Cheltenham Festival

The Cheltenham Gold Cup betting odds are suggesting that there will be only one outcome in Friday’s big horse race. Stablemates Denman and Kauto Star go at it again on Friday in the Cheltenham Festival showcase, and Kauto Star is leading the betting. Kauto Star beat the field in last year’s event and he goes again to try and complete a trio of Gold Cup triumphs. The last three results in the illustrious three mile and two furlong race, goes like this: Kauto Star, Denman and then Kauto Star. Will Denman go against the odds this year, as Kauto Star goes off as favourite? Can Denman break Kauto Star’s dominance, or will his stable mate streak ahead and grab all of the headlines once more?

Out of the eleven runners in the race, there is no thought of anyone but Kauto Star or Denman, both trained by Paul Nicholls, getting either of their noses across the finish line first. Such is the class of the two horses, they will draw the lions share of the betting between them, and even Mon Mome, who won the Grand National out of the blue last year, is not expected to get any kind of a look in. There’s no real surprise there, as the chances of pulling off another major long shot victory, is just that. A very long shot. This is also a clash of two of the best jockey’s on the circuit, with Ruby Walsh going on Kauto Star and Tony McCoy on challenger Denman. If Kauto Star wins again, he will join a very exclusive list of great champions of Cheltenham.

Kauto Star will go to the tape as favourite, as he has been in fine form during his preparation, notably picking up a victory on Boxing Day in the King George Chase. There is much discussion going on in the horse racing betting world, as to whether Kauto Star is actually better than he has ever been. Even discussions of that is daunting for other runners. Kauto Star is the one that Denman has to beat. Denman has proven before that he can beat the best, although he will start as the underdog in the two horse race that is the 2010 Gold Cup. Denman, who threw McCoy on their last outing, is more scrappy than his opponent Kauto Star, and needs more nursing around the track than his more accomplished friend. There is also doubts about Tony McCoy’s health ahead of the big race. He will be tested to see if he is fit enough, after taking two falls already during the week. If he can’t make it, who can step up to take on the duty of the big charge?

Are there are any other serious contenders in the race? The only one who could come close and is well worth an each way bet is Imperial Commander. He gave Kauto Star a really good run for his money at the end of last year, and if he produces a big race, he could well be in for a top three finish as he has phenomenal endurance and has won over the Cheltenham jumps three times, so has good experience at the course. He would also be a popular winner for local trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, but is prone to erratic jumping. The only other name of note will be the Irish contender Cooldine, who is an up and coming chaser. May not have the experience, but can run and has seemed to have conquered a steep learning curve. It will need a great race though to try get ahead of the Nicholls pairing of Kauto Star and Denman.

Denman: Raced 20, Won 15, Gold Cups 1
Kauto Star: Raced 33, W20, Gold Cups 2

Kauto Star – 8/11 at Paddy Power
Denman – 5/1 at Ladbrokes
Imperial Commander – 15/2 at Bet365
Cooldine – 9/1 at Coral
Tricky Trickster – 13/1 at Boylesports
Carruthers – 66/1 at Ladbrokes
Calgary Bay – 66/1 at SportingBet
My Will – 100/1 at Blue Square
Mon Mome – 150/1 at Coral
Mr Pointment – 5001/ at William Hill
Cerium – 500/1 at Bet365

William Hill are offering punters the chance of up to £35 worth of free bets as part of their Cheltenham Special. This is an offer for people opening new accounts with the online bookmaker, and for those who are current account holders. If you are needing to open an account, there is still time to get on board for Friday’s marvellous Gold Cup showcase. Friday is the last day of the Cheltenham Festival, and the big race is at 3.20, which sees stable mates Denman and Kauto Star go head to head again for Gold Cup glory.

