Horse racing betting: Hennessy ante-post betting

Denman continues to be all the rage on Betfair for the Hennessy at Newbury on Saturday, and he is now trading at just over 4/1 (5.2) on the exchange after Monday's five-day entry stage saw him topping the list of 31 acceptors.

It would have been interesting to see how the Cheltenham Gold Cup 5/1 second favourite would have fared against Kauto Star and Exotic Dancer on his favoured soft ground at Haydock last weekend, but clearly many punters feel that the decision to wait a week is a wise move.

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He is two from two at Newbury, built to carry big weights and the class horses have tended to come to the fore in recent Hennessey's.

Abragante is the 11/2 second favourite to atone for his balloting-out near-miss in the Paddy Power, and New Alco is third best at 13/2. The latter won well at Carlisle earlier in the month and has been matched at a high of 94/1 in Betfair's ante-post market.

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin commented: "Currently, there is a £1,000 back bet waiting to be matched on Denman at 5.3 on the site, which suggests that even the general 4/1 quotes elsewhere could come under pressure this week."

To win the Hennessy – Betfair bet: 4/1 Denman, 11/2 Abragante, 13/2 New Alco, 19/2 Snowy Morning, 14/1 Mossbank, Character Building, Patsy Hall, 24/1 Dream Alliance, 27/1 Sir Rembrandt, 29/1 Dom D'Orgeval, Alderburn, 33/1 Slim Pickings

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