Hello everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome you to our Cheltenham day 1 tips blog. We are expecting a very good festival this year, just like others in the past!! The atmosphere last year on the opening day was electric and we have managed to secure another visit this year to hear the famous Cheltenham roar.
Cheltenham day 1 tips 2015
Supreme Novices Hurdle – 13:30
TO WIN – DOUVAN/L’AMI SURGE (DEPENDING ON CONDITIONS)
EACH WAY – SILVER CONCORDE – (NOW CONFIRMED AS NOT RACING, CHANGED TO SHANESHILL.)
Ruby Walsh on Vautour came romping home last year in this race that is just over two miles long. In this race ideally you should be looking for a horse that has proven experience in races involving large fields. This race is fast paced and will ultimately be determined in my opinion on the conditions on the day. if the ground is heavy I will be expecting a strong experienced flat runner to win, but if the ground is soft, I will be looking at a proven jumper to triumph.
Ruby Walsh is on for three wins on the bounce in this race and four wins in five if he can pull off a victory here. Willie Mullins is looking to showcase Douvan in this race and all the early money seems to be piling on this horse. Walsh will indeed be riding Douvan and with his recent history in this race it’s understandable why this horse is coming in clear favourite. If the ground is looking to be soft this will be where my money will be heading.
If the ground is heavy I will be favouring Nicky henderson’s L’ami Serge. This horse has experience on the heavy ground whereas Douvan is still an unknown in this respect. Lami Serge has been lightly ridden this year and has won the last three races on the bounce. It all depends on conditions on the day for this bet but it will be out of the two for the outright winner.
An Each Way bet on Silver Concorde might be an intelligent pick as well. This horse has experienced winning at Cheltenham before (last year in the champion bumper beating Shaneshill) and despite that win on a flat race has lots of experience in jump races. Silver Concorde has raced 7 jump races and has finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in all of them with only one finish outside the top three. Not a bad bet at all with odds currently at 25/1!
****UPDATE****** SILVER CONCORDE NOT RACING – CHANGED TO SHANESHILL
With last year’s champion bumper winner confirmed as not racing I am going with the horse that came second in the Champion bumper last year, Shaneshill. Since that race this horse has managed two 1st places and a 2nd from the three races it has ran. In fact this horse has only witnessed first or second places from all 6 of it’s lifetime jumps.
Arkle trophy – 14:05
TO WIN – UN DE SCEAUX
EACH WAY – JOSSES HILL
Willie Mullins’ Un De Sceaux is hot favourite here, but you can expect much less than evens for this horse to win. 1.62 is the best price currently with Coral, so backing this certainly isn’t going to bring you back life-changing amounts of cash! This horse really impressed in Leopardstown and if it can perform at the same level here he shouldn’t any problems finishing in first place.
Another one of Mullins horses, Vautour has also been entered and holds very good odds at 16/1. Not bad at all for the horse that won the Supreme Novices Hurdle last year! The problem is that Vautour has also been entered in the JLT Novices chase and is hotly fancied to feature there rather than here. Certainly worth a punt in my opinion and I will be placing this with Bet365, due to the fact they are offering, no runner no bet on all Cheltenham festival races.
Nicky Henderson’s entry, Josses Hill is my favourite for an Each Way bet. An experienced jumper who only knows how to finish first or second, which isn’t bad with 9 races under his belt! Josses Hill finished second to Vautour in last year’s Supreme Novices Hurdle so I can’t see it winning, but I can certainly see it placing. Best odds here are currently at 11/1 with William Hill.
Paddy Power Offer for first two races.
Paddy Power have a superb offer on the first two races of the Cheltenham festival, especially if you fancy going for an outsider. Paddy Power will refund all losing bets if Douvan wins the Supreme Novices Hurdle and they will then also refund all losing bets in the second race if Un De Sceaux wins the Arkle. A fantastic offer giving you the chance to back something with large odds knowing that if the favourite does win, you will be getting your money back.
