UK Horse Racing Tips

With the Cheltenham Festival just around the corner (March 13^th to 16th), punters both professional and casual are getting geared up to enjoy several days of top class racing action, bringing together many of our best known horses, jockeys, and trainers in the process. Millions of people are set to enjoy the Festival both on TV here in the UK, around the world, and also at the course where the Cheltenham Roar will blare out at the start of the Festival’s first race, the Supreme Novice’s Hurdle.

What do you intend to do after Cheltenham though, to get your horse racing fix – aside from counting your winnings of course? Well the good news is that there’s no need to let the action grind to a standstill, because the jewel in the crown of UK national hunt racing is hot on its heels, the Grand National 2018! The Grand National is perhaps the one horse racing event that even people with zero general interest in racing get on board with. Across the country office sweepstakes will be taking place and those with a marginal interest in racing will be coming up with ever more novel ways to pick selection, in a Carry On Film ‘what does the budgie think will win?’ approach. Of course professional gamblers will also be circling, as everyone has a look in during the National, a race that’s had its fair share of unpredictable results over the years.

The Grand National has always held a special place in UK racing, and officially first took place all the way back in 1939, when 5/1 favourite Lottery won at 5-1. Funnily enough though, over the years a reliance on favourites romping home may not have been the best approach. Excluding joint favourites, the last favourite to win was Hedgehunter in 2005 at 7-1. On the flipside for those of a more daring disposition, there have been some nice big priced winners in recent years: The Sue Smith trained Auroras Encore in 2013 at 66-1 and Mon Mome ridden by Liam Treadmill in 2009 at 100-1 are real stand out wins.

Over the years there have been some magical moments in the Grand National. Who could forget West Tip who ran six consecutive Grand Nationals (winning one), or Red Rum winning the race a staggering three times (1973, 1974 and 1977). What will be the stand out moment in the 2018 National I wonder? It takes place on 14^th April at 5:15pm, so in a little over a month we’ll get to find out!

The four day 2018 Cheltenham Festival is now just around the corner, taking place from Tuesday March 13^th – March 16^th 2018. Racing fans across the nation, and in fact the world, are primed for 28 competitive races, at least 14 of which are Grade 1. Some of the most highly anticipated National Hunt events of the racing calendar are taking place such as the Supreme Novices Hurdle, Champions Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, as well as the jewel in the crown, the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Bookmakers are at the ready to take literally hundreds of millions of pounds over this racing week and horse racing tipsters are already offering up expert picks for the festival. As the first race of this must-watch Festival begins, prepare to hear the on-course Cheltenham Roar, a sure fire indication of the excitement the Festival generates without fail.

So since we’ve established that the Cheltenham Festival is a hotbed of betting activity, we ought to cast an eye on who’s favoured to impressive in some of the most highly anticipated races at Cheltenham. An obvious race to focus on is of course the Gold Cup. It’s the most highly anticipated Group 1 race of them all with prize money of over half a million pounds, and attracts only the very best contenders. Winning this competittive event is never a formality.

Last year, the Jessica Harington trained Sizing John made all at odds of 7-1. He returns again this year to defend his title. Doing so would make this the first time since 2002-04 when Best Mate won three years in a row. So lightning really ‘does’ strike in the same place twice (or thrice) but with betting odd of 6-1 this time round, he clearly has some convincing of the betting public to do. He’s third favourite in fact to win the 2018 Gold Cup, with Native River 2^nd favourite at 5-1 and Might Bite favourite at 3-1 with most bookmakers. Trainer Nicky Henderson recently stated that Might Bite’s work at home has been “vasty superior” to anything he’s produced previously. He was no slouch as it was, and so this surely bodes well for him.

At the time of writing, the 2018 Cheltenham Festival is less than a month away, and punters are eyeing up the latest Cheltenham tips, yet the most successful jockey at the Festival, Rupert ‘Ruby’ Walsh, has yet to return to the saddle. Walsh remains sidelined with the latest in a series of serious injuries, a fractured right tibia, sustained during a fall from Let’s Dance at Punchestown in November. Ironically, it was the victory of the same horse in the Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle last year that took his Cheltenham Festival total to 56 winners.

Walsh, 38, rode his first Cheltenham Festival winner two decades ago, when Alexander Banquet, trained by Willie Mullins, ran on well to beat the favourite, Joe Mac, in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper. Two years later, aged just 20, he won the Grand National on Papillon, trained by his father Ted, a victory he describes as the “proudest moment of my career.”

In October 2002, Walsh became retained rider for Paul Nicholls and so began one of the most successful partnerships in National Hunt racing. Walsh was leading jockey at the Festival for the first time in 2004 and six more times before he split with Nicholls to spend more time in Ireland with his young family. He said at the time, “The future for me will be Naas instead of Newbury and Navan instead of Haydock, but it will also be home for dinner with Gillian and the girls [two daughters, both under five] rather than a quick coffee at breakfast.”

Having switched allegiance to his other major employer, County Carlow trainer Willie Mullins, Walsh has proved an even greater force to be reckoned with at the Cheltenham Festival, winning the leading jockey title in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Walsh is reportedly a week, or two, away from a return to race riding but, all being well, Footpad – currently 11/8 favourite for the Arkle Challenge Trophy on March 13 – may well provide him with winner number 57.

In the C&S Electrical Handicap Hurdle (3.45) at Taunton on Tuesday, course and distance winner Our Merlin has looked in the grip of the handicapper since stepped up in class at Sandown two starts ago. Indeed, Robert Walford’s 6-year-old has been raised 4lb and 1lb for finishing second and third, respectively, the last twice, making an eye-watering total of 42lb since opening his account in a lowly 0-100 handicap hurdle at Plumpton in December. Clearly, it’s difficult to argue that he’s well handicapped, but he’s holding his form well and this looks a significantly less competitive contest than those he’s contested recently. His three wins have come at Plumpton, Fontwell and here – all sharp tracks – so it’s conceivable that Sandown and Cheltenham didn’t play to his strengths and the return to less testing underfoot conditions won’t do him any harm either. Regular partner Harry Cobden, who’s 3-6 on him, once again takes the ride.

Selection: Taunton 3.45 Our Merlin to win