Cheltenham Gold Cup - 2024

With a huge prize fund of £625,000, it’s no wonder this is always the most popular race of the 4-day festival, and one of the most prestigious horse races in the racing calendar.

The main contenders for this years Gold Cup are yet again predominantly Irish and French, so let’s take a look at which horses British Bookmakers offer as their main favourites.

‘Al Boum Photo’ is back to defend the title. Trained by Willie Mullins, and after winning the Gold Cup in 2019 and 2020 and is yet again favourite to win and take a 3rd consecutive title.

The French 9-year-old Gelding has only raced once since last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, but looks solid heading into this years Cheltenham Festival.

Once of the biggest horses set to challenge ‘Al Boum Photo’ from securing a hat-trick of Gold Cup wins is the 9-year-old Irish ‘Champ’ owned by JP McManus.

‘Champ’ won the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase at Cheltenham last year and took 2nd place at The Betfair Game Spirit Chase in late February, and trainer Nicky Henderson is expecting a strong run in the Gold Cup.

Already entered in the Champion Chase, Henry de Bromhead’s ‘A Plus Tard’ is also one of online bookmakers favourites to lift the Gold Cup trophy on Friday afternoon.

The French Gelding had a fantastic finish in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, and looks to be in fantastic form coming into the biggest race of the week.

Another French Horse trained by Miss V Williams is also up there in the top contenders.

‘Royale Pagaille’ was relatively unknown until recently, and having won his last 3 races at Haydock and Kempton, looks like a legitimate challenger to some of the top runners.

The final 2 horses that British Bookmakers offer as favourites are ‘Santini’ who is trained by Nicky Henderson and ‘Frodon’ who is trained by Paul Nicholls.

‘Santini’ had a great start to his career, and although his last win was the PaddyPower Cotswold Chase at last years Cheltenham Festival, he's had some strong results in his last 4 races.

‘Frodon’ has won 3 of his last 5 races and in his current form, which is impressive, it looks like he may will give the other top horses a run for their money come 15:30 on Friday.

Traditionally most of the winners have won Grade 1 races previously, with the past 19 winners already Grade 1 race winners ahead of their Gold Cup run.

Winners also tend to be on the younger side, with the past 21 winners have been 9yo or under.

Although the bookmakers offer their pick as the top contenders, there are some fantastic entrants in the Gold Cup, and it’s always checking to see how other runners are shaping up.

The Grade 1 National Hunt horse race will be run on the new course at Cheltenham, and with £625,000 in prize money up for grabs, it’s no surprise that the Gold Cup is considered to be one of the most prestigious and sought-after titles in racing.

The main contenders for this years’ coveted title are Irish and French runners, a theme that has been prevalent throughout the major races of the Cheltenham Festival.

Irish horses have won 4 of the last 6 Cheltenham Gold Cups, and with some of the top runners in the line up, this is set to be one of the most exciting races we’ve seen in a while.

British Bookmakers are pretty successful at picking the winner of the Gold Cup, with 14 of the last 17 winners featuring in their top 3, so let’s see who they offer as this years favourites.

‘Al Boum Photo’, who was last year’s winner, is looking to capture a second Gold Cup title at Cheltenham Festival, and is one of main favourites at most online bookmakers.

Having secured 6 runner-ups, Willie Mullins finally had his first Gold Cup winner with ‘Al Boum Photo’ in 2019, and will surely be seeking another victory in Friday's big race!

‘Santini’, the 8 year old trained by Nicky Henderson who recently came 2nd in the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase, is also among the bookmakers favourites for the Gold Cup.

Traditionally most of the winners have won Grade 1 races previously, and ‘Delta Work’, the French Gelding trained by the 2016 winner Gordon Elliott, comes into the race having won the Savills Chase at Leopardstown in December.

Also among online bookmakers top 6 runners for the Gold Cup are ‘Lostintranslation’ Colin Tizzard’s 8 year old, who hasn’t run since he pulled up in Decembers King George VI Chase.

Paul Nicholls trained ‘Clan Des Obeaux’ won the King George VI Chase, and the French 8 year old is definitely one to keep an eye on especially with favourable odds at the time of writing.

Willie Mullins also has another strong contender for the World famous Cheltenham Gold Cup in ‘Kemboy’, an 8 year old who won the Savills Chase a couple of years ago.

The final horses in British Bookmakers top 10 runners are made up of two of Henry De Bromhead’s horses, ‘Monalee’ and ‘Chris’s Dream’.

Also worth a look and potentially a punt are ‘Presenting Percy’, and although 9, he comes into the Gold Cup with a 67% win rate this season.

‘Bristol De Mai’ who's trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and came 3rd last year could be the one to be on if you see bookmakers offering decent odds as it could be this years sleeper hit.

With such a raft of exceptional entrants to this year’s race, all eyes will be on the main race on the last day of this years festival; the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

With one of the most prestigious and sought-after racing titles up for grabs, and £625,000 in prize money, we’re sure this years Cheltenham Gold Cup won’t disappoint.

Friday's Cheltenham Gold Cup is set to be one of the most competitive iterations of the big race that punters and horse racing fans will have seen in quite some time.

Last years’ top 4 are all back in contention for the title, and there are also some strong new runners that could throw a spanner in the works, making this one race you won’t want to miss!

British Bookmakers offer ‘Presenting Percy’, the 8 year old Bay Gelding trained by Pat Kelly, as one of the favourites to win this years Cheltenham Gold Cup.

He has had a few good runs over the last season, securing 4 wins from 5 races, which included a fantastic win in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham back in 2018.

‘Presenting Percy’ looks extremely strong coming into Cheltenham Festival, and if he is on form on the day, there’s no reason why he can’t beat the other top runners and take the coveted title.

When looking at bookmakers latest betting odds, it's clear that ‘Clan Des Obeaux’ the 7 year old Bay Gelding trained by Paul Nicholls, is also one of the main contenders for the race.

Although he had a pretty average run last season, things have improved in recent times and ‘Clan Des Obeaux’ has had impressive wins in both of his last 2 outings.

A win at Kempton on Boxing Day was followed up with another stunning win at Ascot in February, and ‘Clan Des Obeaux’ should definitely be on your radar for the Gold Cup!

Bookmakers offer ‘Native River’ who was last year’s Gold Cup winner, as another favourite.

Colin Tizzard’s 9 year old Chestnut Gelding has only had 2 runs since last years win, and although he only secured top 3 finishes, ‘Native River’ still has the ability to win the title again.

Willie Mullins ‘Kemboy’ is also a watcher if Cheltenham Gold Cup odds are anything to go by.

The 7 year old Bay Gelding has won his last 4 races, and after such strong performances and a new handicap, he’s one to watch and maybe back in this years top race.

Also in the top runners is ‘Might Bite’ who was the runner up in last years Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Trained by Nicky Henderson, unfortunately the 10 year old Bay Gelding hasn’t had the best start to his season, with poor finishes in the Betfair Chase and the King George.

‘Might Bite’ may be amongst the bookmaker’s favourites, but he has a lot to prove in this race.

The final contender in online bookmakers top 6 runners for the Cheltenham Gold Cup is another Willie Mullins trained 9 year old Gelding called ‘Bellshill’.

Yet again, there are quite a few strong Irish runners in the line up this year, and with 3 wins over the last 5 years coming from the Irish, it will be interesting to see if they can win again.