Cheltenham Betting | 2010

“Oooooh!”, They all do. “Oooooh!”, Are those on elegant tribune. “Oooooh!”, Punters are pressed against the fences. “Oooooh!”, Makes the public of cheap seats on the bleachers at the bottom of the track. “Oooooh!”, Are those outside, in the spaces behind the grandstands in front of giant screens, with bulletins of the wagers made tight in his hand.

The betting on Cheltenham exceeds that of any other meeting horse. But “meeting horse” is a pejorative term. Three days of racing, seven races a day, I waited all year the fans of horses, the fanatics of the bet, by professionals.

For sports fans up here is the most exciting event of the year.

Click here for the best Cheltenham Festival Betting Odds

Cheltenham Big Race Tips

Top Jockey Odds

Gold Cup (Grade 1) 3m 2 1/2f – Cheltenham

Statistics

• 9/9 – Has RPR of 173 or higher
• 9/9 – Aged between 7-9 years-old
• 9/9 – Placed in their previous race
• 9/9 – Returned 15/2 or less
• 7/9 – Trained in the UK
• 7/9 – Won their previous race
• 5/9 – Won by the favourite
• 4/9 – Aged 7 years-old
• 4/9 – Ran in the King George at Kempton in their previous race
• 3/9 – Won by trainer Henrietta Knight
• 3/9 – Won by trainer Paul Nicholls, including last three years

Place your free bets here

Andy Newton’s Verdict

It’s the race we’ve all been waiting!

After all the hype of the four day festival it’s the dual between former Gold Cup winner’s Kauto Star and Denman that’s been catapulting our much-loved sport onto the back pages of the national papers. Stablemates, friends and neighbours are what these two powerhouse National Hunt horses are for 364 days of the year, but come 3:20 on Friday afternoon that’s all blown out the window.

Ok, so Paul Nicholls will probably be the only person in the country who doesn’t mind which of the two comes home in front, but if we add in to the mix that the two best jump jockeys of the modern era are also doing the steering then this really is set up to be a ‘where were you when…………’ moment!

The media, racing sites and Cheltenham itself have done a great job to build up the clash over the last few months and if you are lucky enough to be going on Friday then be prepared for plenty of Kauto and Denman merchandise heading your way – but is the contest really just a two-horse affair?

On the book the simple answer is, Yes! Kauto Star is rated monster 19lbs better than the third best horse Imperial Commander, while Denman is 9lb ahead of the Twiston-Davies runner. So, in theory on the current ratings you could even state that this is actually a one-horse race, with the reigning champ currently on a mark  11lbs superior to the ‘Tank’.

The big question leading up to the festival, especially at the Cheltenham preview nights, has been which camp are you in? Based on the ratings and the fact there’s around four points difference between the pair in the betting it’s no surprise that most of the shrewd judges are siding with Kauto. He trounced the King George field back on Boxing Day and with the ground more in his favour and his light campaign this season it’s going to take a monumental effort from something else or, god-forgive, a tumble to see him not joining Best Mate and landing a third Gold Cup.

So, does Kauto have any weaknesses? Well, we all know that his jumping has been the subject of many a debate in his illustrious career, but he’s only hit the deck twice in his 23 runs since joining Paul Nicholls, while he also unseated Sam Thomas at Haydock back in 2008. Yes, he’s been prone to a few big errors over the years, but this clever jumper has more often than not found a leg to survive the scare and in Ruby Walsh he’ll have no better pilot in the plate. Those against him will cling onto the fact that one of his falls came here at Cheltenham, when running in the Champion Chase in 2006, but that was a long time ago and it’s now hardly grounds to take on the highest-rated chaser in the land.

Are there any trends against the champ? Yes. Ok, so there’s also plenty in his favour like favourites winning five of the last nine runnings and his trainer, Paul Nicholls, landing the last three renewals, but again those against him (and Denman) will be looking at his age. The Nicholls pair are both 10 year-olds now and with only three horses that age (Cool Ground and Cool Dawn and Charter Party) landing the Blue Riband in the last 25 years then this is quite a big negative to overcome. Those willing to overlook this stat will be shouting, when was the last time two horses rated so inferior ran in the Gold Cup? While they’ll also be highlighting to the doubters that these Gold Cup horses are much more lightly raced these days and, therefore, although on paper they are officially 10 year-olds, with the amount of racing they’ve done they are probably more like 8 or 9 year-olds!

I think you can see where I’m going with my selection. Kauto is a firm favourite of mine, not only for punting reasons, but also for the good of the game and thehistory books. However, that’s not to say there’s not some each-way value further down the betting. The field has cut up a bit this year, with the big two seemingly scaring off most, so although in theory we might only have one place up for grabs (should Kauto or Denman fill two) then this doesn’t really give us much room for manoeuvre.  Last year’s impressive RSA Chase winner, Cooldine, will be hoping to become the first horse to go onto land the Gold Cup the following year since Looks Like Trouble did the deed in 1999-2000, but Willie Mullins’ charge has had his problems since and is still looking for his first win since last year’s festival success. Yes, his latest Irish Hennessy second was a clear sign he could be returning to his best, but he’s never run against anything in the class of both Denman and Kauto Star before and so he’s not for me.

The one, however, I will be having a saver on is Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Imperial Commander. His horses seem to always come to the boil at this time of year and after landing the Ryanair at the festival 12 months ago he’s got experience of winning on the biggest stage. In fact, his overall record here at Prestbury Park reads 1-4-6-7-1-1-4-1-1, so has won here a monster five times from nine visits! If you also add in that he ran Kauto Star to a nose earlier this season at Haydock, and that his record when fresh (50+ days) is an impressive 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2 then if there is going to be an upset then, for me, he’s the most likely one.

All-in-all we are set for a mouth-watering, must-see clash and with Paul Nicholls also having a lively outsider in Tricky Trickster, who won the Aon Chase at Newbury last month, then are we going to see another Nicholls 1-2-3 in the race?

Whoever you side with, enjoy the race – it could be a long time until we see a Gold Cup this good!

Recommended Bets:

4pts win Kauto Star
1pt e/w Imperial Commander