The Cheltenham Festival is jump horse racing’s biggest event, attracting the attention of racing fans from across the globe. The best horses that ply their trade jumping fences line up at the English racecourse for four days every March, and the 2024 edition promises to be as exciting as ever.
The majority of fans will have heard of superstar horses such as Constitution Hill, Galopin Des Champs, and El Fabiolo, all of which are likely to win their respective races this year. Fortunately for anyone who likes to find more value in their selections, some horses will go into the festival slightly under the radar.
Below are three such big-priced runners:
Crambo
Crambo’s reputation precedes him – historically, he won a Grade 1 race in which he managed to beat most of his main rivals. He also demonstrated incredible toughness to win the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot, a race that has been proven to be a good pointer towards Cheltenham’s Long Distance Hurdle. As it stands, he’s available in the outright horse betting markets for Cheltenham’s 3-mile Long Distance Hurdle race at a price of 8/1.
Surprisingly, the likes of Theleme and Teahupoo take precedence in the horse racing tips, with Crambo being largely ignored as a result. Whilst his rivals are getting on in years and having their best days behind them, a young, up-and-coming horse such as Crambo has the potential to keep improving.
Nassalam
Another horse at a surprisingly large price for Cheltenham is recent Welsh Grand National winner, Nassalam. Trained by Gary Moore, father of flat jockey Ryan, the young horse has matured into a very talented staying chaser this season and won Chepstow’s big race by a whopping 36 lengths.
He’s been punished by the handicapper for that performance, however, so he must now test himself against the best horses in the business from here. That puts him line for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, a race for which he is currently priced at 40/1. If he continues his rapid rate of improvement, there is no reason that he could not run a massive race.
Gabbys Cross
Trainer, Henry de Bromhead, made the surprise decision of reverting Gabbys Cross to run over hurdles this season, but so far it has proved to be a masterstroke from the Gold Cup and Grand National winning trainer.
Having taken a heavy fall in the Grand National last season, it was a clever move to move him back to jumping the smaller obstacles to regain his confidence. This season has seen him finish second in two starts over hurdles and he must now be considered a live outsider for the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham for which he is considered to be a 33/1 shot.
Finding outsiders that have the potential to be victorious, or even place at Cheltenham, is no easy task. It pays to concentrate on Handicap races to find big-priced winners, as the big races are usually won by the market favorites.
The three horses above have very generous prices indeed, so you could do worse than supporting them at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
