Cheltenham 2012 - Day 4

The dust has settled, the souvenir festival magazines have been published, the BBC has lost the rights to cover major horse races, and the time is right to have a glance through the legs of the fading hangover horse, as last week is pulled up to a spontaneous and heart-felt round of applause.

Ruby Walsh & Kauto Star prepare for battle

Having laid Long Run and followed Tom Segal in on Synchronised, I was never overly concerned about the winner of the Gold Cup on Friday as I had pretty much all eventualities covered (the fact that Nicky Henderson’s stable boy didn’t add the favourite in the 3.20 to his acca spoke volumes and I was happy to oppose The Dentist’s horse at 2-1).  I just wanted Kauto Star to come back unscathed.

Yes, having placed a 4pt wager at around 6-1, I would have preferred him to have gone all the way and cross the post ahead of his rivals, but the second it was realised that he was being led away from the track there was a wave of distinct emotion.  First, momentary deflation could be felt amongst the throngs of onlookers packed inside the enclosures.  This gave way to a palpable sense of relief (accompanied by the impromptu clapping) before finally, I think I felt a twinge of pride.  Proud to have been present to see him bowed out by the horseman who knows him best. 

Ruby Walsh demonstrated in two very different rides this week why he is such a lauded jockey – on Big Buck’s, who seemed to be cajoling his rider: “go on Rubes.. prove to me that you really want to win this fourth World Hurdle” – and then on Kauto: “come on Rubes.. I’m not right here fella.. let me bow out with dignity.”

The fact that AP McCoy went on to give Synchronised such a gritty, determined, talented and vein-bulging push to beat The Giant Bolster and Long Run up the hill, felt to me like a fitting tribute to Kauto and to Ruby.  Festival Gods seemed to be saying "If the people’s horse isn’t able to finish the race, let’s give the people another white-faced horse to love." 

Synchronised ain’t as pretty as Kauto, and AP’s ride was a real street brawl to watch, but it showed heart, and too many heads had backed Long Run for my liking.  Emotion and devotion won the Gold Cup on Friday in many ways.

Here’s how I finished the week from a gambling point of view. Relatively satisfied with the final figures, particularly after the run of losing bets on what I’m now dubbing “Black Wednesday,” there are a few lessons that have been learnt and some “what-ifs” to consider. Overall, though, I went with my gut, and loved every minute of it.



-£33.65 on Horse Racing over the festival.  Noteworthy profits were banked thanks to the 45-1 winner (0.5pt each way) in the Triumph Hurdle on Friday, Countrywide Flame.  I only got a text with the tip on the day so couldn't blog it in advance - sorry!  A close second to this was Sunnyhillboy, Tom Segal's tip in Thursday's amateur riders' handicap chase.  I also had a 10pt bet on Big Buck's to claim that fourth World Hurdle.  At 1.91 on Betfair, I thought this represented both great value and also provided the racing highlight of the week. 

Offers like Paddy Power's "money back special" in the Arkle meant that Sprinter Sacre could be cheered on readily as the bookmaker refunded my losing bet on Al Ferof.  Sprinter Sacre's performance was undoubtedly one of the moments of the week, and whilst many turf accountants' race day deals made me think that backing horses in the ante-post markets is becoming increasingly less attractive, I doubt Mark "The Couch" Winstanley will agree on this occasion.  He advised SS a couple of months ago, recommending a 10pt maximum stake at a monster price! 

Apart from £20 lost in cash on the tote at the track, and including this return of £65, my total P&L for the week came to about -£58 to goodness only knows what stake.  As a wise man once told me: turnover's vanity, profit is sanity. 

At the track: Palphabet pals Westdrop aka The Alpha (left), Norbet (right) and yours truly.

Westdrop tucks into our hosts' famous fry-up on festival Friday morning.

The Racing Post did a magnificent job of capturing the essence of the festival with some breathtaking front-page splashes.  Norbet and I were pleased that the local outlets had stocked up with copies of the 'paper.

As the festival draws to a close, the Palphabet gang contemplate what to do next. Synchronised seems smug at the enormity of his day's work, and back at the guest house, a little kratooie seems sad to have missed out on proceedings.

     



Jaegerbombs are ordered and consumed at the Racing Post party (sadly I couldn't find any of their journos to harrass, so pestered Mark Langdon on Twitter instead) and in the morning the tweed is packed away until next time.

