The
Cheltenham Festival is now less than a month away and punters are
excitedly studying the form ahead of the prestigious National Hunt
meeting. The March Festival is one of the biggest betting events of
the year and it always sees armchair fans lump on the favourites as
they buy into the hype. But at Cheltenham the fields are deep and
stacked with talent, so the favourite wins less than 30% of the time,
and it typically pays to seek out the longer priced outsiders that
could spring a surprise. Here are five each-way shots that have a
good chance of upsetting the odds at Cheltenham:
Definitely
Red
Might
Bite is the clear favourite to win the Gold Cup after romping to
victory in the King George VI on Boxing Day, while defending champion
Sizing John is given the best chance of usurping him. But there is
plenty of talent in this superstar field, and Definitely Red stands
out at as a brilliant longer shot when you take
a look at
the spread betting lines. In Cheltenham’s only Gold Cup trial, the
Cotswold Chase, he beat American by eight lengths, and trainer Brian
Ellison believes he now has a great chance in
the most prestigious jumps race of the year. He said: “The Gold Cup
is quite open. Might Bite is favourite but I don't think the form of
the King George looks that strong. Red has every chance and could be
overpriced.” The nine-year-old has won his last two races and is
being lined up for a Grand National tilt, but first he will aim to
dazzle at Cheltenham.
Melon
It
is hard to look past defending champion Buveur d’Air in the
Champion Hurdle as he has not lost since 2015 and is in magnificent
form. But there is real competition for the places and Melon looks
like he could well be in the mix, despite odds of 20/1. He won
the Grade 2 WKD Hurdle in November,
but has since lost out to Cheltenham contenders Supasundae and My
Tent Or Yours. He has struggled in elite company recently, but has
two second place finishes in Grade 1 contests at Cheltenham and
Leopardstown under his belt and he will be a dangerous opponent in
the main event on the first day of the Festival. Melon is a big,
strong horse and if he reaches his full potential he can certainly be
in the conversation as the runners charge up the final hill in the
Champion Hurdle.
Wholestone
Many
are predicting a straight fight between Supasundae and Sam Spinner in
the Stayers’ Hurdle, but write off Wholestone at your peril. Nigel
Twiston-Davies’ brown gelding features twice in Timeform’s list
of the top 10 hurdle performances this season, as does Sam Spinner.
They met in Chepstow in October, when Sam Spinner finished second and
Wholestone was fourth, but Wholestone was the better horse at the
weights. He has run really well on good ground, so if the rain holds
off next month Wholestone will be in with a great chance of upsetting
the favourites.
Ballyoptic
Another
runner from the Twiston-Davies stable, Ballyoptic, looks like an
intriguing dark horse for an open RSA Chase. Presenting Percy and
Monalee are the current favourites, but this race is anyone’s and
Ballyoptic is attracting some ante post action. He was last seen
winning the Grade 2 Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby on February
3, and he secured an impressive 13-length victory at Exeter in the
autumn. He is economical and well measured at the fences and seems to
improve as races develop, so he will be a strong contender at the
March Festival.
Cloudy
Dream
Ruth
Jefferson’s Cloudy dream was outstayed by Gold Cup hopeful Native
River in this month’s Denman Chase at Newbury, and she instantly
withdrew him from Gold Cup contention and pointed him at the Ryanair
Chase. That drop back in trip to 2 miles and 5 furlongs should suit
his strengths, and he is also likely to improve on spring ground.
Cloudy Dream has had 11 races over fences, and he has won three and
finished runner-up eight times. This season he has finished second in
all four races, so he looks a great each-way shout at 16/1 in the
Ryanair Chase.
Author
bio
Martin
Green is an experienced horse racing correspondent and tipster and
has been covering the Cheltenham Festival for many years.