Simply open an account if you do not have one by following the William Hill link here, and entering the special promo code CH60. To qualify for the free bets, place a £20 win (or a £10 each way) on any of Friday’s racing at Cheltenham and you can earn yourself a free £5 In Play Bet. For example, if you have a punt on Kauto Star to retain the Gold Cup, then your reward will be a £5 free bet on the Ireland v Scotland Six Nations match on Saturday. If you place a qualifying bet on the 5.15 at Cheltenham, the last race of the festival, then you can earn a free £5 Live In Play bet on Man Utd v Liverpool. So each race has a reward for a specific market of sporting action, so check out the table to see what rewards you can get. With 7 races going on the last day of the Cheltenham Festival, you can earn yourself up to £35 worth of free bets with William Hill.

Highlight Gold Cup Prices at William Hill
Kauto Star – 8/11
Denman – 9/2
Imperial Commander – 15/2
Cooldine – 17/2

So, if you want some free bets for the big sporting weekend ahead, then head on over to William Hill. This excellent online bookmaker provides a fantastic horse racing section, with spotlight guides for each horse coming straight from the Racing Post. William Hill TV is the place to catch the action, and account holders can gain access on a race-by-race basis, by simply placing at least a £5 single bet (each way bets and multiples vary, so check on their qualifying bet matrix for more info) on the race that you want to watch. WHTV covers all UK and Irish racing. William Hill also offer Best Odds Guaranteed on all of their races, which means that you won’t have to worry about your horses price shortening by the time it takes the tape. If you take an early price or a board price on a selection, then you will be guaranteed those odds if your horse comes in, even if its draws more betting and is a shorter starting price than what you selected it as.

Right, let’s get it over with! The day all national hunt racing fans have been looking forward to all season is finally here. It’s the Cheltenham Gold Cup match-up between defending champion Kauto Star and the horse he deposed, Denman - but is it really a two-horse race? You see, I just have a sneaking suspicion that their stablemate could trouble both. The form book suggests Kauto Star (8-11 with Paddy Power and Stan James) should really win, after all he decimated the opposition in winning a fourth King George at Kempton on Boxing Day and pundits are suggesting the quicker ground at The Festival will favour him much more than Denman. The latter’s jumping has also become unpredictable, which has to be a worry around Cheltenham though, to be fair, Denman (a general 4-1) has always run well at the track before. Then there’s that stablemate we talked of before. Tricky Trickster (22-1 on betfair) was largely viewed as the yard’s Grand National horse before he won the Aon Chase at Newbury but who’s to say he wouldn’t have collared Denman if the latter had stayed on his feet that day. Lightly-raced, proven around Cheltenham and still only a seven-year-old, Tricky Trickster may well be the future for the Nicholls‘ yard. I said in my Cheltenham preview that Alaivan was my banker of my week in the JCB Triumph Hurdle and nothing has changed my mind. The general 4-1 looks a decent price to me for a gelding with a big future over hurdles now he’s learned to settle. I’m convinced Edward O’Grady‘s charge will reverse Leopardstown running with Carlito Brigante (9-2 with sportingbet and Ladbrokes) on this stiffer track. Bellvano side-stepped the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for the Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle and could be interesting at 11-1 with Victor Chandler and Stan James, while David Pipe has already landed two big handicaps this week and has great prospects of a third win in the race named in honour of his father. The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle would be at the mercy of Ashkazar ( a general 6-1) off a mark of 136 if he returned to anything like his old form. Finally, for this year at least, watch out for Sericina in the Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup. Chloe Roddick‘s mare has a tall reputation in the west country and won very easily on her debut under rules at Taunton – she could be a real star in the making and has been attractively priced at 12-1 by Coral.

