Online betting site Betfair are to refund all Sportsbook single bets placed on The Tullow Tank, who looks set to miss the Cheltenham Festival. After being pretty prominent in the ante post for the Supreme Novices Hurdle and the Neptune Novices Hurdle at the festival, the news that he won’t be running has prompted the betting site to issue refunds.
Owned by Barry connell, The Tullow Tank won’t be running until the case against Philip Fenton has been resolved. The case over steroids used by the trainer, who has has a hand in Connell’s charges, means that the owner has decided not to put any of his Philip Trenton-trained runners out at Prestbury Park in March.
In the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, The Tullow Tank was rated 1lb below the ante post favorite Vautour in Time Form’s weight-adjusted ratings for the race. But in a recent defeat to Vautour at Leopardstown, it was suggested that the star novice would be taking in the Neptune Novices Hurdle, which is five furlongs longer than the Supreme Novices’. The Tullow Tank had been trading as third favourite in the market for the Neptune at 8/1.
Betfair Spokesman Barry Orr commented today: ”Under the circumstances we thought it only fair to refund Sportsbook single Ante-Post bets placed on The Tullow Tank for both the Supreme and the Neptune”.
