WE SET out in search for a tipster, and boy have we found one!
Karl Hedley, an unassuming 27-year-old from Belfast who describes himself as "just a £5 each-way punter who is happy to break even", yesterday became the undisputed king of the tipsters after trouncing part-time professional gambler Andy Gibson in the final of the Racing Post's £36,000 Search For A Tipster competition.

Hedley (right) defeated more than 3,000 hopefuls to capture the first prize of £25,000 in the 123racing.com-sponsored contest; in addition, he has accepted an invitation to run his own private tipping line for six months and will also take on the professional tipsters in the Post/Coral naps table for the 2007 Flat season.

Hedley didn't just beat the hot favourite Gibson in the five-day final, he annihilated him, racking up an amazing profit of 55.75 points after napping three successive winners at 16-1, 6-1 and 9-4.

Before he left home last night to celebrate over "the best Chinese ever -
no expense spared" with wife Jeanette, he admitted his success had taken him by surprise. "When my grandfather Eddie rang me at work to tell me the final results, I was ecstatic," he said, "but I'm still in total shock. "I went in for Search For A Tipster as a bit of fun. I thought I was a million to one to win, and it wasn't until I had a decent-priced winner
trained by Henrietta Knight that I thought, 'Hey, I'm not bad at this
tipping game; I'd better start taking it more seriously'.

"As I progressed further I've had to spend longer on the selections,
until I reached the stage where it has completely dominated my life in
recent weeks." He admitted at being "slightly intimidated" at the prospect of meeting a rival of Gibson's calibre in the final. “Andy has years more experience than me and is obviously very professional in his approach to gambling," he said.

"Ironically, it was Andy's confidence that seemed to take a knock early
on in the final, and I couldn't understand why he didn't select longer-priced horses sooner."

During the competition Hedley says he has had the 100 members of the East Belfast Working Mens Club rooting for him, and added that "local interest has been so high that when I went to my local newsagent to buy a Racing Post last Saturday, he had already sold out".

Post editor Chris Smith said: "We thought that in Mitch Lewis and Brian
Turnbull we had two worthy winners of the first couple of Search For A
Tipster contests, but Karl Hedley's outstanding performance has raised
the bar to a new level. "It was a pity that the final was so one-sided, as halfway through the competition Andy Gibson was looking all over a champion, before he had a bad run at just the wrong time."

Rob Earle, chief executive officer of 123racing.com, whose website
offering pay-to-play racing goes live on Saturday, said: "We'd like to
congratulate Karl on his fantastic success. It's been a long haul for
these tipsters, but he appeared to stay calm in the face of what must
been huge pressure."

Gibson (left), who takes the runner-up prize of £5,000, was the tournament favourite once the contestants were whittled down to the last 12, and a red-hot streak saw him tip eight winning naps in succession at one stage. But his form tailed off badly, and he failed to select a single winner in the final. "It's been a long, hard journey," he said. "If I could bank on my overall
success rate during Search For A Tipster in my professional punting, I'd be delighted. But you need luck as well as skill, and I used up all my luck early on. Full marks to Karl; he went into the final as the underdog and it's a lovely story that he's beaten me."

Hedley will be at Kempton on Saturday, along with Jeanette, as a special
guest of the Post on Racing Post Chase day. Although due to start a new job next month as an assistant scientific officer in veterinary medicine, he says he "can't wait to take on the pros" in the naps contest. On the form he's shown in Search For A Tipster, he could well give the paid experts something to think about.

HEDLEY'S ROUTE TO TIPPING STARDOM
November 29, from more than 3,000 contestants, qualifies for the final 60
with a profit of +15.50
December 20, into final 12 after beating nine contestants to win heat two
with profit of +10.67, coming from well behind with 12-1 winner on final
day
January 31, qualifies for final six after winning round two grouping with
profit of +36.23; winners included 20-1 and 10-1 on same day
February 7, into last four after beating Steve Jenkinson in round three
head-to-head with profit of +2.13
February 14, wins semi-final head-to-head against Phil Ball with profit
of +4.73
February 21, beats Andy Gibson in the final with record profit of +55.75,
after tipping three successive winning naps at 16-1, 6-1 and 9-4

WHO WINS WHAT
Winner Karl Hedley £25,000
Runner-up Andy Gibson £5,000
Third Phil Ball £2,000
Fourth Art Cosgrove £2,000
Fifth Paul Magill £1,000
Sixth Steve Jenkinson £1,000