UK Horse Racing Tips

The Cheltenham Festival is always a great opportunity to place a few accumulators, whether they are ante-post or on the day of the race.

Maybe you fancy an ante-post on the headline races of each day, such as the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup. Or you could decide to place an accumulator on all the races which are live on terrestrial television to help keep the excitement levels going through the afternoon.

You may also have a favourite jockey who you consistently back and hope will one day emulate the achievements of Frankie Dettori by going through the card.

It’s certainly possible that could happen, but such occurrences are rare and picking the winner of every race at such a competitive event as the Cheltenham Festival is going to take something not far short of a miracle.

Yet, what if you do have one of those days when the first five or six selections in the accumulator have won? Everything now rests on the final race of the day for you to claim a big jackpot and have a tale to tell for the rest of your life. However, disaster strikes and you endure the agony of your horse being beaten in a photo, like On His Own in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season, or seeing it fall when in contention.

To avoid such a heart-breaking scenario, you should use an exchange betting app of the likes of betfair which allows you to cash out your horse racing multiples in between races.

It’s a feature which just requires one click of the button and means you can still guarantee yourself a handsome profit on your bets, irrespective of what happens afterwards.

You can cash out at any time as well, from after the first race up to before the last race.

You just have to decide how long you can hold your nerve and whether telling the story of how close you came to a historic accumulator is worth more than the money in your account from getting the first four legs up.

The Young Master has already been involved in one of the stranger stories of the National Hunt season and will head to the Cheltenham Festival hoping to make the right kind of headlines.

Back in November, The Young Master ran out an impressive winner of the Badger Ales Handicap Chase at Wincanton in the hands of Barry Geraghty.

For a then five-year-old novice to come out on top so convincingly against far more seasoned rivals, it was a sign that here was a horse to follow.

Yet The Young Master was subsequently disqualified, with a computer systems failure partly to blame, as the horse was not eligible to run in the race. At that point he had only run twice over fences when the conditions of the race required a minimum of three runs.

It has not held The Young Master back and, even though his 14lbs rise in the weights for his Wincanton ‘win’ still stood, he belied that hike to take the Listed Silver Cup at Ascot just before Christmas.

Though he was receiving 17lbs from the runner-up Houblon Des Obeaux, it was still a fine performance to beat the Hennessey second.

Neil Mulholland’s horse had earlier won at Worcester on his chase debut in September before taking an amateur riders’ race at Cheltenham in October.

by  Carine06

His victory in the hands of James Carroll demonstrated that The Young Master can handle the track and his tendency to jump left at Ascot will not be a problem at Cheltenham in March.

The question is which race will he run in?

Mulholland has entered The Young Master in the RSA Chase over the same trip as his previous Cheltenham win and the four-mile National Hunt Chase.

And Mulholland has yet to make a decision on which race, telling Racing UK: “People seem to think it is the RSA. I see it was mentioned it was plan A. It is by no means plan A. The owner would probably like the RSA and I would probably like the four-miler. It is something that needs to be discussed.”

The Young Master has shaped as if four miles would not be a problem given the way he has stayed on very stoutly in his chase runs to date.

Yet he also has the touch of class, allied to the stamina, to make an impact in the RSA Chase, which is a breeding ground for future Gold Cup winners.

At a double figure price with Betfair for the RSA Chase, even after recent market support, it is very tempting to back him now for that race and it is also just as persuasive to have a dabble on him for the National Hunt Chase.

It may come down to jockey availability. Mulholland is keen for Geraghty, who has ridden The Young Master on the last two occasions, to be in the saddle if the horse goes for the RSA Chase.

If not, then Carroll could be given the leg-up in the National Hunt Chase.

But, whichever race The Young Master goes for, the six-year-old has the progressive credentials to be a leading player. And it would also provide a story which would be much better to remember than the one currently being told.

The Cheltenham Festival is a jewel in the crown of UK national hunt racing and its not long now until it comes around once again. The four day festival falls on Tuesday March 10th 2015 and culminates on the hopefully not too unlucky Friday 13th. With significant prize money on offer we can expect to witness huge crowds and highly anticipated match ups. There are set to be 27 races in total starting with Tuesday’s 2m 1/2f Grade One Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. On Friday, the final day of the festival, we get to enjoy the 3m 2 1/2f Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Previous years at Cheltenham have brought us some memorable races and achievements. Ruby Walsh has won the top jockey accolade (for most wins over the four day festival) a staggering 8 times including 2013 and 2014. Walsh is currently still undecided about whether to ride 5/4 favourite Faugheen or Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle.

