Without a doubt, the Cheltenham Festival is one of the standout horse racing meetings on the sporting calendar.
Every year, the world’s greatest and top-rated horses compete and battle against each other in some of the most prestigious races in the sport. Whether you enjoy placing a bet on the races or simply love to see horses in action, the Cheltenham Festival is definitely worth a watch. We take a look at a few of the key races and horses that will grace the Prestbury Park in March’s meeting.
Douvan is one of the most impressive horses that is set to compete at Cheltenham next year and will look to follow up on his dominant performance in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2015. Douvan continues to produce immense efforts and was phenomenal inSaturday’s Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F Beginners Chase at Navan.
While he went off at 2/11, he fully justified his favouritism and romped home with a near-perfect display. He will be very difficult to beat at Cheltenham in the Arkle next year and is already valued as short as 7/4 with Coral. He will certainly be hoping to repeat last year’s Cheltenham win at the 2016 meeting.
Annie Power is another horse who will be tricky to beat. After she fell at the final fence in the 2015 Mares’ Hurdle, Ruby Walsh will be looking to guide Annie Power to victory in the same race at the 2016 meeting. That day, Annie Power could have cost the bookmakers in excess of £50million and punters will be backing her to make up for her error in 2015. At the time of writing, you can get 5/4 on Annie Power to win the race and it would take a brave man to go against her.
Perhaps the most anticipated race of the week will be the Ryanair Chase. Vautour could feature in this race and will be one of the most heavily backed horses throughout the meeting. The six-year-old recently won on his return in the Stella Artois 1965 Chase at Ascot but had to dig deep in order to hold off the advancing Ptit Zig in the closing stages. If Vautour regains his best form, he will stand a great chance of dominating the Ryanair Chase and will be one of the horses to watch in the build-up to the meeting.
Cheltenham is one of the highlights of the year and horse racing fans from all over the United Kingdom will travel to the course to watch some of the best horses in the business in action. With a bit of luck, these three horses will feature at the meeting and viewers will be treated to a number of impressive displays. For those who are unable to go to the meeting, make sure you tune into the event on your television screens and avoid missing out on the dominant Douvan, aggressive Annie Power and vigorous Vautour.
