Cheltenham Festival Trials
Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham promises to throw up plenty of clues for spread bettors ahead of the Prestbury Park showpiece in March. The GBP100,000 Argento Chase may not always attract the strongest Gold Cup pretenders, but the likes of See More Business and Exotic Dancer have won the race in past years. Meanwhile the GBP60,000 Cleeve Hurdle offers a terrific test of stamina for those with aspirations to run in the three mile World Hurdle at the Festival. Those who like a spread bet will remember Big Buck's romping to victory 12 months ago before going on to complete the double at the Festival.
Such an important day in the National Hunt calendar attracts plenty of interest amongst spread bettors and this year will be no different. The Argento Chase, previously known as the Letheby and Christopher Chase, may even include Denman as one of the runners. The race is just one of several possibilities that Paul Nicholls is leaving open for 'The Tank', before he renews rivalries with Kauto Star in the Gold Cup.
Spread buyers of winning distances on the day will be delighted to learn that six out of the previous ten winning margins have been 12 lengths or more. Emphatic winning margins have tended to come when the race is disputed by a small field. In 2001, See More Business only faced three other rivals and won impressively by a distance. Sellers of winning distances on the spreads should note that the shortest winning distance in recent years, one and three quarters of a length, happened when the race was transferred to Wincanton in 2006.
Spread bettors should pay consideration to the old stalwarts, as five of the last ten editions of the race have been won by horses aged ten years or older. Another important statistic to note is the disastrous record of favourites in this race. Buyers of SP on the Sporting Index market can take heart from the fact that the last winning favourite was Cyfor Malta in 1999. Since then, three winners have come home at double-figure odds.
The current champion of the staying hurdle division, Big Buck's, will not be defending his Cleeve Hurdle crown this year. Three of the previous ten winners were sprightly five-year-olds, which proves that it is not just a veterans' race. SP sellers will like the fact that four out of the last ten Cleeve Hurdle winners returned as short-priced favourites. However the wins of Fire Dragon and Blazing Bailey at 16/1 and 14/1 respectively may be cause for some concern amongst the sellers.
Sporting Index customers looking to sell winning distances on the spreads will love the fact that the greatest winning margin in the last ten years was only six lengths. The last ten races have been settled by some thrilling finishes, such as when Lady Rebecca held off Bacchanal by a neck to win her second of three Cleeve Hurdles in 2000. Winning distance buyers will hope that this year's race goes more like her first win - a twenty length demolition job back in 1999.
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