Punters will be well aware that the Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching and they will need no reminding that the 2010 Gold Cup is now less than two months away.
One of racing’s most decorated prizes, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the most heavily gambled on races in the world. Almost as soon as the previous year’s winner crosses the line, punters are already getting involved in the antepost market for next year’s renewal.
With almost £330,000 already staked on the race on leading betting exchange Betfair, the market for the race is expected to go into overdrive over the course of the next few weeks.
The head of the betting has a familiar look to it and is dominated by Paul Nicholls duo Kauto Star and Denman, the two short-priced market leaders for the Cheltenham showpiece.
Kauto Star is the 2.42 market leader for the race and has been the subject of over £125,000 worth of stakes. His place at the head of the betting is now as solid as can be following his emphatic victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, but that has not always been the case for the 2007 and 2009 Gold Cup winner.
Some lucky punters were able to back the superstar at odds as big as 5.90 (almost 6/1) and there was thousands of pounds gambled on the horse when he was trading at odds ranging from 3.00 to 4.00.
It is now difficult to imagine any reason for the horse to ever trade at odds that big and his price has become far more settled around the 2.50 (6/4) mark.
It is a similar story with Denman who can now be backed at 3.15 to regain his Gold Cup crown. Having been a shadow of his former self last season, his scintillating victory in this year’s Hennessy Gold Cup has now put him right back in contention for Cheltenham and punters who managed to back ‘the Tank’ at odds of 9.40 could be forgiven for being overly excited about this year’s Festival.
Punters who were happy to lay thousands of pounds at odds ranging from 6.00 to 8.00 will be hoping that Denman’s victory in the Hennessy was not as good as it seems and they will be looking to his stablemate to get them out of jail come March.
Such is the dominance of the Nicholls duo in the antepost betting, the current third favourite is Betfair Chase second Imperial Commander who ran Kauto Star to a nose at the start of the season.
He was backed at odds of 9.40 for the Gold Cup after that performance and punters who chanced the horse at fancy prices of 70.00 will be hoping that was no fluke when he heads to jumping HQ in March.
A notable drifter in the betting is Cooldine, last year’s leading novice chaser who made a disappointing seasonal debut for trainer Willie Mullins. Backed at odds of just 9.00 before his seasonal debut, he is now available at 30.00 to take the Gold Cup back to Ireland.
Betfair offers a free £25 Cheltenham bet for all those who want to open a new account with the company. Place a bet up to the value of £25 on any race during the Cheltenham Festival and should that bet not come in - Betfair will refund your stake and give you a second chance to win big on the Cheltenham races.