Among the popular favourites for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival are Constitution Hill (Champion Hurdle), Delta Work (Cross-Country Chase), Mighty Potter (Turners Novices’ Chase), Shishkin (Ryanair Chase) and Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup). Below you can read the odds of the favourite horse to win each race at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
| Race | Silks | Horse | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supreme Novices’ Hurdle |  | Facile Vega | 5/2 |
| Arkle Chase |  | El Fabiolo | 6/4 |
| Ultima Handicap Chase |  | Into Overdrive | 8/1 |
| Champion Hurdle |  | Constitution Hill | 4/11 |
| Mares’ Hurdle |  | Honeysuckle | 9/4 |
| Boodles Handicap Hurdle |  | Tekao | 4/1 |
| National Hunt Chase |  | Gaillard Du Mesnil | 5/4 |
| Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle |  | Hermes Allen | 11/4 |
| Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase |  | Gerri Colombe | 7/4 |
| Coral Cup |  | HMS Seahorse | 8/1 |
| Champion Chase |  | Energumene | 15/8 |
| Cross Country Chase |  | Delta Work | 11/10 |
| Grand Annual Chase | | Dinoblue | 7/1 |
| Champion Bumper | | It’s For Me | 4/1 |
| Turners Novices’ Chase |  | Mighty Potter | 11/8 |
| Pertemps Final Hurdle |  | Shoot First | 4/1 |
| Ryanair Chase | | Shishkin | 8/11 |
| Stayers’ Hurdle |  | Blazing Khal | 11/4 |
| Plate Handicap Chase | | So Scottish | 4/1 |
| Mares Novices’ Hurdle |  | Luccia | 13/8 |
| Kim Muir Cup |  | Stumptown | 4/1 |
| JCB Triumph Hurdle |  | Lossiemouth | 15/8 |
| County Hurdle | | Filey Bay | 5/1 |
| Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle |  | Corbetts Cross | 7/2 |
| Cheltenham Gold Cup |  | Galopin Des Champs | 15/8 |
| Hunters’ Chase |  | Vaucelet | 9/4 |
| Mares’ Chase | | Allegorie De Vassy | 13/8 |
| Martin Pipe Hurdle |  | Spanish Harlem | 6/1 |
Who are this year’s Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup Underdogs?
The Gold Cup is the feature race of the entire Cheltenham Festival, and has been won by plenty of racing greats over the years. However, there have been some shock results in recent times, including 20/1 shot Lord Windemere winning in 2014 and Al Boum Photo winning his first Gold Cup in 2019 at odds of 12/1. In fact, the first three home in 2019 were Al Boum Photo (12/1), Anibale Fly (22/1) and Bristol De Mai (18/1), which just goes to show it can often pay to side with one of the underdogs!
With that in mind, here’s a list of some potential underdogs who could run well this year at double-figure prices (correct at time of writing):
- Conflated – Fell when going well in last year’s Ryanair Chase. Followed that up with an excellent runner-up effort in the Betway Bowl, and most recently ran out a cosy 5 length winner of the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. He is also entered in the Ryanair Chase so it remains to be seen which race he will opt for.
- Ahoy Senor – Finished runner-up to L’Homme Presse in the Brown Advisory at last year’s Festival, and was soundly beaten in his three races this season, before a fantastic performance to win the Cotswold Chase when last seen. If he can repeat that effort he could go close.
- Minella Indo – Won the race in 2021 and was runner-up in last year’s renewal, so you can almost guarantee he’ll give his running. Although he is a 10-year-old now, he proved he still has class when edging out Stattler in the New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore.
- Royale Pagaille – Could only finish fifth in last year’s race, but the ground was probably too good for him that day. Chased home Bravemansgame in the King George when last seen and would have a real chance if the heavens open up, such is his preference for a bit of give in the ground.
- The Real Whacker – Missed last year’s Festival but has impressed in two victories at Cheltenham this season, including a classy performance when winning the Dipper Novices’ Chase in January. Has a clear liking for the course so could go well at a double-figure price.
- Eldorado Allen – His last three runs at Cheltenham have seen him finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd, with his third to Allaho in last year’s Ryanair Chase particularly impressive. This year, he’s finished behind Bravemansgame twice and Protektorat once, but he’s capable on his day and could outrun his huge odds.
