The most prestigious and unmissable Jump racing event of the year is almost here! The Cheltenham Festival is a bucket list event that captures the nation and produces extraordinary moments to last a lifetime. It welcomes the most exceptional horses, jockeys, owners, and trainers to battle it out for the highest racing honours, their reputations and over £4.5 million of prize money.
Owners and jockeys alike are pre-occupied in preparations for this prestigious event where jockey Nick Schofield will also be riding his Bellevarde Express for Jeremy Scott in the Bumper. He claims, “She gets a 7lb allowance and has shown all the right signs at home so I’m hoping she’ll run a very good race”.
The 2020 Cheltenham Festival begins on March 10th and concludes March 13th. The last day sees the running of the always eagerly anticipated Cheltenham Gold Cup. Over the four days, racing fans and punters alike will be treated to 28 races. They feature some of the sports greatest horses and jockeys.
Cheltenham favourites will generate a great deal of interest at the jumps occasion that matters most and the biggest betting meeting of the year. Each year there are special horses that stick out from the rest of the competitors to become that season’s favourite bets among the punters. Here are some favourites for the upcoming Grand National.
In the Cheltenham Festival 2019, Tiger Roll was the first horse in 45 years to win back to back Grand National. So naturally, he is still a highly likely candidate to win this year’s Grand national as well.He will still only be 10 years-old in 2020, but with a bigger weight we’ll have to see if connections will bid for a famous hat-trick of wins in the world’s greatest steeplechase.
Burrows Saint won the 2019 Irish Grand National. Still only young, but the last horse to win the Grand National as a 7-year-old was in 1940! Clearly, he is a promising young stayer in the making but if lining-up for the 2020 Grand National it will be his first run in the race.
Rathvinden is another of the older brigade that could run again. He was a top third in the 2019 Grand National under the now-retired Ruby Walsh. Staying is not an issue and despite his advancing years is actually fairly lightly raced. Not one to rule out.
Entries closes January 29 and in 2018 and 2019 we saw Gordon Elliott‘s powerful Irish yard win the Grand National for the second time after their Tiger Roll held on in a gruelling finish. There is every chance Tiger Roll will be targeted at the race again in 2020 too as he will look to become the first Grand National winner to win in three consecutive years.
