Cheltenham Festival ante-post tips: Three early selections to consider for 2024 event
The 2023 Gold Cup was won by market leader Galopin Des Champs and we wouldn’t want to put anyone off betting on the same horse to retain his crown. Sent off as the 7/5 favourite last March, it was a strong performance from the Willie Mullins-trained charge who was able to achieve a seven-length victory. Only Bravemansgame got anywhere near him.
Although Galopin Des Champs is already a short price to land a Gold Cup double, we might see him trading at odds-on should the seven-year-old get there in good condition, with the runner potentially having prep races at Punchestown and Leopardstown before heading to Prestbury Park as he did last season.
The other horses who could be in Gold Cup contention are Gerri Colombe, Shishkin and Bravemansgame, according to the latest ante-post odds on betting apps.
Gerri Colombe is trained by Gordon Elliott and turned in a strong performance in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase at Aintree after previously running second to The Real Whacker in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.
On Day Two of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival we have the Queen Mother Champion Chase and this two-mile chase is not for the faint-hearted. The horses travel over the big obstacles at quite a clip and Energumene won the race in 2023 after being sent off as the 6/5 favourite.
Having won the 2022 renewal too, trainer Willie Mullins will now set his sights on a consecutive hat-trick of victories for the Irish raider, although the fly in the ointment could be El Fabiolo who looks to be tailor-made for this Grade 1 encounter. The latest suggest that the latter is the one to beat.
It was hard not to be impressed by El Fabiolo’s performance in the 2023 Arkle where the 11/10 favourite was able to clinch a victory by five-and-a-half lengths and this was also over a two-mile trip. Despite a lack of fluency in his jumping, it was still a strong performance, which means Mullins has a real stranglehold on this race like so many others at the Festival.
Punters will hope that both Energumene and El Fabiolo get to the Festival in one piece and there’s the possibility of the pair clashing at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown. Constitution Hill is also priced up for this encounter, but the Champion Hurdle king might not be rerouted over fences at this stage of his career.
Ante-post Cheltenham picks: Stayers’ Hurdle 2024
Day Three of Cheltenham Festival is always something of a treat, with the Ryanair Chase followed by the Stayers’ Hurdle. The latter is run over three miles and there was something of a surprise earlier this year when 33/1 outsider Sire Du Berlais landed a victory in very testing conditions for trainer Gordon Elliott.
However, there could be a young pretender to the staying hurdle crown, with installing Gaelic Warrior as the ante-post favourite for this race after a cracking victory at the Punchestown Festival. Sent off as the 4/5 favourite, it was something of a steering job for jockey Paul Townend as the horse landed a ten-length victory over his rivals.
Previously to this, the five-year-old finished second in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival, where he hung right-handed for much of the trip but still finished six-and-a-half lengths behind Impaire Et Passe. Even so, Gaelic Warrior has now run solidly at Prestbury Park in consecutive years after finishing second to Brazil in the 2022 Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle.
Teahupoo could also be a lively contender for this race and ran well in the 2023 Stayers’ Hurdle when finishing third before being upgraded to second due to Dashel Drasher’s misdemeanours in the race. It should be noted that this was only his second start over three miles, so our preference is Gaelic Warrior who could be something special in this race over the coming years.