Cheltenham Festival Jockey Odds For 2023
| Jockey | Odds |
|---|---|
| Paul Townend | 2/7 |
| Nico De Boinville | 6/1 |
| Davy Russell | 8/1 |
| Danny Mullins | 9/1 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 10/1 |
| B J Cooper | 25/1 |
| Harry Cobden | 25/1 |
| Patrick Mullins | 25/1 |
| Daryl Jacob | 50/1 |
| Harry Skelton | 50/1 |
| Brian Hughes | 66/1 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 100/1 |
Cheltenham Festival Trainer Odds For 2023
| TrainerTrainer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Willie Mullins | 2/13 |
| Gordon Elliott | 15/2 |
| Nicky Henderson | 15/2 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 25/1 |
| Paul Nicholls | 25/1 |
| Dan Skelton | 66/1 |
Type of Bets You Can Place In This Year’s Cheltenham Festival
Win bet: A bet “on the nose” where you simply bet on a horse to win the race it competes in.
Each way: Represents two bets on the same horse: one to win and one to place. The one to win will be at the odds offered, the one to place will at either ¼ or ⅕ of the odds.
Straight Forecast: Picking the first two to finish in the correct order.
Reverse Forecast: Picking the first two to finish in either order.
Double: Picking two horses to win two separate races. Both must win for the bet to be successful. The odds will multiply depending on each horse’s individual price.
Treble: Picking three horses to win three separate races. This time, all three must win for the bet to be successful.
Patent: Picking three horses to win three separate races. A patent takes all the possible combinations of the trebles (1), doubles (3) and singles (3), to make seven bets. Because of this, only one has to win for one of those seven bets to be successful and the punter can make a return without all three horses having to win.
Accumulator: Picking four or more horses to win their respective races. Once again, all of them must win for the bet to be successful. This is the riskiest and unlikeliest bet to pull off, but can reward punters at potentially massive odds!
Lucky 15/31 etc.: Picking four/five or more horses to win separate races in a similar combination bet to a patent. This therefore includes the four-timer, all possible trebles (4), all doubles (6) and all singles (4), to make 15 bets. This goes up depending on how many horses you back: five will make a Lucky 31, six a Lucky 63 etc. Once again, only one horse has to win for a small return to be made.
Cheltenham Betting: Trustworthy Bookmakers Where You Can Place Your Bets
Here is a list of Bookmakers with Cheltenham Festival offers:
Sky Bet
This year Sky Bet is offering a Non-Runner No Bet offer. Basically, you get your money back as cash if you lose. You can check out the Sky Bet Cheltenham Offer here
Matchbook
Matchbook has a great offer for new customers for this year’s Cheltenham Festival. You get up to £50 in free bets when you bet £25 or more on horse racing at odds of 1.8 or more. The offer is available starting 6th of March and ends on the 13th of March. Claim the Matchbook Cheltenham offer here
Betzone
Might not be as popular as the other bookmakers above, but they have a fantastic offer for Cheltenham Festival 2023. Punters get up to £60 in free bets and 50 free casino spins. Some important terms and conditions you might want to take note of. Bets on horse racing must be placed before 11am UK time. Each way bets do not count. The offer is available for new customers only.
Betfair
Betfair will be running a Bet 10 Get 10 offer on multiples, on each of the six weekends leading up to the Cheltenham Festival. The same offer is available on each day of the festival from the 14th of March to the 17th of March
BetUK
BetUk’s Cheltenham offer for this year is a Bet 20 Get 60 in Free bet offer
We will continue to update this section as more offers are announced by top UK bookmakers
Betting Guide: How to read the Cheltenham odds and calculate payouts
If you’re new to racing, you might not understand the odds and what it means to how much you could stand to win. We will try and break it down for you to give you a better understanding.
Essentially, the shorter a horses odds are, the more likely they are expected to win. You can work the likelihood of a horses chances of winning by looking at the odds:
- If a horse is 9/1 (10.0) you would do 1 / (9+1) = 0.10 – This means there is a 10% chance this event will happen.
- If a horse is 2/1 (3.00) you would do 1 / (2+1) = 0.33 – This means there is a 33% chance this event will happen.
