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Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Cheltenham Festival Day 2 tips: Lucky 15, accumulator and bet365 Super Boost
The Queen Mother Champion Chase (4.00pm) is the main attraction on the second day of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Favourite Jonbon will be looking to break his hoodoo at the meeting at the third time of asking. Will he be among the selections in your accumulator, Lucky 15 or bet365 Super Boost bet? Our horses to follow can be found below. As always it has been a frantic market overnight as horses come under significant support while others remain friendless. Market movers of note are Workahead in the Supreme, who has gone from odds of 8/1 to 11/2, and Stencil in the Fred Winter who has gone from odds of 5/1 to 100/30. Fancy a bet on Cheltenham Day 2? If you already have a bookmaker account and are looking for a new bookmaker to use for this week's racing, check out our list of Cheltenham free bets that can be used on Day 2 of the Festival. Tips for Cheltenham day 2 1.20 Final Demand @ @ 15/8 with Betfair 2.00 Ballyburn @ @ Evens with Betfair 2.40 Maxxum @ 12/1 with Betfair Samui @ 20/1 with Betfair 3.20 Galvin @ 4/1 with Betfair Iceo Madrik @ 12/1 with Betfair 4.00 Jonbon @ 4/5 with Betfair Found A Fifty @ 16/1 with Betfair 4.40 Jazzy Matty @ 8/1 with Betfair 5.20 He Can't Dance @ 25/1 with Betfair Odds provided by Betfair and correct at the time of writing. Each-way selections are highlighted in the analysis below. Cheltenham Day 2 Acca tips Final Demand, Ballyburn, Galvin and Jonbon @ 50.75/1 with Betfair Cheltenham Day 2 Lucky 15 tips Samui, Galvin, Found A Fifty and Jazzy Matty (each-way Lucky 15) @ 16,064/1 with Betfair If you are looking for a bookmaker to use for day two of the Cheltenham Festival check out our list of betting offers from the UK's best betting sites 1.20 Cheltenham – Turners Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m 5f) FINAL DEMAND was the second of Willie Mullins' novice hurdlers to burst on to the scene at the Dublin Racing Festival after Kopek Des Bordes, who ran yesterday. He was a comfortable 12-length winner there against some good rivals and that form can kick off today's accumulator with a win. The six-year-old has yet to encounter ground with 'good' in the description, but given he is by Walk In The Park, it would be fair to assume he will relish the ground. Last off the list was The Yellow Clay, who has been generously campaigned all season, getting his head in front all four times. On his run at Navan in December, however, he won by only a neck, suggesting he might not be too far above the rest. That said, the same race last season produced three Cheltenham Festival winners, so he certainly isn't discounted. The New Lion has been well backed but, despite looking flawless in every run this season, it is not quite clear that he has had to beat anything special and this poses his first significant test. 2.00 Cheltenham – Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Grade 1, 3m ½f) Last year's novice hurdle superstar BALLYBURN is the pick here. Like last season, he heads into the Cheltenham Festival having suffered just one defeat all season, at the hands of arguably the best horse in training, Sir Gino, over a trip that was much too short. The Willie Mullins-trained gelding hasn't tackled three miles under rules but if you can find a clip of his point-to-point win in October 2022, you will see he finished the race very assertively, quickening after the last. The confidence in this pick earns him an inclusion in the daily acca. Last year's Albert Bartlett winner, Stellar Story, was the last off the list and still offers some each-way value at 12/1 if you can find a bookmaker offering three places. He would probably need softer going to win here, but if they go too quickly and it turns into a real stayers' race with a slog to the finish line, don't be surprised to see him flashing home as he did at Prestbury Park last year. 2.40 Cheltenham – Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap, 2m 5f) MAXXUM is a proven winner of valuable big-field handicaps and should relish this opportunity. He won at Navan four weeks ago off just 4lb lower than today's English handicap mark, but that is more than offset by 5lb claimer Carl Millar, who steered him to victory at the 2024 Dublin Racing Festival. The eight-year-old's usual front-running tactics have proved successful at the Festival in the past and if his young jockey can get his sectionals right, the selection could be hard to pass. If the leaders do start coming back to the field up the Cheltenham hill then stablemate SAMUI can be the one powering home late on. He was not close enough to challenge in last year's County Hurdle but he will have learnt from that and should get involved today. Samui is an impressively bred Flat racer and racked up over £50,000 in prize money on the level throughout the summer. He can make his class felt this afternoon. 