#Minella Indo

Only once since 2010 has the Cheltenham Festival top trainer title been won by a British handler. Proof, as if needed, that the best horses are in Ireland was there for all to see last year. Willie Mullins heads Cheltenham top trainer odds once again with the bookies with what looks a top Festival team. These are our five best betting sites for…

7 February 2022 By Roger Kennedy [email protected] Starting on Tuesday, 15 March and continuing till Friday, 18 March, the Cheltenham Festival is almost upon us. If you want to get your ante post bets in, now is likely the best time to start picking your horses for each race. Of course, you will need some information on the favourites to win major…

Fans are in for a treat on Saturday with some of the sport's stars on show including Cyrname and Paisley Park. Our betting guide highlights favourites worth opposing Wetherby Racecourse Cyrname and Paisley Park are the headline acts on bet365 Charlie Hall Chase day but both ended last season on a low note and redemption is no formality at…

Can Al Boum Photo join Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate and Cottage Rake to become only the fifth horse to win the Gold Cup on three occasions? It's the main event that everyone's talking about: the Gold Cup. Last year's winner, Al Boum Photo, will head to Cheltenham Festival on 19 March with just one start under his belt this season, having won the…

After a week of action, elation, tears and turmoil, the Cheltenham Festival concluded with the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is one of the richest races in Britain, and this year's crown went to A Plus Tard as Rachael Blackmore created history. Blackmore had a dream 2021 though she made the decision to go with A Plus Tard last year when stablemate Minella…

Trainer Willie Mullins' nine-year-old returned to action with a win on New Year's Day at Tramore. He is one of 17 Irish entries for the Festival feature Dual winner Al Boum Photo heads 41 entries for this year's Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup. Willie Mullins' chaser could join Best Mate, Arkle and Cottage Rake as the fourth horse to record a hat-trick…

Grand National winner Noble Yeats is heading to Lingfield next weekend before taking aim at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. Emmet Mullins is committed to attempting an audacious spring double in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and Randox Grand National with last year's Aintree hero Noble Yeats. The trainer drew comparisons between the…

Al Boum Photo: new Punchestown Gold Cup favourite following defection of Minella Indo Your guide to Wednesday's Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup (5.55), the feature race on day two at the Punchestown festival. The field was on Monday reduced to six following the withdrawal of hot favourite Minella Indo.

The weekend's action at Leopardstown provided further pointers towards the Cheltenham Festival with plenty of movers in the betting markets ahead of the four-day extravaganza at Prestbury Park in March. Who are the big movers following the sixth renewal of the Dublin Racing Festival? We've taken a look at their impact on the big Grade Ones…

1pt win Stattler in Cheltenham Gold Cup at 14/1 (General) I unashamedly find it quite hard to take the plunge when it comes to antepost bets on the Cheltenham Festival. If you believe what you read elsewhere then the real value is only on offer around September/October time the previous year and there is, of course, a modicum of truth in…

By Andrew Asquith, Friday 06 January 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival Tips Andrew Asquith looks ahead to the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup and picks out his best ante-post bet. A quick glance at the ante-post betting market for the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup shows what a cracking renewal this year's race could be with the first seven or eight in the…

IT might surprise you, but in general terms the 2022 Cheltenham bumper form has been absolutely pants. Of course, the obvious exception has been the brilliant winner, Facile Vega, who simply looks well, errr, brilliant! But outside of Willie Mullins's star most of those who went on the level at Prestbury Park have disappointed. There's still hope,…

A THOROUGHBRED racehorse who drinks Guinness and rocks up at his local is being backed to win the most prestigious jumps race of all. Superstar Hewick has what it takes to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, according to trainer John'Shark' Hanlon. Hewick, an eight-year-old gelding, was bought for just £750 in October 2017. Since then he has gone on to…

It's the final day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and there's seven more races taking place. The Gold Cup is the feature contest at 3.30pm and Rachael Blackmore is bidding to become the first female jockey to win it. On her chances, she said: "The Gold Cup is what the whole week of Cheltenham builds around. It's the pinnacle of the racing year and…

What a week it has been! The racing has been phenomenal, the weather largely clear and most crucially of all, fans were back where they belong on the terraces. Cheltenham felt like it was truly back this week as a result. See you in 2023! It's the seventh Irish-trained winner from seven races on Friday! Mark McDonagh did an excellent job steering…

