“Cheltenham racecourse” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Carine06
The 2022 Cheltenham Festival is here, and just like we saw in 2021, horses from Ireland look set to dominate the meeting. In 2021, they won 23 of the 28 races that took place across the four days. We may not see quite that many this time around, but it shouldn’t be far off that and hopes are certainly high.
The four Championship races take centre stage at the meeting, but without a doubt, the biggest of those is certainly the Gold Cup. Ireland has taken home the Gold Cup trophy for the past three years, and once again, look to have a strong grip on it. It is a race that dominates the news and attracts interest from all kinds of horse racing punters, be they well-versed industry experts or casual spectators.
Numerous bookmakers are offering their standard array of Cheltenham Festival bets for events set to take place throughout the week including the Gold Cup centrepiece of the meeting. From conventional betting markets through to specials, such is the online interest that niche directories now compile all the available betting websites and summarise the pros and cons of each site, for the benefit of bettors. Clearly, horse racing is both highly competitive as a sport and as a subject for bettors – with so many options to explore, it’s one of the most popular choices for savvy punters.
When it comes to finding a winner, anything other than one of the Irish contenders would come as a surprise, but in terms of which Irish runner can take home the trophy, that is much tougher to work out.
A Repeat Success for Minella Indo?
The 2021 winner Minella Indo came up the Cheltenham hill in great style last season, but it is fair to say that he hasn’t been the same horse since then. However, in terms of his Cheltenham record, that is incredibly strong and could be what brings him to life. He’s beaten many of his challengers before but was in much better form, which adds to the puzzle that fans of the sport love and have to try and solve.
New Star on the Scene in Galvin?
If there is a rising star in the race, then that title has to go to Galvin. A novice last season, he did very well and rounded things off by winning the National Hunt Chase at the 2021 festival. He’s gone forward since then, performing well this season, and on top of that, he has already proven his stamina.
�� “When I asked him, he
picked up very well.”Galvin had the ‘world of experience’ coming
into the National Hunt Chase & put it to good use, provide @jackkennedy15 with
a double on day 1 of the 2021 #CheltenhamFestivalA first @CheltenhamRaces</a > success for Ian Ferguson too �� pic.twitter.com/2Mpc5M7zFS
— Racing
TV (@RacingTV)
March 16, 2021
His win last season was over 3m6f, so the 3m2f trip that the Gold Cup is run over should be well within reach for him.
Best of the Rest
Behind those two, the challengers still come, and there are another three Irish runners that will have hopes of placing, at least, if not winning the Gold Cup. A Plus Tard finished second in the Gold Cup last year and has expectations of going even better this time around.
Behind in third, Al Boum Photo ran a good race and will be back for more. He won both the 2019 and 2020 Gold Cups, and while he is now coming to the end of his career, may be able to put up one more big performance. Tornado Flyer rounds off the Irish runners, winner of King George in December, and a horse that could well be a lively outsider.
Between these five, it is clear to see that Ireland have a strong grip on the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
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