Tom Segal, aka Racing Post’s Pricewise can be the punter’s best friend at times, scoring some great bets at great prices. His winning streak in the summer of 2005 has been well documented but it seems you only hear about his tips when he wins.

In recent years his tips seem to have gone downhill as has the amount of big price tips he has given. These days it seems he tips a 4/1 near the head of the market each week. Add to that the near impossibility of getting on at the advised prices and this column is becoming less influential every week.

With the Cheltenham Festival just a week away he is bound to have his followers and his selections will be massively overbet as usual. Although the Racing Post can show he has made a profit at the recommended prices, the same bets at SP would have made a loss. One advised tactic is to lay the Pricewise selections just before the race at a much shorter price than they were in the morning.

Another tactic, the best one, is to make your own mind up. Bet on what you fancy and you are much more likely to show a profit in the long term if you are betting because YOU fancy something. If you are not the greatest horse racing punter in the world then it is often better to bet to smaller stakes.

If you are looking for good tips then don’t follow Pricewise or over overhyped tipsters. At www.olbg.co.uk you can see the record of large numbers of tipsters and how they fare on different sports. There are many tipsters showing a profit and you can also see who is tipping what in each race. A useful tool for any horse racing punter.

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Inglis Drever first became a staying star when upsetting the odds to beat Baracouda in the 2005 World Hurdle. He then missed the 2006 Festival but came back for 2007 with a win against Mighty Man and Blazing Bailey. Mighty Man reversed form at the Grand National meeting when Inglis could only finish third.

Inglis Drever can leave his name up there with the greats by winning a third time at the 2008 Cheltenham Festival. Let’s have a look at his rivals to see if there is anything to challenge him.

Blazing Bailey is the current second favourite and has actually beaten Inglis Drever before, but that was on heavy ground in receipt of 8lbs. He should finish four or five lengths behind Inglis if recent form is anything to go by.

Kasbah Bliss is generally third favourite but seems to favour softer ground and has faced Inglis Drever twice before, being beaten a total of thirty six lengths.

Wichita Lineman has been well beaten by both Blazing Bailey and Kasbah Bliss in two recent starts which would suggest he is not top class. Does seem to go well at Cheltenham but may be better over slightly shorter.

Hardy Eustace would be interesting in this sort of race as a previous winner of the Champion Hurdle but has a lot to find with Lough Derg over this sort of trip on recent runnings.

Lough Derg has run with great credit this season but has already been beaten by Kasbah Bliss this season and Cheltenham isn’t his track.

My Way De Solzen was beaten receiving weight from Lough Derg but won the World Hurdle two years ago and won the Arkle last season. Has won his last three runs at Cheltenham and beat Mighty Man in the 2006 World Hurdle by a bigger margin than Inglis did in 2007. An interesting contender.

This shows there is very little competition and Inglis Drever should win. The next question is do we back him at around 5/4? I don’t think you are going to see it as a missed opportunity if you give that bet a miss and he wins. More value could be gained from backing My Way De Solzen to place at around twice the price. He loves Cheltenham and is an extremely versatile horse.

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Paddy Power have increased Festival Fever around the country by today making their Cheltenham Festival betting Non Runner No Bet. This means if you back a horse that ends up not taking its chance in the race you backed it, you will receive your stake back. This is not the case when betting at ante post rules.

Paddy Power are a great bookie for Cheltenham punters. Last year they refunded a number of second places when the favourite won and this year they have a number of interesting specials available. Betting is open the the official ground on the first day of the Festival with good to soft as favourite at 4/7 and you can also bet on the number of Irish winners at the Festival with up to and including 3 winners the current favourite at 9/2.

For information on free bets at Paddy Power and other bookmakers click here - Free Bets

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A horse racing game where the aim is to stop Kauto Star from winning the Gold Cup has been all the rage on internet forums and in offices around the country as people latch on to Cheltenham Festival fever.

The game, found at stopkauto.com sees you trying to take out Kauto Star by any means possible which includes shooting him in the neck and exploding a bomb underneath him. Whilst many horse racing fans have embraced the game some have taken it a bit more seriously and have complained about its content.

Even the Daily Mirror have reported on the popular game and their thoughts can be found here:

Daily Mirror - Stop Kauto

What is your best score on Stop Kauto? Let us know.

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Channel Four Racing’s Tommo has collaborated with three professional horse racing tipsters to bring you the first Cheltenham-Betting.co.uk horse racing tips podcast.

The podcast can be found here - Cheltenham Festival Podcast

The podcast contains the guests’ opinions and tips for the four main Champion races as well as their best bets and biggest lays of the 2008 Cheltenham Festival which is just weeks away.

Subscribe to the podcast to receive all future podcast productions. There will be an update released on the site on Friday 7th of March, the Friday before the Festival and more tips will be given based on the ground conditions that are expected and the likely runners.

What is the best bet of the Festival? Let us know your opinions.

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By the time the Festival comes round plenty of people are holding juicy looking vouchers about horses that are now much shorter prices than they were months ago. Others are cursing themselves for backing ante post as they have already done their dough with their backed horses being ruled out of their originally designated races.

