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.
Big Zeb got the better of Master Minded last year in this one and they both return for round three with a Champion Chase apiece under their belts. This fixture is the de facto tie-breaker between the two but you have to wonder whether somebody else pops up to spoil the party?
The going will be a nearly textbook reproduction of what Big Zeb won over last year.
The only genuine blemish on Big Zeb’s race-record this year was when he was just beaten by Golden Silver not far from the line at Punchestown in Grade 2 action. Despite Big Zeb being a bit older he seems to be coming into form at the right time. He is hitting consistently at career-high figues while Binocular lags behind the form he demonstrated a year and a half ago. Still, he is winning relatively...
After Ruby Walsh’s opening day heroics at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival, it’s probably not a massive surprise that So Young is getting bet down extremely hard as punters look to exploit the Walsh/Mullins jockey-trainer combo to full effect. The pair were at 3/1 at the close of the first day and they are now trading at a 5/2 margin.
Both of his efforts this year were winning ones but you have to wonder whether punters will see another overbacked novice come up short again at this festival after a thorough gamble.
Oscars Well is just as good a horse as So Young and might even be better. He has drifted from 11/4 up to 7/2 – if he manages to get up to around 5/1 then that’s a tremendous price.
It was a rollicking day full of exciting races in the opening fixture of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival and it’s time to take a look at Wednesday’s big races in hopes to get a leg-up on the betting public. There looks to be plenty of value out there still and, if Ruby remains in form, it could be a banner day for the Irish.
We’re rolling after Al Ferof and Captain Chris both hit in the early half of the card – each commanding around 9/1. Khyber Kim didn’t show up in the Champion Hurdle while Garde Champetre was beaten by half a length after carrying what seemed like a 100 tonne weight penalty.
National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup
Some respectable contenders line up in this one and there’s all kinds of form if...
With just a few hours before the Cheltenham Roar, we’re taking one last final look at the opening day’s fixtures for the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. Stay tuned for the latest tips and analysis and be sure to check out our videos for a rapid-fire rundown of all the day’s races.
Supreme Novices
Cue Card doesn’t look particularly appealing from a payout perspective at 2/1 odds but it’s going to take an awful lot to beat him. You can’t hold the loss against Menorah against him as he really just came up against a horse that looks to be a class apart. Al Ferof will likely try to jump on the lead and he looks an interesting win-only shout at 8/1. The hot play might wind up being Marsh Warbler who was withdrawn from the JCB Triumph hurdle and...
We are extremely close to the kick off of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival and we’re going to be taking another quick look at the betting markets for the opening day’s action. Again, all of Ladbrokes odds are non-runner money back going into the festival. Some bookmakers are restricting the offer to just the Grade 1 races, but with the red bookies you can back everything from the Supreme Novices to the Gold Cup to the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase with the utmost confidence.
Supreme Novices Hurdle
Obviously Cue Card is the big one coming into this and his 2/1 price continues to hold, for now, betting novices can be tough and while he looks a step above many of the others here – a number of them continue to progress and with a field this deep you...
Obviously the biggest news at the moment heading into Cheltenham week is the withdrawal of leading Champion Hurdle fancy Binocular. This is another great example of why it pays to bet with Ladbrokes as they’ve been offering up non-runner no bet for quite some time now. This development comes on the heels of a recommendation from the BHA to conditioner Nicky Henderson. Apparently Binocular has been unable to shake an allergic reaction from two weeks back and medication used to help him overcome the illness would not have cleared his system by race time. Nice that they did the right thing by withdrawing him.
Menorah and Hurricane Fly are now the 7/2 joint favourites and, with Binocular out, they both look a bit more appealing from an odds perspective. Menorah will likely go...
Oscar Whisky is an interesting contender but I think this one comes just a bit too quick for him and he might have been better off tackling the Supreme Novices. 10/1 is far too short though a high-percentage win-ratio may convince some punters to opt for him. This is a big step up in quality though he has flourished over the surface in the past.
Khyber Kim strikes a decent balance between solid form against contenders at this level and a quality price to match. The Nigel Twiston-Davies charge was only sent out once this year, a disappointing fourth to Binocular back in January. He really didn’t look up to it on the day but he really does enjoy the Cheltenham surface so he’ll be a contender if he moves cleanly. He finished second last year, but it was a weaker race....
Attention turns to the Champion Hurdle in today’s edition and this is easily the marquee race of the festival’s opening day. Virtually all racing observers agree that this is a much tougher race this year and we’ve seen some bookmakers clip Binocular yet again – he now trades as low as 5/2. We’ll be examining the leading pack and the assorted outsiders who might be ready to make a statement in this one.
Binocular looks short at 5/2 and, with even Tony McCoy sounding a bit wary about his chances, I don’t expect him to be a supremely popular selection if the price continues to trend downwards. He was able to conquer last year’s race without much of an effort but expect a more talented cadre of challengers this time around. Credit where...
Welcome to day one of the four-day guide to the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. This guide was written to give you the basic information for all four days of the festival, and more in-depth information on the days’ major races.
Opening day at Cheltenham packs in three Grade 1 races, including the infamously energetic opening race: the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. To top it off, the fourth race of the day is none other than the 84-year old Champion Hurdle Challenge. To sum it up: the first day at Cheltenham sets the bar for the festival impressively high, a day not to be missed by the horse-racing fan.
Welcome to day two of the four-day guide to the 2011 Cheltenham Festival. This guide was written to give you the basic information for all four days of the festival, and more in-depth information on the days’ major races.
Despite day one setting the bar impressively high, day two at Cheltenham will do everything but disappoint. Three popular Grade 1 races take place here, including the legendary Queen Mother Champion Chase acting as the day’s anchor.
You can find links to days one, three and four at the bottom of the article....
