Buveur D'Air, reigning Champion Hurdler© Photo Healy Racing
The National Hunt racing season will peak in thrilling fashion during the middle week of March, as horse racing’s biggest names descend upon Gloucestershire to try and capture the copious riches on offer at the Cheltenham Festival. Legends will be made, records will be broken and history will be written as horse racing provides the best sporting drama imaginable.
As soon as Sizing John had finished drinking in the applause in the Gold Cup winners’ enclosure, the team of experts at RacingTips had one eye on the 2018 Cheltenham Festival. During the regular season, they have been helping punters wage war against the bookmakers, whilst reporting all the breaking news concerning the Festival. They will provide tips for every race at Cheltenham, excellent insight into all the possible betting markets and in-depth analysis of all the protagonists hoping to play a staring roll on horse racing’s grandest stage.
Newbury, Sandown, Ascot, Haydock and Kempton have handed out prestigious prizes already this season. Over in Ireland, Leopardstown and Punchestown have staged crucial Cheltenham trials races and helped shape the current ante-post markets. Punters have been sinking their teeth into the Cheltenham betting all season and there are several potential Festival heroes who have attracted more support than others.
Nicky Henderson’s Might Bite outjumped his British rivals to win the historic King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. After many of his potential Irish rivals failed to fire at Leopardstown a few days later, Might Bite rose to the head of the betting in the Gold Cup and he looks like the one to beat in jumps racings’ premier event.
Reigning Champion Hurdler, Buveur D’Air has looked better than ever this season, waltzing to Grade One victories at Newcastle and Kempton. Fans were overjoyed to see 2015 Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen make a winning return after 18 months on the side-lines, but that happiness soon turned to horror as the ten-year-old was pulled up on his following appearance. Willie Mullins has reported that Faugheen is fully fit and still on the road to Cheltenham, but there’s no doubting this year’s Champion Hurdle is Buveur D’Air’s to lose.
There’s a sense of the unknown surrounding this year’s Champion Chase, with the two central figures in the market both struggling with injury. Douvan sustained a fractured pelvis during the early stages of his acrimonious defeat in last year’s renewal and he hasn’t been seen since. Altior ended last season on top of the two-mile chasing division, but a wind problem was discovered prior to his planned reappearance and Nicky Henderson is facing a race against time to have the favourite fit in time for the Festival.
Nichols Canyon’s tragic demise, combined with the dominance of Apple’s Jade has thrown the Stayers’ Hurdle betting wide open. With Gordon Elliott’s all-conquering mare likely to try and defend her Mares’ Hurdle crown, Jedd O’Keeffe’s stable star Sam Spinner leads the way in the betting for Cheltenham’s oldest race. He defeated potential Cheltenham rivals L’Ami Serge and Unowhatimeanharry in the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle and will be hoping to do the same when he makes his Festival debut.
Un De Sceaux was the star performer on a famous Thursday for Willie Mullins at last year’s meeting, storming to a powerful victory in the Ryanair Chase. He heads the ante-post betting for this year’s renewal, but dangerous challengers like Fox Norton, Top Notch and Waiting Patiently are snapping at his coattails. Stablemate Footpad has been by far the most impressive novice chaser this season and he will be the one to beat in either the Arkle or the JLT Novices’ Chase.
Not wanting to be outdone by his Irish rival, Gordon Elliott’s strong squad of Cheltenham challengers is likely to be lead by exciting youngster Samcro, who is considered by many experts to be a sure thing in whichever of the three novice hurdles Elliott assigns him to.
As we well know, there are no certainties in jumps racing. Some of the aforementioned stars may carry the tag of favouritism, but when the eyes of hundreds of thousands of spectators and millions of fans around the world are firmly fixed upon them, any outcome is possible at the Cheltenham Festival.
