#National Hunt Chase

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…

THE biggest week of the racing year is fast approaching - meaning time is running out to get real value on some fancied runners. Already we have seen the likes of Constitution Hill go long odds-on to win the Champion Hurdle. But there is still plenty of money to be made elsewhere from some the bookies may have missed. Here, Sun Racing's top tipster…

Okay, it wouldn't be quite as dramatic as Lester Piggott at the 1990 Breeders' Cup. "I have decided to come out of retirement and ride for the short period while Jack [Kennedy] is on the sidelines," Russell said in his statement. But, with Kennedy breaking his leg for a fifth time at Naas on Sunday, the Cheltenham Festival, just two months away,…

Gavin Beech puts the six short-priced, ante-post favourites for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival under the microscope and provides his analysis on their credentials. There are currently six horses chalked up at 6-4 or shorter in the ante-post markets for this year's Cheltenham Festival, with Constitution Hill, who is a best-priced 4-11 for the Unibet…

1pt Snake Roll in 2.25 Warwick at 8/1 (Sky Bet) 1pt Outlaw Peter in 2.40 Kempton at 11/2 (Betway) 1pt Threeunderthrufive in 3.00 Warwick at 7/1 (William Hill) A few trainers will have been eyeing Warwick's Wigley Group Classic Chase as they continue to prepare their charges with a tilt at Aintree's Grand National in mind, none more so than Paul…

MONSTER hurdler Constitution Hill is already on track to beat a Cheltenham Festival record - nine weeks before it begins. Nicky Henderson's superstar two miler is 1-4 to win the Champion Hurdle on the first day of the Festival. Nothing has got within 12 lengths of Constitution Hill in his five runs under rules. And his 17-length demolition job of…

Run Wild Fred: declared for the BetVictor Ten Up Novice Chase at Navan on Sunday Leading National Hunt Chase contender Run Wild Fred is set to clash with high-class stablemate Farouk D'Alene at Navan this Sunday after featuring among declarations for the Grade 2 BetVictor Ten Up Novice Chase (4.05). Trainer Gordon Elliott had indicated earlier this…

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…

1pt win Ballygriffincottage in Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at 16/1 (Coral, Unibet, Ladbrokes, bet365) There might not be a huge amount of strength in depth when it comes to the British novice chasers this year but Sporting Life Arkle favourite Jonbon obviously looks the real deal, while the likes of Thyme Hill and The Real Whacker have thrown…

The treats are going to come thick and fast for racing fans over the Christmas week. They include Leopardstown's four-day Christmas Festival, which begins on St Stephen's Day (December 26). This is a superb meeting with a wide array of Graded contests, competitive handicaps and informative bumpers for punters to enjoy. Danny Archer looks ahead to…

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…

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…

The Cheltenham Festival is back this month and here's everything you need to know about the major horse racing event One of Britain's favourite showpiece horse racing events is just around the corner as the Cheltenham Festival is back to provide four days of enthralling jump racing. Cheltenham Racecourse will welcome the UK and Ireland's most…

Newbury's Mandarin Chase has unearthed some real talent among staying chasers down the years Considering it has not been part of the Pattern since 1989, the Mandarin holds a strong roll of honour. Its first winner after demotion was Party Politics, with Jodami a couple of years down the line. Over the last 15 years or so it has become one of the…

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…

Altior powered to a brilliant win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on a dramatic day at the Cheltenham Festival. The evens favourite, ridden by Nico de Boinville, shrugged off a late fitness scare to provide another big victory for trainer Nicky Henderson, who landed the Champion Hurdle with Buveur D'Air 24 hours earlier. Douvan fell at the…

Saturday sees the 174th running of the Grand National at Aintree. The Charlie Longsdon-trained Snow Leopardess heads the betting but here we run through the entire field, in order of allotted weight. 1) MINELLA TIMES (Henry de Bromhead) Rating (out of 10) 6, weight 11st 10lbs Created history for Rachael Blackmore last year but he has only run twice…

