It probably makes sense to compare a longer period pre-Cheltenham with a shorter period pre-Cheltenham with performance at the Festival itself. Percentage of Rivals Beaten (PRB) is a means of applying a sliding scale of merit to every finishing position, and doing it in relation to the field size in which that finish was achieved. For instance, 2nd of four has less merit on this metric than 2nd of 40 – and rightly so, of course. Sizing John in 2017 was trying a longer trip and was ridden accordingly, with patience.
American racehorse owner hopes to win at Aintree 100 years after his great uncle triumphed in the Grand National
It offers a breathtaking view to the west, over Cheltenham and the racecourse, over the River Severn and to Wales; and also across to the historic town of Winchcombe. Many of our holiday cottages are burrowed in these areas, making them the perfect base for staying while learning more about the history of the Gold Cup. Here are some other notable races at the Doncaster racecourse throughout the racing season that you may be interested in.
30 Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1, 2m)
Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins each have nine, and the next best of Jonjo O’Neill, with four. Be wary of horses wearing headgear, especially blinkers or cheekpieces, in Open Grade 1’s at the Festival. The link to this market (at the bottom, in the ‘lengthen the odds’ section) is here. His form this campaign is well clear of any other two mile chaser on either side of the Irish Sea.
Cheltenham Festival 2021: 7 NRNB ‘Free Hits’
The first chase of the week is the Arkle Challenge Trophy, a two mile event for novices. If it perhaps lacks a little star quality this year – there can’t be a Shishkin/Altior/Douvan every time – it remains competitive from a betting perspective. The last ten years (from 2013 onwards) have seen Irish runners dominate these events more and more. To spell it out, in the most recent two Cheltenham Festivals, Irish runners have secured 22 wins compared with just six for the UK.
- Things could be teed up once more for LARRY, who nearly always saves his best for Ascot and has won a couple of times coming from off the pace over this course and distance in the past.
- He won under Brian Hughes at Ayr last October, on the same mark as he can race off today and he looks to have a favourites chance.
- They, too, made a loss but nowhere near as severe, at -£50.53 (ROI -4.2%).
- Losses have been steepest in Grade 1 contests with your £1 bet returning on average 79p (loss of 21p in the £).
- It does seem a race where all of the preceding trials have been run on different ground and/or under very different pace scenarios.
- Bound to be a nice bit of pace on, and should be fair to most run styles.
Types of horse race bets
Those rated higher than 140 won 47 races and lost a relatively small 54 points at SP and 2.75 points at BSP. Noel Meade has an infamous record at the Festival and, while he’s 0 from 13 in this section of races, his Road To Riches was third in both the 2015 Gold Cup and the 2016 Ryanair Chase. Paul Nicholls is still the winning-most Open Grade 1 trainer in the past decade, with ten such victories to his name.
Teddy price looks early gift
In other words, this is a completely different race from the one which carried the same name 15 years ago. Back then, journeyman Corinthians on massive-priced pigs in a poke in huge fields played a version of ‘last man or woman standing’. Now, field sizes are smaller, the quality of bipeds and quadrupeds alike is higher, and it is consequently a far more predictable affair.
Sedgefield Tips
This is a ‘hands and heels’ handicap hurdle for amateurs and conditionals – whips not to be used. Not the sort of race I would get too seriously involved with. Only Sir Note and Lemon’s Gent come into this race in form and both look beatable.
- A race that will probably play out in line with the market expectation of a duel between Jonbon and El Fabiolo.
- Sectional times can tell us how fast horses finished their races; importantly, they also tell us the overall race context in which the finishing time was achieved.
- The big roar that accompanies this race sometimes feel like a racecourse full of punters has been holding its collective breath for 361 days (or 362 this time around).
- She seems better going left-handed and with just a little ease in the ground, conditions she’ll get here.
- In the Coral Cup, Fixe Le Kap can run a big race at a big price.
- The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 21 winners from a total of 476 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 21 runners.
