Cheltenham Tips | 13.30 Triumph Hurdle | C4

0

AFTER a profitable Thursday, Graeme Johnston (@GraemeJ_83) looks to kick-off Friday’s action with a winner.

Triumph Hurdle | 13.30 Friday | Channel 4

This race has supposed to become easier to predict with the introduction of the Fred Winter to dilute the quantity of the field, but we're left with a field of 14 and a case can be made for plenty of them.

Where do we start? Ivanovich Gorbatov (9/2 Ladbrokes) runs here for Aidan O'Brien and is marked up as the race favourite.

Would Ivanovich Gorbatov be favourite if he had different connections? No. But he comes here with a good chance.

An impressive winner on debut beating Let's Dance in good style, he was disappointing on his next start in a Group 1 at Leopardstown on heavy ground.

The ground was blamed for that and he is expected to improve on the good ground at Cheltenham – his flat speed could be an asset on the surface but he's not for me.

Alan King has a fantastic record in this race and his main runner looks like Sceau Royal (7/1 Ladbrokes). He won a Triumph Hurdle trial over course and distance here in December before confirming little more than he still has four legs in a facile victory at Huntingdon in January.

Sceau Royal has to be taken seriously from a stable that does well in this race however I'm looking elsewhere for my selection.

Footbad (8/1 Ladbrokes) comes in to this the shortest-priced of the Willie Mullins contingent and is the mount of Ruby Walsh.

After a slow start to his hurdling career he's really got the hold of the discipline and after a facile victory at Gowran Park, he followed up with a Grade 1 victory at Leopardstown beating two of today's rivals. He's an improving sort and has to be taken seriously too, but he's not for me.

The one I'm going for is the Adonis winner Zubayr (9/2 Ladbrokes) from the Paul Nichols yard. That was his only start over hurdles and there is no telling how much improvement he has in him.

Zubayr ran twice on the flat in France and was purchased for €380,000 by connections to go hurdling. This is a substantial investment but it looks like a wise one as he comes in to this race as one of the most exciting prospects around.

The Adonis was run at a tremendous gallop and he travelled supremely well throughout. It looked a good renewal and despite his inexperience he was well on top in the end.

This is a tougher race but I feel Zubayr is up to the task and will get us off to a flier on the final day.

Best Bets

Triumph Hurdle – Zubayr to win (9/2 Ladbrokes)

Want TWO Free Bets And £5 Cash?

Are you yet to sign-up for a betting account at Ladbrokes? If so, now is your time as we’ve a bucket load of free bets to giveaway to new customers.

Sign-up to Ladbrokes via any of the links on this page, deposit and place your first bet and drop us a line at hello@welovebetting.co.uk. We’ll then arrange for TWO free bets to be dropped into your brand new account and we’ll also cover your first bet with instant cash up to £5.

Remember folks, if you ever want to join a new bookmaker give us a shout – no other site will give you extra bonuses such as free bets and instant cash like WLB!

How To Claim Your Free Bet And Instant Cash: 

  1. Register for a new account at Ladbrokes via any of the links on this page. If you don’t use a link from WLB, you won’t be valid.
  2. Deposit and place your first bet (up to £5).
  3. Email hello@welovebetting.co.uk to let us know your account username and the bookmaker you’ve joined.
  4. We’ll arrange for TWO £10 free bets to be dropped into your new account as well as £5 instant cash to cover your first bet.
  5. Free bets can take up to 28 days to be credited.
  6. Remember, you’ll also be entitled to the new customer bonus or promotion with Ladbrokes. if you don’t join via the links on this page, you won’t be valid for our free bet and instant cash giveaway.
  7. Any questions? Just drop us an email or tweet us at @WeLoveBettingUK.

About Author

I grew up watching Hearts games with my dad and playing football at every opportunity so betting on it was the logical next step! Football coupons became a Saturday ritual and it introduced me into the world of horse racing. I started watching it on a regular basis, and after Galileo's Derby win in 2001 I was hooked. I follow both flat and national hunt racing attending the northern meetings when possible.

Leave A Reply