SHARES in Ladbrokes and William Hill raced ahead yesterday after Mon Mome’s Grand National success proved to be the dream result for bookies.

The 100-1 outsider romped home at Aintree after finishing in tenth place in last year’s race.

With bookmakers avoiding a rush of payouts, William Hill shares rose 1p to 197.3p and Ladbrokes followed suit, up 0.25p to 202.3.

David Hood, William Hill spokesman, said at the weekend: “This is definitely a bonanza day for the bookies.

“Such is the enormity of the Grand National that the first half-year profit-and-loss can rest on the result of this one race, and we could not have written a better script for a winner.”

David Williams, of Ladbrokes, added: “The last time this happened was in 1967 with a 100-1 shot. Mon Mome has made the joint long price winner in the National’s history.”

Bookmakers said they saw little evidence of the recession spoiling the great British tradition, with bets reportedly reaching the £200m mark, most of which went on the favourites.

It was estimated yesterday that the industry as a whole made £20m to £30m on the back of the Grand National, compared with only £5m last year.

William Hill said that only one of the firm’s 2,000 betting shops made a loss on the race, and that was in Ross-on-Wye, near where Mon Mome’s stables are located.

Evolution Securities analyst Ivor Jones said the National result could deliver an upgrade of 20 per cent to his pre-tax profit forecasts for the pair.

He added: “While this is ‘only’ a one-off, it is a very useful contribution to cash and will underpin the potential to pay dividends.

“However, it may not escape the attention of a cashstrapped Government and we continue to see the Budget on April 22 as the biggest hurdle for the bookmakers to clear.”

Mon Mome proved the biggest bookies’ scalp since 1967, becoming equal largest prize winner in the 162-year history of the Grand National, alongside Foinavon.

More than 70,000 people attended the event, the highest number since 2005.