Hi all,
As promised, here’s another Cheltenham Festival ante-post betting preview. This my first dip into Handicap races at the Festival with ante post selections for the Coral Cup & Grand Annual Handicap Chase.
It’s worth noting that these selections are for races where the weights have yet to be published. There are two selections for each of the races.
Cheltenham Festival 2020 Ante Post Selections:
Wednesday March 11th
Coral Cup
Here are my two ante post selections the Coral Cup a handicap hurdle run over 2m 4f and is traditionally one of the most competitive races at the Cheltenham Festival. Last year’s renewal was won by the Nicky Henderson-trained William Henry.
I have already mentioned my first selection Alfa Mix in this week’s eyecatchers article. I don’t know if the race will be the 5-year-old’s target or not. But he does look an ideal type for the race and one that I want to have onside.
The other horse I like for the race, ran on Cheltenham Trials Day and it’s the Dan Skelton trained Protektorat. Like Alfa Mix I don’t know if this will be the horses target at the Festival but he’s another I like, and should he take his place in the line-up will be a lot shorter in the betting.
The 5-year-old caught the eyes of plenty, after his third placed effort behind Harry Senior in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and indeed was a Racing Post Eyecatcher: “Ran with credit conceding weight all round. He’s long looked a Coral Cup type”
The step up to 2m 4 ½ f has brought improvement in the gelding who won a Cheltenham Listed novice hurdle on New Year’s Day. He ran a remarkable race on Saturday having been keen for much of the race and did well to finish as close as he did at the finish.
The big field of Coral Cup should be perfect for him as he can be dropped in and get some cover before being unleashed for a strong late finish. He’s a novice which means he could go for the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle but I’m hoping connections will opt for the Coral Cup.
Sadly the 20/1 still available On Monday has now gone but he still rates value bet at around 14/1 for a trainer who can prepare a handicap hurdler for the Festival.
1pt each way- Alfa Mix – 33/1 @ Ladbrokes (paying 4 places ¼ odds) & William Hill (paying 5 places ¼ odds)
1pt each way – Protektorat – 14/1 @ Bet365 (paying 4 places ¼ odds) & William Hill (paying 5 places ¼ odds)
Friday March 13th
Grand Annual Handicap Chase
The Grand Annual Chase used to be the final race of the Cheltenham Festival but due to safety concerns it’s now the penultimate race of the Cheltenham Festival. Run over 2m ½ f last year’s race was won by outsider 66/1 Croco Bay.
As with the previous race I have already mentioned one my selections for the race in this week’s eyecatchers article. The horse in question is the Alan King trained Lisp. The 6-year-old is now qualified to run in the Grand Annual and it’s a race which Lisp looks ideal for as long as the handicapper gives him a competitive weight.
The other I like, is a previous eyecatcher of mine and it’s the Paul Nicholls trained Brelan D’As. Third in last years race. I have had the 9-year-old in mind for this race since he was beaten a neck by Happy Diva in the BetVictor Gold Cup back in November.
He could only finish 8th of 13 behind the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup on his next start. However, he was still in contention when stumbling three out. It was a race ending mistake. He wasn’t subjected to hard ride after that mistake and finished in his own time.
Seems at his best on soft ground which is a slight concern, was good to soft last year, but he’s got the ability to win a decent pot when all the cards fall right and I fully expect that Paul Nicholls will have trained him for this race.
1pt each way – Brelan D’As – 20/1 @ Bet365 & Ladbrokes (paying 4 places ¼ odds)
1pt each way – Lisp – 20/1 @ Paddy Power & Betfair Sportsbook (paying 5 places 1/5 odds)
I have now got eight horses in my Cheltenham Festival ante post portfolio. This weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival is likely to see plenty more horses shorten or lengthen for their respective races. I will probably have most of my ante post bets in place in the next two weeks which means there is likely to be at most two remaining ante post articles.
Cheers
John