There are still six months to go till the 2020 Cheltenham Festival takes place on March 10-13, 2019, but that hasn’t stopped the bookies from opening up the betting markets.
Most top online bookmakers are taking wagers on next year’s Cheltenham Festival, including Group I races the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Stayers’ Hurdle. It seems like only yesterday the 2019 Cheltenham Festival ended and already excitement is building for the next version of this great annual event!
Betting on a race six months before is a speculative endeavour but it can also be very rewarding. If you have an inkling about a certain horse, now is the time to find good the best offers and odds. In this article, we’ll give an overview of the early favourites in each of the four main races. If you want to make the races more interesting, you can click the following link for a list of all the Cheltenham 2020 free bets & latest offers and maybe win some money.
Gold Cup: Kemboy, 6/1
Kemboy exited the 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup at the first fence, but the bookies are backing the Willie Mullins-trained 7-year-old to bounce back and win next year’s Gold Cup. Another horse from the Willie Mullins stable, Al Boum Photo, won this year’s Gold Cup. Al Boum Photo is the second favourite for next year’s Gold Cup, at 7/1. Kemboy later pipped Al Boum Photo at the Punchestown Gold Cup in May to become the clear 2020 Gold Cup favourite. He has now won the last six races he has finished (with last year’s Gold Cup being the only one he failed to complete). He’s shaping up as one of the best-priced betting offers of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
Champion Hurdle: Klassical Dream, 3/1
The bookies are offering betting on 18 different 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup races and Klassical Dream is the third-most shortly priced favourite. This 5-year-old gelding, another one to come out of the dominant Willie Mullins stable, has won its last four races since returning from a year’s break at the end of 2018. He won the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2019, finishing a solid 4 ½ lengths ahead of Thomas Derby. Klassical Dreams’ odds would be even shorter if not for the fact he’s currently a candidate to participate in two other Cheltenham races: the JLT Novices Chase and the Arkle Chase. The second-favourite in the Champion Hurdle is Buveur Dair, 6/1.
Queen Mother Champion Chase: Altior, 4/1
Altior won the 2019 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase and the odds are he’ll do it again. This Nicky Henderson-trained horse has won 20 of 22 races across the course of its career, and it’s hard to see anyone stopping him at Cheltenham next year. At present, it appears the only horse that might stop him is Chacun Pour Soi, at 6/1. The other contenders are a long way off, beginning with Min at 14/1 odds.
Stayers’ Hurdle: Paisley Park, 3/1
Paisley Park is one of the shortest-priced favourites at next year’s Cheltenham Festival, with the 7-year old gelding paying 3/1 and Benie Des Dieux trailing behind as a 7/1 second-favourite. A member of the Emma Levelle stable, Paisley Park won the 2019 Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle by 2 ¾ lengths from Sam Spinner. He has enjoyed an impressive 12 months, winning all five of his races and all in partnership with the same jockey – Aidan Coleman. No rival has finished within a length of him during this period and it would take a massive effort for anyone to beat him in next year’s Stayers’ Hurdle.
