Cheltenham festival 2020
The highlight of the horse racing season is upon us with the fantastic 4 day Cheltenham festival event.
The Cheltenham Festival 2020 promises to bigger than ever but with a dark cloud looming over the current Covid-19 virus the odds are now 11/8 on the festival being cancelled whereas for the festival to go ahead has drifted out to 8/13. The Course directors are working closely with government officials to stay on top of the situation but are delighted with the way things are being handled and are looking to four fantastic days of racing in the beautiful English Town of Cheltenham.
The Big Four
Gordon Elliot, Wilie Mullins, Nicky Henderson and Colin Tizzard are the four big stables that look certain to dominate the festival this year with Willie Mullins slightly ahead of Gordon Elliot on the leaderboard.
Top retired Jockey Ruby Walsh no longer in the mix this year, and therefore the cheltenham betting predictions on who will be top jockey looks very different.
Female Jockeys to Exhale this year
Cheltenham Racing has been dominated by Male jockeys and trainers since the day it began but as we have seen over the last few years many more female jockeys and trainers are being given the opportunity to shine in the Cheltenham festival 2020 racing field.
Irish Jockey Rachel Blackmore is a force to be played with when it comes to winners at Cheltenham winning her first festival winner in 2019 on Henry de Bromheads 5 year old A Plus Tard, winning by 16 lengths then capping of the week with her first Grade 1 winner on Minella Indo. She is the most successful female jockey in Britain and Ireland to date.
Blackmore is priced at 6/1 to be this years leading jockey and what a story that would be!!!
This year she will be doing her best to compete with the top jockeys Davey Russell, Nico de Boinville and Barry Geraghty, when she rides Notebook the favourite for the Arkle Trophy and Honeysuckle the leading fancy in the Mares Hurdle.
How About The Weather?
Weather wise who knows what’s before the festival this year. Normally soft or heavy ground would suit the Irish more than the Brits but this year the ground has been heavy due to continuous rainfall. Tension mounts for the next 10 days the form for novice races will get swept aside as there’s no prediction what the younger novices are like on better ground so chuck the form book out the window if the ground dries up.
Our each way bet for the meeting if the ground dries up is “indefatigable”.