Bookmakers must already have booked next year’s holiday on the strength of results on the opening two days at the Cheltenham Festival. Ante-post bankers Dunguib and Master Minded have already bitten the dust and layers are now looking for Big Bucks to fail in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle. Paul Nicholls’ seven-year-old has been unbeaten over timber since his chase career was put on hold, grinding out success in this 12 months ago when Powerstation and Fair Along, rivals again this time around, were in arrears. On all known form, there looks to be only one winner but his price (now a best 8-11 with sportingbet, Paddy Power and William Hill) has been on the slide a little lately and he isn’t a stayer blessed with a great change of gear. As the ground gets faster, the favourite may be vulnerable to something with more speed and Katchit fits the bill on that score. Alan King’s compact gelding, already a winner of the Triumph Hurdle and Champion Hurdle, may have finished behind Tidal Bay (8-1 on Betfair) and Sentry Duty (a general 14-1) in recent runs at Cheltenham but both of those races were on soft ground. Good going will suit Katchit better than most and he looks a decent each-way bet at a general 20-1 to enhance a fabulous Festival record. Whatever Big Bucks‘ fate, his trainer should have already had a winner on the card via Alfie Sherrin in the Pertemps Final. Hugely impressive when scoring in a well-contested handicap over this trip at Newbury last time, this lightly-raced sort has the scope to defy an 8lbs higher mark and I’d recommend taking the currently available 7-2. Despite being on general offer at 28-1, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Scotsirish go close in the Ryanair Chase for Willie Mullins, while Tanks For That is interesting in the Jewson Novices’ Handicap Chase. Only beaten two lengths by 139-rated stablemate You’re The Top at Huntingdon last month, a mark of 135 is therefore not excessive and Ladbrokes may have erred in pricing him up at 25-1. I must, however, also also pass on a good word for Ferdy Murphy‘s The Hollinwell (9-1 with Coral) in the opener. A strapping sort, he jumps really well for a novice and may be hard to pass if allowed an easy lead.

It was honours even between England and Ireland after day one of the Cheltenham Festival, though the Irish would have been despondent after Dunguib‘s defeat in the opener and they would also have hoped for a better showing from their leading hopes in the Champion Hurdle. In the end Binocular, who wasn’t even going to run up to a few weeks ago, strode to a convincing success under Tony McCoy and is a general 4-1 to repeat his success in 2011. The feature on the second day is the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase in which Master Minded, bidding for a hat-trick in the race, is a hot favourite. Paul Nicholls‘ chaser, 10-11 with bet365, totesport and Victor Chandler, hasn’t impressed everyone this season, however, suffering a surprise defeat by Well Chief over C&D in November and not jumping with any degree of fluency despite reversing that form with Mahogany Blaze at Newbury last month. There are far stronger odds-on chances running at the meeting this week and I’d be comfortable taking on Master Minded. Stablemate Twist Magic, 15-2 with Paddy Power and Stan James, has won two Grade One events this winter and is in much better form then when falling in this 12 months ago, while I wouldn’t rule out Forpadyplasterer (a general 10-1) or Kalahari King (widely available at 9-2). The pair were first and second in the Arkle Chase last season and both seem to have been trained with this race in mind. Diamond Harry (7-1 with Ladbrokes) is still a work in progress but more than capable of making a race with it with strongly-fancied Nicky Henderson pair Long Run and Punchestowns (a general 2-1 and 11-4 respectively) in the RSA Chase. Mobaasher (a general 12-1) is an interesting runner in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Chase but the day’s value bet could be in the Coral Cup. Wishfull Thinking has only had three runs over hurdles but has won them all and, though this is his biggest test to date, his latest win at Exeter has already been franked and promising conditional rider Giles Hawkins takes a valuable 5lbs off his back here. I like the look of Ladbrokes‘ 16-1, though a big danger will be Deutschland who has been well backed and is now as short as 8-1 in most places.

1.30pm
Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle
2m 1/2f
This has been all about Irish star Dunguib ever since it was announced he was running. The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle favourite romped home again on Sunday, proving that he has a style and swagger that pretty much makes him untouchable. It is no wonder he is at such short odds, while the rest of the field already, jading by some of the prices around, are chasing lost causes. Dubguib will have Brian O’Connell on his back, and his nearest challengers. If there are any flaws that may trip him up, is that  his jumping can get a little wayward at times, but his performances over the jumps seriously has competition fearing the worst, that being a race for second place. The strongest challenge is likely to come from Jonjo O’Neill’s Get Me Out of Here, while Oscar Whisky, trained by Nicky Henderson could push on for top three finishes. The race for the finishing spots could actually play out quite close, with good outside bets lying in Blackstairmountain and Menorah.
Dunguib – Evens at SportingBet
Get Me Out of Here – 5/1 at Bet365
Oscar Whisky – 10/1 at BetFred
Blackstairmountain – 12/1 at SportingBet
Menorah – 12/1 at Totesport

