Cheltenham Festival is one of the most exciting events in British racing. Yet with the Townend and Mullins combination firing on all cylinders, many of the prices for favourites can send you looking elsewhere.
Luckily, with so many great horses, jockeys and trainers there are plenty more attractive wagers to make. You just need to look deeper into the prices and the form. Below, we give three tips for outside bets at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Best Trainer
There are several alternative bets you can make at Cheltenham other than simply betting on the horses. If you check the Cheltenham bets today and the prices don’t appeal, then consider making a punt on the best trainer. Awards are handed out to both the best jockeys and trainers but they are bet on less than horses – so you can get some great prices. In the Cheltenham top trainer betting odds, Willie Mullins stands as the favourite 1/8 but by no means is he a certainty.
Gordon Elliot currently has a price of 7/1 and is a great shout. In many ways, he is equal to Mullins, who is commanding a much higher price. Both of them have the same winning record at the festival. Elliot also has the accolade of winning the National Hunt chase four times and has won three of the last four Pertemps Finals.
Amazingly, he also has a great record of netting profit for bettors. If you backed all his horses between 2010 and 2020, you would have a £90 profit if you had placed £1 stakes. All this makes him set to have a fantastic festival.
Supreme Novice Hurdle
Tahmuras is a fantastic outside bet at the Novice Hurdle, currently going at 10/1. It is a Nicholls horse, so is from a sterling trainer. All season the horse has progressed and won three starts over hurdles. One of these was a class one hurdle won by over five lengths in November, with another in January.
All the money for this race seems to be going toward Facile Vega. Yet, as his last run showed, he is not unbeatable. For an each-way bet, you can’t go wrong with Tahmuras as they are bound to place.
Triumph Hurdle
Comfort Zone is another promising outsider bet for the Triumph Hurdle. Owned by J.P. Mcmanus, his rides are plentiful at the festival and always do well. His last two runs saw him beat Scriptwriter and Dixon Cove. One of these runs was at Cheltenham.
He was also close to beating the favourite, Lossiemouth. While this horse has declined in form, Comfort Zone has only improved. Ridden by the experienced Jonjo O’Neill Jr, it is also trained by Joseph Patrick O’Brien. Everything says that this horse is poised to do well in the race and is a great bet.
There will be many others that the bettors and cheltenham tipsters may have overlooked. Check the form and keep an eye on the trainers and jockeys during the festival. You may just find the rare outside winner that few others have picked.
