James Moorhouse
A lad who won nearly £300k on a bet has explained why he 'can't see' the bookies paying him out as he prepares for a high court battle.
Dylan Phelan put his money where his mouth is after backing two horses that he trained himself to win in Limerick last year.
The 25-year-old Irish lad thought that he had landed himself around €320,000 (£274,000) from just a €60 each way bet after backing Rocky Diamond and Diamond Nora at combined odds of over 5000/1.
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He would've been hoping that diamonds are forever with big plans for his winnings, but that trip to the jewellers is still sadly on hold.
He watched both come in and couldn't believe his eyes, but now he's heading to court after Ladbrokes refused to pay out, claiming that the races are still subject to an inquiry by an Irish state body.
In a statement to the Racing Post, the betting company said: "The IHRB is conducting an ongoing investigation into these races and we are awaiting the outcome before settling bets related to this investigation.
"When a sporting governing body is investigating the integrity of a sports event on which we have taken notable bets, we will await the outcome of those proceedings before settling bets relating to the matter under investigation.
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"We take integrity matters in sport extremely seriously and our approach is entirely consistent with our terms and conditions and how we would approach any sports event under investigation."
And it seems as if the young lad from Ireland isn't too confident about claiming his winnings ahead of his court battle with Ladbrokes.
In an interview with RTE Radio, Dylan said: "I can't see a judge overruling a young lad working in a yard who took a couple of chances. I do have hope I get my money and I'll fight to the very end for it."
He had previously spoken about the moment he thought his life had changed. He said: "It's a one in a million thing, it will never happen again. I used to ride both horses regularly and look after them in the yard.
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"I just hoped for a little bit of a return and it worked out, that's the long and short of it. I was in Limerick and watching Rocky's Diamond come in. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Then I click onto my phone and see Diamond Nora in front - I just couldn't believe what was happening.
"I kind of forgot about the bet then it all hit me at once, I was on cloud nine."
He revealed the plans he had for the money, but it seems as if they could soon become pipe dreams given his ongoing battle with Ladbrokes.
Dylan added: "It was crazy, it was surreal. It's a life-changing amount of money. "I could buy a house. I could build a house. The world's my oyster.
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"But everything changed when I couldn't get paid. It's like sitting on a winning lottery ticket but you can't access it."