3.20pm
Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy
2m 1/2f
Not too much to choose from in the big feature race of the day. This is the showcase of the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, and it should be a great race, as it is fairly difficult to pick an out and out favourite, unlike the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The one horse that will attract a lot of interest, especially nearer starting time, is Go Native. The earlier the price you can get on, the better you will be, especially with most online bookmakers offering guaranteed prices. Whether Go Native is head and shoulders above the rest of the field, there is a doubt, but it is the one horse out of a close pack that probably has the edge of things going right. Go native won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s Cheltenham festival and has gone on to complete a couple of impressive victories. He has been rested well, and with Paul Carberry on his back, they duo should be in with a great shout, especially with the finishing speed.
Go Native – 9/2 at Ladbrokes
Sol whit – 13/2 at Blue Square
Punjabi – 7/1 at Boylesports
Khyber Kim – 8/1 at BetFred
Binocular – 8/1 at 888Sport
Celestial Halo – 9/1 at Bet365
Medermit – 9/1 at Coral

With the arrival of the Cheltenham Festival, one of the biggest horse racing betting occasions of the year, comes the chance for Bookmakers to step up their competition for custom. This will pay off for the punter, as there are some great betting promotions to take advantage of, including the big race of the week itself, the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup will see the next big showdown between Kauto Star and Denman, and jockey’s Ruby Walsh and Tony McCoy respectively. However, before all that, there are plenty of competitive races on the cards at Cheltenham, and that means plenty of betting action, even if you can’t make it the Gloucestershire track. The first race to get underway on Tuesday, as ever, is the Supreme Novice Hurdle. This one is dominated by the unbeaten Irish star Dunguib, who becomes the centre of attention for Cheltenham Festival betting promotions, as well as the race itself. Being the curtain raiser for the festival, the race obviously draws a lot of attention, as punters want to get off to a winning start. The Supreme Novice Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup are the feature races of the week, with some of the most famous names in horse racing showing their colours.

Kauto Star won the Gold Cup last year, equalling the tally of success against each other at 1-1 with stable mate Denman. Kauto Star goes into the race as favourite, simply because of his outstanding form, notably winning the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. The Gold Cup is not just about the horses themselves, there is also jockey and trainer pride at stake, with trainer Paul Nicholls teaming up with premier jockey’s Ruby Walsh, who is going on Kauto Star, and Tony McCoy going on Denman. Even the Queen is getting in on the action, as her horse, Barbers Shop goes in the Ryanair Chase on Wednesday.

Online Bookmaker Bet365 is leading the way again, with the outstanding offer of giving the best price on all horses all week. Better still, as the horse racing fever grips the nation, this promotion is not just extended to the Cheltenham Festival, it covers every race across the UK during this week. All UK race meetings during the Cheltenham Festival week are covered by this Bet365 promotion, which means that they will guarantee to match, or better any odds on any horse, at any meeting. This promotion runs the whole week, from March 15th to March 21st, and along with their generous welcome bonus of up to £200 in free bets, horse racing fans will be well advised to make the most of this. Bet365 will give the Best Price over many other online bookmakers, and the usual service of Best Odds Guaranteed (which means that if your horse price shortens from an early board price to a smaller starting price, then Bet365 will still give you the longer price). On top  of that again, is Bet365’s great 4/1 promotion. With this promotion, if you back a winner at a price of 2/1 or greater which is shown live on Channel 4 Racing, then you will earn yourself a free bet, matching the original stake of the first one. If your free bet backs another winner at 4/1 or greater, then you can get yet another free bet!

