Excitement over the 2017 Cheltenham Festival has already begun and punters are already eagerly placing their bets
In 2016, our man ‘The Tout’s’ tip for the coveted Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in Gloucestershire, Sprinter Sacre, romped home and beat the favourite by seven lengths. This year’s festival is looking equally exciting and punters are already lining up to eagerly place their bets with guidance from such places as Cheltenham Festival 2017 Tips.
Dating back to 1860 and running between 14th to 17th March this year, the Cheltenham Festival is a National Hunt meeting with prize money second only to the Grand National at a total of £4.1 million. It has an average attendance of 62,000 people per day and is famous for the ‘Cheltenham Roar’, the enormous amount of noise that the crowd generates as the starter raises the tape for the first race of the festival. Ruby Walsh has been top jockey at the festival ten times whilst Paul Nicholls has been top trainer six times. Willie Mullins comes a close second having trained winning horses five times.
Rivalry between British and Irish trainers is intense at Cheltenham and a cup, named ‘The Prestbury’ in honour of the nearest village to the course, celebrates this annually. The first country with 14 winners or more takes that but the true highlight of the four-day event is ‘The Gold Cup’, this year coinciding with St Patrick’s Day.
Past winners of this legendary race have included such stalwarts as Desert Orchid, Master Oats and Lord Windermere but the greatest successes have come in the form of five times winner Golden Miller (1932 at 13/2, 1933 at 4/7F, 1934 at 6/5F, 1935 at 1/2F and 1936 at 21/20F) and three times winners Cottage Rake (1948 at 10/1, 1949 at 4/6F, 1950 at 5/6F) and Arkle (1964 at 7/4, 1965 at 3/10F and 1966 at 1/10F).
For those more interested in socialising, the Cheltenham Festival provides plenty to do. In 2015, ex-glamour model Katie Price even managed to secure a couple of selfies at the event with The Duchess of Cornwall.
The Cheltenham Festival runs from 14th to 17th March 2017 at Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4SH.
To book tickets, click here or telephone: +44 (0) 344 579 3003.
For betting tips, go to Free Bets, a one-stop shop for betting promotions.
