December Gold Cup 2023 trends for Cheltenham 1.50 on Saturday

The December Gold Cup is the feature of the Christmas Meeting at Cheltenham and a number of familiar names are set to take their chance.

It is the second Premier Handicap of the season over the intermediate trip at the track after last month’s Paddy Power Gold Cup, although this contest takes place on the New Course.

The December Gold Cup looks a tricky punting puzzle to solve and the presence of multiple Grade 1-winning chaser Fakir D’oudairies, Colin Parker scorer Thunder Rock and Cheltenham specialist Il Ridoto gives the race a touch of class.

December Gold Cup odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise key trends from the last 10 renewals and a tip based off the big-race stats are below.

December Gold Cup trends

AGE

Seven of the last 10 winners of the December Gold Cup were aged between six and eight. The exceptions are Cheltenham specialist Coole Cody (2021), subsequent multiple Grade 1 winner Frodon (2016) and Unioniste (2012).

CHASE FORM

Nine winners since 2012 had run over fences on at least five previous occasions and eight of those boasted two chase victories on their CV.

COURSE FORM

A fair bit of experience at Cheltenham appears a helping factor as six of the last 10 winners had three previous runs at the racecourse, while three of those had previously scored at the home of the Jumps.

DISTANCE FORM

Every horse to have won this race since 2012 had previously scored over a distance of 2m4f to 2m5f, while nine of those had at least three runs over the trip.

LAST TIME OUT

The last 10 winners of the December Gold Cup had previously run within the last 36 days – and five of those appeared in the Paddy Power Gold Cup without success.

RATING

Seven of the last 10 winners were rated 136 or higher by the handicapper. Interestingly, the three horses to defy this trend – Warthog (2019), Guitar Pete (2017) and Double Ross (2013) – were prominent in the market as they went off at single-digit prices.

ODDS

It may be worth looking down Paddy Power’s odds for the December Gold Cup as no favourite has won the December Gold Cup since 2012 and only two horses in the top three in the betting scored in that period.

WEIGHT

Just two horses have carried more than 11st to victory since 2012 – one of those was Frodon – which would be a concern for top weight Fakir D’oudairies and Fugitif.

DECEMBER GOLD CUP 2023 TRENDS VERDICT

Harry Cobden has jumped ship to stablemate Monmiral but the trends suggest IL RIDOTO has the ideal template for a winner of the December Gold Cup after placing third in the Paddy Power Gold Cup last month.

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change