Cheltenham 2024 Tips: The top five most backed horses ante-post this year

Ballyburn (Supreme Novices’ Hurdle)

One of Willie Mullins’ main hopefuls for the Cheltenham Festival that has been well backed is Ballyburn, who handled the drop-in trip without hindrance when comfortably winning the 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival to give his handler a 12th win in the race.

He was turned over at odds-on on his hurdles debut when second but made amends by a wide margin next time over two and a half miles prior to succeeding in this contest. As a result, he is now the 7/4 favourite on BetMGM UK for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.

He still has the option to compete in the Baring Bingham (Ballymore), but it seems likely Willie Mullins will persist with the shorter distance and hope his highly-regarded youngster can hand him an eighth win in Tuesday's opener at Cheltenham next month. He is an extremely popular choice on oddschecker prior to and after his big win over the weekend.

The most backed horse in total bets so far this year through oddschecker, Ballyburn has taken nearly 25% of the bets for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Marine Nationale (Arkle Chase)

The complex of the Arkle Novices’ Chase ante-post market underwent drastic change following the Dublin Racing Festival as pre-race ante-post favourite Marine Nationale, who was expected to retain his unbeaten record in the Irish equivalent, could fare no better than fifth when sent off as the odds-on favourite.

The seven-year-old made a foot-perfect start over fences at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and was then well supported into favouritism to add a third Grade 1 success, but massively underperformed, which left his trainer Barry Connell ultimately deflated, who couldn’t find any reasoning as to why this happened.

His jumping was far from assured compared to how he operated his fences on his chase debut, and the jury is now out as to whether he can recapture the brilliance of last season next month, which saw him land the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. 

What is really surprising is that he still remains the favourite (11/4 best price on Unibet) in spite of his heavy defeat. Is that justified?

Clearly, he failed to give his true-running, and perhaps the return to Cheltenham will help get him back on track, but you would have to be disappointed with that latest display, which was certainly a setback, and he would need to jump with a lot more conviction and confidence. Still, he remains one of the well-backed horses on the oddschecker grid.

The second most backed horse in total bets so far this year through oddschecker, Marine Nationale has taken 36% of the bets for the Arkle Chase.

Galopin Des Champs (Cheltenham Gold Cup)

Following the conclusion of the Dublin Racing Festival this past weekend, the Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs remained at the top of the staying chase division, having gained revenge on nemesis Fastorslow after securing back-to-back wins in the Irish Gold Cup.

After winning last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, Galopin Des Champs, who had twice been beaten by Fastorslow, was looking to write those wrongs on the back of an impressive 23-length success over course and distance in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival and did so in great style.

His main rival tried his best to lay down a challenge entering the home straight, but Paul Townend consumed enough of his energy for the latter stages, as the odds-on favourite managed to pull four and a half lengths clear of the second at the line. In addition, he confirmed his ascendancy as the likely winner next month.

He is now 10/11 on William Hill to emulate Al Boum Photo next month, who was able to retain his crown for this stable back in 2021 and has unsurprisingly been extremely popular through oddschecker since his resurgence in form over Christmas. Excellent chance.

The third most backed horse in total bets so far this year through oddschecker, Galopin Des Champs has taken 27% of the bets for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Sir Gino (Triumph Hurdle)

Cheltenham’s Trials Day saw many contenders for the festival come to the fore, but none more so than Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino, who dispatched Burdett Road in the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle in the manner of a top-class prospect, and following that success, bookmakers instantly prompted him to the top of the Triumph Hurdle market.

This four-year-old is now unbeaten in three starts over hurdles, and according to Timeform, his stunning win in the Cotswolds was allegedly the best performance produced by a juvenile this season. He distinctly improved from his Kempton success, especially in the jumping department, and quickened up smartly to score by 10 lengths.

His backend sectionals from the last hurdle to the line were quick, and he can be backed at a best price of 10/11 on Betfair for the Triumph Hurdle. He will head into the Cheltenham Festival as one of the bankers of the week if that effort can be replicated, with more to come. His trainer has won this race seven times, and punters through oddschecker fancy him to make it eight wins for Seven Barrows.

The fourth most backed horse in total bets so far this year through oddschecker, Sir Gino has taken more than 30% of the bets for the Triumph Hurdle.

Lossiemouth (Mares’ Hurdle)

While it remains early days to be comparing her to the stable’s previous winners in this race, Lossiemouth is certainly wavering on a similar path, as she’s a red-hot favourite to claim the Mares’ Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival next month.

Having only met with defeat once in all starts over hurdles, in which she endured a troubled passage when second in the Spring Juvenile before reversing form with the winner next time out, last season’s Triumph Hurdle winner proved in a different league to her rivals on her return in the Unibet Hurdle.

The form might have had a questionable look about it, but the way she settled, jumped beautifully, and effortlessly cruised upsides the race-fit pair of Love Envoi and Rubaud prior to scampering clear on the bridle was visually impressive, to say the least.

The runner-up, Love Envoi, who made Honeysuckle pull out all the stops in last year’s Mares’ Hurdle, and Rubaud, a Grade Two winner in his own right, had no answer to the burst of acceleration by the winner, who scored by nearly 10 lengths.

She posted a Racing Post Rating of 155, a figure good enough to win eight of the last ten Mares' Hurdles, so while it has predominantly been difficult for five-year-olds to improve into open company, her improvement in both maturity and physicality is transparent.

A best price 4/5 for the Mares’ Hurdle, she is the one to beat, and should she feature in this race instead of the Champion Hurdle and win it, she would hand her trainer a record-extending 10th success in the race. Her popularity among punters via oddschecker sees her on the most-backed list.

The fifth most backed horse in total bets so far this year through oddschecker, Lossiemouth has taken almost 50% of the bets for the Mares’ Hurdle.