Gordon Elliott smashed the bookies with a massive priced four timer - Party Central (9/4), Mighty Potter (20/1), Felix Desjy (11/1) and Absolute Notions (25/1) all going in on the opening day for the Cullentra trainer. Energumene was one of the few Cheltenham Festival winners to stand up the form when he fended off Chacun Pour Soi in the Champion…

The Challow Novices' Hurdle has a stellar roll of honour this century and Paul Nicholls, responsible for the last two winners, Bravemansgame and Stage Star, won it again with Hermes Allen (144p from 135p). This renewal combined both quantity - it was the first double-figure field since 2009 - with quality, though the testing conditions took their…

Clan Des Obeaux will face eight rivals as he goes for back-to-back victories in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup, the highlight on day two of the Festival meeting. Paul Nicholls' charge kept on strongly to outgun Al Boum Photo in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies 12 months ago, but it is Harry Cobden who rides the 10-year-old time around. Having…

The entries for the 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup have this week been announced, with A Plus Tard in the mix to defend his crown for Henry De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore. Last year, Blackmore and the then seven year old were favourites going into the race and won in stunning fashion with 2021 winner Minella Indo second and Protektorat third. The duo…

Picking up from my last column to cover the remainder of the holiday program (December 28 to January 1) in what was the busiest post-Boxing Day period for some time, the narrative seemed to me more of the same - some horses enhanced their reputations, a bigger number diminished theirs, and a standout performance to breathe new life into some…

Hot favourite Galopin Des Champs headed another bumper entry from Ireland for the Boodles Cheltenham Cup on Tuesday. He is a best-priced 7-4 for the festival highlight on March 17, having won all his four completed chases. The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old was among 13 entries from Ireland in a potential field of 27, for a race that country…

Willie Mullins has farmed the New Year's Day feature in winning eight of the last 10 runnings, but Minella Indo's battling display in the hands of Rachael Blackmore ended the Closutton handler's five-year stranglehold on the Grade Three contest and gave Henry de Bromhead his second win in the race after Champagne West's success in 2017. Winner of…

Timeform provide a tip for each of the eight meetings due to take place in Britain and Ireland on New Year's Day. Weveallbeencaught - 12:10 Cheltenham Having been pitched in deep on hurdles debut at this venue, Weveallbeencaught emerged with a lot of credit when third in the Hyde Novices' Hurdle in November and sure to progress, he looks the way to…

Mortlach is 4-10 over fences but much more exposed than most of these and appears to have had limitations exposed lately. Beauport looked a smart recruit when beating experienced opposition at Carlisle but then failed to land the odds at Haydock. Thunder Rock is 2-2 over fences, however, but is elevated from handicap company along with Harper's…

Though still in its relative infancy, the two-day Dublin Racing Festival on Saturday and Sunday has become a huge part of the Irish jump-racing scene already. The Leopardstown meeting takes place in early February and has fast become an all-guns-blazing dress rehearsal for the Cheltenham Festival for some of Ireland's leading National Hunt…

Here at Severn Sport not only do we cast our eyes over Gloucestershire Football, but we also follow horse racing and in particular the road to the Cheltenham Festival in March. As part of our annual coverage we host a tipster league in March and get local players involved as part of the fun and this year with the fact there isn't much football…

Ruby Walsh has offered his expert insight into the upcoming Cheltenham Festival with the legendary jockey expecting another thrilling week of action in England. Walsh is no stranger to Cheltenham having been the leading jockey 11 times at the Festival, nabbing 59 winners and twice racing to Gold Cup glory. And previewing the races, Walsh is backing…

Minella Indo and A Plus Tard, last year's first and second, top 30 entries for the Cheltenham Gold Cup - the highlight of the Festival meeting in March. Trained by Henry de Bromhead, the duo were separated by just a length and a quarter in 2021, but it is A Plus Tard who is the ante-post favourite at this stage after winning the Betfair Chase…

Friday: Cheltenham Gold Cup, Cheltenham On a gleeful sun-kissed Cotswolds afternoon, Rachael Blackmore executed one of the most daring Gold Cup rides imaginable to avenge last year's narrow defeat and scale the sport's ultimate summit with an utterly mesmerising triumph on A Plus Tard. By the time they crossed the line, they had soared 15 lengths…

