Four of the Best
The best four days in the racing calendar are nearly upon us as punters from Kilmarnock to Kildare will shortly make their way in droves to Prestbury Park. The Cheltenham Festival is here again and let's hope the winds which reduced last year's meeting to three days stay firmly the other side of Cleeve Hill.
Sporting Index have produced an array of �ante-post' special spread bets for punters who cannot wait until the day to get involved. As always, the aggregate winning distances for all 26 races run over the four days seems to attract the most attention. The current prediction is 92 to 97 lengths and buyers will be keen that Simon Claisse keeps his taps running and produces ground with some give in it. Interestingly, there is a spread market available on the biggest individual winning distance and that is currently pitched at 17-18 lengths. Master Minded won the Champion Chase twelve months ago by a staggering 19 lengths and buyers will be hoping he will carry on where he left off.
The state of the ground at Cheltenham and particularly its ability to dry out quickly always creates much debate and controversy. It's often said that if the sun shines, it can turn bog like conditions on the opening day into road-like conditions by the time the Gold Cup is run on the Friday. That's why the Sporting Index trading team are also offering early prices on distances for each individual day of the meeting. The opening day has a spread of 22-24 lengths, while the presence of Master Minded on the second day means a bigger prediction of 28-30 lengths. The penultimate day is expected to feature the closest finishers with a spread of 18-20 lengths, while Gold Cup Day is pitched at 24-26 lengths.
For those that have an opinion on how far any of the Championship races will be won by, spread bets on the winning distance of all four of these races are also available. The Champion Hurdle is expected to be won by between 3 and 4 lengths and buyers will be hoping that there is another Rooster Booster (who won this by 11 lengths back in 2003) in the field. However, sellers at 3 lengths will take heart from the fact that only once in the last five years has the contest been won by more than 3 lengths and that was Hardy Eustace's first win back in 2004.
The Champion Chase is predicted to be won by between 8 an a half and 9 and a half lengths after Master Minded's 19 length romp last year. Now, spread sellers will be encouraged by the fact that prior to last season's exhibition round by Paul Nicholls' wonder horse, the feature on the second day of the meeting tended to throw up relatively tight finishes. In fact, prior to 12 months ago, the previous nine winning distances of the race were 4, 1 and a half, short head, 3, 7, 9, 2, 9, 1 and a half. However, those buying on the spreads will be licking their lips if Master Minded scares off his opposition and leads them a merry dance again.
The World Hurdle is being billed as one of the races of the Festival and unsurprisingly another close finish is forecast. The current prediction is 2.75-3.75 and spread sellers will be praying for a repeat of any of the last three stirring battles witnessed over the grueling 3-mile test. In fact, the biggest winning distance for the last 10 renewals was Inglis Drever's 3 length win back in 2005.
Denman won last year's Gold Cup by an ever diminishing 7 lengths and an awful lot has been written in the racing press about his well being 12 months on. He continues to drift every day and like last March, his stable mate Kauto Star will be sent off favourite again. The prediction of the winning distance is 3.75-4.75 and buyers on the spreads will be hoping to see another performance like Best Mate who won the second of his three Gold Cups by 10 lengths. Incidentally, Sporting Index are offering a host of individual match bets and the one that really catches the eye is Kauto Star against Denman. 'Kauto' is favourite by between 4 and 5 and a half lengths with a maximum make-up of 15 lengths. If Denman does return to something near his best, he will give buyers of that spread a fright.
The Festival wouldn't be the Festival without a number of very close finishes and there is also a market available on the number of photo finishes. Now, as there are only ever a handful, the traders have made the bet a little bit more exiting by making it the number of photos multiplied by ten. That means that a repeat of the two nail biters from twelve months ago would see a make-up of 20. The spread for this year is pitched at 20-24.
Total SP's (starting prices) is another really popular racing spread betting market and is a prediction of all the 26 winners SP's. It is currently pitched at 300-315 and sellers will be wary of any shock winners - Mister McGoldrick popped up last year at 66/1! However, the Sporting Index horseracing traders aren't expecting a shock of quite that magnitude this time round and forecast the biggest priced winner to be just under 50/1 (47.5 - 49).
Now, the build up to this year's meeting has been all about the four so called 'Bankers'. Nicky Henderson saddles Binocular in Tuesday's Champion Hurdle, while Master Minded will start at a ludicrously short price in Wednesday's Champion Chase. French raider Kasbah Bliss is all the rage to go one better than last year in Thursday's World Hurdle, while Kauto Star is yet again red hot favourite for the Gold Cup. Sporting Index are offering a special 'Festival Bankers' market with the four horses in question and offer 25 points for each winner and a 100 point bonus if all four win. The price is currently pitched at 53-57 and buyers will be eyeing up a potential 143 point profit if all four oblige.
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