SportingBet may well be worth stopping by as well, for they are offering refunds on stakes for any faller during the Cheltenham Festival. The online bookmaker have launched their impressive Cheltenham Micro Site, which is packed full of features, a blog, race previews, video and of course promotions. Along with their Faller Refund promotion, SportingBet are offering punters a treat with their Five a Day offer. Their Cheltenham Micro Site will offer punters five special bonuses each and every day of the Cheltenham festival, and these will be things like enhanced odds, enhanced doubles and single race offers. There could be some real goodies to pick up in here, and the new promotions will appear each day after 10 am. The race cards are already up, so it’s a good time to go and scour the site to see the early market prices for the Supreme Novices Hurdle which opens the festival at

For the Supreme Novices Hurdle, Paddy Power are going all out for the race, offering their “This Banker Won’t Swindle You” promotion for the festival opener. This money back special will refund all losing outright bets, if unbeaten favourite Dunguib romps home first, as expected. This Paddy Power promotion covers both “Win” and “Each Way” bets on the race, as when taken as singles only (not part of accumulators or anything.) The offer only extends to the “Win part of an each way bet”. There is a maximum on this which is £200 per customer, so you will be covered, and even if the favourite doesn’t run, the next favourite at the starting line will simply replace him for the promotion

Skybet have a special offer going on every race of the Cheltenham Festival. This all starts with Tuesday’s Supreme Novice Hurdle as well, and they are going with an extra place race for this one, meaning that they will pay out on the first four finishers, as opposed to the usual three. Other races on day one will also have this offer, and some of them will have extra value applied to them instead with enhanced odds. There is also a Gold Cup challenge, where punters can win their share of £5,000 in free bets. All you need to do for this Skybet promotion is to predict the 1-2-3 finish for the big race of the week. The spotlight is firmly on the perennial showdown between Kauto Star and Denman, but who will be the third factor in Friday’s big race? Check out SkyBet for daily promotions on all the horse racing betting from the Cheltenham Festival.

The new and improved Totesport are rewarding their punters for picking winners. You can win yourself a free daily bet when you back a winner at odds of 5/1 or greater. This applies to any race from the Festival which is shown live on Channel 4. With the new look of Totesport, which has made navigation of their site easier and has integrated stats and from The Racing Post, the online bookmaker is backing the stats from last year’s Cheltenham Festival, which saw 19 winners from the 26 festival races come in at odds of 5/1 or greater. Simply pick one out again this year, and you’ll bank yourself a free bet to use on the next day of the festival.

Ladbrokes, who have also undergone a face lift recently are offering a Free £10 bet for all internet customers. This is also linked to the festival opener, the Supreme Novice Hurdle, for when customers, existing and new ones place a single bet to the value of £20 or more on Tuesday’s big race, then you will be entitled to a free £10 bet on Tuesday’s 4.40 race. This is great value if you are already going to be placing a wager, which will probably be going on Irish favourite Dunguib for the Supreme Novice Hurdle. What better way to open your Cheltenham Festival betting than with a winner and a free bet to boot? These are just some of the Cheltenham Festival offers going at the moment, check out your online bookmaker to see what free bets and promotions you can make the most of.

