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With the Cheltenham Festival now officially behind us we are gearing up for the 2013 Grand National and beginning to take a serious look at the toughest puzzle that jumps racing has to offer. The annual event certainly has its critics but the fact remains that everybody and their gran will have a punt on this year and there is really no genuine prohibitive favourite with about three or four horses all sort of hovering around the same price.
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.
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...
We are finally getting closer to the big moment in the 2013 Cheltenham Festival - the Gold Cup. Friday’s action is set to bring an exciting festival to a close and there is plenty of quality punting to look forward to - as well as the big race that really looks to be one of the most open contests in quite a while.
The Champion Hurdle sets up nicely for Hurricane Fly and he’s taking the bulk of the money for this contest but it really looks like punters have lots of interesting options with Cinders And Ashes, Countrywide Flame and Khyber Kim lining up here. There is also the presence of Rock On Ruby to worry about as well.
Zarkandar continues to get support in this one and you’ll find him trading at 7/2, but it looks to be Hurricane Fly at 15/8 and Rock On Ruby, who flourished at Cheltenham last year, looking sharp at 9/2.
The Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy is a Grade 1 contest with only seven in the mix this time around. Simonsig looks to be the prohibitive favourite here and he is easily one of the key festival bankers.
Barry Geraghty will be in the irons again for the seven-year-old who has only lost once and that was a second place finish at Sandown back in 2011 in his first grade 2 novice hurdle effort.
Simonsig is odds-on at 8/13 and looks fairly sharp to get the result here with Overturn really looking like the only genuine spoiler. For punters here, they’re just...
The big date is finally upon us and we’re less than 24 hours away from the kick off of the de facto world championships of steeplechasing. These races unfolding over the next several days represent some of the best action over timber you can expect anywhere.
This event looks to be one of the most competitive in years with several fascinating plotlines developing in a number of key races but there’s also more than a few interesting betting opportunities in some of the lower profile contests as well so keeping your eye out for sharp each-way selections looks to be the order of the day throughout the entirety of...
Both of those contenders are entered in the JCB Triumph Hurdle and it appears as though that Leopardstown contest could emerge as a key race at Cheltenham this year. Our Conor is a slim 4/1 to take the Triumph Hurdle while Diakali is priced at 16/1 and looks likely to drop, having already conquered a tough Grade 3 race.
As the 2013 Cheltenham Festival draws nearer by the day, the ante post markets are nearly set to close and punters are looking to get in there big bets at potentially inflated prices. We’ve picked out a few of the best-looking outside fancies for Cheltenham glory and we’ve gone out of our way to look at races that are going to be ignored a bit - as that’s where you’re sometimes a bit more likely to find the serious each-way selections.
With Quevega being such an accomplished hurdler, it remains to be seen whether Une Artiste will even be able to take advantage of any openings’ presented to her, as the favourite simply tends to win so easily.
While Sprinter Sacre might be getting to fill Big Bucks’ shoes as the shortest odds of the entire Cheltenham Festival, he is certainly getting a run for his money from the ever-present Quevega in the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle. The defending champion from last year’s effort, secured by a ten length margin, has only had a solitary run so far this year but tends to flourish when campaigned this selectively.
Last year, Quevega won this contest off a nearly 11 month freshening as Ruby Walsh stepped back into the irons and showed that the previous years contest was no fluke. She’s won this race every single year since 2009 and, even though we will ultimately see a new champion mare emerge onto the hurdling circuit in years to come, you do...