- If a horse is 1/3 (0.33) you would do 3 / (3+1) = This means there is a 75% chance this event will happen.
A horses odds can be displayed in two different ways – Fractions or Decimals.
With Fractions, the number on the left shows you what you stand to win, and the right number shows what you would need to stake. For example, if a horse is 10/1, if you put £1 on, you stand to win £11 (£10 + your £1 stake returned).
- EXAMPLE – £5 stake on a horse with odds of 5/1 = £35 returns (£30 winnings + your £5 stake back).
With Decimals, you simply multiply how much you’re willing to bet by the decimal number odds shown for the horse. For example, if a horse is 3.0 and you wish to put £10 on the horse, you would simply do £10 x 3.0, which would equal £30.
- EXAMPLE – £5 stake on a horse with odds of 7.5 = £37.50 returns (5 x £7.50 = £37.50).
Cheltenham Festival Favourites Vs Winners
Below are tables for the five Championship races to see the success rate of favourites in the race.
Gold Cup
| Year | Favourite/odds/finishing position | Winner (odds) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | A Plus Tard (3/1) (1st) | A Plus Tard (3/1) |
| 2021 | Al Boum Photo (9/4) (3rd) | Minella Indo (9/1) |
| 2020 | Al Boum Photo (100/30) (1st) | Al Boum Photo (100/30) |
| 2019 | Presenting Percy (100/30) (8th) | Al Boum Photo (12/1) |
| 2018 | Might Bite (4/1) (2nd) | Native River (5/1) |
| 2017 | Djakadam (3/1) (4th) | Sizing John (7/1) |
| 2016 | Don Cossack (9/4) (1st) | Don Cossack (9/4) |
| 2015 | Silviniaco Conti (3/1) (7th) | Coneygree (7/1) |
| 2014 | Bobs Worth (6/4) (5th) | Lord Windermere (20/1) |
| 2013 | Bobs Worth (11/4) (1st) | Bobs Worth (11/4) |
4/10 of the favourites within the last decade have scored in the Gold Cup. That 40% strike rate is better than the overall success of favourites at the Cheltenham Festival, which stands at 29% in that time.
Unlike in the other Championship races, there have been no odds-on favourites in that time either. You would ultimately have made a marginal profit of 5.3 points to a level stake for backing the 10 favourites courtesy of the victories of Bobs Worth, Don Cossack, Al Boum Photo and A Plus Tard.
Of those winners who were not favourite, Coneygree, Sizing John and Native River were noticeably close to favouritism. Although Al Boum Photo was 12/1 when winning in 2019, the race was very open, so the biggest surprises relative to the market came when Synchronised, Minella Indo and, in particular, Lord Windermere won the race. He is also comfortably the highest-priced winner in that time.
Champion Hurdle
| Year | Favourite/odds/finishing position | Winner (odds) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Honeysuckle (8/11) (1st) | Honeysuckle (8/11) |
| 2021 | Honeysuckle (11/10) (1st) | Honeysuckle (11/10) |
| 2020 | Epatante (2/1) (1st) | Epatante (2/1) |
| 2019 | Apple’s Jade (7/4) (6th) | Espoir D’Allen (16/1) |
| 2018 | Buveur D’Air (4/6) (1st) | Buveur D’Air (4/6) |
| 2017 | Yanworth (2/1) (DQ) | Buveur D’Air (5/1) |
| 2016 | Annie Power (5/2) (1st) | Annie Power (5/2) |
| 2015 | Faugheen (4/5) (1st) | Faugheen (4/5) |
| 2014 | Hurricane Fly (11/4) (4th) | Jezki (9/1) |
| 2013 | Hurricane Fly (13/8) (1st) | Hurricane Fly (13/8) |
There is a much higher success rate for favourites in the Champion Hurdle. Seven of the last ten winners have gone off as the market leader. Three of those went off at odds-on and Annie Power was the biggest-priced of those at 5/2, signalling the strength of support for favourites in this race.
A punter supporting every favourite in that time would have made a little over a 6.4 point profit off an even stake across the last decade.
