Category: Cheltenham Festival

The two-mile hurdling championship, the Champion Hurdle, is the first of four ‘feature’ races run at the Cheltenham Festival, the others being the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayers’ Hurdle and last, but by no means least, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Upper Lambourn trainer Nicky Henderson already has nine winners to his name, including four of the last ten, and looks to have bright prospects of reaching double-figures with the hitherto unbeaten Constitution Hill.

An impressive nine-length winner in 2023, Constitution Hill missed the chance to defend his Champion Hurdle crown because of a respiratory problem, but has returned to action after a year off to extend his winning streak to ten races under rules. On the first of his two starts, so far, in 2024/25 , he beat Lossiemouth, trained by Willie Mullins, by two-and-a-half lengths in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day and is currently a top-priced 8/13 to confirm the form at Cheltenham.

County Meath trainer Gordon Elliott has yet to win the Champion Hurdle, but could saddle the six-year-old mare Brighterdaysahead, who has tasted defeat just once in her seven-race career, when second in the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. A facile, 30-length winner of the Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown in December – a race in which the reigning Champion Hurdler State Man was only third – she is next best in the ante-post odds at 3/1. Brighterdaysahead is also entered in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle, for which she is 5/4 favourite, but looks a bona fide Champion Hurdle contender. Cheltenham Festival odds are found to fluctuate as the festival approaches, but this is the current state of play.

 

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The Cheltenham Gold Cup is run over 3 miles, 2 furlongs on the New Course at Prestbury Park on the fourth, and final, day of the celebrated Cheltenham Festival in March each year. Worth £625,000 in guaranteed prize money, it is the most valuable weight-for-age steeplechase in the British National Hunt calendar and, arguably, the most prestigious race of ist kind to be find anywhere in the world. Valuable and prestigious it may be, but, since 2019 – when, coincidentally, the first-ever Cheltenham Gold Cup, dating from 1924, was reinstated as a perpetual trophy – the race has been ‘farmed’ by horses trained in Ireland.

In 2019, Al Boum Photo finally brought an end to the Gold Cup ‘hoodoo’ of perennial Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins, who had previously saddled the runner-up on six separate occasions. In 2020, shortly before the first coronavirus lockdown in Britain, Al Boum Photo won the ‘Blue Riband’ event again, thereby becoming the first horse since Best Mate, in 2003, to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup two years running. Mullins was also responsible for the 2023 winner, Galopin Des Champ and, in between times, Co. Waterford trainer weighed in with Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, who finished first and second, in reverse order, in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

To answer the headline question, though, the last Cheltenham Gold Cup winner trained on the British mainland was Native River, who, in 2018, fought a ding-dong battle with market rival Might Bite for most of the way, before asserting on the run-in to win by 4½ lengths in very game fashion. Trained by the now-retired Colin Tizzard in Milborne Port, near Sherborne, Dorset, Native River had finished third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2017 and went on to finish fourth in both 2019 and 2021.

Cheltenham Festival provides punters with a conveyor belt of horse racing betting markets, and there’s no shortage of bettors willing to snap up what’s on offer. It is held in high esteem in the sporting calendar and sees some of the most considerable gambling activity out of any UK-based sports events throughout the year.

A tsunami of welcome offers and promotions awaits those looking to place a bet this year. Cheltenham odds 2024 will take shape the day before each race as the conditions and big bets begin to play a role in the market. However, we’ve shuffled through the pack to see which horses are the favourites going into each day to give you an idea of some picks.

Last year’s Gold Cup saw the favourite Galopin Des Champs storm to victory, jockeyed by the formidable Paul Townend. Horse racing bettors know that the favourites storming to victory can be few and far between, with many surprises on the way. With that in mind, don’t just accept our picks; remember to do your own research too!

First day

Cheltenham’s first day can be a reserved affair at times, with stables and owners gearing up and getting settled into the rhythm of the event. The Champion Hurdle is always the pick of the first day’s action – and State Man is going into the race as a huge 2/5 favourite. However, as we know, with the level of gambling activity that ensues in the hours leading up to the race, these odds could fluctuate in either direction between now and day one.