Cheltenham 2012 - Day 3

In Amongst the Action

The Palphabet Pals (without our other pal, Alpha, who arrived later)
Left to Right: Norbet, Me, Simon, Paolo

Apologies in advance for the permeating hangover dribbling out of my supine position in a Cheltenham guest house.  I say guest house, I’m basically staying in someone’s family home, in their attic spare room.  But it’s fine – the family who inhabit this fine tenement, nestled just 15 minutes from Cheltenham’s bustling Montpellier district, are warm and welcoming, reflecting the overall vibe of festival week.

Last night the only downside of an otherwise pleasant evening was the disappointing service in Indian Voojan.  The food was decent but after a memorable meal last year, they certainly let themselves down this time.  Aside from that, the afternoon spent watching races in the familiar surroundings of a pub, with free WiFi allowing online gambling transactions to flow swiftly and without complication, made me realise that time has flown by so quickly since last Cheltenham Festival Thursday (when I was doing much the same as I’ve just described).

P&L was healthily restored by Big Buck’s triumphant defence of his World Hurdle crown.  As if it needed confirmation, he really is an all-time legend of staying hudlers and I just love his lazy attitude to a race – Ruby really had to work hard to get him over the line, but only because Buck’s wanted him to.  Watching the re-run of the exciting contest in a pub later was just as thrilling, and was punctuated with the audio backdrop of the Kaiser Chief’s “Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby – ahhhhhahhhahahhhh” and the Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”.  It was Thursday, but fine.

Today I cannot describe how special it will be to see Kauto Star win back the Gold Cup title for a second time.  Surely it will guarantee his status as the greatest race horse of all time.  I’m on antepost at prices ranging from 4-1 to 11-1 (during “the scare”) and will top up at the track.  Burton Port is my alternative selection at 7-1 e/w.

Our hosts are making breakfast for us now so I have no time to go into great detail about the rest of my Friday bets.  In short they are:

1.30: Baby Mix (backed antepost at 22-1 and now 6-1) and either Grumeti or Balder Succes – not sure yet – both 8-1 .. also like Dodging Bullets and 24-1 looks big

2:05 Raya Star 12-1

2:40 Lovcen 17-1 and Fox Appeal 28-1

3:20 as discussed above

4:00 no selection yet

4:40 I’msingingtheblues 25-1

5:15 Tanks for That 14-1 and Kid Cassidy 13-2

Anyone know any other good curry houses in Cheltenham?

Cheltenham 2012 - Day 2

P&L after day 2 hides some very close bets.. honest!

Henderson - what's not to like?

Barry and the Henderson stamp a Big Foot on the Fest

Ignoring Henderson's strong challengers proved a downfall today but I was a whisker away with Get Me Out of Here, who gave £96.17 back to the pot but would have returned over £800 if he'd have managed to get home ahead of Son of Flicka. Elsewhere Soll, my tip of the week fell early on, along with stablemate Allee Garde. Simonsig, who I decided to lay, duly won for Henderson, who also took the RSA with Bobs Worth and the Champion Chase with Finian's Rainbow.  Nicky then had a 40-1 winner in the Fred Winter with Une Artiste, as I was lamenting another well-backed Alan King horse (Vendor).  It got me wondering - why don't I back Nicky Henderson horses very often?... and I think it's due to something buried deep in the realms of my subconscious...

Now, I'm certain that Paul Nicholls doesn’t hold Nicky Henderson in anything but the highest esteem.  I know Henderson, a former Champion Trainer and seemingly top bloke, is well loved in the horse racing fraternity.  He is clearly a fantastic trainer, with more festival wins under his belt than any of his current competitors and boasts a stable full of talented horses, worthy winners over all manner of mileage and obstacle. Yet, on television, I’m sure I've seen PFN appear to blank NH on a couple of occasions – at both Haydock and Kempton Park – after Kauto Star twice inflicted recent defeats on Gold Cup chaser Long Run.   So I have taken a position of harbouring a totally irrational dislike towards the Lambourn trainer, and hardly ever feel compelled to back his horses.

Now, after a day like today, I have two choices – I can either maintain a bitter and unfounded aversion towards contenders from Henderson's yard, or I can adapt to the environment.  I certainly don’t hate the bloke, I just like Nicholls, love Kauto Star and Denman, and found it more than slightly amusing when I saw the Ditcheat man seemingly turn his nose up at Nicky’s advances for a congratulatory handshake. 