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Racing against hardened, more experienced chasers he battled all the way to the line to get within 3 1/2 lengths of the Grade 1-winning Mullins chaser Capodanno and last year’s Brown Advisory winner The Real Whacker. Back down to novice company he should go well but wearing headgear is a big no no in the Brown Advisory and I don’t like that Nicholls is reaching for the first time cheekpieces here. An Ayr maiden winner from six attempts as a juvenile, the Roger Varian-trained son of Profitable has taken a step forward on each of his four starts this season.
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That’s a verbose way of saying he probably achieved a 90-odd level of form on the flat before sights were switched to timber. And an honourable mention for the admirable Martello Sky, whose habit of winning must be delightful for connections. To wit, she has eight first places from just twelve career starts, among them a brace of Listed Hurdles. This will be tougher though the extra distance should mean she’ll be able to get into a better rhythm than was the case when midfield in last year’s Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. Both Western Victory and Nada To Prada look to be pitching above their level.
50 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase (Grade 3, 2m)
His form looked to have regressed through the summer but the return to soft at Haydock last time showed he is just ground dependent. She’s a proven Group performer and David Egan will be hoping he can get plenty of cover from stall four. Jarraaf is improving through the ranks and has impressed twice over this track and trip. The main threat is likely to come from the unexposed Min Huna. William Haggas’ filly was a smooth winner of a handicap at Sandown last month and should still be competitive off an 8lb higher mark.
Presenting Percy wins by several lengths
FAMOUS CLERMONT is a tentative selection in a wide-open affair, following an effortless 18-length romp at Haydock. The winner of that contest in 2022 went on to follow up in the Albert Bartlett, as The Nice Guy improved hugely for the rise in distance at Cheltenham. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Seabank Bistro repeats the feat this time around and is worth a small each-way wager. The course which has produced the most winners of the Ayr Gold Cup is Goodwood, there has been a total number of 5 winners of this race who ran at Goodwood last time out. The next best courses which have produced the second most winners are Ripon and Haydock, there has been a total number of 3 winners from each of those courses. When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2006 when the race had an over-round of 122%.
Israr makes most of class drop in Wolferton
Fifteen is also a neat number as we can easily compare 5–year periods (2008–2012; 2013–2017; 2018–2022) to see what, if anything has changed. MT – Coming round to Bravemansgame having not been a fan early season – he’s very hard to knock. A good half dozen possible pace angles here, headed perhaps by Mighty Mo Missouri.
Of course, we know about the dominance of Irish winners at recent Festivals but there is still plenty on which to chew in relation to possible value edges. Although horses that either finished 3rd LTO or 5th or worse have made a profit, this is down to big prices skewing the figures. As we can see, strike rates are low across the board, but if there is an area to concentrate on, it does seem to be last day winners. This is because they are the biggest group, have by far the best record win wise, and they have just about broken even. Of course, most recently Il Etait Temps won ‘that’ race in which HD dived and FV bombed. Although he was a bit awkward early in transit that day, he powered through the line and was just on ten lengths clear of second-placed Inthepocket, Dark Raven a neck back in third.
The British handicapper seems not to be on the same page with his European counterparts, ranking Irish form more highly and French form lower. On that basis, it’s easy enough to bypass Gaelic Warrior at such cramped odds and I don’t really want to be with The Tide Turns at not much bigger, though naturally I respect the chance of both. Burning Victory was the beneficiary of Goshen’s black swan event at the last in the Triumph Hurdle of 2020 and she’s travelled all over the place since. Specifically, she’s taken in the Galway Hurdle (7th), a Deauville handicap (1st), the Cesarewitch (2nd), a Navan handicap hurdle (tailed off), the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle (3rd) and that defeat of Queen’s Brook last time.
My big 3-1 NAP loves soft ground and heads to Ascot in great form
They both take place year-round but generally speaking the best jump racing is in winter and the best Flat action is in summer. With a longer-term record dating back to January 2021 of a similar level, he is undoubtedly a true expert to listen to when looking for value bets for each day’s racing. Northern Ticker ran a clear career best last time and is on the upgrade. Invictus Gold beat nothing at Newmarket but could not have done it any easier.
