Who will win at the Cheltenham Festival 2016? Betting Preview & Winner Odds

The biggest question on the minds of most punters will be, when it comes to the Cheltenham Festival 2016, is who wins the Gold Cup? That is the blue riband race of the Festival and the top national hunt race in the country. It is the pinnacle of chasing and there has been many a famous winner down the line like Best Mate, Kauto Star, Denman and Desert Orchid.

The greats have been there but it isn’t just about the horses of course. This is the biggest race that a jockey, a trainer and an owner can land. This really is the jewel in the crown of the Nation Hunt season and it is a mammoth test of endure, pace and jumping ability. It is usually a pretty big puzzle in trying to figure out who is likely to go into the race on top form and who is likely to have the best temperament to handle the situation.

The race itself goes over 3 miles and two and a half furlongs with 22 obstacles standing in the way of the runners. The event is only open to five year olds and above. Last year’s race produced a huge shock with a novice in Coneygree taking the win in the illustrious field. Don Cossack has been holding ground as 3/1 favourite and strengthened a little when it was announced that Vautour was being switched from the Gold Cup to the Ryanair because he wasn’t 100%.

 

 
Irish trainer Willie Mullins has strong contenders in Djakadam and Don Poli up in the race at the 4/1 price and they are joined by Cue Card as well. It should be a highly competitive race at Prestbury Park on Friday. Who will walk off with the top prize in racing this year?

Along with the Cheltenham Gold Cup we take a look at our favorite options as to who will win at the Cheltenham Festival 2016.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds

Don Cossack 7/2, Djakadam 4/1, Don Poli 4/1, Cue Card 4/1, Smad Place 9/1, Road To Riches 12/1, Valseur Lido 16/1, Carlingford Lough 25/1, O’Faolains Boy 66/1, Sir Des Champs 66/1, 100/1 bar.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Promotion

Online bookmaker Boylesports have a superb promotion running for the entirety of the Cheltenham Festival. If your selections finished 2nd or 3rd to any Starting Price Favourite in amy race across the Cheltenham Festival, you will get your lost stake back as a free bet from the bookmaker. The maximum refund that will come back is a £25 free bet! Register an account with Boylesports and earn up to £50 worth of free bets as a welcome bonus.

 

Cheltenham Gold Cup Winner

So Coneygree stunned the field last year having only been over the fences three times before landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup. But it is to the front runners where you should still turn your attention too. Don Cossack is a top chaser and has landed wins in 11 of his 18 races over the fences which includes the Punchestown Gold Cup. He looked to have the beating of Cue Card in the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day last year, but fell at the last. It was a scrappy race, but he stuck in there and really would have ran Cue Card close.

Don Poli would be our choice for winner though. He is a real fighter and sometimes that is a quality which comes to the fore in Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. He is going to stick in there and won the RSA Chase at Cheltenham last year. He has gone well this season in terms of results, but doubters will point fingers that he hasn’t looked the most convincing over the jump. There are question marks whether or not he can deliver the pace, but one thing is for sure, he will stay and stay and stay. If he stays out trouble and is contention at the last, he could be there or thereabouts.

When you stack up the form of Djakadam it doesn’t really come close to that of Don Cossack, so it’s right that the Willie Mullins trained chaser is back a little bit with Don Poli and Cue Card. Cue Card is one that has shown a lot of improvement this season but the big question mark over him will be his staying power, which doesn’t compare to that of Don Poli. So Don Poli really looks like an answer to who will win at the Cheltenham Festival 2016.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Trends

94% of Cheltenham Gold Cup winners since 1997 have been 9 years or younger, that’s 17 of the 18 Gold Cups since then. 61% of Gold Cup winners won their previous race outing before going on to take the Blue Riband title and it’s worth avoiding any odds on favourites in a Gold Cup field. Just 5% of them have ever won. The prices which have proved the most winners at the Gold Cup are between 13/2 and 8/1, having produced almost 28% of winners. Last year’s winner Coneygree was the first novice in the last 40 years to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Oh, incidentally, only one winner in the last 33 years of the race had placed in the previous year’s running, which casts a doubt on Djakadam maybe.

Who will win at the Cheltenham Festival 2016?

The Grade I Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday is being headed up by Un De Sceaux. He is in at a pretty much unbackable price at 8/11 and no-one is coming close in the field to suggesting that they can knock him off his supposed crown. He is one of the strongest favourites at the entire Cheltenham Festival 2016 and unless Sprinter Sacre can dig deeper than ever before, this should be a straightforward winner for Un De Sceaux and another winner for Willie Mullins.

The Ryanair Chase has been made a little bit more interesting with the switch from the Gold Cup to the race for Vautour. There were just questions about his overall fitness to try and take on the rigours of the Gold Cup, so he has been switched to the Ryanair. Immediately he was installed as odds-on favourite at a price of 4/6 and the rest of the field drifted. Vautour, who won last seasons’ JLT Novices’ Chase, is a class above the rest of the field and this looks like the sensible option for him. He’ll find a less competitive field and looks a strong favourite as a winner at the Cheltenham Festival still, having finally settled on a race.

 

 
Thistlecrack has been one of the most heavily backed runners for the Cheltenham Festival 2016 and he heads up the World Hurdle market. He was in imperious form at Cheltenham in the Cleeve Hurdle back in January, his third win in three starts this season. The Colin Tizzard-trainer runner should have little fear or competition in the World Hurdle.

The Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle on Friday looks as if it will be a great race. THis one is open to 4 year old novices and the market is wide, wide open. Ivanovich Gorbatov is running as 4/1 favourite but we are looking further down the market for a big priced value option in Who Dares Wins at a price of 12/1. He put in a great performance on unsuitable ground on Festival Trials Day against some of the other runners still in for the Triumph Hurdle. Who Dares Wins came home fourth, but only by three lengths and on better ground, he can easily make that up.

So there are a selection of our favoured horses for the Cheltenham Festival 2016. Look around all you can to find yourself some enhanced odds, free bets and best odds guaranteed options for your Cheltenham 2016 betting.

Queen Mother Champion Chase: Un De Sceaux

Ryanair Chase: Vautour 4/6

World Hurdle: Thistlecreek 6/5

Triumph Hurdle: Who Dares Wins 12/1

Cheltenham Gold Cup: Don Poli 4/1