Of the other three winners, Buveur D’Air could not be considered a massive surprise in 2017, while the fact Hurricane Fly was an 11/4 favourite in 2014 suggests how uncertain that market was when Jezki won. The big surprise came in 2019, when Espoir D’Allen scooted in at 16/1.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
| Year | Favourite/odds/finishing position | Winner (odds) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Shishkin (5/6) (PU) | Energumene (5/2) |
| 2021 | Chacun Pour Soi (8/13) (3rd) | Put The Kettle On (17/2) |
| 2020 | Defi Du Seuil (2/5) (4th) | Politologue (6/1) |
| 2019 | Altior (4/11) (1st) | Altior (4/11) |
| 2018 | Altior (Evs) (1st) | Altior (Evs) |
| 2017 | Douvan (2/9) (7th) | Special Tiara (11/1) |
| 2016 | Un De Sceaux (4/6) (2nd) | Sprinter Sacre (5/1) |
| 2015 | Sprinter Sacre (9/4) (PU) | Dodging Bullets (9/2) |
| 2014 | Sire De Grugy (11/4) (1st) | Sire De Grugy (11/4) |
| 2013 | Sprinter Sacre (1/4) (1st) | Sprinter Sacre (1/4) |
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a fascinating case study. Remarkably, only three favourites have gone off at odds against in the last decade.
Yet, fewer favourites have won this than the Champion Hurdle despite six of the market leaders going off at shorter prices than in the Tuesday highlight. Indeed there have been eight odds-on favourites in the Champion Chase since 2012, but only two of those have won.
Favourite backers in the last decade would have made a loss on their bets, despite the incredibly short prices off which some have run. Sizing Europe, Un De Sceaux, Douvan, Defi Du Seuil, Chacun Pour Soi and Shishkin are all culpable for this crime.
That said, only Special Tiara was outside of the first three in the betting, having also won at the biggest price. Finian’s Rainbow, Sprinter Sacre and Put The Kettle On were second in the market for the race.
Stayers Hurdle
| Year | Favourite/odds/finishing position | Winner (odds) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Klassical Dream (11/4) (5th) | Flooring Porter (4/1) |
| 2021 | Paisley Park (9/4) (3rd) | Flooring Porter (12/1) |
| 2020 | Paisley Park (4/6) (7th) | Lisnagar Oscar (50/1) |
| 2019 | Paisley Park (11/8) (1st) | Paisley Park (11/8) |
| 2018 | Sam Spinner (9/4) (5th) | Penhill (12/1) |
| 2017 | Unowhatimeanharry (5/6) (3rd) | Nichols Canyon (10/1) |
| 2016 | Thistlecrack (Evs) (1st) | Thistlecrack (Evs) |
| 2015 | Saphir Du Rheu (5/1) (2nd) | Cole Harden (14/1) |
| 2014 | Annie Power (11/8) (2nd) | More Of That (15/2) |
| 2013 | Oscar Whisky (9/4) (PU) | Solwhit (17/2) |
The Stayers’ Hurdle has been the least successful for favourites, despite there having been two horses to have won this race three times since 2005.
Only two favourites have won the race since 2013, so like the Cheltenham Gold Cup, has a strike rate in keeping with favourites at the Festival overall. However, both have gone off at particularly skinny prices.
Punters would be down over five points for a level stake in the last ten years had they backed all the favourites. Both Paisley Park and Unowhatimeanharry have been defeated at odds-on too.
The Stayers’ Hurdle has produced shocks more than any other feature race. Five of the last eight winners have gone off at double-figure prices, including Lisnagar Oscar at a whopping 50/1 in 2020.
Ryanair Chase
| Year | Favourite/odds/finishing position | Winner (odds) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Allaho (4/7) (1st) | Allaho (4/7) |
| 2021 | Allaho (3/1) (1st) | Allaho (3/1) |
| 2020 | A Plus Tard (7/4) (3rd) | Min (2/1) |
| 2019 | Footpad (7/2) (8th) | Frodon (9/2) |
| 2018 | Un De Sceaux (8/11) (2nd) | Balko Des Flos (8/1) |
| 2017 | Un De Sceaux (7/4) (1st) | Un De Sceaux (7/4) |
| 2016 | Vautour (Evs) (1st) | Vautour (Evs) |
| 2015 | Don Cossack (5/2) (3rd) | Uxizandre (16/1) |
| 2014 | Dynaste (3/1) (1st) | Dynaste (3/1) |
| 2013 | First Lieutenant (2/1) (2nd) | Cue Card (7/2) |
Easily one of the most profitable feature race for favourite backers has been the Ryanair Chase, in which five have won in the last ten years.
