Cheltenham Trials Day Preview 25th January 2020
As the name of this meeting suggests, Cheltenham trials day is a showcase for those with festival aspirations for March. Last season, three winners from this day went on to win at the Cheltenham Festival, so it is certainly a meeting to keep your eye on, both for betting on the day and for the future.
The meeting has seven races, with five of those being graded contests and here are our best two bets on the card this Saturday.
Cotswold Chase (Gold Cup/Ryanair Trial)
This 3m contest is a trial for those looking at either the Ryanair Chase or the Gold Cup. Those heading to the Gold Cup must stay further than this, while the speedsters can drop back down in trip to the Ryanair. Frodon won this race last season and then went to the festival to win the Ryanair.
The horse standing out to on Saturday is an outsider in the betting, and a good performance here would make him an outsider for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. That horse is Top Ville Ben, a Northern raider who comes into the race on the back of a hugely impressive win on Boxing Day in the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby.
That was a Grade Three handicap contest which he won by eight lengths off a mark of 154. He won in nice style, fully deserves the 10lb rise in the weights he has been given and that has pushed him back into graded company.
He fell on his only start at this course in the RSA Chase at the 2019 festival, but appears to be even better this season, and is well worthy of his place in this line-up. He may not be the biggest name in the field, but can go close and is a big price at 8/1 with Unibet.
Cleeve Hurdle (Stayers Hurdle Trial)
The Cleeve Hurdle is a trial for the Stayers Hurdle at the festival and it is the winner of that race last season Paisley Park that is the main contender here. He takes on seven rivals here and all bar one are rated 13lb or more lower than Paisley Park, showing the kind of quality he has in comparison to those lining up to take him on.
The only horse anywhere near him on ratings is If The Cap Fits, who won the staying hurdle at Aintree last season, and comes here on the back of a win over shorter than this at Ascot. With the exception of that Aintree win though, all of his other form comes over much shorter and this is a real test around here, much tougher than Aintree.
While he may get the distance, you have to take a leap of faith with him on that and instead we are going with the rock solid Paisley Park, who so far has dominated things in the staying hurdle division.
He won all five starts last season, is one from one so far this season and we are backing him to make that two before he heads to the festival to defend his stayers crown. He is priced up at 8/13 with Unibet to win this.
Cheltenham Trials Day Best Bets
- Top Ville Ben to win the Cotswold Chase @ 8/1 with Unibet
- Paisley Park to win the Cleeve Hurdle @ 8/13 with Unibet
Horse Racing Betting Offer
bet365 - ITV Racing 4/1 Offer
With ITV televising racing from both Cheltenham and Doncaster tomorrow you'll not want to miss this offer from bet365. Place a Win or Each Way single bet at odds of 4/1 or more on any horse running in a race televised live on ITV Racing. If your first single bet on that race wins, you will qualify for a risk free bet to the same stake (up to £50*) on the next race broadcast live on ITV Racing. Place your risk free bet using existing funds and if the bet loses we will refund your stake (up to £50*). If your risk free bet also wins at odds of 4/1 or more, you qualify for a risk free bet on the next race televised live on ITV Racing. There's 7 races on ITV's card tomorrow, so that's a possible 7 x £50 free bets, and a very good night indeed!