>>CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO PADDY POWER<<
Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Chase – 14:40
TO WIN – SHUTTHEFRONTDOOR* (now changed to NED STARK, see below)
EACH WAY – GALLANT OSCAR
The first handicap race of the festival. 3 miles and 19 fences to tackle in this race, which is run round the old course. This race holds a lot of prestige and winners of this race normally go on to bigger and better things. Take last year’s winner Holywell, who is featuring in this years Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Odds have started to shorten on The Druid’s nephew, Ned Stark, Pendra and Shutthefrontdoor. I am going with Shutthefrontdoor for the win here despite being out currently as fourth favourite. This horse has Cheltenham experience, has been rested well and had a superb run in the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse in April last year and has only featured once since then, back in November when the horse romped home in first place also! This horse jumps well and isn’t scared of catching other horses up when trailing. A solid bet here in my opinion and good odds at 15/1 being offered by Skybet.
UPDATE – SHUTTHEFRONTDOOR NOT RACING. NOW GOING WITH NED STARK TO WIN
Shutthefrontdoor has now been confirmed as not racing here so in his absence I will be going with Ned Stark. Mainly due to this horse having the best recent performances. Ned Stark has now sen four 1st place finishes from it’s last five outings whereas all the other favourites in this race have struggled to even place.
Gallant Oscar is a decent Each Way bet as well in my opinion. This 9 year old horse ran really well throughout 2014, securing 1st and 2nd place in 5 of the six races ran. The other race was the Irish Grand National and unfortunately Gallant Oscar held up during the race after a mistake and unseated the jockey. A steady run here and Gallant Oscar could easily place. A steady runner who likes to be involved in the pack early doors before finishing strongly, especially if the ground is soft!
Champion Hurdle – 15:20
TO WIN – FAUGHEEN
EACH WAY – JEZKI
An absolute corker of a line-up here with lots of big name horses going up against each other. Faugheen, Hurricane Fly, the New One and Jezki all potentially lining up against each other. These four horses all have their own places in the History books. Faugheen is last year’s Neptune Investment Management Novices Hurdle champion who took the championship from The New One, who won it the year before.
Jezki will be looking to defend the Champion Hurdle title after successfully winning this race last year and Hurricane Fly will be looking to win this race for the third time here after previously winning it in 2013 and 2011. There certainly is a lot at stake here!
It’s very hard to see past a horse that has a 100% win rate with winning experience at Cheltenham, which is exactly what Faugheen is presenting coming in to this race. This horse jumps effortlessly and stores a lot in the reserve tank for the latter part of races to burn past the rest of the pack. This is very much my pick for this race.
If I was to look for an each way bet here it would be on last year’s winner Jezki at 5/1 with Betfred. Each way constitutes first three places for a quarter of the odds. Not bad at all in an eight horse race.
Betfair offer on the Champion Hurdle
If you do not already have an account with Betfair it would be highly recommended to head over to them if you are looking to have a bet on this race. They are offering new registering customers enhanced odds on Faugheen winning at an incredible 5/1 and if that wasn’t enough you will get your money back if Faugheen doesn’t win. There’s nothing quite like a no lose situation. You will also qualify for up to £100 in free bets once you have benefited from this beauty of a bonus! Check it out!
>>CLICK HERE TO GO STRAIGHT TO BETFAIR<<
Mares Hurdle – 16:00
TO WIN – ANNIE POWER
EACH WAY – THE PIRATE’S QUEEN
It’s hard to look past Annie Power to be the winner in this race, with twelve lifetime runs, it has managed eleven first places and one second place. That second place was in the World Hurdle last year at the Cheltenham festival. Although Annie Power picked up a Cheltenham win in January 2014, is yet to pick up a Festival victory and will certainly be geared up to make sure she finishes one better this year. Most bookies are offering 1.57 currently on Annie Power winning.
My each way bet is with The Pirate’s Queen out at 20/1 with Ladbrokes. This horse doesn’t get phased when bunched in the pack, is a solid runner with proven experience on soft and heavy ground and doesn’t get sidetracked by horses bursting in front early doors. She seems to be a very composed Mare who leaves a little in the tank at the end to make sure she finishes spritely.