Two of those have been generously-priced as well, with Dynaste and Allaho going off at 3/1 or higher. Overall, that has led to a 4.3 point profit had you backed each favourite in the last decade.
Only two favourites have gone off at odds-on, with Un De Sceaux losing in 2018 and Allaho winning at 4/7 last year. Meanwhile, three of the other five winners have been second in the market, with Un De Sceaux’s conqueror Balko Des Flos and Uxizandre the only exceptions.
Novice races
30 of the 87 favourites in the nine novice contests contested in the last ten years have been successful. When you look at the prices, it would mean you would have lost -11.82 to an even stake if you backed all the favourites in those 87 races!
The most successful race for favourites in terms of strike rate has been the Arkle, in which seven have gone in within the last decade. However, remarkably, six of those seven winning favourites were odds-on, with last year’s winner Edwardstone the exception.
The Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase has been the most profitable for favourite backers. While only five have won, they have been at juicier prices. Might Bite won the 2017 renewal at 7/2, which certainly helped matters! Only one of those winning favourites was at odds-on, and that was Monkfish, who went off as short as 1/4.
There are other races in which is could pay to avoid the hotpots. Chief among those is the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, often unpredictable due to its staying requirements. Only one favourite has won in the last ten years, contributing to a 7.6-point loss. Seven double-figure prices have been successful, two of those at 33/1 and Minella Indo at 50/1 in 2019.
Handicaps
As would be expected from handicaps in comparison to open races, the success rate of favourites is nowhere near as strong.
Altogether, 13 of the 90 favourites to go to post in the nine handicap races in the last ten years have come out victorious. Their prices are obviously far higher on average than they are in the races above, but you would still have made a 26.67-point loss had you backed all 90.
We also come across the first race to have had no favourite win in the last decade. That is the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, the final race of the Festival. There have been 5/1, 7/1 and 8/1 winners of that contest in the time period, but all were behind at least one in the market.
The most interesting trend here is that you would have made a loss on all the handicaps run on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, but would have made a profit in two of the three run on the Thursday. You would have recorded minor profits on the Pertemps Final, but would be over 3.5 points in profit in the Plate Handicap Chase. Remarkably for a handicap, only one horse priced higher than 5/1 has won that in the last five runnings, which was last year’s 22/1 winner Coole Cody.
The Pertemps Final may have recorded an even greater figure had favourites not finished second in four of the last five runnings too (the other renewal saw the favourite win too). Taking those Thursday numbers out leaves just seven winning favourites in 60 contests of the other handicaps.
Other races
The five remaining races are the two Mares’ contests, the Cross Country Chase, the Champion Bumper and the Foxhunters.
Given these are open contests once again, you would expect them to have produced a profit for favourite backers. Yet, only two have – the Champion Bumper and the Hunters’ Chase.
You would be best off in the Foxhunters, with a 2.74pt profit to a level stake. Hazel Hill’s 7/2 SP would have helped you out, as would last year’s 13/8 winner Billaway.
The Cross Country Chase has seen three winning favourites, but three-time winner Tiger Roll is only responsible for one of those! To his credit, he has only been favourite twice, and lost on one of those occasions to Easysland, who then lost as favourite to Tiger Roll. All told, a 1.37pt loss in the race isn’t the worst we’ve seen!
The Mares’ Hurdle has simply had too many odds-on winners to record a profit, though no winner in the last decade has been bigger than 11/1. The bumper meanwhile, though there have been some well-regarded types in recent years, has generally been very open, with Moon Racer winning as favourite at 9/2. Nevertheless, he is one of only three favourites to win the race.
In terms of the Mares’ Chase, it is simply too early to make a call. The two runnings have both been won by 9/4 shots, but there’s been a shorter odds favourite in each of those. Count these races together and 13 of the 42 favourites have won, to an 4.12pt loss.