A Gambling Guide to This Year's Cheltenham Gold Cup

A Gambling Guide to This Year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup

One of the biggest events in horse racing, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, takes place next month. We preview the race and give our best betting tips on who could win.

For horse racing fans, there is a huge meet on the horizon. Cheltenham Festival takes place every year in March and we can’t wait for an event that can be mentioned in the same breath as the Super Bowl and the World Cup. One of the most popular races in the world, thousands will be in attendance to enjoy the festivities with millions more watching the drama unfold from the comfort of their living rooms. Let’s set the scene: A four-day festival packed with twists and turns closes with the most prestigious of National Hunt races, the Gold Cup. Onlookers cheer and scream their horse’s name, encouraging it to nose ahead of its competitor. By the finish, it could be neck and neck – it often is. A cacophony of noise will rise to a crescendo at the race’s conclusion before the victor is draped in plaudits and a sash. For the Mystic Megs in the crowd, the sweet satisfaction of predicting the winning horse will be accompanied by a cash prize.

Gambling is part and parcel of an event like Cheltenham, the stakes being so high making it ripe for wagers. In fact, last year’s event saw more than $1.3 billion dollars being spent on Cheltenham festival betting offers, many of them in the Gold Cup. So let’s take a look at one of the sport’s most popular dates and pick out some selections for Cheltenham Gold Cup betting 2019. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it so one place to start is by looking at the previous winners who will be lining up in the starting gate next month.

Native River has the chance to retain his crown this year. Trained by Colin Tizzard, he’s a nine-year-old Irish-born, British-trained thoroughbred who took the cup by four-and-a-half lengths last time out. He’s the second-favourite for the Cup and punters can avail of odds of 11/2 with Betfair. A decent price for a horse of his pedigree. It’s probably bigger than it should be due to his poor form this season. A horse’s form is obviously a huge factor, especially when it comes to bookies’ prices. That’s why Presenting Percy is the favourite this time around. The eight-year-old had been out of action since winning the RSA Chase last March before returning last month in The John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle Race at Gowran Park. Anyone unaware of his 316-day absence wouldn’t have been able to detect it watching him run, winning as comfortably as he did. Betway prices him at 3/1 and few would begrudge the Patrick G Kelly-trained favourite his moment of glory. Another storybook moment for Cheltenham.

Not that his competitors will give him a guard of honour prior to proceedings. They will want to trample his fairytale into the dirt. Perhaps none more so than Might Bite. He came closest to stopping Native River last time out. Despite this, his price is huge and this is down to his sluggish form in the near-year since that impressive showing. Maybe he’s been saving himself for one of the biggest stages there is. Reserving his energy for unfinished business. If you feel that he can triumph in an underdog capacity then Might Bite could plump your wallet. Paddy Power offers odds of 16/1 on the nine-year-old going one better in 2019.

Back to previous winners now as we size up Sizing John’s chances of repeating the trick he did in 2017. The Jessica Harrington-trained star would be right up there if it was not for a pelvic injury suffered at a Christmas meet. He hasn’t raced since December 2017. To win a Gold Cup after so long would be phenomenal and a legendary moment in the race’s history. William Hill are offering very tempting odds of 25/1 on Sizing John to win. That’s well worth an each-way bet. If that would be spectacular then it’s hard to muster words for the thought of Coneygree winning again. The 2015 champion will be twelve-years-old by the time Cheltenham rolls around. If he were to win then he would be joining an elite band of champions. Only two other twelve-year-olds have tasted glory, the last being What A Myth in 1969. It seems extremely unlikely but stranger things have happened. At odds of 66/1 with Bet365, we can see it appealing to those among you who like spreading each-way wagers across the race.

The last horse that we’re going to put under the microscope is Road to Respect. He placed fourth last year and there is a history of horses making the leap to first from that position. Native River was the last to do so. We’re going to tip the Noel Meade-trained horse to bag the Irishman his first Gold Cup. His recent Leopardstown runs bode well for Cheltenham, providing the ground is good. Betvictor give odds of 12/1 on him being the 2019 champion. Now you have the lowdown on this year’s best contenders. All that’s left is to pick among them and prepare yourself for a day of high drama in one of the world’s finest races.