Construction worker backs Epsom Derby winner thanks to ‘spooky’ time capsule tip

Workers found coins and note from 1964 under a statue

Writer urged them to back horse with Christmassy name

A construction site manager is cashing in after placing a bet on the winner of Saturday’s Derby horse race at Epsom, after he was encouraged to do so by a note found under a statue in a 1960s time capsule.

Josh Smalls, site manager on the restoration project at Crystal Palace Park in south London, said the note and four old coins were discovered by a colleague underneath the giant bust of Sir Joseph Paxton, the Victorian designer of the Crystal Palace.