THE NIGHTINGALE TIPPED TO IMPRESS AT BALLYMORE HURDLE IN THE 2009 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL

Since several top online bookmakers have begun offering up money-back specials that pay out on a Cousin Vinny victory in the 2009 Ballymore Properties Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, we've seen a large volume of bets shifting towards longer-odds horses in the ante-post markets. Deposit between £10 and £100, make a win single bet and Blue Square will credit your account with a matched FREE BET up to £100!One of the highest volume horses on the betting exchanges has been The Nightingale, a Paul Nicholls prodigy who has a rather mysterious reputation as one of the lower-profile horses in the Nicholls yard. With two wins and a place out of 4 career starts, all in the hurdles format, we've seen The Nightingale win with both Christian Williams and Liam Heard on top. With odds in the region of 10/1 on most popular bookmakers, you're seeing a lot of volume heading towards this horse, possibly thanks to the Nicholls stables stellar reputation at Cheltenham, which is never a bad strategy but I remain unconvinced about the Nightingale especially up against Cousin Vinny. His victory at Taunton during the Leath Jewellers and Valuers Challenge Trophy back in November was an undisputed masterpiece where he dominated the field from post to finish line. His first win at Wincanton back in December of 07 was similar and it seems as though The Nightingale is at his best when he isn't being challenged. I think the competition is going to be much tougher than he is used to and his experience in his only graded race saw him lose as a distant second to Mad Max, who is also slated to run in the Ballymore Properties Hurdle. A slip-up at Exeter last October only compounds the issue. I would advise punters that there are smarter bets than The Nightingale, but if your bookmaker is offering up a money-back special on Cousin Vinny, than the 10/1 you're looking at here could be well worth your money.