Gordon Elliott has confirmed his unbeaten six year-old
Samcro will run in the Ballymore Novice Hurdle at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival which gets underway on Tuesday 13th March.
The Irish trainer had a number of options for his unbeaten horse who was sold at public auction to
Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud in 2016. The Ryanair airline boss paid £335,000 for the chestnut son of American sire, Germany, and he has so far recuperated £105,870 of that purchase price.
The Ballymore Novice Hurdle carries a purse of £125,000 and
Samcro leads the Cheltenham Festival tips tables amongst form experts and pundits. That confidence is reflected by Samcro’s price and he is rated an odds-on Cheltenham betting favourite with every bookmaker.
At odds-on, and with 28 Cheltenham Festival races to choose from, few people will be placing all their eggs in this basket given they cannot produce an equal number of chickens. However, Samcro is our idea of a Cheltenham Festival banker bet and he is the one horse we will be putting into all our multiple bets.
Apple of the Eye
Doubling up with another leading Cheltenham Festival tip, Apples Jade, will produce a far more attractive 2/1 bet proposition.
Another Gordon Elliott trained runner, this wonder-mare has won ten of her 14 career starts, finishing runner-up in her other four starts. Most importantly she landed the Mares Hurdle in 2017 and is unbeaten in four starts since (all Grade 1 & 2 contests).
Champion D’Air
And if you are looking for two more to throw into your Yankee or Lucky 15 Cheltenham bets, we are recommending
Buveur D’Air, who will attempt to emulate Sea Pigeon, See You Then, Istabraq, Hardy Eustace and, more recently, Hurricane Fly in winning the Champion Hurdle more than once.
Trainer Nicky Henderson has announced he will put the final touches to Buveur D’Air’s preparations with a racecourse gallop at Kempton this weekend. It is a tactic he employed with Binocular prior to that horse’s Champion Hurdle win in 2010.
Nine from ten Douvan is over-priced
Our fourth and final Cheltenham Festival betting tip comes in the Queen Mother Champion Chase where we believe
Douvan can vanquish the memories of his 2017 Festival defeat at odds of 2/9 in this very race.
That was the first defeat suffered by the French bred in ten starts over fences and if you can forgive him for that loss, where he was reported to have finished lame, and judge him on his 2015 and 2016 race victories at the Cheltenham Festival, you will have to conclude he is over-priced at generous odds of 5/1 to win.
