Cheltenham's Calling
As well as feasting their eyes on the likes of Denman, Kauto Star and Master Minded, jump racing fans can also look forward to the Paddy Power Gold Cup this month. The prestigious 150,000 handicap chase always captures the imaginations of spread bettors due to the highly competitive fields at Cheltenham.
Paul Nicholls fans should bear in mind that the trainer has never won this race before, but he could saddle the likes of Tatenen and Poquelin, so spread punters would be unwise to write him off. He will also be represented by Chapoturgeon, last year's Jewson winner, whose owner David Johnson boasts a record six wins in the race.
Sellers of Sporting Index's SP market can rest assured that only six of the last 20 winners have been sent off at double figure odds. Meanwhile spread buyers can always hope for another repeat of Senor El Betrutti's 33/1 shock win back in 1997.
Barber's Shop could represent The Queen, but the last British bred winner came 12 years ago. Despite being a handicap, spread punters shouldn't necessarily overlook the horses carrying lots of weight. In fact, eight of the previous 20 winners have carried more than 11 stone to glory at Prestbury Park.
Tony McCoy holds the jockeys' record in this race with four wins, the last coming on board the classy Exotic Dancer in 2006. Trainers Nicky Henderson, Nigel Twiston-Davies and Philip Hobbs have won this race before, but they have quite a distance to make up in order to match Martin Pipe's incredible eight wins. One of those winners was Shooting Light in 2001, who was the shortest priced winner of this race to date at 9/4 - a repeat of which spread SP sellers would relish. Martin's son David landed last year's Hennessy Gold Cup with Madison Du Berlais and could be represented in this race with the 2005 winner Our Vic
Those looking for a spread bet in the Paddy Power Gold Cup should also consider that four favourites have won in the last 10 years - a remarkable fact for a seemingly wide-open handicap. Irish raiders are always popular on the spreads, but the last Irish trained winner was Bright Highway in 1980.
Sporting Index's winning distance market is likely to attract plenty of raceday interest from spread bettors. The ten year average is four lengths, but both sellers and the handicapper will be hoping for a result similar to that of 2007, when L'Antartique managed to hold off Il Duce by a neck. Buyers of the winning distance spread would much rather see a horse draw clear of the field, just like Lady Cricket did when running on well to score by ten lengths in 2000.
Cyfor Malta goes down as the only five year old to win the Paddy Power Gold Cup, whilst Clear Cut set a record in 1975, becoming the oldest winner of the race at 11. Four of the last six winners were seven years old - an ideal profile for progressive chasers with lofty aspirations.
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