I look back after today and wonder if there was anything in it – have any of you seen the footage from Haydock? – Paul Nicholls comes bounding up the gangway towards the winners' enclosure, delighted with Kauto Star’s return to brilliance.  Henderson approaches to say “well done fella” and gets, well, gunned!  

In retrospect, I think to myself “that was a bit out of order Paul!”  I find myself feeling sympathy towards Henderson, his big wet eyes resembling a likeable amphibian, just showing some affection for his victorious competitor on the day.  It’s making me think that tomorrow, when I would usually shy away from backing Henderson's horses, I should consider that he is absolutely flying at this year’s festival, and act accordingly.

Therefore, although I'll stick with Medermit in the Ryanair (in which Henderson's Riverside Theatre leads the market), first up is the Jewson Novices' Chase, in which Peddlers Cross is favourite, but where Solix is priced up at 9-1, and I'm going to do it - show some respect for Henderson and the pink-armband-wearing Barry Geraghty - and back the leading jockey / trainer combo with a pt e/w.

Our Father  (5-1) is my choice for the 3m Pertemps Final and is well fancied.  Then after the Ryanair comes the World Hurdle.  Watching this in a Cheltenham pub last year was one of my most memorable sporting events ever.  Ruby dropped his whip and using the reins alone, powering Buck's up the hill to beat off a genuine challenge from Grands Crus.  The choice for tomorrow is still there to be made: either lump on big-style for a 16th consecutive Big Buck's win ...or go with Oscar Whisky - trained by Nicky Henderson and undoubtedly a class act - who is trading at 5-1.  That may be a leap of faith too far! 

Thinking Hector's Choice or Notus de la Tour in the 16:00 handicap and will be interested to see what Pricewise says in tomorrow's paper.  Finally, I'm really looking forward to see if, like last year with Junior, there will be another monster gamble in the 16:40, and if Sir Henry Cecil can win the charity race again - does anyone even know if he has a runner? Plato's victory in the "Derby" was a nice way to finish St Patrick's Thursday a year ago.

If anyone's in Cheltenham tomorrow night - do say hello!

DP

Cheltenham 2012 - Day 1

Palphabet Off to a Flyer with all but the Hurricane on a Whirlwind First Day

Cinders & Ashes, Quevega and Sprinter Sacre provided Palphabet with a successful start to this year’s Cheltenham Festival and a profitable first stab at prospective previews rather than just retrospective reviews.  Unlike Sprinter Sacre's brilliance, these tipping triumphs won’t last long, so I’m going to relish it this evening and keep looking forward with hopefully just a hint of smug permeating into this piece.

Cinders & Ashes and Hunt Ball both gave decent returns, whilst Quevega paid out £74 from a 6pt stake

The biggest damage to the coffers was done today by lumping £135.43 on a Hurricane Fly / Big Buck’s double at 2.64 on Betfair, and is yet to be reflected on the above P&L.  I did have a place bet on Rock on Ruby though, so the Champion Hurdle didn’t leave me too cold, and I was impressed again with Overturn’s fierce gallop.  Binocular showed signs that he would get going, but his inconsistencies continued.  Despite not tipping it in advance, I had a 1pt stake on Hunt Ball (and a smaller, losing bet on Harpsy Chord) that means I can go into tomorrow with a fully loaded gambling gun.

http://www.palphabet.blogspot.com/2012/02/go-with-your-gut.html

Tomorrow’s bet on Soll (now 8-1) drew enough attention when I put him up at 12s to be chosen by the nice people at sportingbet.com to form part of their “Cheltenham Chat” podcast (which you can hear here).  I have been lumping on Mullins's son of Presenting for the past couple of months and cannot wait to see him bring home the booty over the stamina-testing 4m Amateur Riders' Novices' National Hunt chase, which is first up on day two of what is now trending on Twitter as #CheltFest.

UPDATE 14-03-12 ... Read my guest blog preview of this race on Scott Ferguson's www.sportismadeforbetting.com here

With two of my antepost selections gone (Alan King's Invictus and Fingal Bay), I will eschew the complicated forecasts tomorrow, stick to Grands Crus (6-4 from 9-4 advised) in the RSA Chase and go for another of King's entries in the Neptune Novices' Hurdle: Battonier (9-1).

UPDATE 14-03-12 ... With Battonier declared a non-runner this morning and the Betfair selection voided, I have put my 1pt e/w on Make Your Mark instead. Davy Russell's ride for WP Mullins offers good value at around 10-1 and I've rather go there than Simonsig, about whom I have my doubts.

