Gold Cup Set to be Thrilling Centrepiece of Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival takes place in March and headlining the event is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. The race takes place on the fourth and final day of the meeting, and is seen by many as the biggest prize in national hunt racing.
This year looks set to be a classic with some serious horses from both the UK and Ireland taking part, but who will take home the title of Gold Cup winner 2020?
Santini Leads the Home Challenge
Santini, trained by Nicky Henderson, leads the home challenge for the race. This horse is currently the 7/2 joint favourite for the race. He moved into that price after an impressive win in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham in January.
He is joined by the King George winner Clan Des Obeaux for trainer Paul Nicholls. You can get odds of 8/1 on him winning the contest, though just like last season he has huge doubts over his stamina.
The eight-year-old could well be the best horse in this contest, but 3m2f and the uphill finish that Cheltenham possesses stretches him to the limit.
Lostintranslation rounds off the main UK challenge, and is currently priced at 7/1. He has to bounce back after being pulled up in the King George but did win the Betfair Chase in November to highlight his credentials.
2019 Winner Al Boum Photo Leads the Irish Raiders
The Gold Cup of 2019 was won by Al Boum Photo and he is back to try and land the race again in 2020. We’ve only seen him once this season, but he looked well and comes into this race as a very fresh horse.
The Willie Mullins trained runner is currently 7/2 joint favourite with Santini in what looks to be a thrilling betting heat.
Stable mate Kemboy was a faller in the Gold Cup last season and he comes back trying to complete and go close this year. However, he hasn’t shown the same spark this time around and for that reason he is out to 9/1 to win the race this season.
One horse that has shown spark this season is Delta Work. Gordon Elliott has had him in fantastic form all season long, picking up victories at Grade One level.
A sign of how good the seven-year-old has been this season is in his current Gold Cup price. He is just 6/1 to win the Gold Cup, and the third favourite behind the two joint favourites in the market.
Who Wins the Gold Cup?
The race looks wide open and we are set for a fantastic renewal. However, it is Ireland that hold many of the strongest cards and this is where the Gold Cup is likely to go.
Delta Work has been brilliant all season, but can he pull it out of the bag again? It won’t be easy. Al Boum Photo is a fresh horse, who hasn’t been in hard races like many of his opponents have, and that could give him an edge over the field.
The 2019 Gold Cup winner relished the Cheltenham hill last season, staying on strongly to claim the prize and is fancied to do it again.
This race is the highlight of the final day and there are many Cheltenham day 4 bookmaker offers online to use for those who are placing a bet on this race, or the others on that day.
It takes a special horse to win back to back Gold Cup titles and that is exactly what Al Boum Photo could be. He is taken to land the prize again for trainer Willie Mullins, returning the prize to Ireland for the second consecutive year.
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