Dan Sheridan/INPHOCould State Man give Constitution Hill a race at Cheltenham? # The Challenger Champion Hurdle still a live event with State Man set to give Constitution Hill a crack Johnny Ward reports from another Willie Mullins-dominated final day at Leopardstown. WE HAVE SEEN this week that Willie Mullins saddling the first three home in a…

State Man continued his march towards a likely clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival in March with a comprehensive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on…

2022-12-29Grade One glory again for Willie Mullins as Gaillard Du Mesnil romps home Willie Mullins and Paul Townend grabbed another Grade One success this week as Gaillard Du Mesnil claimed an easy victory in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown. Although winless in six previous outings over the larger obstacles, the dual Grade…

Gaillard Du Mesnil: clears a fence on the way to Grade 1 win at Leopardstown Thursday: Neville Hotels Novice Chase, Leopardstown Willie Mullins believes Gaillard Du Mesnil would have little difficulty excelling over the National Hunt Chase distance, after his high-class six-year-old picked the perfect moment to make his breakthrough over fences in…

The third day of the Leopardstown Christmas festival belonged to Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy, who landed a 101-1 treble courtesy of Sam's Choice, Maxxum and Conflated. Maxxum was cut to 4-1 (from 16) with Paddy Power for the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham after easily overcoming his rivals in the Pertemps qualifier. The five-year-old defied a…

On only two occasions in the past decade has either Gordon Elliott or Willie Mullins failed to win this top-level prize, a race that has been won in that time by the likes of Carlingford Lough, Don Poli, Our Duke, Shattered Love, Delta Work and Monkfish. Ireland's two powerhouse trainers come to the fore once again, with Mullins' sole…

Rachael Blackmore will be hoping to write another chapter in her incredible racing career as she gears up for this year's Grand National. The 32-year-old made history last year, becoming the first female to win the world's most notorious steeplechase with Minella Times and the duo are back this year to retain their crown. Fresh from her Cheltenham…

Gerri Colombe and Jordan Gainford land the Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick Monday: Limerick Gerri Colombe made it six out of six on the track and two out of two over fences when recording a workmanlike yet convincing success in the Faugheen Novice Chase, giving trainer Gordon Elliott a second win in the race since it became a Grade 1 in 2018. The…

As is Boxing Day tradition, horse racing returns to Kempton and the spectacle that everyone is looking forward to is the King George VI National Hunt chase. With this deemed as the festive horse race that gets people up and down the country invested in a Christmas flutter, here is a run down of this year's nine runners. L'Homme Presse…

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…

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…

Another blank week of jumps racing has forced me, not unreluctantly I should add, to widen the scope of the column this week. The latest prolonged cold snap might not have been as severe as some of those in my living memory - December in 1981 in Newcastle in my second year at Uni living in a soon-to-be-condemned terrace in Elswick with three others…

The nine-year-old was a shock 50/1 victor in the staying division at the Festival in 2020 but has failed to win a race since, enjoying no luck in his first three starts this term, including when pulled up in the Long Walk at Ascot. A return to Prestbury Park seemed to reignite his old zest, however, as the gelding travelled and jumped well under…

The Randox Grand National is underway and racegoers have returned to the world's greatest steeplechase for the first time in three years. Punters have not been at Aintree to cheer on the Grand National runners since 2019, after the race meet was cancelled in 2020 and held behind closed doors last year. They braved rain and chilly temperatures on…

The Newport-based trainer has both Pats Fancy and Wayfinder in the race, but will need plenty to come out if the latter is to take his chance in the big staying handicap chase on December 27. Pats Fancy won two novice chases at Chepstow last winter before chasing home the smart Bravemansgame at Newbury in February. Things did not go according to…

What a day of horse racing lies ahead at Haydock and Ascot with plenty of top names set to have their rugs removed and unleashed on the course for the first time this season. A Plus Tard, Constitution Hill, L' Homme Presse and Edwardstone were all festival winners last March and will have their seasonal reappearances in front of the ITV cameras on…

