Cheltenham Festival betting 2015

Is this the most open Cheltenham Gold Cup of recent times?

Gone are the days where horses like Kauto Star dominated the betting for Cheltenham’s feature race. This year there is a market with a 3/1 favourite in the form of Silviniaco Conti. Whilst the horse’s credentials are clearly warranting of favouritism, there still has to be doubts. With Silviniaco Conti having two previous attempts at clinching the prize and failing both times, surely there has to be doubts about it being third time lucky. Silviniaco Conti appears to be better on a flat track, displayed by his second success in the King George on Boxing Day. Find free bets for the Cheltenham Festival here.

Lord Windermere, On His Own and The Giant Bolster who contested the finish last year are priced at 12/1, 14/1 and 33/1 respectively. All three of these horses would have question marks for different reasons. Lord Windermere ran very disappointingly at Leopardstown last time out but some poor runs prior to last year’s race seemed no obstacle. Lord Windermere really appears to come alive at Cheltenham with wins at the last two festivals.

cheltenham gold cup festival

You have to look back to 1998 and Cool Dawn to find a winner aged ten or older which appears to put doubt over both On his Own and The Giant Bolster. Another horse with age against him is former winner Bobs Worth. With him struggling to replicate his form that saw him win so well in 2013 there appears little value at around 14/1. With doubts over so many of these runners perhaps it is time to look for a new contender.

Three interesting horses are Road To Riches, Many Clouds and Holywell. With Road To Riches last six runs recording four wins and two seconds, he could well be in the in-form horse.  As a horse on the up he really is one to take into account when looking at the market. He is priced at a general 8/1. His win in the Lexus Chase last time showed how well he can see out a three mile trip and this could stand him in good stead for the uphill finish at Cheltenham. Next is the Hennessey Gold Cup winner Many Clouds. Priced at around 10/1 he could well be a serious contender. The Hennessey Gold Cup has been a good trial over the years with horses like Lord Windermere, Bobs Worth and Denman all running in the race before going on to win at Cheltenham in March. Many Clouds put up a very good performance at Cheltenham’s Festival Trials Day, where he beat the good pair of Smad Place and Dynaste. The performance was even more admirable given it was not a fast-paced race and Many Clouds appears to want a true test. Next on the list is Holywell priced generally at 12/1. With his season really failing to take off there would be a risk in backing at this current stage. However if he were to follow his trainer and have a revival he could be one to note. Holywell possess strong course form with wins at the last two festivals. This really could be one of the most open Gold Cups for many years and is certainly a market to follow as we get closer to the big race.

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