Fancy a day out at the Cheltenham Festival watching the Champion Hurdle and all the other top class racing on the 16th March?

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It’s just under two months till the Cheltenham Festival and if you’re not sitting on a high value Cheltenham Betting ante-post voucher for Kauto Star should you think about taking the price currently on offer? (11/8 with Boylesports
at the time of writing)

It could be argued that Kauto’s price is unlikely to contract much between now and Gold Cup day but is that true? Paul Nicholls has stated that keeping Kauto Star fresh is the key to him and we are therefore unlikely to see the son of Village Star again before March 19th. However, this does not mean that his price cannot shorten between then and now. It’s a brave punter who is prepared to look outside the front two in the Gold Cup for their Cheltenham Tips and an improved performance from one of the ‘pretenders’ in unlikely to make a dent in Kauto’s price but stablemate Denman does have the power to affect the current Gold Cup Betting.

Denman is due to run again before the Gold Cup, either in the Irish Hennessy or the Aon Chase a week later at Newbury. He is likely to be a short-price for either race but the Irish race in particular would not be a penalty kick and has the potential to cause an upset to Denman fans. Other horses that have been quoted for Leopardstown include Joncol, Money Trix, Notre Pere, Cooldine and Madison Du Berlais and whilst Denman should deal with these horses it’s not impossible for the travelling and heavy ground to contribute extra stress into a tricky race.
If Denman wins I wouldn’t imagine the Gold Cup Betting would be affected as a win is expected but if Denman got beat we could see Kauto Star shorten up to a very short price indeed.
I wouldn’t normally advocate backing an 11/8 shot two months before the Festival but I think there is the potential for a big swing in the ante-post punters favour here if he or she were to take Kauto Star’s Gold Cup Odds.

What are your thoughts? Are you tempted to back Kauto now or will you keep your money in your pocket until the day of the race?

For the time being we will just have one thread for the ‘other’ races at the Festival so please use this page to tell us if you think Dunguib represents any value at 7/4 for the Supreme Novices or tell us if you fancy Sizing Europe or Tataniano for the Arkle and why.

Maybe you think Tranquil Sea can follow up his Paddy Power win in the Ryanair or that Punchestowns is the one to be on in the RSA Chase?

Please give us all your thoughts on any of the races at the Cheltenham Festival 2010 not covered in the other four threads.

If you had to pick one horse now who might win at the Cheltenham Festival in 2010 would you pick Big Bucks?

Lots of people surely would as he was a convincing winner of this race in 2009 and the majority of the horses currently quoted as potential opposition look unlikely to be lining up in the World Hurdle in 2010.

The opposing view is that quotes at around the Even money mark are very skinny price for any horse months in advance of the race.

We desperately need some viable alternatives to Big Bucks as possible ante-post selections for the World Hurdle – give us your thoughts and cheltenham tips on this page.

The 2009 Champion Hurdle provided an epic tussle with Punjabi, Celestial Halo and Binocular separated by just a neck and a head after a driving finish up the Cheltenham hill. Looking at the Cheltenham betting, all three look set to return in 2010 and a mouth watering race is in prospect with the likes of Hurricane Fly, Solwhit, Zaynar and Go Native all likely to be added into the mix as well.

The Champion Hurdle has in recent years thrown up winners from very different backgrounds – horses that started life on the flat have provided the last three winners (Punjabi, Katchit and Sublimity) but the three winners before that (Brave Inca, Hardy Eustace and Rooster Booster) were all traditionally bred National Hunt horses.

Does this mean that we now moving towards seeing a flat race pedigree as a major positive for your Champion Hurdle selection? Or can the traditional NH bred still hold its own?

There have been plenty of winners in the past with a flat heritage (Kribensis, Royal Gait, Alderbrook and even the mighty Istabraq to name just a few) so it may just be that there will always be this swing between NH breds and horses from the flat or have changes to the course at Cheltenham and the improved drainage etc swung things in favour of horses from off of the level once and for all?

Give us your thoughts and tips for the 2010 Champion Hurdle and let us know if you prefer a horse with a NH pedigree or something from a group race winning sire?

Does the 2010 Gold Cup betting revolve around one horse? If Kauto Star retains the majority of his form this season will he record his third win in the race?

Is that how you see the blue ribbon of steeplechasing panning out this season or do you think that the Paul Nicholls’ ten year old has got his work cut out fending off the youngsters? Has his narrowest of victories over Imperial Commander on his reappearance at Haydock made you even more convinced of a Kauto Star Gold Cup treble or are you now scrambling through the ante-post market looking for a viable alternative to the Champion?

What about the other gold cup runners? Now Denman has won his second Hennessy can he regain the Gold Cup? Will Cooldine blossom from Novice champ to Gold Cup king? Will Imperial Commander see out the trip as impressively at Cheltenham as he did at Haydock?

Or is there something else lurking in the depths of the ante-post market that will spring up to become Kauto’s biggest challenger?

Let us know your gold cup tips for the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2010.

Winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 and 2009, Paul Nicholls’ Master Minded remains favourite in the cheltenham betting lists to record a hat-trick of wins in 2010 despite suffering defeat on his seasonal reappearance in the Connaught Chase at Cheltenham.