3.20 Cheltenham – Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (3m 5½f) The going holds the key to the prospects of GALVIN, who relishes good ground, so with the course drying he will be added to our accumulator for the day. The 11-year-old finished fourth in last year's Grand National when the ground was far from ideal for him, so don't be surprised if he wins here and follows up at Aintree next month – a feat only the legendary Golden Miller has achieved in the same season – if he gets the right conditions both times. This contest has reverted to a handicap for 2025, but looking back at recent renewals it is fair to assume that the winners would have remained the same regardless of any weight pulls, hence our choice of a classy horse with a Gold Cup fourth to his name. That said, the French horse ICEO MADRIK could capitalise on the pull at the weights. Cross-country races are much more common in France and Iceo Madrik can use that experience to his advantage. Currently he is the second reserve so would need a couple of withdrawals to make it to the start line. 4.00 Cheltenham – BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1, 2m) Nicky Henderson's JONBON leads the field and has been something of a revelation this season, not putting a foot wrong in his three runs, including one here at Cheltenham. The two-mile chase division doesn't look a vintage one this year and Jonbon probably won't need to be at his best to win, but every rival here will be looking to serve up a challenge and expose any chink in the amour of a horse who has been beaten at Cheltenham three times in his career. The best challenge could come in the form of FOUND A FIFTY who has solid claims if you forgive his last run, after which the vet found a nasal condition that may have affected the horse. The form of his victory at Navan in November has been well advertised since, with the second winning the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, the third winning the Webster Cup and the fourth winning the King George. He will need to make sure he doesn't jump out to the right as he previously has to win today. 4.40 Cheltenham – Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap, 2m) A former Fred Winter winner, JAZZY MATTY is today's only selection in this wide-open handicap. The six-year-old has been awarded a mark of just 135 for his performances over fences so far this season. Those runs include a notable second at this venue in October, when he carried 8lb more than Path d'Oroux, who beat him by only a head and is now rated 144. Jazzy Matty arguably would have won that day if he hadn't drifted to his right in the home straight. He was given a run over hurdles in January to keep him fresh while protecting his mark for today's race, which has clearly been his target all along. Trainer Cian Collins won't be too well known with your casual Cheltenham punter, but he can certainly get a win today. 5.20 Cheltenham – Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1, 2m ½f) Today's final selection is for the generously priced HE CAN'T DANCE, who can cause an upset for the Irish trainer Gordon Elliot. He comes from a nice family and his dam was a half-sister to two-time Champion Chase winner Master Minded. The five-year-old was impressive in his first run under rules at Navan in December, travelling very strongly, which will be important today. He was found out at the Dublin Racing Festival against better horses, but he can learn from that outing and should be able to bring some class to the fore today. His most impressive piece of form might actually be his point-to-point win in March last year. The second home that day, Meetmebythesea, has gone on to win his first three races under rules for owner JP McManus and trainer Ben Pauling. What is the Cheltenham day 2 bet365 Super Boost? bet365 Super Boosts are being announced at 10am every day during the Cheltenham Festival. The bookmaker will be considerably boosting the price of one selection each day – this will typically be a popular odds-on shot boosted to evens, but you may even find prices as high as 6/4 or 2/1. Last year three of the four bet365 Super Boosts were successful. Cheltenham tips: Frequently asked questions What is an accumulator bet? An accumulator or acca is a bet that consists of multiple bets (or legs) that multiply together for bigger odds if they all win. What is a Lucky 15? A Lucky 15 is a bet with four legs that consists of 15 separate bets: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator. What is an each-way