The Cheltenham Festival is now just one month away and on March 16th the nation will be swept by horse racing fever as gamblers and racing fanatics prepare to embark on an unrivalled path of excitement.
The meeting will last for four days and the course can expect to welcome over 200,000 racegoers from all over the world and it is thought that more than £500 million will be gambled throughout the week.
The greatest jump horses in the world will all head to the Festival in search of a place in the record books and this year’s meeting will be headlined by the mighty war between arch-rivals Kauto Star and Denman.
With the score between Paul Nicholls’ superstars currently one all, Denman fans were left shocked after their hero fell in the Aon Chase at Newbury on Saturday.
Nicholls had warned punters that ‘The Tank’ would need the run but it was a huge blow for Denman-backers when he unseated champion jockey AP McCoy with just three fences left to jump.
As a result, William Hill now make Denman their 11/4 second favourite while two-time Gold Cup winning-hero Kauto Star is 5/6.
William Hill have labelled this year’s Gold Cup clash as the 'The War of the Wolds' and horse racing enthusiasts will be hoping that Denman’s capitulation on Saturday was nothing more than a blip.
Meanwhile,William Hill punters will be keeping a close eye on the antepost market for this year’s Champion Hurdle as current 5/1 favourite Zaynar gets set for a spin at Kelso on Thursday. Anything other than an easy victory will surely not suffice for his followers and Solwhit (5/1, William Hill) and Go Native (6/1, William Hill) backers will be hoping Nicky Henderson’s star fluffs his lines in his Festival prep.
Master Minded, a 4/6 shot with William Hill, is regarded as many people’s Festival banker, while Big Buck’s (8/13) and Dunguib (4/5) are both being heavily supported ahead of their dates with destiny next month.
William Hill are offering punters a free £25 on this year’s Cheltenham Festival and also have exclusive silks, spotlights, verdicts and form direct from the Racing Post on sport’s most fascinating showpiece. Plus, with their Radio service giving you news, tips and live commentary - why bet anywhere else?
