With confirmation that Cheltenham festival is going ahead this year the competition is set to be hotter than ever when some of the best horses, jockeys and trainers in the world take to the course. Tickets for the festivities are reasonably priced, starting at around £45 for base entry and rising depending on the package you purchase.
There is sure to be spectators aplenty this year, mirroring the attendance in 2017 when an incredible 260,000 people attended the festival. Last year’s event also broke records for TV viewership, when 1.5 million people tuned in to watch Rachel Blackmore win the Champions Hurdle, riding the highly rated Mare, Honeysuckle. The Irish thoroughbred is set for another entry this year as trainer Henry du Bromhead looks to win back-to-back Champions Hurdle races. But what other races do we have to look forward too at the meeting? Let’s break them down.
Ballymore Novices Hurdle
This Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race has long been won by the Irish trainers. Willie Mullins will be holding out hope to go for his fifth win this of this race with the impressive Kilcruit. Considered one of the leading Novice prospects of the year, he showed his class in January when he won a Grade 1 bumper in Punchestown beating out stablemate Sir Gerhard.
There are questions to be raised of his form when favourite andhe has been at 1/14 and 4/9 on his opening two races of the season. He did, however, go on to open his account by beating Bold Approach by 21 lengths. If he can replicate his form in bumpers then the six-year-old should have no such issue in this race. An ante post bet at 8/1 seems great value right now for anyone choosing to bet on Cheltenham and many expect him to be thereabouts come the end of the race.
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
This race has seen some highly priced winners in recent years, with future Gold Cup winner Minella Indo crossing the line at 50/1 in 2019. Only four favourites have won the last 17 meetings of this race and if there was ever a race to back an outsider it is this one. Venetia Williams has just one entry across the three Grade 1 novice hurdle races at Cheltenham this year in Green Book.
He has enjoyed an impressive season so far and is 3-2 in his last five in jumps, most recently scoring in a Grade 3 at Sandown in early February. His BHA rating (137) will leave the horse with plenty to find in a race like the Albert Bartlett, but there are not many in the field who are pushing on quite like he is. He has plenty of experience, richer than many of the lower priced runners especially in big fields. A 25/1 Non-runner no-bet offer with 888Sport looks very attractive for this race
Stayers Hurdle
This 2m 7f Grade 1 National Hunt is the leading long-distance hurdle event in the National Hunt calendar, and it is the feature race on the third day of the Festival. Paisley Park’s Cleeve Hurdle within January has seen his price shorten to 6/1. Emma Lavelle’s horse won this race back in 2019 but his form at the start of this season seemed to show he was past his best as a 10-year-old. However, his propensity for a late surge saw him rally before the last and keep on, on this course in January, beating odds-on favourite Champ despite being detached early. The veteran is never one to be ruled out and a 6/1 NRNB is a very inoffensive bet to make for a horse who loves to defy his mid-race odds.
Gold Cup
Taking place on the fourth and final day of the Cheltenham Festival, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a steeplechase race that is arguably the main attraction across all meetings. The wealthiest non-handicap race in Great Britain, with a total prize purse exceeding £625,000, it has made names for some of the finest chasers ever seen in the sport. Trainer Willie Mullins will be looking to carve out a dynasty of his own with Al Boum Photoas he looks for his third win in this race in four years, having finished third last year.
His entries this campaign have been limited by Mullins as he looks to reduce vulnerability for the horse, as no horse of his age (10) has won the Gold Cup this century. Some wet weather in the build-up to this race would favour him immensely and there is definitely still life in the old boy yet. The festival is sure to be a barnburner no matter the winners, but we all want to be in the money, don’t we? 888Sport’s NRNB offer doesn’t just give you great ante post odds but also covers you if your horse is a non-runner. One of the best ways to take advantage of this is by placing an each-way Lucky 15, giving you mega odds. However, the antepost prices mean that you can even make bank just by placing singles, so don’t hesitate to back your picks in the build-up to one of the biggest weeks on the horse racing calendar.
