Cheltenham Festival 2016 Ante Post Racing Tips

The 2015/16 jumps season is nearing a close which can only mean one thing, the road to Cheltenham is not far away. Those who count down the days to the start of the flat season don’t have long to wait either, with the Lincoln and first of the English Classics all in sight in an exciting part of the year in horse racing.

The Festival is the biggest week of the year in jumps racing and here are some of the best bets for the 2016 meeting.

Cue Card – Cheltenham Gold Cup

The Cheltenham Gold Cup this year could be one of the best in a long time with a number of novice chasers taking their chances against the more experienced horses.

One of the runners with a wealth of experience at this level and in this division is Cue Card. Colin Tizzard’s runner won the biggest race of his career on Boxing Day when he got the better of Vautour by a head at Kempton in the King George. The victory brought up his third win of the season as he has also scored in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby among others.

The now 10-year-old has proven his stamina over the 3m trip and showed a fluent round of jumping on all three of his starts this season. Cue Card is definitely worth a bet on the Gold Cup with Paddy Power where he is 13-2 to win the race for the first time.

Annie Power – Champion Hurdle

The whole complexion of the Champion Hurdle was shaken up when Faugheen was ruled out of the opportunity to defend his crown in the race through injury. Trainer Willie Mullins has therefore had to shuffle his pack and it is thought that he will supplement Annie Power for the premier 2m hurdle contest this season rather than run her in the Mares’ Hurdle or the World Hurdle.

Barring a last hurdle blunder in 2015, Annie Power would have won the Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival by a large distance. She made up for that error by winning at the Punchestown Festival in May, while more recently she also scored in Ireland in her preparation run for Cheltenham.

This year’s Champion Hurdle looks much weaker without Faugheen in the field so Mullins clearly thinks his runner can become only the fourth mare in history to win the race where she is 2-1 to do so.

Outlander - JLT Novices Chase

Mullins has the strongest stable he has ever brought over to the UK for the Festival this year. One of the horses which isn’t quite getting as much attention as his recognised superstars is Outlander who is set to run in the JLT Novices Chase where he is 5-1 to win the race.

The eight-year-old has had a faultless campaign with three wins from three in his opening campaign over fences. His latest success was in a Grade One contest at Leopardstown where he finished ahead of Monksland and Pont Alexandre. He looks good enough to add to Mullins’ tally at the Festival this year.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup 2015: It's A Road To Riches

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the biggest and most popular events in the horse racing calendar. This famous steeplechase is held at Prestbury Park run over 3 miles 2 1/2 furlongs with 22 fences to jump. The Cheltenham Festival is a race meeting that excites horse racing fans across the globe and brings with it thousands of Irish supporters who look forward to their annual pilgrimage to challenging the best National Hunt horses. Come the 13th March, 2015 riders, trainers, punters and horses will be chomping at the bit. This could be a good time to bet on the Cheltenham Gold Cup. 

So what are we to make of this year's betting at Paddy Power? Well, looking at the prices it is a pretty open race as far as the betting is concerned. Silviniaco Conti heads the field at 3/1 favourite. Bar Paul Nicholls hope all other horses are priced at double-figure odds with the exception of the Irish-trained Road To Riches. 

This Irish bred son of Gamut - a talented Group 1 winning sire who raced over the Flat for Sir Michael Stoute - has crept under the radar for this year's Gold Cup. 

There's one thing you can guarantee, the talent of this bay gelding, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, is no surprise to Noel Meade. With fifteen races under rules he has won eight times. This bay may have fell on his debut but his performances since have been pretty much unblemished. The last six races saw four wins and two narrow defeats by less than one length. In less than a year this eight-year-old has risen 22lbs in the official handicap and although needing to improve to win at the highest grade this rapid rise to fame could see a bold show when competing at Cheltenham for the first time. A horse who could hold each-way claims and keep those Irish eyes smiling.  

12:30 Redcar Racing Tips (4th November) IRISH STALLION FARMS EBF MAIDEN STAKES (Div I) (CLASS 5) (2yo)

An EBF maiden over 7f on soft ground. Division one of this two-year-old contest with eleven runners: fours colts, two geldings and five fillies. A trio of debutantes against a field of lightly-race juveniles from a mix of trainers. The betting could be particularly important so keep an eye on the market with Paddy Power.   

Weiner Valkyrie sets the standard after two runs. Unlike many home breds this bay filly was ready for action when making her debut over 7f at Salisbury. Ed Walker's charge is sired by Shamardal from a family which has sold well at public auction [Vienna Affair $380,000 4-y-o]. This American bred was fancied in the betting when starting at odds of 8/1 when a narrow loser to Jelly Monger who wasn't disgraced when competing in the Oh So Sharp Stakes (Group 3). Weiner Valkyrie wasn't disgraced when second behind Luca Cumani's Lady Of Dubai, although never posing a threat. Connections will be heading north for what should be a big run. Definitely the horse to beat if coping with the soft ground.

Bryan Smart is always a trainer to take seriously with his two-year-olds on their second start - they often go well. Lewis Valentine is an Irish bred son of Rip Van Winkle out of a dual-winning mare. This bay colt ran over 7f on debut when relatively weak in the market on good to firm ground. This step up in distance should be a positive. The ground is a slight unknown. The most important factor for this horse's chance is the betting. If priced 13/2 & less I would be confident this February foal would be placed. 

Of the debutantes one horse catches the eye - Brotherly Company. This Irish bred son of Fast Company out of an unraced mare is owned by Jaber Abdullah and trained by Richard Fahey. Few handlers feature a better strike rate with their debutantes. plus course and jockey statistics are decent. In fairness, this bay will need to be quite smart to beat the potential favourite who is likely to have an official rating in the 80s. I wouldn't bet on this horse unless decent odds.

Spinaminnie has been relatively fancied on both starts to date for Mark Johnston. This daughter of Moss Vale is stepping up in distance but needs to improve after being beaten by Pastoral Girl at Leicester, who was far from her best. 

Debutantes Bridget Gem & Dazzling Display are best watched.

Beatabout, Racing Spirit & Toboggan's Gift need to have a transformation and better suited at nursery class.

Ingleby Hollow was half fancied on debut and then ruined his chance at Newcastle by pulling when a distant third. Unless seriously backed - a watching brief.

David Simcock is represented by Intrude who wasn't fancied in the betting on debut at Windsor, beaten a good few lengths. This son of Intikhab is out of Richard Hannon's Don't Tell Mum who wasn't disgraced at Group class. This drop back in distance may be more suiting. Intrude cost 160,000GNS at the yearling sales when purchased by Happy Valley Racing. You can imagine connections will be expecting more. If substantially backed or priced 13/2 & less has fair win and place claims. 

Conclusion: An intriguing race where a few trainers may have considered this a prime opportunity to win. Testing ground could be the biggest opposition to a few of these who will need to handle the conditions. Weiner Valkyrie sets the standard with two sterling efforts. It will take a decent juvenile to beat her although the soft ground brings concerns. Richard Fahey's Brotherly Company should be respected but will need to be fit, well and talented to lower the colours of the favourite. I wouldn't bet on this horse unless it was priced 8/1+ [unlikely]. The betting is key for Lewis Valentine. Bryan Smart's juvenile has strong place claims if priced 13/2 & less. Intrude has something to prove after a routine debut. If well backed there may be more to come. I'd bet on Lewis Valentine to get a place if in best betting guide.   

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!