bet? An each-way bet is when you not only bet on your horse to win, but you also bet on them to finish in the top designated places in a race (this will vary from race to race and bookmaker to bookmaker). The bet to finish in the places will be a fraction of the win odds (usually 1/5, but sometimes 1/4). What does NAP mean? Nap is short for Napoleon and denotes a tipster's best bet of the day. What does SP mean? SP stands for starting price – a horse's odds when a race begins. What does BOG mean? BOG stands for best odds guaranteed, an industry standard offer. Regarding bets placed after a certain time of day, if a horse's starting price is bigger than the odds you bet on, you will get the larger odds. Click here for the best Cheltenham BOG operators
Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Cheltenham Day 1 Lucky 15 tips – plus selections for each race, an accumulator and bet365 Super Boost
As always it has been a frantic market overnight as horses come under significant support while others remain friendless. Market movers of note are Workahead in the Supreme, who has gone from 8/1 to 11/2, and Stencil in the Fred Winter who has shortened from 5/1 to 100/30. As always it has been a frantic market overnight as horses come under significant support while others remain friendless. Market movers of note are Workahead in the Supreme, who has gone from odds of 8/1 to 11/2, and Stencil in the Fred Winter who has gone from odds of 5/1 to 100/30. Fancy a bet on Cheltenham Day 1? If you already have a bookmaker account and are looking for a new operator to use for this week's racing, check out our list of Cheltenham free bets that can be used on day one of the Festival. Tips for Cheltenham day 1 1.20 Kopek Des Bordes @ 10/11 with Betfair 2.00 Majborough @ 8/15 with Betfair 2.40 Search For Glory @ 20/1 with Betfair Victtorino @ 22/1 with Betfair 3.20 Lossiemouth @ 4/6 with Betfair 4.00 Constitution Hill @ 4/7 with Betfair 4.40 Liam Swagger @ 14/1 with Betfair Ephesus @ 50/1 with Betfair 5.20 Stuzzikini @ 25/1 with Betfair Odds provided by Betfair and correct at the time of writing. Each-way selections are highlighted in the analysis below. Cheltenham Day 1 Acca tips Kopek Des Bordes, Majborough and Lossiemouth @ 3.88/1 with Betfair Cheltenham Day 1 Lucky 15 tips Romeo Coolio, Search For Glory, Liam Swagger and Stuzzikini each-way @ 61,424/1 with Betfair If you are looking for a bookmaker to use for day 1 of the Cheltenham Festival check out our list of betting offers from the UK's best betting sites. 1.20, Cheltenham – Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m ½f) The first selection at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival goes to the Willie Mullins-trained KOPEK DES BORDES. Being the first race of the week the adrenalin can get high in this race, leading to a frantic pace that ultimately results in stamina coming to the fore in the closing stages. Today's selection is a sizable horse that has plenty of scope to stay further – likely over larger obstacles – and at the Dublin Racing Festival last time out he proved he certainly has the class for victory here and get the tipped accumulator off to a win. Recent history does suggest that the winner has to come from the top three in the market as this is where 11 out of the past 12 victors have come from, but Willie Mullins has form lines in the yard with both Romeo Coolio and Workahead, so market confidence will be encouraging. Last off the list was Salvator Mundi who has form with the superstar Sir Gino when trained in France, but after Patrick Mullins getting the ride he has quite rightly taken a drift in the market with his record against professional jockeys very poor. 2.00, Cheltenham – My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase (Grade 1, 2m) It is no surprise that MAJBOROUGH is this year's Arkle selection with a field that is widely regarded as sub-par after the setback to Sir Gino. Both those horses were looking to break trends, as five-year-olds have a record of 0-16 since 2007. The field was thoroughly analysed for an older runner capable of turning over the short-priced favourite, but the ultimate conclusion was that none of them had enough class. The Willie Mullins-trained horse won the Triumph hurdle last year – and while that was on the new course, it is form that should be easily transferable today. This season Majborough has not put a foot wrong, with a perfect 2/2 record both in fine fashion. What sets this horse apart, however, is the intelligence to correct himself when in a spot of bother. Couple that with his speed and you have a formidable chaser. L'eau du Sud poses the biggest challenge and also boasts a perfect record this season, but he hasn't beaten a great deal in the process and lacked a bit of class