The first day of the Cheltenham Festival has been a Shangri-La for favourite backers in recent years, but this Tuesday features an unusually competitive set of races. Our trio of best bets on day 1 come in the first three contests as we aim to get you off to a flyer.
Cheltenham Festival Tuesday best bets
Bet on the latest Cheltenham Festival odds at Betzone
Firefox to prove beating Ballyburn no fluke in open Supreme
Ballyburn was always going to be a hot favourite for whichever Cheltenham novice hurdle Willie Mullins aimed him at following his awesome Grade 1 win over 2m at the Dublin Racing Festival.
FIREFOX was always going to be a wise guy angle as a result, having beaten that rival when the pair met in a 2m maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse in December.
Gordon Elliott’s gelding had a race-fitness advantage for that contest, but still appeared to have a dash more speed than the horse that’s now odds-on favourite for the 2m4f Gallaghers’ Novices Hurdle on Wednesday. He led the whole way and extended between the second last and the line.
Upped to 2m4f next time he failed to give his true running but still finished fourth in the Grade 1 Lawlors of Naas behind Reading Tommy Wrong and Ile Atlantique. Back down to the minimum trip and proven on soft ground he can win a second Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for Elliott.
Tip: 1.30 – Firefox to win @ 4/1
De Bromhead inmate can claim second Festival win three years on
Five of the last seven Arkles have gone the way of a favourite priced up at 5/2 or less, but this year’s edition looks far more of a conundrum.
The enigmatic Gaelic Warrior leads the market at 10/3, but he’s already twice been beaten at the Festival, has won only of one of seven career runs at left-handed tracks and wears a first-time hood.
Rich Ricci’s gelding is readily taken on and 2021 Triumph Hurdle winner QUILIXIOS catches the eye at 7/1. He’s a relatively later starter to life over fences having been off the track for 601 days prior to the start of this season.
The Chevely-Park-Stud-owned chaser has won two of his three starts over the larger obstacles either side of seemingly failing to stay the 3m in the Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown. Last time out his 2m win over Sa Fureur was the most impressive of the bunch.
Having won a Triumph as a four-year-old we know he copes with the Festival’s febrile atmosphere and he can make up for lost time by finding further improvement on his second run at the minimum trip.
Tip: 2.10 – Quilixios to win @ 7/1
Course-loving Cromwell handicapper can land Irish rare Ultima win
Two rules of thumb for betting in the Ultima are swerve Irish runners (the last winner from the Emerald Isle came in 2006) and focus on novices, who have won five of the last 10.
Despite this we’re swerving the Kim-Bailey-trained novices at the head of the betting Chianti Classico and Trelawne, as well as Emmet Mullins’ favourite Meetingofthewaters.
The first mentioned has been almost exclusively campaigned on good-to-soft or better, while his stablemate has shown quirks which could come to the fore again in the fizzing first-day atmosphere.
Meetingofthewaters was raised 15lbs by the Irish handicapper for his win at Christmas and another 2lbs by the English handicapper when he was assessed for this race. The Grand National is the aim for the seven-year-old who is unlikely to leave everything on the field as a result.
STUMPTOWN on the other hand, came within a neck of Festival glory in last year’s Kim Muir and has since scored again at Cheltenham when landing a 3m1f handicap chase on New Year’s Day of 11st 11lbs. He looks a reliable contender to be on the premises once again.
