The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the feature race on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival and the reigning champion Native River will ensure there is no hiding place. The likelihood of soft or perhaps even heavy ground is the key to the chances of the Colin Tizzard-trained chaser who is bidding to become the first horse since Best Mate to win the Blue Riband of jumps racing back-to-back. The great Willie Mullins has never saddled the winner of the big race and he has four representatives led by Irish Gold Cup winner Bellshill, but it is fellow Irish raider Presenting Percy (3.30) who gets the each way vote. The selection has won at the last two Festivals but has not run over fences since running away with the RSA Chase at Cheltenham 12 months […]
betting
The rain duly arrived at Cheltenham on Tuesday, but the rain is forecast to abate and be replaced by 50+ mph winds for the second day of the Cheltenham Festival. Let’s hope there is no structural damage to the temporary facilities at the track with Clerk of the Course Simon Claisse suggesting the infrastructure was more robust than was the case in 2008 when racing was abandoned for the day. Today’s card begins with the Grade 1 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and Nicky Henderson’s Champ -named after the legendary jockey AP McCoy – has been the market leader since landing the G1 Challow Hurdle at Newbury in December. That form has taken more than a few knocks, however, and he is short enough at 5/2 with BetVictor. The Irish have won four of the last five […]
Five thoughts on the psychology of betting Tom Segal (Pricewise in the Racing Post) – Keep it Fun “Keep it fun, that’s the key to any gambling. Don’t let it mean too much. If it means too much then it hurts when you lose and if it hurts when you lose, that’s a problem. Just try to keep it nice and calm and fun.” Alan Potts (Punter, author and pundit) On the importance of ‘attitude’ “Once you’ve gained enough experience to be able to analyse races with sufficient accuracy to find a decent percentage of winners, it’s only attitude that can prevent you from making profits. As with golf, it’s the six inches between your ears that will ultimately decide whether you win or lose” Peter Braddock (author ‘Braddock’s Complete Guide to Horse […]