It’s Gold Cup Day at the Cheltenham Festival 2024 and while the main event itself at 3.30 is undoubtedly Thursday’s highlight, there are six other races laden with potential profit to pick through. Yesterday, two of our three selections placed to keep us ticking over, though finding winners is the target today in our latest set of Cheltenham betting tips. Check them out below.
Best Tip #1: Galopin Des Champs – Cheltenham 3.30
We start with the eagerly anticipated Gold Cup event in the midafternoon where last year’s winner Galopin Des Champs looks hard to oppose. The Willie Mullins-trained charge has been prepping for the big day in style, posting successive Grade 1 wins at Leopardstown, including a victory in the Irish Gold Cup, and the 8-year-old is the one to beat again here.
Competition should arrive in the form of Fastorslow, who came close to glory at Cheltenham last year. He beat Galopin des Champs and Bravemansgame to the post at Punchestown last November, so the potential to upset is there. He has had wind surgery between runs and is reliable enough to push again. L’Homme Presse, who has won seven out of nine chases, could be worth a market check on betting sites for horse racing.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 1/1 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 1/1 |
| Fitzdares | 1/1 |
Best Tip #2: Its On The Line – Cheltenham 4.10
Its On The Line was a second-placer at Cheltenham on St. Patrick’s Day last year, but has won every single hunter chase he has completed since. The 7-year-old beat today’s rivals, Ferns Lock and Billaway, in a couple of those efforts and testing conditions should suit the stayer today. Its On The Line will also have cheekpieces back and is taken to flex his superiority again.
Ferns Lock will be out for revenge however, and he looked the part to win at Thurles in his last outing in late January. That loss to Its On The Line at Down Royal on Boxing Day is a cause for concern however, with Ferns Lock failing the stamina test on that occasion. Premier Magic is unbeaten with cheekpieces on meanwhile, and is another that deserves respect.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 6/4 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 6/4 |
| Fitzdares | 6/4 |
Best Roughie: Mel Monroe – Cheltenham 5.30
Mel Monroe is available at a whopping price in the ante-post betting, but she has shown flashes of real potential before and could gallop into a place here. The 6-year-old finished second on her last appearance at Cheltenham in October and has mixed it well with other big hitters in races elsewhere since. Running off a decent mark today, she is one to watch.
Willie Mullins’ entry, Quai De Bourbon, has been turning heads on various betting apps however, and for good reason. The former French youngster won twice in succession in the lead-up to Cheltenham and could be a mover again today back up in trip. Waterford Whispers is another for the shortlist. The unexposed 6-year-old looks like an ideal type for this event.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 50/1 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 50/1 |
| Fitzdares | 50/1 |
Stats and Insights
- 19 of the last 24 winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup ran in the Savills Chase or King George the same season. Horses rated at 166 or lower have won only six of the last 46 renewals, while only three winners since 2000 ran off 9/1 or higher.
- 20 of the last 21 winners of the St James’s Place Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase (4.10) were either Irish or French-bred horses. Horses that ran 35 days or more ago are usually best avoided if trends hold true. Irish horses have won nine of the last 13 renewals.
- O’Brien, Nicholls, Mullins and Elliot-trained horses are the ones to watch out for in the last race of the day. They’ve won nine of the last 11 renewals of the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle between them. Nine of the last 15 winners were rated between 133 and 139.
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