As Somersby opts for Thursday's 5f longer trip in the Ryanair Chase, tomorrow's Queen Mother Champion Chase price about Sizing Europe (11-10 as advised a month ago) is no longer available, but the 20-21 currently offered on the Betfair exchange is only a fraction shorter, and should be hoovered up.  I'll also have a bit of Kauto Stone for a place at around 11-4. 

In the later contests on Wednesday afternoon, AP McCoy is worth backing on board Jonjo O'Neill's Get Me Out Of Here in the Coral Cup at 12-1 - after Hunt Ball's performance today I won't be put off by the weight!  I also like Brendan Powell, who claims 5lbs atop the Dr Richard Newland trained Act Of Kalanisi (20-1).  Vendor (4-1) is the one to go for in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle, another Alan King horse who Choc Thornton put up as his nap of the week, but Kie jumped off the page at me available at 59-1 so I will have a small wager each way on this one of McCain's, who will have a fired-up Jason Maguire on board after his win in the Supreme today. 

Exhausting, exhilarating, and only just beginning!

DP

Wayne - King is good for you

Readers of my recent festival preview will have noticed that Alan King featured throughout, and I was delighted to hear Tom Segal picking out Wayne Hutchinson as one of his favourite jockeys when I finally got around to watching his Morning Line appearance on tape this fine Sunday dawn.

http://www.palphabet.blogspot.com/2012/02/go-with-your-gut.html

At Chepstow yesterday, Hutch provided King with a 5-1 winner in the shape of Oh Crick, who was sporting blinkers for the first time at a track where his trainer had drawn a blank in 45 previous attempts over the past 843 days. I didn't know all this when I placed a 1pt stake on the horse, and this was King's only runner at the Monmouthshire course yesterday, but it gives me a thrill to discover such facts in retrospect.

Elsewhere, Grumeti showed again that when he doesn’t end up on his nose, he wins.  With a rating of 154 and on the up, Grumeti, under Choc Thornton, went off clear favourite and duly dispatched challengers in the Grade 2 Novices’ Hurdle over 2m.  Paul Nicholls’s Dodging Bullets provided the only real opposition inside the home straight but Grumeti was cruising and proved the 1.51 Betfair SP correct.

King currently boasts a 51% RTF figure, meaning that across the past fortnight, just over half of his runners have Run to Form (within 5lb of their RP rating) and the newspaper felt fit to highlight his success in Saturday races worth £10k or more with this eye-catching headline:

All in all, I'm delighted with my position on Medermit for the Ryanair, excited about the prospects of West End Rocker (and to a lesser extent Hold on Julio, who I have not backed ante post) and hope King, and Wayne Hutchinson's good fortune continues as the festival draws inexorably closer.

DP

Minsk Mix Up

Oh.. before I forget.. isn't this funny - Minsk has been being talked up as one to watch since switching from long, flat races to jumps, and I had a point on him for the JCB Triumph Hurdle.  Baby Mix disappointed last time out but I thought 23 looked big about the grey gelding, so I backed him ante post yesterday too.  Minsk failed to deliver at Kempton and is now double the odds I got him at, whilst Mix (one-third of a Saturday afternoon Paddy Brennan threesome) has been cut to 7-1.  The favourite is now the aforementioned Alan King trained Grumeti (6-1), who I have not had anything on!

Go With Your Gut

I read recently that Tom Segal, the legendary prophetic inhabitant of the Racing Post’s Pricewise pages doesn’t like to spend excessive time poring over the form when advising punters where to put their pound.

"X" Marks the Spot - Quickfire Tipping from the Gut

Taking a similar approach, and after a few indicative national hunt trials, I turned to page 24 of Sunday’s ‘paper and quickly marked out my favourite ante-post fancies for the forthcoming few fortnights, as I prepare for back-to-back festival Fridays at Cheltenham and Aintree.  I've then gone through the selections and made some brief notes in an attempt to justify my initial gut feelings. Let me know what you think.

Cheltenham

Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – Cinders and Ashes (10-1) Donald McCain's novice hurdler got off to a winning start to his career on the NH flat scene before coming 5th in last year's festival Bumper.  Reversed the form with an impressive nine-length victory over Nicky Henderson's Keys at Aintree before Christmas and whilst Steps to Freedom's stats of 1F1-0111 look ominous, I'm comfortable with the fact that Cinders jumped off the page at me.

