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Court By Surprise was pulled up in this race last year but should kick on nicely after knocking on the door in his past few. There is a lot to like about his ability to get the job done and it’s worth keeping your eyes on his price - which is now 11/2 but is certain to fall quite quickly. It is worth noting that many bookmakers have recently taken Monbeg Dude in to 4/1 from 11/2.
Godsmejudge certainly has his followers but will be coping with a top weight after being pulled up last time out. Jonjo O’Neill’s Storm Survivor was recently trimmed...
There is a really solid Scoop6 card kicking off tomorrow around 3pm at Doncaster with plenty of interesting races to be deciphered and a conspicuous lack of massive fields that are impossible to navigate. Look for this one to have a very solid jackpot well into the million range and plenty of punters coming out of the woodwork to tackle this dual jumps/all weather card.
The first contest of the day is the 2:55 at Doncaster with no real discernible favourite to be taken from this one. Simply Ned has the position as outright choice right now with a 4/1 listing...
Look for Double Ross around 14/1 with most major bookmakers - this puts him right up in the mix and, though he has entries for other races, this is likely to be where he winds up as Nigel Twiston-Davies can place his horses well and will be looking to pay the bills not make headlines with this horse.
There are no genuine stand-out contenders in the Byrne Group and it is sort of a catch-all race for horses who are Grade 3 or Grade 2 winners who aren’t really at the top of their game. Double Ross eats jumpers like that for breakfast and we expect him to...
It will be interesting to see what his price does on the day, but we firmly expect him to put in a good pre-race appearance so that might see his odds drop considerably as we get closer to the off. Watch out for a few late withdrawals here as well as there are several solid contenders who still boast entries for other contests. With non-runner no-bet being offered by many UK-based books its worth getting on now just to lock in good prices on the horses you know aren’t going anywhere else.
He’ll be in sharper form in the spring, he always is, and you can throw out that last race after Christmas as the ground didn’t really suit him and he didn’t look up for the trip, it being his third contest of the season already. He does best when given a lengthy...
The each-way bet is one of the most reliable wagers in all of punting and the Cheltenham Festival is one of the best places to tuck into a few hefty e/w’s because you’re looking at big odds in nearly every single race. As always, getting things right involves making a proper selection but also getting value for money. Far too often, a new punter will make an each-way bet on a very short odds horse around 4/1 or 5/1 - that’s not how you want to play an each-way wager.
Generally, a proper each-way bet is double digits with many punters considering 16/1 to be where they start playing serious each-way selections. Some punters will go down to 12/1 and others will even take a stab at high single digits but the true value of the bet shines through once you get...
The likes of Champagne Fever, Don Cossack, Annacotty, Le Bec and Just A Par are all interesting outside options who will likely see plenty of each-way action if their prices continue to hold around that level.
Shutthefrontdoor is a 25/1 shot here but that is likely having more to do with his likelihood of lining up in the Amateur Riders’ Novice Chase instead - where is is a 12/1 option and is less likely to face Sam Winner - who finished well ahead of him last time out.
The RSA Chase is increasingly looking like it’s going to be one of the better contests of the entire Cheltenham Festival with the favourite, Balleycasey undefeated this year and priced as low as 4/1 for festival glory. He was able to open up his account at Navan back in late November with an eight length score and then he was able to topple two other contenders to secure the Dr. P.J. Moriarty Chase over Don Cossack in what turned out to be a match race with Carlingford Lough unseated Tony McCoy at the last just when things were getting really interesting.
There was definitely some reshuffling of the odds on Sunday after a very pivotal weekend in National Hunt racing as several key contenders had their final tune-ups before festival time. Things are getting especially interesting in the ante post market for the Champion Chase as the highest-rated star in chasing, Sprinter Sacre, was officially withdrawn from contention after connections declared that he wasn’t showing his usual panache and opted to skip Cheltenham.
With the festival just a few weeks away it’s getting really interesting as bookmakers continue to unveil new markets and some exciting special offers to make one of the biggest four days of punting anywhere in the world even more enticing. There have been some very big declarations made as the last big day of festival preps unfolded on February 22nd. It’s worth examining some of the betting markets and some of the ante post offerings to see who’s going to give the best value.
Regardless, Big Buck’s should win if he can run back to anything resembling his past form - particularly if Annie Power opts for the better choice in the Mares Hurdle. Expect that price to plummet quite quickly on any news of that happening. In fact, the price will probably drop before its announced as insiders will be lumping on Big Buck’s.
The last big banker of the Cheltenham Festival this year looks to be last year’s Champion Bobs Worth, who is now priced as low as 7/4 with many major bookmakers. He comes in off a bit of a vindication in his second start of the season. His first attempt back in the Betfair...
