2014 Betfair Chase Betting Tips PT 1

The journey to the biggest race at the Cheltenham Festival kicks off in earnest on the 22nd of November as the most significant chasers in the UK and Ireland converge on Haydock Park to contest the latest iteration of the Betfair Chase. This 3m1f contest is always viewed as the early season kingmaker for horses who are housing serious Cheltenham Gold Cup aspirations and you can count on them pushing it all the way to make that statement at this young time in the National Hunt calendar. 

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE BET WITH BET365!

There is a lot of talent on display here and there are a number of significant price variances across bookmakers with some horses appearing to be well-fancied at certain books - trading around 6/1 - while the same horse will be trading at nearly double the price across the street at another shop. 

It’s worth keeping your eye on the ante post market for the 2014 Betfair Chase for a while before making any genuinely prominent wagers as a number of these horses also boast co-entries for bigger races around Christmas time and they may opt to pick off a weaker contest and then make a big play for something like the King George. 

The current market leader appears to be Cue Card, who is just edging Dynaste and Silviniaco Conti at various bookmakers. This is especially interesting when you consider the fact that Cue Card didn’t actually win his debut race this year and has actually been off the track since last year’s King George - when he was bested by Silviniaco Conti by a three-and-a-half length margin. 

In his seasonal debut at Exeter he was carrying top weight in a handicap chase Grade 2 affair and came up a disappointing fifteen lengths off the pace - finishing fourth behind the ultimate winner God’s Own. He was sent off as the very lukewarm 13/8 favourite in the wagering that day and that might have been a clue from connections that this horse needed the race. He has won that race in previous years but was odds-on to do so and you get the feeling that he might be sharper next time out.