With such nailed-on odds, some bettors might be put off by the lack of value. Quilixios could be a good outside punt for the first day – some tipsters have highlighted him as the first day’s pick. With odds ranging between 5/1 and 7/1, he could be the fabled dark horse, considering how well De Bromhead has his team prepared for the big meet in Cheltenham.

Day two

As the action picks up, Wednesday’s big race, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, showcases some of the top talent in UK and Irish horse racing – as it does yearly. El Fabiolo is a 1/2 favourite, with the second favourite, Jonbon, miles behind at 7/2, despite their rivalry over the last few months.

Stranger things have happened, and horses with higher odds have upset the status quo at Cheltenham and The Grand National before. Still, there’s a reason that El Fabiolo is such a solid favourite, with the shortest odds out of any race on the second day.

Thursday’s favourites

El Fabiolo leads again for the 14:50 on the penultimate day. However, the Ryanair Chase odds are tightly packed together, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Envoi Allen or Banbridge win this one.

Looking at the odds for Thursday, many markets are nip and tuck, and we suspect the fine margins will decide many of these races. Given that El Fabiolo is probably the strongest favourite for any race throughout Thursday but is still 6/4 compared to Banbridge’s 3/1, it shows how competitive it could get.

Final day – Gold Cup 2024 betting odds

Undoubtedly, the biggest race at Cheltenham is the Gold Cup on Friday; for many people, the Gold Cup is the main topic of discussion when discussing Cheltenham. Galopin Des Champs is again the favourite going in, with similar odds to last year when Paul Townend rode him first past the post.

While he’s not as strong a favourite currently, big money will likely pile in as we get closer to the final day. Fastorslow and Shishkin might be causing a slight fanfare, but given that they’re so far behind such a talented and consistent horse, we’d say bet against Galopin at your peril.

Although keen horse racing bettors like to divide their analysis across each of the four days at Cheltenham, all eyes are on the Gold Cup. Not only does it attract the most significant numbers on the box, but it also sees the most gambling activity and attracts the most significant spectator numbers out of any race at the meet.

Summary

Part of the appeal of betting on Cheltenham is that it’s very rare for tipsters to get it all right. As with so many horse racing betting markets, excellent value can be found if you know what to look for and what the rub of the green is that day.

Always look into these markets for yourself, and don’t gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. As long as you use these tips as a guide, don’t take them as guarantees, and stay within the parameters of safe gambling, you’ll get a taste of why so many people enjoy placing bets on Cheltenham.

It’s inevitable that curveballs will result in a big hit for the bookies; however, this is what the drama is all about, and it is a significant part of why punters flock to Cheltenham in their thousands. Each day at Cheltenham encompasses half a dozen different races, and with the stage set for another bumper festival, bettors cannot wait for the action to unfold on Tuesday.

 

Any horse racing fan worth their salt will be eagerly awaiting the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. With 28 races over four spellbinding days of races, this March Tuesday 12^th – Friday 15^th national hunt festival is a gathering of the best talent there in the racing world. Many of the races in this prestigious event are both steeped in history, and also makers of history – as i’m sure we’ll have some of the races on repeat for years to come. Cheltenham is one of those events the whole nation tends to tune in to when it comes around, and being that it’s free to air and ever popular (viewing figure were into the millions last year) I doubt this year will be an exception to the rule.

Running from Tuesday to Friday, some of the highlights include the Supreme Novices Hurdle on Tuesday, the much loved Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday (at time of writing the Willie Mullins trained favourite El Fabiolo is a super short 2/5, with Jonbon at 7/2) the Stayers Hurdle on Thursday and of course the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.

The current lay of the land for the Gold Cup Cheltenham betting sees Galopin Des Champs as clear favourite at 10/11 at time of writing, with FastorSlow at 4-1, with others deemed to be in with a decent shot at 8-1 and thereabouts. The bookies certainly look to setting out their stall in such a way that they think they know how this pans out, so it’ll be fascinating to see it play out in real time. Considering Galopin Des Champs form both now and in winning the Gold Cup last year, it’s hard to see past him. Life has a habit of surprising us though, and racing is certainly no exception to that.