Last year’s overall pasting for the home team was reflected in the Gold Cup itself as Irish runners filled out the medal positions, Britain’s top performer being the valiant eleven-year-old Native River in fourth. It is worth further noting that there were only four Irish runners in the field of twelve. With the exception of 152-rated Lord Windermere, who just got the best of a bizarre five-way scrap up the hill in 2014, every other Gold Cup winner since 2007 has been rated at least 164. The average winning rating in that time, bar Lord Windermere, was a touch over 171. With just two months to go until the Cheltenham Festival 2022, thoughts begin to turn to those high class clashes, none more so perhaps than the Blue Riband itself, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
- There is, however, one Irish course where caution might be advised, and that is Gowran Park.
- That allowance was 6lb when he won at Cheltenham two starts back and still 3lb at Leopardstown but has now been eroded entirely.
- The last ten years (from 2013 onwards) have seen Irish runners dominate these events more and more.
- Mick Fitzgerald knows the time of day at Nicky Henderson’s yard and describes Altior as a rocket who would win the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and probably the Champions League if they let him enter it.
- Plus we have Uttoxeter who are subject to a third inspection.
Cause of Causes, half brother to 2003 Epsom Derby winner Kris Kin, goes off as the 3-1 favourite, Last Samurai follows him in the betting at 7-2. Nube Negra starts as favourite in the penultimate race of the day. This is never a race to be confident of solving as there is always so much untapped talent waiting to appear. Acey Milan has plenty of experience and has shown smart speed for a bumper horse. The Irish have won six to Great britain’s four in the past 10 years. Blackbow and Felix Desy look their principal hopes this time around.
Their promotional offers for horse racing are more than decent, frequent throughout the year, and all the more interesting around big race meets. Betfair and Paddy Power are jointly out in front here, with the best in-play features for race betting. The cash-out function at Betfair is one of the easiest to use of its kind, ideal for making quick decisions during the heat of the action. Similarly, Paddy Power has strong in-play betting for racing punters. There are so many places online that we can turn to when we want to place a bet, whether we choose to head to Ladbrokes horse racing or to any of the other sites that offer this type of wagering. Over the next few centuries, interest in horse racing continued to grow.
Strike rates are below what is the 14/1+ norm for all National Hunt races and losses have been significant. Indeed, Irish runners have outperformed UK runners in terms of win strike rate in the last ten festivals starting from 2013 as the graph below neatly illustrates. These figures are skewed inasmuch as the last five years have seen a big increase in the number of Irish horses travelling across. However, the win strike rate for Irish runners in the five years from 2008 to 2012 was 6.8%, whereas in the past five years (2018 to 2022) it has been 9.7%.
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That doesn’t mean Ireland doesn’t have a say in the race, though, as Irish-bred horses have been responsible for the last five winners and ten of the last 11 (exception French-bred). Willie also has Il Etait Temps, soundly enough beaten by GW at Limerick in that Faugheen but a winner either side, most recently in the G1 Irish Arkle, also at the DRF. He too wears a hood here and, though more likely to run his race than Gaelic Warrior, I feel, his best race is not as good as that one’s, and only a fine margin in front of Found A Fifty, just a neck back last month.
- The Glancing Queen will no doubt be well fancied for the feature race, but she hasn’t been the soundest jumper over hurdles and is worth opposing on her chase debut.
- At longer prices, Diverge and Doctor Bravo are mildly interesting in what looks a very open and potentially substandard renewal.
- That third dance was hastily arranged to facilitate qualification for the Boodles though I’m not sure 137 is a gimme of a mark considering he was only a mildly progressive mid-70’s handicapper on the level for Sir Mark Prescott.
- Protektorat has been Pricewise’d in the last couple of days, that value vacuum cleaner meaning he’s a rum price for us Johnny Come Lately’s, but he’s not really one I’m yet persuaded by anyway.
- Of course, he’s priced as though he has little chance and that may be how it transpires.
- February is upon us and, with it, the focus on the Cheltenham Festival becomes more intense.
- The silks are simply the colours each jockey will wear and denote who owns each horse, and then to the right we have the age of the horse and the weight they are set to carry in the race.
- We cover what to look out for when considering free tips, including accuracy, consistency and the track record of tipsters.
