Home bankers ahead of the upcoming 2019 Cheltenham festival
The 2019 Cheltenham festival is fast approaching as the markets begin to look a lot clearer with horses continuing to push their credentials on the track. The home side look to have a strong hand this year with a number of favourites, as punters are looking to use offers such as on www.onlinecasino24.org, ahead of jump racing showpiece meeting. Here we cover two of the leading home chances for the Cheltenham festival.
Champion Chase – Altior
Day two sees the return of jump racing’s main attraction and horse that on all accounts cannot be beaten in the Nicky Henderson trainer, Altior. He is going to head into the meeting as the shortest priced horse and at present can be supported at a general 4/7 for the race. He will of course be looking to defend his title from last year, in which he powered up the hill to win by seven lengths from Min.
Altior is unbeaten over obstacles, winning his last 17 races in succession with his last defeat coming in a Punchestown national hunt flat race in 2015. He continues to go from strength to strength and looks virtually unbeatable at present. With the track playing to his strong finishing kick, he rates a banker for the home side at the upcoming festival.
Who else?! Altior wins the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase! pic.twitter.com/ahrcLR5OZM
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 14, 2018
Stayers Hurdle – Paisley Park
Paisley Park has improved no end this season and has to rate the most exciting hurdler in training at present. He returned this season following a 226 day break with his trainer Emma Lavelle believing he was a well handicapped horse. He was a classy winner of the Long walk hurdle at Ascot over Christmas, before being sent to the recent trials day at Cheltenham.
He was sent off the general 100/30 favourite for the Cleeve hurdle and put in one of the most dominant performances for some time. He took up the running just before the last and barely had to be pushed out up the hill to win by 12 lengths. This resulted in an RPR rating of 172, and with Penhill being awarded a rating of 162 for winning the stayers last year, this shows how far clear Paisley Park is. What price would he be if trained by the likes of Nicky Henderson or Willie Mullins? If he can continue his impressive form then he is going to take the world of beating at the festival, in which he can be supported at a general 5/2 favourite.
An emphatic winner of https://t.co/M7WISHwb3D Cleeve Hurdle by the Emma Lavelle-trained Paisley Park!
It’s now four wins from four runs this season 👏👏#FestivalTrialsDay #CheltenhamRaces pic.twitter.com/BtW4vxO72T
— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) January 26, 2019
