“It was quite, quite an emotional process, mate,” said Robert, who had enjoyed a few beverages to celebrate.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I thought to myself, ‘there must be something wrong here’.
“So, I went into my easybets and realised that there was a green tick next to my $5 first four easybets with $106,000.″
The punters at the working men’s club were also ecstatic, Robert said, and he received a cup with some flowers in it from the club.
When asked how he planned to spend the money, he said he had spent the past nine months living in a garage and would use his winnings to change his life around.
“I’ve gone from being homeless, sitting in a garage to finally being able to afford a deposit on a house now,” Robert said.
TAB could not go into further details about the bet due to privacy reasons but confirmed the $5 bet had resulted in a $106,000 prize.
Without A Fight took out this year’s Melbourne Cup, followed by Soulcombe and Sheraz.
Jockey Mark Zahra had the choice between riding Without A Fight or Gold Trip in the race.
He opted for Without A Fight, this year’s Caulfield Cup winner, and with 200m left down the home straight, there was only one horse who looked like winning. A well-timed run saw him get out from behind the leaders and into space in the middle of the track before pulling away, going on to win by a couple of lengths.
Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.
