The Cheltenham Festival is one of the top races in the British racing calendar and due to start next month on the 16th and culminate with the Gold Cup on the Friday.
The headline this year is that it is to be raced behind closed doors because of the ongoing pandemic. The UK has vaccinated 15m people but it seems not in time for the race event this year. Last year audiences piled into the venue with average crowds reaching 65,000 per day for a tremendous atmosphere and the famous Cheltenham roar (when the spectators cheer the horses as they cross the start and finish lines). There were some cases of Covid infections and so probably caused organisers and the authorities to make this decision. Let’s hope there are some better headlines to come when the horses hit the track.
Cheltenham Racecourse website this morning showed: “This means that under current restrictions, The Festival will take place as a televised event, but sadly without spectators at the course. We continue to monitor Government guidance, and should this change in advance of The Festival we will act accordingly.”
Some of the favourites
At this year’s event, we all want the crowd favourite, Altior to win one more time and make it 5 race wins but he has to fend off Chacun Pour Soi in the Champions Chase. Chacun Pour Soi is the favourite at 4/6. 2 horses at 8/1 Politologue and Nube Negra and Altior is 2nd favourite at 6/1.
In the Festival RSA Chase, we like Monkfish who has beaten his nearest rivals comprehensively this year. Like his rival Latest Exhibition in their last 2 races.
Envoi Allen has entries to the Arkle and Marsh Novices’ Chase, but the Marsh Novices’ Chase is his priority, betting is even for him to win. With 12 race wins and 5 of those Grade One wins, he’s a horse with great form and a great pedigree.
Shishkin racing in the Arkle competition is at 5/6 on. He is rapid across the flat and jumps well. We don’t see him getting beaten and with only this one to concentrate on, he should triumph with ease, hence the short odds.
More Cheltenham Festival Horse Racing Odds
To get the right odds for the Cheltenham Festival try to research some of the horses, racing news, and recent form. There are odd manager guides that will help you with choosing horses to back in each reach.
The Cheltenham odds will also continue to change as horses showcase in smaller events around the UK before the big race event! Shortlist your horses and keep an eye on odds management tools so you don’t miss out on changing Cheltenham odds that could bring you a nice return on your investment. Also, make sure you keep an eye out for deals offered by online bookies offering bonus bets with favorable odds and bets that cover you.
You will find enhanced odds on certain races and horses, acca bet offers, ante-post betting options, and bonus bets that allow you to bet on a straight winner and some even offer each-way betting! Also, it is a great time to take advantage of the Cheltenham Festival 2021 odds before the race when they are high!
The Cheltenham Gold Cup
For the climax to the festival, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has Al Boum Photo who at 3/1 could win the Gold Cup for the 3rd year running. That would be an amazing achievement to rival Best Mate in the three years from 2002 to 2004. His trainer Willie Mullins has a staggering 72 winners and 14 Champion race winners. Al Boum Photo will likely be ridden by jockey Paul Townend who teamed up with Al Boum to win Tranmore in January.
A Plus Tard is an outside bet at 10/1 with some value and from the Cheveley Park stud which has a growing reputation for National Hunt races. Santini who is trained by Nicky Henderson is also in the running but was handsomely beaten by Al Boum last year. For some more odds see this article.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.