Tighthead props don't usually make for good jockeys. Henry de Bromhead was no exception. "I rode, I did hunting and pony club stuff, but I was probably poor-to-moderate as a rider," he says. Training horses is a different matter, however. Last March he secured his place in the Cheltenham pantheon by taking an unprecedented triple crown of Champion…

Style stakes and charity race back on the cards at Punchestown 2022 The Punchestown Festival returns with a bang from Tuesday 26th to Saturday 30th April and the wait will be well worth it as the thrill of racing will combine seamlessly with fashion and style. With Covid restrictions in place last year, the return of crowds and atmosphere will make…

Clan Des Obeaux is out to win a third King George. Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Minella Indo, the mount of Rachael Blackmore and stablemate Frodon are among the runners Clan Des Obeaux has had "his best preparation ever" for his bid to join the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase greats on Boxing Day. Paul Nicholls launches an awesome three-pronged assault…

The festive season is one of the busiest periods of the year for horse racing, with 11 meetings taking place between Ireland and the UK on St Stephen's Day alone. Leopardstown and Limerick both host four-day meetings, with Grade 1 races among the action at both tracks, while Down Royal also stages a card on December 26. Across the water, races like…

Racegoers arrive for the first day of the Cheltenham Festival The finale of the Cheltenham Festival saw Rachael Blackmore make to become the first female jockey to win the blue riband event of jump-racing as Minella Indo's attempt to secure back-to-back victories fell short. Despite a bright and sunny day three, the going is soft again after the…

Coronavirus fears have not dampened spirits when it comes to Cheltenham Festival and as Day Two gets underway it is all about the outfits as much as the action on the course. It is Ladies' Day in Cheltenham and the racecourse will match the catwalks when it comes to fashion, from tweed to feathers and everything in between. On the course all eyes…

It was when winning the Christmas Grade One in 2020 that the eight-year-old first announced himself as a leading player in the staying division and although having to settle for second behind stablemate Minella Indo at Prestbury Park later that season, got his crowning moment earlier this year when romping away with the blue riband in the hands of…

It's time to get excited everyone as one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar, the Cheltenham Festival, is about to get underway. Jump racing's elite will descend upon Cheltenham this week with the 2022 edition kicking off on Tuesday and there are plenty of exciting runners to keep your eye out for. Fans will be back in their numbers to…

Ascot stages the final major race meeting before Christmas and the card on Saturday afternoon is headlined by the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle. This race has been won by the very best staying hurdlers of this century - Baracouda (four times), Big Buck's (three) and Reve De Sivola (three) among them. Paisley Park has won two of the last three but Emma…

Paul Nicholls will look to tighten his grip on the trainers' championship as he heads to Boxing Day with 12 chances across the day, three of which feature in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase (3.05). Clan Des Obeaux was king of Kempton in 2018 and 2019 before his stablemate Frodon caused a surprise last season and the pair are poised to play a…

Tighthead props don't usually make for good jockeys. Henry De Bromhead was no exception. "I rode, I did hunting and pony club stuff, but I was probably poor-to-moderate as a rider," he says. Training horses is a different matter, however. Last March he secured his place in the Cheltenham pantheon by taking an unprecedented triple crown of Champion…

Tadhg Creedon explains why he has invested on two contenders, who are both in action at Newmarket on Saturday, for next year's 1000 and 2000 Guineas. By Tadhg Creedon As Group One action returns to Newmarket's Rowley Mile this week, so do some of the best juveniles in Europe, laying down their claims for possible Classic glory next season. The…

Tickets have been snapped up by fans eager to return to the Cheltenham Festival, after no crowds in 2021. Willie Mullins and Rachael Blackmore are two of the big names chasing winners Chris Hughes takes a tour of Dan Skelton's racing stables before Cheltenham Fans are counting down the days to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. One of the biggest weeks…

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls says Frodon's Ladbrokes King George VI Chase odds of 5-1 are an'insult' and evidence that the 2020 winner continues to be underestimated. Bryony Frost's mount is one of 10 entries for the £250000 chase run at Kempton on Boxing Day. But, despite the fact the nine-year-old won by over two lengths last year and also…

Cheltenham Festival 2022 is just weeks away. Key runners will continue their preparations at Leopardstown, with contenders for the Gold Cup and Champion Chase on show Honeysuckle and Appreciate It could meet in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle Top class horses are put through their paces at this weekend's Dublin Racing Festival at…