Cheltenham Festival Trends

Day Four

The Cheltenham Festival takes place in the middle of March and is undoubtedly the biggest race meeting of the National Hunt season.

Betting on the festival races can be made a whole lot easier and more successful, by using trends to narrow down the selection process.

We hope that you find these useful when deciding on your Cheltenham Festival Tips

Race by race Trends

Triumph Hurdle

A major stat here is to be with a last time out winner (13 of the last 15 winners).

The stats also point to a horse that has won at least twice (15 of the last 16 winners).

Look to oppose the favourite, there has only been 2 winners in the last 20 years.

County Hurdle

Five and six year olds hold a huge advantage. Five year olds have won 7 of the last 11 renewals and 38 of the last 47 winners have been aged 5 or 6.

17 of the last 20 winners finished in the first 4 last time out (13 finished 1st or 2nd).

9 of the last 10 winners carried 11st 1lb or less.

8 of the last 10 winners were making their Cheltenham Festival debut.

Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle

Another of the 2005 additions to the Cheltenham Festival card.

12 of the last 13 placed horses had finished first or second last time out.

Jonjo O'Neill has won two of the four races to date.

3 of the 5 winners had won at Cheltenham that season.

All 5 winners had at least 3 runs over hurdles.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

Avoid horses younger than seven or older than ten (No winner older then 10 since 1969 and 15 of the last 16 winners have been aged between 7 and 9).

Previous win or place form at the festival is a must (11 from the last 13 winners had been placed at the Cheltenham Festival previously).

Lightly raced horses hold an advantage, look for runners with less than fourteen career runs. Second season chasers and horses that have won over three miles or more are worth noting (8 of the last 16 winners were second season chasers).

8 of the last 9 winners were rated 166 or higher.

Only two horses since 1994 have won the Gold Cup after already being beaten in the race.

Foxhunter Chase

The stats slightly favour horses aged between seven and nine (4 of the last 5 winners were aged 9).

17 f the last 19 winners have been aged 10 years or younger.

West country trainers have a solid record in this event.

6 of the last 10 winners have been double figure odds.

Conditionals Hurdle

A race that was added to the card in 2009 so no trends yet I'm afraid! Andytown won the first running for trainer Nicky Henderson at odds of 25/1. He was a six year old.

Grand Annual Chase

Last time out winners hold a distinct advantage, placed form last time out is a must.

Rule out horses aged ten or over (40 of the last 43 win and placed runners were aged under 10).

Horses at the bottom of the handicap often go well.

30 of the last 35 renewals were won by horses that started at 10/1 or shorter in the betting.

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