Lightning rarely strikes twice when it comes to a mare producing genuinely top-class performers and that's probably even more true over jumps than it is on the Flat. But that doesn't stop owners spending a lot of money in the belief that if it's happened once it can happen again. J. P. McManus' purchase of Jonbon for £570000, a record for a pointer…

As a son of six-time Cheltenham Festival heroine Quevega, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old carried all before him in the bumper sphere last season - winning each of his four starts including big-race triumphs at the Dublin Racing Festival, the Cheltenham Festival and the Punchestown Festival. He was unsurprisingly a very short price to make…

The Grade One-winning hurdler was brilliant in winning three times over fences last season and would have been four from four had he not crashed out at the final fence in the Turners' Novices' Chase at the Festival in March. He is a best priced 11/4 to provide trainer Willie Mullins with a third Gold Cup success following the back-to-back wins of…

Energumene (left) and Galopin Des Champs are both set to return on Sunday Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Galopin Des Champs is a step closer to making his seasonal reappearance after his trainer Willie Mullins left him in Sunday's John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown (2.00) at the five-day declaration stage. Galopin Des Champs is a best-priced…

Honeysuckle: heads a quality field as she bids for a fourth consecutive Hatton's Grace Hurdle Honeysuckle will face seven opponents when she bids to eclipse Limestone Lad, Apple's Jade and Solerina to become the first four-time winner of the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (2.30) at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Henry de Bromhead's star mare will make…

THE Cheltenham Festival ante post markets have been in full swing since March. Shrewd punters have been busy plotting and predicting how this year's races will finish. Irish trainers dominated last year and with the likes of Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead having such strong yards, it's no surprise many of their superstars lead the way…

Reigning champion Minella Indo will be hoping to make it successive Gold Cup wins toward the end of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, but will face plenty of competition from the likes of last year's National Hunt Chase winner Galvin and previous two-time winner of this race Al Boum Photo. That all comes after four full days of racing though, with…

We're on the road to the Cheltenham Festival with the leading lights of the National Hunt game coming out to play. A number of clues for all four championship races - the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle and Gold Cup - are set to be dropped over the coming months. The Cheltenham Festival 2023 takes place between Tuesday,…

Join our channel to stay up to date on the latest in marketing Racing TV's Road to Cheltenham presenter Lydia Hislop has been covering the Festival for many years. On that weekly show throughout most of the core jumps season, there are plenty of betting tips on offer. Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets Use bonus…

KLASSICAL DREAM can triumph in the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (GBB Race) (3.30pm), the feature on the third day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. Willie Mullins' eight-year-old could easily bring up a Grade One treble for the Irish trainer in what could be a spectacular afternoon for the County Carlow handler. Klassical Dream has had his problems…

Top tipster Simon Rowlands has four bets online for the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival on Tuesday, including an each-way selection in the Champion Hurdle. The question of what is the ideal preparation for the Cheltenham Festival is usually confined to the horses, but I find myself wondering whether being battle-hardened or fresh as a daisy…

Minella Indo with trainer Henry de Bromhead. YOU CAN START the countdown to the Cheltenham Festival wherever you wish: 361 days beforehand if you want, on the Friday night, looking back on the four days that have just flashed past, trying to assimilate it all with the 20-20 vision that is hindsight and project to the future. Or you can start it at…

NOW the dust has settled on a fantastic Christmas and New Year period of racing, it's time to look forward to the holy grail of National Hunt racing - the Cheltenham Festival. Firms are opening markets for the handicaps and some are going non-runner no bet on a few races already. This is the time where the ante post bets begin to become more…

Lisnagar Oscar: winner of the 2020 Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle Lisnagar Oscar, who produced a huge upset in the 2020 Stayers' Hurdle, has been retired by trainer Rebecca Curtis, who hailed the nine-year-old for providing connections with that "most amazing day". He was a 50-1 shot in the Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 contest but powered clear in the…

Trained by Gordon Elliott to also win two Grand Nationals, Tiger Roll was present as he has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the home of National Hunt racing. Bought by Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud after winning on his hurdling debut for Nigel Hawke, Tiger Roll went on to become one of the most popular horses in training of the…