Arkle – Sprinter Sacre (6-4) This horse is in my head because Mark "Couch" Winstanley tipped him up in the RP a few weeks back for a characteristically low-key 10pt stake at a much bigger priced.  SS has impressed ever since.

Champion Hurdle – Hurricane Fly (4-5) / Binocular (8-1) exacta - Like many, I have the hots for H-Fly, who looks a beauty and has beaten all who stand in his way in this contest that would give "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" a run for its money with regards to lead actor & supporting cast.  A son of Montjeu, Fly's figures of 1111-11 make this look like a foregone conclusion but I like the value play of adding the inconsistent 2010 Champion Hurdler Binocular to a [reverse]exacta following his impromptu win at the weekend.

Mares’ Hurdle – Quevega (8-11) She's the female version of Big Buck's - banker.  Having said that, I will place an unmatched bet and let it ride on the exchange just in case Voler La Vedette is around the 28-1 mark leading by a few lengths going over the last.  Unaccompanied is heading straight to Aintree and gives this mare affair the miss.

Neptune Novices’ Hurdle & Albert Bartlett  – Fingal Bay (9-2 and 7-1 respectively) The unbeaten Fingal looks a good prospect for the future and I backed him a few months ago for both these races following success in November at Cheltenham.  I still think these prices are fair although the shorter price for the Neptune suggests that's where trainer Philip Hobbs is aiming him so I'm glad I got him at 6.4 on Betfair.

RSA Chase – Grands Crus (9-4) / Invictus (12-1) exacta - Assuming Crus doesn't line up on Friday for the Gold Cup, you have to fancy last year's World Hurdle runner-up to continue the flawless example of jumping showed on Boxing Day at Kempton Park.  Pair up the short price about Grands Crus with in-form Alan King's Invictus, who was immediately cut for this race from 33-1 and 50-1 in places to as short as 6-1 now but still available at 12s.

Queen Mother Champion Chase – Sizing Europe (11-10) I had Henry de Bromhead's defending champion at 9-1 last year and like Hurricane Fly & Big Buck's, he looks likely to regain his crown this year.  Cost Sportingbet a fortune when winning the Tingle Creek in December, forcing the bookmaker to return all losing bets (I got my £50 back on Wishfull Thinking and stuck it all on Kauto Star for the King George, which was enjoyable).  He has the hoodoo over most of his rivals but I might go for a value bet on Somersby or add him to a forecast with Sizing.

Ryanair – Medermit (9-1) à Let’s not forget, as well as Invictus, Alan King also had wins this weekend with Lovcen and Balder Succes, who can be backed at 30 on Betfair for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.  Everywhere I look I seem to see King's name, so I was ecstatic to be awoken by the news this morning, just hours after I put it on Twitter, that Tom Segal also picked Medermit as his Ryanair ante-post selection.  A case of Pricewise following Palphabet perhaps?? Cue price crash.  His performance at Ascot this weekend was gallant, recovering well from a mistake he ran Riverside Theatre all the way to the line, and I've got cold feet about backing Jimmy Nesbitt's headline grabber at reactionary prices.  Rubi Light has been hacking up on Irish turf that wouldn't look out of place on a 1970s second-division football pitch, and a lesser horse would have crashed out after landing on top of a Gowran Park fence on  Saturday.  There's no doubt Rubi has plenty in the tank, but with a dry, sunny March in store, I think he'll end up as a BF in the Ryanair at Cheltenham.

Will Minsk "dig" deep for the JCB Trophy?

Triumph Hurdle – Minsk (7-1)  Balder Succes (14-1 for this race) is probably 30 for the Novices’ as King needs to decide whether to run him over longer distance against more experienced company, including stablemate Grumeti (10-1 here).  I had Grandouet for the JCB Triumph last year after a decent couple of warm-up experiences, and was left disappointed but I remember reading a few people, including Segal, saying Minsk was one to follow for the season.

World Hurdle – Big Buck’s (8-13) I don't need to say anything about Buck's.  Even if he picks up the Ditcheat cough, he'll be absolutely fine come St Patrick's Thursday.

