The bookmakers are really pushing the boat out with their Cheltenham offers this season. Not only do we have ante-post prices on all 27 races, several leading firms are already offering non-runner/no bet on the four championship races.
Sky Bet have added a further incentive to get stuck in to those ante-post Cheltenham wagers by offering a price boost on three tips provided by Racing UK experts Lydia Hislop, Mark Howard and Steve Mellish.
I have the greatest respect for Lydia and she is probably the only woman on the planet who could talk for longer about racing than I could without getting bored! I usually find her articles to be right on the money but I have to take issue with one comment she made about Big Buck’s on Saturday. She described the criticism of Sam Twiston-Davies for hitting the front too soon as “pants”. This is based on the fact that Ruby Walsh won on the horse by leading from a similar juncture in a previous World Hurdle.
That overlooks the 420 day lay-off, the heavy going and the fact that it was Twiston-Davies’s first ride on the horse. To my mind, all three contributed to the horse’s defeat but I’m sure we could discuss it if she has a few hours to spare! Although the jockey’s union does not allow criticism of their fellow riders, I think Mick Fitzgerald’s assessment was probably an accurate one and we’ll see Big Buck’s a little further back in the field on March 13th.
Lydia has selected King Palace, previously highlighted in this column, as the winner of the Albert Bartlett. Sky Bet are holding his price at 9-2 until midnight tonight. Mark Howard picked out Ted Walsh’s Foxrock, the winner of a grade 2 event at Naas last week, as his best bet in the National Hunt Chase (offered at 9-1). He is as low as 7-1 elsewhere and market rival Shotgun Paddy is not yet a certain starter.
Finally Steve Mellish weighed in with Le Rocher (also featured in this column on Monday) as his best bet in the Triumph Hurdle. I did not expect 12-1 to last for long but he is on offer at 14-1 until midnight. I am sure that he would be half those odds if he were trained by Nicholls or Henderson. If you haven’t played yet, grab the 14-1 while you can!
Sky Bet price boost
Kings Palace 9-2 Albert Bartlett
Foxrock 9-1 National Hunt Chase
Le Rocher 14-1 Triumph Hurdle
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
