The 2025 Cheltenham Festival is over four months away, but plenty of punters are already pondering
which horses will emerge victorious at the prestigious meeting.
Numerous leading sportsbooks have published horse racing betting odds on several races,
highlighting the ongoing popularity of Cheltenham wagering.
The Champion Hurdle, Stayers’ Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup are inevitably garnering
plenty of attention given they are the standout races across the four days.
With that in mind, we have scoured the markets for the four main championship races to identify
some tempting ante-post Cheltenham selections.
Champion Hurdle
The 2024 Champion Hurdle was slightly devalued after reigning champion Constitution Hill was ruled
out of the race by top British trainer Nicky Henderson.
However, Henderson recently confirmed that the horse’s niggling problems have been resolved and
he is strongly fancied to regain his title this season.
State Man and Lossiemouth will spearhead a strong challenge from the Willie Mullins stable, but
neither are expected to trouble Constitution Hill at Cheltenham.
The seven-year-old is priced at around 7/4 to win the Champion Hurdle and those odds will
disappear if he triumphs on his seasonal reappearance at Newcastle this month.
Stayers’ Hurdle
Teahupoo was well-backed to win the 2023 Stayers’ Hurdle, but he was denied by stablemate Sire
Du Berlais after a thrilling battle on the run-in.
He set the record straight in March this year, powering clear of his rivals after the final hurdle to
deliver a sizeable winning return to punters who kept the faith.
With some of his main rivals unlikely to run in the race in 2025, Teahupoo looks a solid bet at odds of
9/4 to win the three-mile contest for the second consecutive year.
French raider Theleme could be dangerous if connections can get him fit, but the reigning champion
is expected to retain his crown next March.
Champion Chase
Punters had their fingers burned in the Champion Chase last season after red-hot favourite El
Fabiolo made a dreadful mistake and was quickly pulled up.
The horse was subsequently defeated by Jonbon at Sandown and the pair are expected to be in
contention for two-mile chasing honours again this season.
El Fabiolo is scheduled to return to action in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December and
Mullins believes he will be back to his best in that race.
Mullins is adept at bringing horses back to form after a setback and odds of 6/1 to win the Champion
Chase at Cheltenham look too good to ignore.
Gold Cup
Mullins also has a strong hand in the Gold Cup, with reigning champion Galopin Des Champs on track
to bid for his third successive victory in the Blue Riband event.
The horse has reportedly overcome a small issue and could make his season reappearance at
Punchestown later this month. If he wins, odds of 4/1 for the Gold Cup will vanish.
However, given that very few horses win three consecutive Gold Cups, punters would be well
advised to look elsewhere for the winner.
Stablemate Fact To File roared to victory in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham last
March and could emerge as a serious contender for the Gold Cup this term.
