Cheltenham Festival 2023: Betting Trends for the Cheltenham Gold Cup

The 2023 Cheltenham Festival is undoubtedly one of the betting highlights of the year, providing punters with a ton of wagering opportunities.

While the four-day meeting is packed with Grade 1 races, one stands head and shoulders above the rest – the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday.

We’ve studied the recent record books to uncover three key betting trends that we think will help you pick the winner of this year’s big race.

Staying chasers generally produce their best form between the ages of seven and ten, although closer inspection of recent Gold Cups reveals a startling statistic.

Eight-year-olds have won this race in seven of the last 12 years, and there are some notable contenders who fit that criteria this time around.

Most horse racing betting sites have Galopin Des Champs, Bravemansgame, A Plus Tard, Noble Yeats and Stattler as the top five in the Gold Cup market.

Of that quintet, only Bravemansgame, Noble Yeats and Stattler are eight-year-olds. Galopin Des Champs is seven, while A Plus Tard is nine.

Other trends we have pinpointed suggest Bravemansgame could be the horse to focus on in this year’s field.

Fancied horses tend to run well in the Gold Cup, with seven of the last 12 winners in the top three in the betting when the race started.

That trend suggests Galopin Des Champs, Bravemansgame and A Plus Tard are the horses to concentrate on in this year’s race.

Galopin Des Champs has rattled off three successive wins in Grade 1s in Ireland, while Bravemansgame was a superb winner of the King George VI Chase at Kempton in December.

A Plus Tard romped home in the Gold Cup last season, but now has plenty to prove given he ran a lifeless race on his seasonal reappearance at Haydock.

At the current odds, Bravemansgame can be argued to be the value bet given that he also fulfils the age trend we highlighted earlier.

Nine of the last 12 winners won on their previous run before the Gold Cup. Of the 13 horses in this year’s race, only six meet that criteria.

Using the previous two trends, Ahoy Senor, Conflated, Galopin Des Champs, Hewick and Minello Indo, can all be ruled out of the equation.

Only Bravemansgame meets all of the key Gold Cup betting trends we have highlighted and will likely attract plenty of interest at odds of 6/1 (via 10bet).

Trainer Paul Nicholls has won this race on four previous occasions and Bravemansgame may well add another success to that tally.

• Galopin Des Champs - 11/8
• Bravemansgame - 6/1
• A Plus Tard - 13/2
• Noble Yeats - 8/1
• Stattler - 17/2
• Protektorat - 12/1
• Conflated - 12/1
• Ahoy Senor - 14/1
• Minella Indo - 20/1
• Hewick - 20/1
• Sounds Russian - 20/1
• Royale Pagaille - 40/1
• Eldorado Allen - 100/1