The Cheltenham Festival is nearly here. The race will take place Tuesday, March 12 th and
continue until Friday, March 15 th . All eyes will be on the Cheltenham Racecourse to see
which horses emerge victorious. The Cheltenham Gold Cup headlines the festival and is the
richest non-handicap race in Great Britain with the winner taking home over £351,000 this
year. Horse racing fans are researching which horses could win the famous Gold Cup race
and NJ horse betting allows them to wager on their predicted outcome.
Experienced horse race bettors know that a longshot can come good on race day. It has
happened at the Cheltenham Festival a few times making headlines around the race world.
With the Cheltenham Festival just days away, here is a look at other recent big-priced
winners.
Norton’s Coin – 1990
In 1990, the longest odds Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Norton’s Coin, ran to victory. The
horse started the race at 100/1 odds. The longshot was seen as a horse without hope when
loaded into the shoots. Yet, Norton’s Coin blew away the competition and all expectations.
Norton’s Coin was remarkable not just for the long odds, but due to being one of just two
horses in trainer Sirrell Griffiths’ stable. The dairy farmer owned and trained Norton’s Coin
and had to milk his cows before heading to the Gold Cup race. His trip home to Wales was
most likely filled with plenty of excitement.
Cue Card – 2010
Collin Tizzard’s Cue Card ran in the 2010 Champion Bumper race. The horse entered the
race at odds of 40/1. Cue Card started off the race quite slowly and settled at the back of
the pack. By the midway point, however, Cue Card began to make his move toward the
front.
Jockey Joe Tizzard pressed on and Cue Card overtook the field winning by eight lengths.
Race favourite Shot From The Hip started the race day at 3/1 but was blown away by the
longshot.
Countrywide Flame – 2012
Countrywide Flame started the Triumph Hurdle at 33/1. The gelding had started his career
as a flats race horse before moving to jumps. It was a switch that worked out well as he won
his first ever jumps race.
Jockey Dougie Costello pushed Countrywide Flame onto an impressive victory in the
Triumph Hurdle despite looking off the pace for the first half of the race. But the horse dug
deep and found his stride, growing stronger as the race wore on to pull away from the
chasing pack and win.
Western Warhorse – 2014
Listed at 33/1 odds for the Arkle Challenge Trophy, Western Warhorse shocked the likes of
Champagne Fever, Trifolium, Dodging Bullets, and Rock On Ruby in 2014. The horse went
into the Arkle Challenge in poor form and due to competing in longer distance races, experts
believed Western Warhorse would be too slow for the shorter race. They were wrong.
Western Warhorse started well setting the pace. But as the horses settled in, he looked to
be troubled and fell behind. However, thanks to his long-distance stamina, Western
Warhorse began to overtake his rivals down the stretch. In the end, he chased down
Champagne Fever and won the race in photo finish.