No horse has achieved a hat-trick of wins in the Champion Chase since Badsworth Boy in 1983-85 and there will surely be plenty of people looking to oppose the current champion after his reappearance where he appeared to hang to his right and finished in close proximity to two horses rated 20lb+ inferior to him.

If Master Minded is not your ante-post selection for the 2010 Queen Mother then the race appears wide open for any number of potential new champions. Second season chasers Forpadytheplasterer and Kalahari King must come into the equation as must established stars such as Well Chief and possibly even former champ Voy Por Ustedes who could return to the minimum distance if it appears there is a chink in Master Minded’s armour.

Twist Magic’s excellent performance in winning the Tingle Creek has seen his price for the Queen Mother evaporate but surely he has shown his dislike for Cheltenham on anough occasions to be seen as eminently opposable at single figure odds? What do you think?

A fascinating run-up to the race looks certain – let us know who your cheltenham tips for the Queen Mother Champion Chase 2010.

The Grand National 2009 is just days away now and the excitement is becoming unbearable. There seem to be plenty of horses near the head of the Grand National Betting who warrant plenty of respect so we should go through them and pick their strengths and weaknesses.

Grand National horses:

My Will – The hot favourite and will be in good hands on the day with Ruby Walsh riding. Is officially well in but also has his fair share of weight and has been known to make mistakes with his jumping. A solid if unspectacular favourite.

Butlers Cabin – Fell when going well in the race last year and should give a good account if jumping round this time. Has been aimed at the race all year and goes very well on the good ground that will prevail on Saturday.

Rambling Minster – A very solid choice. Has never fallen, has won over four miles on soft ground so has plenty of stamina, has a good win record having won five of his fifteen chase starts, has won on both heavy ground and good ground so its all the same to him and has won since the Grand National weights were published so he is well handicapped.

How To Pick Grand National Winners

If you don’t want your Grand National bet to be based on form then why not try a Grand National Lucky Dip? Alternatively you can use the Grand National Winner Predictor that predicted Comply Or Die last year at nice odds. You can use your own ratings or those of the site’s experts.

The 2009 Cheltenham Gold Cup gets underway at 3.20pm on Friday afternoon and whilst there are three more races after the Gold Cup, it signals the beginning of the end of another great Cheltenham Festival. There is nothing more satisfying than backing the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup so it is important to make sure your best Cheltenham Festival Tips are also your best Cheltenham Gold Cup Tips.

Kauto Star 

Favourite for the race and no surprise as he won the race in 2007 and finished 2nd last year despite not running anywhere near his best. He has been kept fresher this year and should give a very good account.

Neptune Collonges

Finished a short head behind Kauto Star last year but seemed to be ridden with more restraint with a place in mind. It would be no surprise if he runs well but with no win from five course runs it is difficult to see him winning one of the most competitive races of the season.

Denman

Won the race impressively last season but that seems to have left its mark on him and he did not appear the same horse on his only racecourse outing this season at Kempton. Could just as easily win the race by ten lengths as be pulled up half way round.

Madison Du Berlais

Owes his Gold Cup price to a wide margined win over Denman at Kempton but that probably shouldn’t be taken literally and although he has improved this season he has never finished in the first two in five runs at Cheltenham and suspicion is that he is better on flatter tracks.

Exotic Dancer

Has contested the last two Gold Cups, finishing second in 2007 and fifth last year (had an interrupted preparation) but has been as good as ever this season and if he is going to win a Gold Cup it has to be now. Might be best backed to place having been beaten six times already by Kauto Star.

Barbers Shop

Definitely an up and coming staying chaser who will be contesting this race for years to come but has not contested the standard of races this year that a potential Gold Cup winner should have.

Albertas Run

Has bits and pieces of form that should see him place at least, notably a running on second against Kauto Star at Kempton on Boxing Day. That would have the pair closely matched over Friday’s course and distance and with two wins from three runs at the course you would have to think he could easily run into a place, or even win!

Predicted Outcome

1. Kauto Star
2. Albertas Run
3. Exotic Dancer

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the race that heralds the start of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival at 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon. It will signal the start of one of the exhilarating four days of the racing calendar. Let’s make sure we get off to a flyer by backing the winner!

1.30 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle

Cousin Vinny is the favourite for this race but has been the subject of negative reports since arriving in the country from Ireland. Those who are not already financially committed to the horse are likely to be looking elsewhere for a bet.

Tophichen has won both his starts over hurdles so far and clearly relishes soft ground so will appreciate the predcited rainfall on Monday night. His last run worked out very well with Trenchant, the horse he beat by 3 3/4 lengths, going on to win a Grade 2 novices’ hurdle next time out. He could be the each way steal for the powerful Pipe yard.

Go Native won well last time out and is another that will appreciate easier going. He looks to be improving and goes to Cheltenham with a great chance of being Ireland’s first winner of the week.

Kempes, who like Cousin Vinny is trained by Willie Mullins, has won both his races this season. He, along with the likes of Micheal Flips and Red Maloney all have a great chance, although the latter two’s chances might be compromised if all of the forecast rain falls on Monday night.

If you fancy any other horse than Cousin Vinny, it would be a good idea to place your bets with Paddy Power. They will refund all losing stakes if Cousin Vinny wins the race. That looks a pretty generous concession and could cost Paddy Power hundreds of thousands of pounds.