Welcome to the BettingChoice Horse Racing Blog. Here you'll find all the tips, insights and opinions for the world's biggest races including: Cheltenham, Breeders' Cup, Dubai Racing, the Grand National and more.
With the Hong Kong International Weekend at Sha Tin nearly upon us, the excitement for this big meeting is absolutely palpable. There is a lot to like about each of the four feature contests, but the opportunity for The Fugue to continue her marauding ways across the globe is going to have plenty of punters in the UK and Europe wearing their hearts on their sleeve as this talented filly takes on an accomplished group of international competitors.
The Fugue was probably one of the most heavily-hyped horses at this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita who didn’t actually win. Many European books had her at...
Her breeding suggests that she has plenty of class to develop as she gets older - out of an Anabaa mare, by Cockney Rebel. She will likely be right alongside Melodic Rendezvous looking to track My Tent Or Yours, if he chooses to go to the front.
9/1 on Grumeti will likely interest plenty of punters as the Grade 1 winner of the 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree. With a price nearing double digits making him a very comfortable each-way selection. He followed up that over hurdles with a winning effort on the flat at Ascot then coming in second at Goodwood in a...
One of the things that may give an edge in this race is the fact that he’s already been out once so far this season - conquering a Grade 2 contest at Wincanton when sent off as the 9/2 second choice. He is right in the middle of a solid purple patch and punters will find him looking for his fifth win on the bounce.
It will be a Newcastle debut for the vast majority of the contenders here and you have to wonder what their overall abilities are on this tricky 2m course. He is a Grade 1 winner having...
One of the best 2m chases of the season is set to kick off on Saturday as My Tent Or Yours is set to command the vast bulk of the betting market in his bid to continue his excellent hurdling career. The talented Nicky Henderson-trained contender has taken plenty of ante post volume in the build up to this one and many consider him head and shoulders above the rest of these jumpers.
You’d have to reckon that, out of the pair of favourites, you would side with Lord Windermere as he’s simply won better races. Rocky Creek is also unraced at Newbury and lost his last effort of the past season to finish 3/6 to Dynaste in the Grade 2 Mildmay Novices’ Chase.
Rocky Creek does stand out from a ratings perspective and it will be interesting to see what type of tactics they adopt for him in this contest. It’s interesting that Daryl Jacob gets on Rocky Creek while Ruby Walsh will opt for one of the other key contenders Prince De Beauchene, who comes out of Willy Mullins yard.
One of the big betting handicaps of the year kicks off on Saturday at Newbury as the Grade 3 Hennessy Gold Cup boasts a tremendous line-up of quality contenders and the betting choice competing to go off at 8/1. At the moment, we have Lord Windermere and Rocky Creek battling it out for the role of punters choice, but this extremely deep handicap contest makes the race a fascinating puzzle to solve and you can expect plenty of very interesting swings in the odds as we get closer to the off in the Hennessy Gold Cup Chase.
Look for Southfield Theatre to be one of the feathers in Paul Nicholls’ caps on the day. Also coming off a victory on seasonal debut, this five year old son of King’s Theatre has captured four wins from five races and looks to be able to handle the step up in quality that he will face here. This is a horse that not only finds the line each time, but tends to deliver when taking money.
Silver Eagle was a beaten favourite last time out and it broke a two-race win-streak that had him setting up nicely for this contest. His last run was creditable and he...
Expect to see Godsmejudge go off as the betting favourite here and, if you can get a decent price, he may be worth an each way selection as he has only finished outside of the top 3 on two occasions during his last nine races. He captured the Scottish Grand National and will be using this race as his seasonal debut. Alan King places his contenders well and he has every chance against this field.
The Paddy Power Gold Cup Chase is the feature contest of the day and there are a real slew of excellent jumpers set to tackle this race with a full two-stone handicap between the top...
The second race of the day at Cheltenham is a Class 2 novice chase that has a few talented contenders set to run - take a look at Shutthefrontdoor, who has been a reliable sort most of the time and could certainly justify a short price. You reckon that many punters will be using him as their nap of the day and including him in a variety of multi-race wagers. He still gets a 3 lb break on the top weight White Star Lane and is likely to get AP.
We are finally getting into the interesting part of the National Hunt season as the key festival preps begin kicking off this weekend. The Open Meeting at Cheltenham is set to unfold and there is a lot to like about this stellar six race card that will unfold in the Cotswolds. Many popular names reappear for seasonal debuts but there are also quite a few coming back for their second kick at the can after a September or October prep under their belt.
The first race of the day is a fascinating one as it’s a 3yo restricted hurdle trial that serves as a qualifier for the JCB Triumph Hurdle. This juvenile clash has a few...
