WITH this win, I thee wed The odds were definitely in favour of a York couple who celebrated tying the knot with a wedding-day trip to the races - and they had not been married "furlong" before one of the horses they backed romped home at 33-1.

Newlyweds Chris and Bridget Moss scooped almost £500 when Amicelli, part of North Yorkshire trainer Cherry Coward's Dalby stable, romped home in the prestigious Christie's Foxhunter Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, with their winnings helping to pay for the cost of their nuptials.

The couple exchanged vows at Cheltenham Register Office only hours before their shock win and, just for good measure, Bridget claimed another £100 from the bookies after a successful each-way wager on the Cheltenham Gold Cup on their March 14 wedding day.

"We're big racing fans. We're shareholders in a horse, Miss Pross - and we'd always wanted to visit Gold Cup day, so when the chance came to book the register office there for our wedding we took the opportunity," said Chris, 46, who runs the Toucan Archive Storage recycling centre in Elvington with 43-year-old Bridget.

"We got married at 10.30am with our friends Tim and Jill Walford, Miss Pross's trainers, as witnesses, then went straight to the course. Tim put £10 each way on Amicelli because it's a North Yorkshire horse, so as he's a trainer we backed it each way as well, and it won easily.

"Bridget and I couldn't believe it - the win covered a lot of the wedding expenses and was such a nice extra touch to the day. Funnily enough, somebody who works for us had a 66-1 winner on the first day of the festival, so the omens were good.

"All in all, we had an excellent time. There was a crowd of 65,000 at the meeting, and few people can say they've had that many at their wedding!"

Fortune continued to shine on the couple, who have been together 14 years, after the wedding, with Miss Pross claiming a creditable fourth place in her latest run at a Haydock meeting where Bridget won another £120. We're obviously on a winning streak at the moment," said Chris.

Amicelli's trainer Cherry Coward, daughter of top North Yorkshire trainer Mick Easterby, said: "How fantastic for them - we were delighted with such a fabulous win and even more delighted they backed it. We always thought Amicelli would run a good race, but to win it was unbelievable."

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