Tag: Imperial Cup

Cheltenham blog – Latest Special Offers and news update

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Let’s hope the Imperial Cup was not an indication of what is to come at Cheltenham next week! Two 33-1 outsiders fought out the finish with not a fancied horse in sight. Hopefully Betcirca followers were still in clover after following our tips at Wolverhampton where Mindurownbusiness (9-2) and Sovereign Debt (6-1) gave us a 38.5 – 1 winning double.

Cheltenham Special Offers

The Cheltenham offers keep pouring in with the emphasis very much on Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh. Corals are offering new customers 5-1 about Ruby riding a winner at the meeting (up to a maximum £5 per customer) and Racebets are now making a similarly tempting offer.

Back Ruby to ride a winner on day 1 at odds of 7-1 (maximum £5 per customer). With Douvan, Un De Sceaux, Faugheen and Annie Power lined up, surely it is unthinkable that he could be beaten on all four? If you’re not yet a Racebets customer, why not help yourself to a likely £35 in your account come Tuesday night.

32Red are offering 3-1 about Willie Mullins training a winner on the opening day up to a maximum of £10 per customer. Simply use the promo-code Willie3 when you register. It could be argued that it is a safer bet than backing Ruby as he could get injured (finger’s crossed that it won’t happen!)

Unibet customers can get their first Cheltenham bet refunded as a free bet (up to maximum of £10) if they fail to find the winner. Please note that each-way bets are not included in this promotion. Also, if your horse finishes second in the Champion Chase on Wednesday, Unibet will refund your stake as a free bet (up to a maximum of £20).

Latest News

Today’s most significant Cheltenham scratching was Rock On Ruby from the World Hurdle. That will at least give jockey Noel Fehily peace of mind as he had reluctantly deserted his old friend in favour of Zarkandar.

All of the fancied horses are among the 18 remaining in Friday’s Cheltenham Gold Cup. Ballycasey, Champagne Fever, First Lieutenant, Spring Heeled, Theatre Guide and Ma Filleule were the only horses withdrawn. A final decision is yet to be made on Coneygree who also holds an entry in the RSA Chase.

Imperial Cup winner Ebony Express earned a 20-1 quote for the County Hurdle for which he picks up a 5lbs penalty.

Imperial Cup Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Any punters hoping to top up their wallets before heading to Cheltenham will be dismayed when they see the card for the Imperial Cup. The race has attracted a 24-strong field worthy of next week’s County Hurdle at the festival and will take a good deal of sorting out.

The race that may hold the best clues is the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury won by Violet Dancer. Calipto finished fourth, Arzal sixth and Fascino Rustico fell three out when still in contention. A case can be made for all three but I am just siding with Arzal who was almost brought to a standstill when almost brought to a standstill by a fallen rival.

Jockey Paul O’Brien did well to sit tight and did not rush his mount back into the race, making late progress up the home straight. He was never going to threaten the winner but he looks better value than Calipto at almost twice the price. The Paul Nicholls-trained runner wore a hood that day but it has been left off on Saturday, presumably having made little or no difference. I am just not convinced that he is the sort of horse that will relish a struggle. O’Brien claims a useful 7lbs on Arzal which puts him in with an each-way chance.

Fascino Rustico seems a bit accident prone having taken his fair share of falls in his short career. He was slightly frustrating when trained by Nicholls and is giving Dan Skelton similar concerns. He moved well on the outside at Newbury but had just come under pressure when diving at the third last. The likely favourite is David Pipe’s Bidourey who has been winning novice hurdles easily and now steps up in grade. He will probably be kept right up with the pace but it can be a long way home at Sandown and he is still only four years of age.

Nicky Henderson did Betcirca followers a favour today with Lessons In Milan (tipped at 3-1) and that made it five winners from his last six runners. The Lambourn trainer seems to have his string peaking at just the right time to take on the massed ranks of Willie Mullins at Cheltenham. I’m hoping that applies to Top Notch and Whisper who are carrying my support at fancy prices next week.

He is represented here by the enigmatic West Wizard. He was ante-post favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle a few seasons back but has been beaten three times at odds-on. Last time out he came up against a smart recruit in Minella Rocco so it may have been no disgrace to finish seven lengths adrift. He obviously isn’t as good as Henderson originally hoped and must have had his training problems but I cannot ignore him with just 10st 8lbs.

William Hill and BetVictor are offering each-way down to fifth place on this race so check with your bookmaker when placing your bets.

Arzal @14-1 BetVictor

West Wizard @9-1 William Hill

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4,5

Imperial Cup Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Sandown’s Imperial Cup has become a qualifier for the County Hurdle at Cheltenham this season with several of the leading fancies needing to win to earn a place in the Cheltenham field. It is a decent prize in itself with £70,000 in prize money but the focus of attention this year is supposed “handicap good thing”, Regal Encore.

The gelding was bought by JP McManus after an impressive bumper victory and finished second at the Cheltenham festival last year. Anthony Honeyball’s six-year-old got off the mark over hurdles at Plumpton but was then surprisingly beaten by 66-1 chance Seeyouatmidnight at Hexham. Connections must have been scratching their heads after that but the run was clearly better than they first thought.

Seeyouatmidnight has since won two races, the most recent being the Grade 2 Rendlesham Hurdle at Haydock. The gelding’s victims included Celestial Halo, runner-up in the World Hurdle last season. There is a world of difference between a two-mile novice at Hexham and a three-mile Grade 2 event but Regal Encore would appear to be leniently treated on 130 with Seeyouatmidnight now on 155.

Not surprisingly, the bookmakers have put Regal Encore in at around 3-1 favourite and he could be shorter if the field cuts up. Other Cheltenham hopefuls include Lac Fontana and New Year’s Eve. You could not help but be impressed with Lac Fontana at Cheltenham last time as he eased clear of Totalise in heavy ground. I have no idea what happened on his previous start when he was fourth and last behind The Liquidator. The handicapper has shoved him up 12lbs though and that could stop him here.

Swing Bowler ran a really nice race in the Betfair Hurdle after a lengthy absence to be fifth. That looked about the best two-mile handicap run this season and she also has Cheltenham entries. New Year’s Eve is the unknown quantity here as he suffered his only defeat when well backed at Musselburgh, appropriately enough on New Year’s Day! Like Lac Fontana, I cannot explain what happened that day but he has won his subsequent two starts in a hood.

If the headgear has made the difference, he still has chances with just a 7lb penalty. However, the one to be on could be Vibrato Valtat. The grey absolutely laughed at his rivals at Exeter last month and must have had a stone in hand of runner-up Tigris. That horse fell at the weekend so we can only guess at the value of the form but he is fit and fancied.

Vibrato Valtat 13-2 Betfred, Totesport