The 2023 Cheltenham Festival concludes on Friday with its showpiece race as its finale; the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The most valuable, most prestigious non-handicap in Britain, 3 miles 2½ furlongs stand between 13 of the very best chasers and the £351,000 first prize.
Galopin Des Champs, who romped to victory in the Irish Gold Cup in February, heads the market at 2.87 with William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: March 15th, 12:30 P.M. (GMT)
At seven years old, he is the youngest horse in the race, but with seven wins in his last eight – five of which were at Grade 1 level – he has already proven his class.
The one concern for jockey Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins will be his appearance at last year’s festival when he fell in the Golden Miller Chase.
Ready to capitalise on any slip-ups will be last year’s winner, A Plus Tard, ridden by Rachael Blackmore from Henry de Bromhead’s yard, who is at 8.00.
In 2022, A Plus Tard went off as favourite and comfortably beat Minella Indo in a reverse of the first two from the 2021 race. At 23.00, Minella Indo is not expected to take a second title.
Since then, the 9-year-old has only raced once and was pulled up in the Betfair Chase at Haydock. The going tomorrow is soft, a surface type he has not won on in over three years.
Paul Nicholls will be pinning all his hopes on Bravemansgame, who is also at 8.00, as he tries to win this race for the first time since the great Kauto Star in 2009. Harry Cobden rides.
Bravemansgame missed last year’s festival with wind surgery but has scored two wins from two since his return in a Grade 2 before taking his biggest win so far, the King George VI Chase at Kempton in December.
At 10.00 is the Grand National winner, Noble Yeats, who has won twice since that triumph under new jockey Sean Bowen after Sam Waley-Cohen’s retirement.
Last time out was at Cheltenham in January, finishing third and it will be a tough ask to be the first horse since Golden Miller in the 1930’s to hold the National and Gold Cup titles.
Beating Noble Yeats that day was Ahoy Senor who took his first graded victory outside the novice races. He is 21.00 today, while Protektorat (15.00) was fourth but took the Betfair Chase.
Slatter (12.00) was runner-up to Galopin Des Champs in the Irish Gold Cup, while Conflated (15.00) and Davy Russell is Gordon Elliott’s only entry, most recently winning the Grade 1 Savills Chase.
At 34.00, Sounds Russian is the best of the rest.