Pin badges, tea-towels, car stickers or t-shirts. Take your pick of the merchandise and choose your corner for the big fight between Kauto Star and Denman! To my mind, the Cheltenham Festival is just too big to narrow it down to one race between two stablemates but the Gold Cup bandwagon has been on the roll for a while now and evryone seems to have an opinion about who will come out on top. For me, that has to be Kauto Star (7-10 with sportingbet). He trounced Denman (a general 4-1) here last year and has won both races since, edging out Imperial Commander (9-1 with Paddy Power and William Hill) when not fully wound up on his reapperarance this season at Haydock before routing the opposition in a fourth King George at Kempton in December. What would worry me about Denman is that he’s failed to complete in two of his last three starts and may be lacking a little confidence whereas Kauto Star appears to have improved in that department as he’s matured. The Gold Cup, of course, is just one of several championship races this week. Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle is a fascinating contest – what will current favourite Go Native (4-1 with sportingbet) find when pressed, for example, and how fit is the other great Irish hope Solwhit (13-2 with the same firm)? I wouldn’t desert Punjabi (8-1 with Coral), who will relish the quicker ground and showed his class when winning this 12 months ago. The Queen Mother Champion Chase will determine whether Master Minded (10-11 with totesport) retains his title as Europe’s top two-mile chaser. Paul Nicholls‘ seven-year-old probably has the lightly-raced Kalahari King (a general 5-1) and last year’s Arkle winner Forpadydeplasterer (a general 9-1) to beat, though the Ditcheat handler is also expecting a big run from Master Minded‘s stable companion Twist Magic (widely available at 7-1). The Irish hold a strong hand in the Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase with Captain Cee Bee (a general 11-4), winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Festival in 2008, a leading fancy. He would have gone very close to beating Sizing Europe (5-1 in most places) at Leopardstown on Boxing Day had he not fallen at the last and has won since. Somersby (4-1 with most layers), unbeaten over fences so far, looks the pick of the home defence in this. Big Bucks is hard to oppose again the World Hurdle (a general 8-13) but what’s my value banker of the meeting? For that, I’m waiting for Friday and the Triumph Hurdle. Alaivan may have been well beaten by Carlito Brigante (5-1 in most places) at Leopardstown in December but he pulled much too hard that day. He was really impressive when ridden with more restraint at Fairyhouse last month and, Group standard on the Flat, can outclass his rivals in the final-day opener. Edward O’Grady‘s charge can be backed at a general 4-1.

SportingBet are kicking off their Cheltenham festival horse racing betting, with a special refund promotion. The online bookmaker, who launch their Cheltenham Micro-site on Friday in anticipation of another great festival, will refund stakes if your horse falls during any race of the Cheltenham Festival. All of the racing action starts with the Supreme Novice hurdles on Tuesday, March 16th with all of the betting leaning towards unbeaten red hot favourite Dunguib. The Irish entrant is already a short price at 10/11 with SportingBet, with the main contender being Get Me Out Of Here, who is back at 11/2.

The SportingBet Cheltenham Micro-Site promises plenty of horse racing betting promotions for the Cheltenham festival, which of course culminates in the Gold Cup showdown on Friday between Denman (4/1) and Kauto Star (6/4). Along with great features, you will of course be able to get the best of the SportingBet horse racing prices, as well No Runner No Bet feature on all of the races. One of the biggest racing dates on the calendar, head on over to SportingBet to follow all of the action. SportingBet already provide great coverage on horse racing, including a radio service and a wonderful stats section.

There are just two weeks until the Cheltenham Festival, when the horse racing betting fans go wild, If you are already keenly studying Horse Racing Betting form ahead of the fantastic festival, then it will be worth checking out both Bet365 and Ladbrokes. Both of these online bookmakers have raced to the head of the pack, offering a “Non Runner No Bet” option for the festival. This covers all races at the Cheltenham Festival, and so if you have a punt on a horse with either Bet365 or Ladbrokes, and they are a non-runner, your stake will be winging its way back to you.

Totesport, as part of their website redevelopment, have now made an already excellent Horse Racing coverage even better, by linking up directly with the Racing Post. What does this mean? Totesport have integrated the in-depth analysis, verdicts and form straight into the race-cards on the online bookmakers website. This could be crucial when planning your betting strategies ahead of the Cheltenham festival, as the bookmaker teams up with one of the leading, and most trusted resources for Horse Racing news and form. This is just part of Totesport’s ongoing development on their website, which also includes direct betting links from their homepage to your betting slip. There will be a phase two of the all new Totesport sports betting website coming soon!

Paddy Power have also gotten their noses in front for the Cheltenham Festival, focusing on a special promotion for the Supreme Novices Hurdle. This is curtain raiser for the horse racing festival, and punters are always keen to get off to a winner, by betting heavily on this one. The promotion for the Supreme Novices Hurdle all surrounds Dunguib, priced at 4/5. If the unbeaten Irish favourite wins, then Paddy Power will refund all lost outright winner bets.