The Racing New South Wales chairman of stewards has dismissed the concerns of a punter who missed out on a $156,000 windfall due to the withdrawal of champion horse Winx from Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

The punter, Brad Miller, said on social media the mare’s withdrawal from the big race represented a big win for bookies, who would have been hit with a massive payout on futures bets.

He claimed the decision by trainer Chris Waller and Winx’s owners made no sense, given it raced a week earlier in the Doncaster Mile – a more difficult race worth $3 million, compared to the $4 million for the Queen Elizabeth.

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Mr Miller had picked Winx to win the Queen Elizabeth as the final leg of five different ‘multi’ bets.

The punter, who is not entitled to a payout of his $350 stake after the horse’s withdrawal on Tuesday, said there needs to be more transparency in bookmakers’ liability with futures bets.

But Racing NSW chairman of stewards Ray Murrihy, who is aware of Miller’s concerns, and said there were no grounds for an investigation.

Mr Murrihy said the decision whether to run the horse ultimately rested with owners and the trainer.

“That person [Miller] has a very vested interest in the horse running and because he’s disappointed, that’s simply not grounds to embark on some investigation,” Murrihy told The New Daily.

“What you have is one disappointed punter.

“You’d want far more cogent evidence to launch an inquiry than the fact that a person hasn’t collected on an all-in multiple.”

Mr Waller said winning the Doncaster had taken a lot out of the horse and a decision had been made to rest her in preparation for the spring.

In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Mr Miller said the news the horse had been withdrawn from the big race came as no surprise.

“Everyone was calling me ‘crazy’ and ‘paranoid’, but I saw this one coming weeks ago.”

Mr Miller said he was moved to email both trainer Chris Waller and the New South Wales Racing Integrity Division prior to the Doncaster, after detecting a change in the trainer’s language regarding the horse’s preparation.

Winx with jockey Hugh Bowman on board. Photo: Getty

Adding to Miller’s angst were comments made by Waller last month that said the Queen Elizabeth was the horse’s ultimate goal – although he did intimate the Doncaster was also on his radar.

“Obviously the Queen Elizabeth is the race we have set her for since the Cox Plate,” Mr Waller said on March 20.

“But you can’t ignore a $3 million race the week before – we will definitely think about the Doncaster.”

Although he received a reply from the trainer addressing his concerns, punter Brad Miller said the decision to prioritise the Doncaster over the Queen Elizabeth still made no sense to him.

“It’s not just the prize money, the race conditions did not suit her,” he told The New Daily. “[The Doncaster’s] a handicap, she’s a champion mare.

“It just didn’t make any sense.

“I found this whole saga really frustrating.”

Trainer Chris Waller declined to comment when contacted by The New Daily.