2009 Smurfit Champion Hurdle Betting Tips: Binocular the Outright Favourite

The 2009 Cheltenham Festival Odds are starting to heat up as the ante-post prices for the races have all been released and there are a number of extremely lucrative betting opportunities available to discerning punters. Binocular is considered the out-and-out favourite for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle and you really have to favour him going into this race, especially considering his past performances. Binocular is the third-winningest horse during the 2008-2009 jumps season. The five-year old Binocular, who is trained by NJ Henderson and generally piloted by A P McCoy, won his last race in excellent fashion as he dominated the competition at Ascot, winning the Boylesports.com International with relative ease. The odds at Blue Square are always competitive when it comes to betting on the Cheltenham Festival and ante-post racing, in general. Binocular is listed at 5/4 and is some distance ahead of all the other horses. Osana is listed at 8/1 while Sublimity, Celestial Halo and Crack Away Jack are all sitting at 10/1. Just behind those three is Hurricane Fly and Katchit who are both down at 14/1. In terms of outside bets, I'm interested in Brave Inca for a potential show bet. I can't see him besting an in-form Binocular, but I expect the conditions at Cheltenham to favour Brave Inca to a certain extent and if he can get through the early hurdles in a competitive position, then he could be able to mount a late charge. With odds currently sitting at 16/1, Brave Inca could be a valuable addition to any trifectas or triactor bets. RECOMMENDATION: Back Binocular for the win at Blue Square (5/4)Back Sublimity each way with Blue Square (10/1)Back Brave Inca to Show (16/1)