Taking a look at the Cheltenham Festival 2015 odds , should you wish to win big straight after hearing the Cheltenham Roar, you’ll need to wage a bet on the first race of the the festival, the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. There’s a clear favourite in Douvan, who may have too much for the rest of the field, though I’d suggest Lami Serge (9/2) and Shaneshill (16/1) may be in with an outside chance.

For those fancying a punt on the Gold Cup, French bred Paul Nicholls trained Silviniaco Conti is clear favourite at 3-1 with several bookmakers, ahead of Road to Riches and Many Clouds, both at 8-1. Going by recent form the odds are no surprise but I’m inclined to think that Silviniaco Conti is a tad short, so would hold out until closer to the race to see market movements.

The National Hunt season has well and truly reached full stride with plenty of big names expected to feature in the top races at the Cheltenham festival in March already having had a run, reminding jumps fans of just how much there is to look forward to in what promises to be another tremendous season, writes Elliot Slater.

The next few months are sure to fly by leaving the always eagerly anticipated Cheltenham Festival around the corner, by which time the picture relating to the top showcase races of the meeting – the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, World Hurdle and Gold Cup, as well as other top events such as the Supreme Novices Hurdle, RSA Chase, Arkle Trophy, Ryanair Chase, and Triumph Hurdle, amongst others, should be that much more defined.

So, what have we learned so far in the first few weeks of the autumn schedule? Well, amongst other things, we know that Minehead-based trainer Philip Hobbs is probably in better form than any other of the major yards. Hobbs has enjoyed a tremendous strike rate so far this campaign and virtually all his horses seem to be running out of their skin. The best example would probably be his popular chaser Menorah, always there or thereabouts in top events over the years, but apparently a pound or two short of the very best in his division.

Menorah, however, lit up the Grade 2 three-mile-one-furlong Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on November 1, the season’s first big stayers’ contest, when put up a sparkling display to land his first victory at the trip and open up a whole new range of possibilities for the likeable Diana Whateley-owned gelding. In previous seasons Menorah, (named after the seven-stemmed candelabra symbol of the State of Israel), had appeared to be at his best when racing at around two-and-a-half miles, winning top races such as the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices Chase at Aintree over the trip, as well as the Grade 2 Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.

Last term the signs were there that as he gets older Menorah’s stamina is developing. He won the listed Oaksey Chase over the very testing two-and-three-quarter miles at Sandown, beating Gullinbursti by 17 lengths, and at Wetherby, having his first outing of the term, always appeared to be travelling well in the hands of his regular partner, Richard Johnson. The Wetherby home straight is uphill all the way but there was no sign of Menorah’s stamina flickering as first The Giant Bolster, then Silviniaco Conti, then Double Ross and Medermit ran out of steam.

Going to the final fence Menorah had already assumed command and a good leap sealed the deal as he stayed on very strongly all the way to the line to beat last season’s Cheltenham Festival winner Taquin de Seuil (JLT Novices Chase hero), by a comfortable four lengths.

Hobbs, who hadn’t travelled north to Wetherby in Yorkshire for the race, (but who saw it at Ascot where he was saddling other runners), suggested that the King George VI Chase at Kempton would now appear the obvious route for his gelded son of King’s Theatre. Betting firms reacted by trimming the odds of a Menorah victory at the feature Sunbury Christmas highlight to a general offer of 14/1.

Paul Nicholls’ evens favourite Silvinaco Conti – who had been expected by many to make a winning return in the ‘Charlie Hall’ – was quite disappointing, prompting the champion trainer to suggest that he still was short of where he wanted him to be at this stage so he may well take in another race – quite possibly the Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock later in the month – before heading to Kempton for the ‘King George’, a race in which he defeated the classy Cue Card last winter.

The runner-up at Wetherby, Taquin De Seuil, delighted trainer Jonjo O’Neill who couldn’t have been happier with this first-time-out effort. O’Neill confirmed his charge bang on target to head to Haydock for the Betfrair Chase, after which he has all the top races in the division in mind for a horse already amongst the front-runners for honours – together with such as Silviniaco Conti – for the Cheltenham Gold Cup itself, in March.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies team was also very happy with the run of Double Ross, who finished a close third having led three out only to possibly blow up from the penultimate fence on his seasonal bow. Third behind Taquin de Seuil at last term’s Cheltenham Festival, before running a fine fifth behind Ma Filleule in the Topham Trophy, Double Ross is another exciting prospect in what is sure to prove a fascinating season in the three-mile chasing division.