The Pirate’s Queen has won her last two races and has seen top three finishes in all her last five. If She can keep her composure early doors she has a real chance here in my opinion to place and get close to Annie Power for that number one spot!
National Hunt Chase – 16:40
TO WIN – SEGO SUCCESS
EACH WAY – PERFECT GENTLEMAN
The penultimate race of the day and again I was struggling to see past the outright favourite, Don Poli who was coming in at 4/1 with William Hill until it was announced that he will be riding in the RSA Chase. That price was a very good price in my opinion for a horse who has had a formidable start to their racing career. It only has first and second place finishes under it’s belt after 8 races and also has a Cheltenham festival win to already boast about, winning the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle as a 12/1 shot.
The other large favourites still in contention to race are Very Wood, Sego Success and Wounded warrior. Don Poli showed that he has more in the tank than Wounded Warrior when he beat him to first place at Gowran Park in November, so that concerns me that this horse might not have the legs to finish strongly here. Very Wood has pulled up twice in his last three races so I will be staying away from him!
Sego Success has indeed seen success in his last two races, finishing first in both. This horse seems to like the soft ground when racing and with early indications leading to the going being good to soft, this horse is where my early money is now going. The safest bet for the win here in my opinion, now that Don Poli has been ruled out.
Willie Mullins’ Perfect Gentleman is a good choice for an Each Way bet in my opinion. Attractive odds being offered by William Hill here at 20/1 on the win, meaning 5/1 to place in the first three. This horse has finished first or second in seven out of it’s last eight races and only has his record tarnished by a fall at Fairyhouse in November.
At the age of 10 this horse certainly isn’t the youngest of the pack but last year’s winner was at the age of 9 (midnight Prayer) and horses aged 10, 11, 12 and 13 all appear under the honours history book for winning this race. My only concern at this stage is whether or not Perfect Gentleman will feature in this race or another as he has been entered in to five races throughout the tournament. So if you also fancy this bet, make sure you qualify for ‘none-runner, no bet’.
Novices Handicap Chase – 17:15
TO WIN – HORIZONTAL SPEED
EACH WAY – CHAMPAGNE JAMES (CONFIRMED AS NOT RACING – NOW GOING WITH GENEROUS RANSOM)
I like the look of Horizontal Speed and will be sticking money down on this horse winning. It has the most consistent racing performing record of recent times and has shown capability of winning in all conditions. 16/1 is the best price currently with Betfred for the win. the favourite for this race is Generous Ransom at around 8/1, mainly due to how well this horse ran at Cheltenham in January. But this horse seems to only favour the soft ground and has seen a 3rd and 5th place finish in it’s last four races when the going has been good-to-soft. This is the reason I do not fancy it winning here.
Champagne James is a consistently placed horse worth an Each Way bet, especially when Ladbrokes are offering 25/1 on this horse winning. This is much higher than what any other bookie is offering. Other bookies are offering around 16/1 on this same bet! This horse seems to shy away from the limelight of first place, but boy does it like a second! 11 lifetime runs with 2 first places and six seconds!! With Proven experience across all conditions This cheltenham debutant has every chance of placing in my opinion and at 25/1 for the win I’m more than willing to stick a couple of quid on the Each Way selection!
***UPDATE*** CHAMPAGNE JAMES CONFIRMED AS NOT RACING – CHANGED TO GENEROUS RANSOM
With Champagne James not racing I am now sticking my money on Generous ransom. Not the most consistent of horses, but has ran solid races in the last three and romped home first at Cheltenham in January beating Stellar Notion (who also features in this race), who could only manage seventh after an early mistake and fading toward the latter stages. Generous ransom finished strong and will be up there with the front crowd at the finish line here in my opinion.
That makes up our Cheltenham day 1 tips blog. We hope you find this information useful and that it will aid you in placing your bets throughout the first day of the Cheltenham Festival. Stay tuned throughout the festival and follow us on twitter to receive updates on our Cheltenham tips for day 2, 3 and 4 of the festival. Our Twitter handle is @bettingappscom
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