2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup Betting Preview Part 2

He has defeated several who are going to be lining up here so should have little in his way if he truly runs his best ever race. From a ratings standpoint, he is certainly the way to go. 

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Punters will find Silviniaco Conti at a proper price as well with a 9/2 listing being floated. Long Run trades at 5/1 while Willy Mullins charge Sir Des Champs is attracting plenty of attention and has seen his price drop down to 7/2. There is a lot to like about Sir Des Champs, but most of the excitement about him is based off his score last year - not his up-and-down record this year. He did score at Grade 1 level at Leopardstown last time out but had some fairly forgettable runs earlier in the year. 

Sir Des Champs completed a festival double last year by taking the Jewson and then scoring again at Punchestown in the Growise Champion Novice Chase. 

Captain Chris boasts a quality price of around 12/1 and he’s really going to be competitive for this one if he runs his race. This is definitely a horse who knows how to deliver on a big occasion and he very nearly got the better of Long Run at Kempton on Boxing Day. He didn’t have the best of festivals last year when he finished fourth to Riverside Theatre in the Ryanair Chase, but he did get the better of Finian’s Rainbow to take the Arkle back in 2011. 

The Giant Bolster is more or less the definition of a there-or-thereabouts type and he finished second in this race last year. All of his career victories actually seem to happen at Cheltenham so it’s definitely worth a bash here and also worth playing him in the forecast markets each-way. He looks to be getting better as he runs against higher-quality company and no longer gets beat by the likes of Carruthers. 

He trades at 12/1 alongside Cape Tribulation. 

Sunnyhillboy has seen his price trimmed from 33s to 25/1 while Bog Warrior continues to hold at 33/1. Monbeg Dude and Wayward Prince fill out the card at 66/1. 

VERDICT: Silviniaco Conti over The Giant Bolster.