What really puts me off Harper’s Brook is his record at Cheltenham where he has raced four times without beating a single rival. I’ll be mildly surprised if he finishes the race and stunned, I tell you, STUNNED if he manages to win. I will have to lie down in a dark corner for quite a long time, in fact. He improved again when fourth in the aforementioned Betfair Hurdle last time, not getting the best of luck in the run but staying on strongly after the last and looking for all the world like a step back up in trip would suit.
It’s fair to say that the Tizzard stable was in poor form at that moment and is firing much better now; if that was a factor in War Lord’s defeat, he might be over-priced. Want to oppose Sir Gerhard who is inexperienced over fences and would probably be running over shorter if trained by anyone else than Willie. Thunder Rock could be an ‘in running’ play if he’s travelling well in the first mile. Of the big prices, Coolvalla has nothing like the ratings to be in the shake up at this level. And yet, he’s won handicap chases by 19 lengths and 17 lengths the last twice, has proven stamina, jumps well, and comes here nicely rested. The four miler is not quite the race it was, and not just because it’s only three miles and six furlongs in distance these days.
The overall figures now stand at 8/467 (1.71% SR, A/E 0.58) since 2008. Ignoring the Albert Bartlett, horses priced 16/1+ in novice Grade 1’s are now 3/327 (0.92% SR, -251 at SP) since 2008. Even allowing a little latitude in the ‘potato race’, the four rags came from a total population of 336 horses sent off greater than 16/1. All of the above verbosity is by way of suggesting that Shishkin will probably win assuming he turns up in one piece (never a given). But a top priced 8/11, whilst still very far from offensive in value terms, is unexciting for those of us with limited elevens to risk in the pursuit of eights.
Of stable form, it can be seen from the right hand part of the chart that the Henderson hordes have not been firing at their highest rate in recent months. Nor, mind you, has the win percentage been anything other than aspirational for most other yards. The Brown Advisory would have meant a likely clash with Monkfish, the Arkle a ding dong with Shiskin, Energumene and Allmankind. The Marsh feels a bit like the coward’s route for a horse boasting his CV.
Hovering over the coloured blobs in the ‘Race Speed vs Par’ column (title unhelpfully obscured in the image above), shows the sectional percentages for our OMC (Opening / Mid-race / Closing) format. Identifying front runners is is a challenge, but these tables articulate unequivocally why it is worth our time to attempt that act of clairvoyance. Geegeez Pace Maps, available for every race, assist considerably with the challenge. Day 2 of the Cheltenham festival has been equally as magical as day 1, as we really have been treated to some incredible action. The best meetings are broadcast on either ITV or ITV4, with racing broadcast every single Saturday afternoon, plus lots of big festival meetings (like the famous Cheltenham Festival in March) which are staged through the week.
No horse comes without some downsides and, as ever, the challenge is to weigh the negative against the prevailing odds. In my view, and that of most of the rest of the world, easily the three most likely winners are the trio at the head of the market; but their credentials are largely reflected in their prices. On his latest outing, Pats Fancy was a three length second to Bravemansgame in receipt of 16 pounds. His stable mate, Beatthebullet, is more than two stone ‘wrong’ with the top rated of these and appears to be the much maligned ‘social runner’. In that earlier preview, I found it impossible to oppose Honeysuckle. I still do, though after an electric gear change to settle the race last time she didn’t really stretch away as it appeared she might.
My opinion is that those two perspectives are not mutually exclusive and both hold water. Yet another former Festival winner is Indefatigable whose 2020 Martin Pipe win was a red letter day for trainer Paul Webber but also for geegeez-sponsored then conditional rider, Rex Dingle. Rex came with the proverbial wet sail there, weaving through tiring rivals up the run in to present the mare on the line, a style which has proven more difficult to pull off Bolts Up Daily in smaller field, more steadily run contests since. The best fancied of the Irish party is the Willie Mullins-trained Blue Lord, whose hitherto unbeaten trio over fences culminated with Grade 1 success in the Irish Arkle at the Dublin Racing Festival. His hurdles form was better than respectable – he’d have been comfortably closest to Appreciate It in last year’s Supreme but for tumbling at the last – and he’s looked assured in his leaping thus far.