Already Advised

Gold Cup – Kauto Star (7-2) recommended at 4-1 - Long Run did nothing [apart from win] to convince me to betray my heart and believe!  The bookies seemed quick to cut a bit of their liability on Kauto too

National Hunt Challenge Cup – Soll (8-1) recommended at 12-1 - R Walsh & WP Mullins are both bullish about this 7 year-old chestnut gelding, who provided Willie with the fastest ton of seasonal winners in Ireland when chasing over 2m4f at Down Royal earlier this month.  I've had 2pts e/w at 12s, a bit more at 9s and would like to think that Soll, sired by Presenting, will bring home this 4-mile cup for half-brother and recent retiree Denman

http://www.racingpost.com/news/horse-racing/down-royal-soll-brings-up-mullins-milestone-in-style/982938/

Aintree

Grand National – West End Rocker (20-1 on Ladbrokes and Betfair) - When the weights were announced for the National, I looked down the list and straight away fancied West End Rocker.  As already mentioned, I have subsequently had Alan King's name ringing around my ears.  WER didn't just win the trial over the Grand National fences in December, he absolutely destroyed Niche Market and the rest of the field in the Becher Handicap Chase with Wayne Hutchinson on board.  Granted, the ground was heavy, but I like the price and wonder if Robert Thornton might take him round in April, especially since King's only other entry, Hold on Julio, won under Hutch from chasing veteran Neptune Collonges at Sandown during Choc's injury-induced absence.

http://www.grand-national-guide.co.uk/grand-national-weights.php

Well, that certainly took longer to write than it did to go through the markets putting "Xs" next to names of nags! This time in three weeks, we'll know whether or not some of these instinctive picks have prevailed. Looking forward...

Crusade for Cheltenham Clarity

"Life, woah life” [click here to listen whilst reading - recommended]

 Whenever I feel bogged down by events that occur to us inhabitants of earth, Des'ree's fine lyrics loll around my head and remind me of how insignificant we all really are, from a cosmological point of view anyway.  I'm sure that was her intended message.

I wrote that paragraph a couple of weeks ago but didn't finish off the chain of thought as Kevin Pullein in the Racing Post coincidentally published a piece with a similar theme in the paper, inadvertently denying Palphabet followers an undoubtedly cracking read.  As I didn't want to look like the Johann Hari of gambling blogs, I nipped it in the bud, looking for a slightly different angle.  The ultimate goal, however, was to attempt to define that moment of clarity that us punters have from time to time.  I'm referring to the supra-dreamlike vision of a victorious betting slip or Betfair interface, when everything just comes together in harmonious profit.

 January's P&L features one such moment:

Adrian "Jackpot" Lewis regained the PDC World Championship title, despite the best efforts of a wasp, a draught created by an open Alexandra Palace door and the first few sets of James Wade's accurate arrows.  Maybe "The Machine" enjoyed his own moment of clarity, shortly before the realisation that he was going to deny me the opportunity to pocket £1200 (minus lay-offs) caused him to metaphorically gouge out his eyes with tungsten-tips and collapse like Costa Concordia with Captain Coward at the controls.

The ability to see things clearly, then, is an advantage and fortunately January provided me with my first few transparent windows towards Cheltenham Glory:

Willie Mullins top trainer at 13/8 (Hills)
http://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing-betting/specials/season-specials/cheltenham-festival/top-trainer/best-odds/

Ruby Walsh top jockey at 8/11 (Hills)http://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing-betting/specials/season-specials/cheltenham-festival/top-jockey/best-odds

Soll to win the National Hunt Steeple Chase at 12s with Hills, Stan James and Betfred, only 8s with the Magic Sign after success in Ireland midweek
http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk/races/national-hunt-steeple-chase-odds.php

Big Buck's to win the Ladbrokes World Hurdle NAP at 4/9 (Hills)
http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk/races/ladbrokes-world-hurdle-odds.php

Hurricane Fly to win the Champion Hurdle at Evens with Paddy Power
 http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk/races/champion-hurdle-odds.php

Finally, for now, and I start to shake a little bit just writing it down: Kauto Star to win the Gold Cup at a mouth-watering 4/1 generally, and nearly 5s on Betfair
http://www.cheltenham-festival.co.uk/races/cheltenham-gold-cup-odds.php

I'd recommend looking for the best prices and placing a few singles and one whopping festival accumulator whilst listening to this.  I welcome your comments on my selections and aim to do a more in depth post during the week expanding on my reasons for the above selections, maybe looking for some more single-bet value plays. 

I am confident that the return awarded for this straightforward six-fold will mean that by the evening of Friday 16th March, when the festival racing is over, I will be so consumed by joy and alcohol that I won't be able to see anything, clearly or otherwise.  This excellent acca calculator from http://www.betcalc.com/accacalc.php illustrates my point as clear as a freshly polished pane of glass.

DP