With just a month to go to the Cheltenham Festival should you be looking to lay your money down now or should you wait for the day?

There is not much point in betting now unless your fancy is running in the next week and is likely to fall in price as a result of that run. In the next week or two bookmakers will start going NRNB (Non Runner No Bet) about the Cheltenham Festival and at that stage you don’t have to worry about backing a non runner as you will get your money back if it doesn’t make its intended target.

That’s all well and good but we still can’t be sure how the ground will ride during the Festival and at this stage it is worth keeping your money safe until the evening before the race. This is when the so called ‘day of race’ market will be available and  you can normally get your bets on with the minimum of fuss knowing who is running and on what ground.

You can of course wait until the day of the race but there is nothing worse than opening the Racing Post and seeing Pricewise has tipped up your main fancy and you can either only get £10 on at the advertised price or that price is long gone.

When do you think is the best time to get your Festival bets on? Let us know and we can make it as profitable as possible.

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Everyone knows Cheltenham drains very well and it is often the case that the Cheltenham Festival ground is on the firm side come March. Only a week before the Festival last year the ground contained heavy patches yet by Gold Cup day the ground was back on the firm side.

The last time the ground was officially heavy was almost 20 years ago (1989) so it seems for the near future mudlarks need not apply when it comes to the Festival. If you are backing a soft ground horse for the Festival then now is the time to start your rain dance.

After one of the wettest summers ever we have had one of the driest winters and it is going to take plenty of rain in the coming weeks to have anything softer than good to soft ground.

Where does that leave the punters? If the ground is genuinely good then it is time to back the speedier horses and the flat bred horses, who are used to firmer ground. If you are backing a soft ground horse for the Gold Cup then it is going to need to pour down the night before Gold Cup day and even that might not be enough.

So, the moral of the story, assume the ground will be good to soft at absolute worse and if the rain doesn’t come expect the softer ground horses to be very much outpaced.

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In many other time periods Exotic Dancer would have been absolutely prolific mopping up many of the top races including the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Exotic Dancer has faced Kauto Star four times with the following consequences:

Dec 06 Kempton - beaten 8 lengths
Mar 07 Cheltenham - beaten 2.5 lengths
Nov 07 Haydock - beaten 0.5 lengths
Dec 07 Kempton - beaten 12.5 lengths

From Exotic Dancer’s form it is clear to see Kempton isn’t his track, however he had been getting closer to Kauto Star with each run until December’s King George, in which new riding tactics were tested. Cheltenham and soft ground both suit Exotic Dancerwell as theyget the best out of his stamina and running style.

At this year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup I would rate Exotic Dancer a much better bet at the odds if the ground came up soft. As that would also suit Denman it might mean Kauto Star is now struggling to place. Unfortunately for Exotic Dancer backers the ground is normally firmer towards the end of the Festival and he would need a downpour on the day of the Gold Cup.

Judging by the way Exotic Dancer stayed on in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, I would also rate him a better bet in next year’s renewal, should both take their chance again.

What do you think? Will Exotic Dancer ever beat Kauto Star? Share your thoughts.

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With Cheltenham’s January meeting just about to take place it seemed a good idea to examine what chances the meeting has of producing a Gold Cup winner and where the Gold Cup winner usually comes from.

Tomorrow’s Letherby and Christopher Chase looks between Our Vic and Neptune Collonges. With both priced at 50/1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup it seems that this can’t really be deemed a valid trial.

These are the routes to the Gold Cup the eventual winners took since 2000.

2000 - Looks Like Trouble - Pulled up in the King George, won the Pillar (now the Letherby and Christopher Chase)

2001 - Abandoned

2002 - Best Mate - Runner up in the King George

2003 - Best Mate - Won the King George

2004 - Best Mate - Won the Lexus

2005 - Kicking King - Won the King George

2006 - War Of Attrition -Runner up in the Lexus

2007 - Kauto Star -  Won the King George

Earlier in the season I highlighted the poor record of Hennessy Gold Cup winners and from the above evidence it is absolutely essential that a Gold Cup hopeful at least contests either the King George or the Lexus, without necessarily winning. If your ante post ticket contains a horse who was resting over the Christmas period, you might as well rip it up now.

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Two years ago one of the leading contenders  for the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup was ruled out. That horse has  not seen a racecourse since.

After winning the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup in impressive fashion having been ruled out of the race just weeks before, he was supposed to take over the Gold Cup mantle from the aging Best Mate. It’s a shame that he did not get to defend his crown the following year as he was a star in the making.

However, it seems that the talented Kicking King could be back sooner rather than later. He is set to run in the Normans Grove Chase at Fairyhouse, now scheduled for Wednesday after waterlogging claimed the race on Sunday. Even if he is back to his best he will surely come on for the run but it will be very interesting to see how he gets on.

His best form might leave him behind Kauto Star but we all know he is going to hit the deck soon enough in one of these top races. Kicking King is a 33/1 shot in this year’s Gold Cup and that has to be worth an each way bet, if only for old times sake.

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