Tuesday 8 January 2013

Your Guide to betting at the Cheltenham 2013 Festival


Popular online bookies’ Paddy Power have given us the lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not in the build-up to the 2013 Cheltenham Festival with a wide range of Ante-post betting markets to choose from (currently not available to US residents, unfortunately).
Ante-post betting can prove a double-edged sword; it’s benefits are obvious – you generally get a much better price if you back a horse months before the event, before his price is eased towars the day of the race. On the flip side, if the horse is withdrawn from the race, your bet is deemed a losing bet, so wise judgement is required before delving into the ante-post market at Cheltenham in particular – there’s a lot of great value to be found, yet many of the racecards are still undecided, prior to the declarations being made. So with that in mind, we’d hate to outline the hope without explaining the rules of the game, here’s our early picks, or tips if you like, for the 2013 Cheltenham betting:

Supreme Novices Hurdle (March 12th) – Jezki looks good value @ 4/1
Arkle Chase (March 12th) – Simonsig is the formidable choice, not great Ante-post value however at @ 4/5

Champion Hurdle (March 12th) – Some great recent form suggest Darlan @ 4/1 could be the one to beat 

OLBG David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle (March 12th) – Quevega is hotly tipped around these parts, again, not much value in a 4/6 shot, however!

Neptune Investment Novices Hurdle (March 13th) – We like the look of the much fancied The New One @ 10/1

Queen Mother Champion Chase (March 13th) –To lay Sprinter Sacre or not – that is the question! If you do, you could do worse than backing one of our favourite all-time horses, Sizing Europe @ 7/1, which brings us to the big one…

2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup (March 15th) – Bobs Worth is receiving some excellent backing on the exchanges, currently 3/1 whist Silviniaco Conti looks decent value @ 7/1, particularly if the mercurial Ruby Walsh takes the reins. The list of potential winners here is endless, although we’ll keep it at three, with the inclusion of the fiery Flemenstar @ 11/1 for good measure.

Whoever you go for this March, whether you back ‘em Ante-post or No Runner No Bet, a little closer to the festival, we wish you all the best of luck! Please feel free to drop us a line to let us know your tips for the 2013 Cheltenham Festival – We Here You… your guess is as good as ours!