when pushed out to win by just one length last time out at Warwick. We will include this horse in our acca for today, but also keep your eyes peeled for any bookmakers boosting Majborough's odds to evens or better on the day. 2.40, Cheltenham – Ultima Handicap Chase (Grade 3, 3m 1f) The Ultima is a race that is usually very consistent year-on-year, so trends can be quite strong indicators of who is going to run well. This year there was a distinct drop in the number of entries, suggesting that maybe not all trends will be upheld in this renewal. SEARCH FOR GLORY is this year's first selection who won on chase debut back in October and the form of that race reads very well ahead of subsequent winner Sa Majeste. He then followed up and proved he can stay three miles with a short-head second to stablemate Stellar Story, who holds claims in bigger races than this at the Festival. The Gordon Elliot-trained runner is unexposed and could have something in hand for today's handicap. Historically in this race, however, you would want to be backing an experienced stayer who is trained in the UK and that is certainly the case for VICCTORINO, who has 18 chase runs to his name and is trained by Venetia Williams. Something has certainly clicked this season with a place and two wins with all three runs on ground with good in the description, suggesting that he will relish today's challenge. 3.20, Cheltenham – Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m 4f) LOSSIEMOUTH is the standout horse in the Mares Hurdle – and given her official rating of 160 she should really be lining up in the Champion Hurdle with a solid each-way chance. She took a bad fall last time out at the Dublin Racing Festival when looking like she had State Man dealt with – who went on to win. However, after that setback it seems that connections have opted to get her confidence back with this easier challenge. The pick is in a league of her own compared with the mares she runs against today and is very unlikely to get beaten, but that is reflected in her odds-on price. She is also added to our accumulator for the day. 4.00, Cheltenham – Unibet Champion Hurdle Trophy (Grade 1, 2m ½f) There is no denying that CONSTITUTION HILL is a good horse, but today he gets to prove that he is a grade above that, a truly remarkable and special competitor. He looks to put his name beside greats such as Istabraq and Night Nurse as the best hurdlers ever. He has had a mixed season that started with a setback as he missed the Fighting Fifth, followed by an impressive win ahead of superstar mare Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle, and rounded off by a slightly less convincing win in the Unibet Hurdle. The Gordon Elliot mare Brighterdaysahead poses the biggest threat. She has shown glimpses of herself of being generational talent with three wins, twice claiming the scalp of last year's Champion Hurdle winner State Man. Ultimately though she has a lot more to prove today and the likelihood is that Constitution Hill will put her in her place. 4.40, Cheltenham – Hallgarten And Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3, 2m ½f) Unlike the Ultima, this race has gone to Irish-trained horses for the past seven years. So while he has been balloted out of the race, thus needing two horses to drop out before he qualifies, EPHESUS certainly fits the bill having been schooled by master trainer Aidan O'Brien before his current handler Denis Hogan. He has a classy pedigree, being by Galileo out of a debut-winning Shadwell mare, and his mark could certainly be lenient given he has run his race every outing without getting his head in front. LIAM SWAGGER could hold the best claims of the horses trained on the eastern side of the Irish Sea. He is an 84-rated middle-distance horse on the Flat and proved he is in good health when taking a 12-furlong race at Southwell last month. His autumn runs on good ground, including a Listed win, suggest that today's conditions will suit and he can add to an amazing season for dual-purpose trainer James Owen. 5.20, Cheltenham – National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Handicap Chase (Class 2, 3m 6f) Second-season novices typically have a good record in this race where experience is certainly beneficial at the extended staying trip. STUZZIKINI, who made his chase debut last May, stands out as a second-season novice chaser who is a proven stayer and will relish the drying ground. He has won twice this term, first over 3m 2f in a novice chase in October and then the following month over 3m in open company when winning the valuable Grade 2 Troytown. His most recent run in the Thyestes will have blown away the cobwebs, leaving him ready to hit his peak today. Transmission, last off the list, certainly looks like the