially joined TopBetta to play “the weekend footy” but decided to have a crack at the Metro Mayhem’s $25,000 cash pool, her first try at racing.

“Yes, this is my first ever horse racing tournament. 

“I’ve never been big into betting, I’ve only been in a few tipping competitions and fantasy leagues with work, nothing too major but this tops off anything I’ve ever achieved punting wise in my life,” pennynpup said.

It was her plunge on Erika at Rosehill in Race 5 that shot the TopBetta newbie straight to the top of the leaderboard, where she never looked back.

“The race with Erika came up and I just had a gut feeling, no looking into the horse or studying the form, I just backed what I believed and that was all or nothing on her,” she said.

It was then pennynpup believed she might actually have a chance of taking home top spot and was too terrified to bet, while she weighed up what to do.

“I sat tight for a few hours and let the places try and catch me, I was too scared to bet on anything for a long while due to my non-existent knowledge of horse racing,” she said.

She decided not to bet on the last race, not through strategy, but due to being content with a Top 5 placing.

“I told my son that the last race had finished and I was second, then went and did something and came back to see my name in first position. 

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” she said.

The Topbetta Tournament winner is still in a state of disbelief, two days later and hinted at a new career.

“I would never have thought I would have won this tournament, I’m still shocked and I don’t think I’ve come to terms with it yet.

“Maybe it’s time to get into the horse racing industry . . . ” she said.

With a well due holiday now on the cards to overcome her tournament stress (thanks to her winnings) pennynpup had this advice for new players:

“It just goes to show a novice can win one of these tournaments.

“If you have no idea about racing just go with your gut feeling and back something you like, if it wins and it’s paying a fair amount you have a good chance of winning, just like Erika did for me.”

You too can win like pennynpup this weekend as our $25,000 cash pool Metro Mayhem Tournament runs again. Click below to enter:

This article first appeared on TopBetta HERE.