trip will suit after some impressive staying-on finishes. But Patrick Mullins, called up after James Bowen's ban for overuse of the whip, again has to be factored in as a negative because of his poor record against professional jockeys. What is the Cheltenham day 1 bet365 Super Boost? Today's Super Boost has gone live a little early and bet365 has boosted the odds of Constitution Hill to win the Champion Hurdle to 6/4 from 4/6. bet365 Super Boosts are officially being announced at 10am every day during the Cheltenham Festival. bet365 will be considerably boosting the price of one selection each day – this will typically be a popular odds-on shot boosted to evens, but you may even see prices such as 6/4 or 2/1. Last year three out of the four bet365 Super Boosts were successful. Cheltenham tips: Frequently asked questions What is an accumulator bet? An accumulator or acca is a bet that consists of multiple bets (or legs) that multiply together for bigger odds if they all win. What is a Lucky 15? A Lucky 15 is a bet with four legs that consists of 15 separate bets: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold accumulator. What is an each-way bet? An each-way bet is when you not only bet on your horse to win, but you also bet on them to finish in the top designated places in a race (this will vary from race to race and bookmaker to bookmaker). The bet to finish in the places will be a fraction of the win odds (usually 1/5, but sometimes 1/4). What does NAP mean? Nap is short for Napoleon and denotes a tipster's best bet of the day. What does SP mean? SP stands for starting price – a horse's odds when a race begins. What does BOG mean? BOG stands for best odds guaranteed, an industry standard offer. Regarding bets placed after a certain time of day, if a horse's starting price is bigger than the odds you bet on, you will get the larger odds. Click here for the best Cheltenham BOG operators
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Cheltenham festival crowds will be down this week for third year running
Cheltenham racecourse has effectively confirmed that crowds at its showpiece meeting will be down for the third year running when the 2025 festival opens on Tuesday, while also suggesting that 'unforgettable days out' for racegoers this year will be the catalyst for a revival in the festival's fortunes from 2026. The overall attendance at last year's Cheltenham festival was 229,999, a drop of 18% on the record attendance of 280,627 in 2022, amid complaints from racegoers about the price of admission, food and drink and accommodation in the local area for spectators attending multiple days. In the weeks running up to this year's meeting, Cheltenham has predicted only that the total attendance would be 'more than 200,000', and in what was described as an 'open letter' to racing fans this weekend, Guy Lavender, the track's chief executive since 1 January, said that 'it's important to mention up front that we are expecting fewer racegoers to be joining us in person this week than in recent years.' Lavender added: 'The decline is not catastrophic but nor are we seeing growing attendances.' While a third straight drop in attendance is disappointing for both Cheltenham and its owner, Jockey Club Racecourses, a series of measures have been introduced from this year with the aim of improving customer experience. The areas in which racegoers can drink alcohol have expanded to include much more of the open standing area in front of the grandstands, while ticket prices were also frozen at last year's level. However, the admission that crowds are still expected to drop suggests that another initiative – offering a ticket for a second day at the meeting from Tuesday to Thursday at a 20% discount to anyone buying a single ticket – has not caught the imagination of racegoers. 'We have heard both anecdotally and directly that the cost of accommodation is impacting attendance,' Lavender said. 'It is a situation we are looking to address directly with Room To Race, launched in partnership with a local sports travel company, to provide more affordable hotel, ticket and travel packages for this festival and beyond.' Another key indicator for most punters at the end of festival week is their profit or loss on the week, and Tuesday's opening day dangles a significant carrot for many backers in the shape of four rock-solid favourites in the card's Grade One events. Kopek Des Bordes, the market leader for the opening Supreme Novcie Hurdle, drifted to 11-10 from evens on Monday in the face of support for Henry de Bromhead's Workahead, the mount of Rachael Blackmore. Majborough (4-7), Lossiemouth (8-11) and Constitution Hill (8-13) all remain odds-on however, implying combined odds for the four-timer with most firms of around 8-1.
