There was a double for the popular Tony McCoy, who claimed the Jewson Novices’ Hurdle on the well backed Noble Prince before beating the well-fancied Kalahari King and Poquelin in the Ryanair Chase.
Buena Vista and Holmwood Legend helped the bookmakers, winning the Pertemps Final and Byrne Group Plate, at 20/1 and 25/1 respectively but the punters got revenge with Junior’s win in the last.
The final day of the 2011 Cheltenham Festival is, of course, dominated by the totesport Gold Cup, which looks set to be an outstanding race with Imperial Commander, Kauto Star, Long Run and Denman set for an epic four way tussle for the festival showpiece.
Elsehwere there are some interesting races on Friday’s card, with a competitive looking JCB Triumph Hurdle kicking things off before a 28-man field runs in the Grade 3 Vincent O’Brien County Hurdle.
The first big fancy of the day is Bob’s Worth, who runs in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at 14:40, while Baby Run is also a strong favourite in the Foxhunter Chase. The last two races, The Martin Pipe Conditional Jockey’s Handicap Hurdle and Challenge Cup look much tougher to call, with at least half a dozen horses in with a chance in each race.
Race of the Day
The race of the day is, without a doubt, the toteport Cheltenham Gold Cup. It’s the biggest prize in jump racing and there are four strong contenders this year, including last year’s winner, Imperial Commander and the legendary Kauto Star. Previous Gold Cup winner Denman is also a contender, while Long Run, who won the King George, will be looking to upset the trio of past champions.
Read Ross Aylward's tips here
Promotion of the Day
Victor Chandler have pulled out all the stops on the final day of the festival and are offering to return all losing bets in the Gold Cup, provided the selection finishes in the top three. They are also offering an extra place on the rest of the races on Friday’s card.
Banker of the Day
There aren’t very many ‘bankers’ on Friday but there’s not much to suggest that Baby Run can’t win the Foxhunters Chase for the Twiston-Davies yard. He has been a good winner in both of his starts this term and he looks a good bet at 7/2 to retain his title.
Free Bet of the Day
Paddy Power have joined forces with Bettingpro to offer readers an exclusive £100 in free bets on the Cheltenham Festival.
Channel 4/1+ Offer
If you back a winner at odds of 4/1 in any race being shown live on channel 4 then
bet365 will give you a free bet of the same stake on the next race.
Thursday Yankee Selections
Victor Chandler are offering cashback if you get one selection wrong in your Yankee and we are kicking off with these four horses:
13:30 – Sam Winner
14:40 - Baby Run
15:20 – Imperial Commander
17:15 – Tanks For That
Cheltenham 13:30 JCB Triumph Hurdle
Cheltenham 14:05 Vincent O’Brien County Handicap Hurdle
Cheltenham 14:40 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
Cheltenham 15:20 totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase
Cheltenham 16:00 Christie’s Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup
Cheltenham 16:40 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle
Cheltenham 17:15 Johnny Henderson’s Grand Annual Challenge Cup
Competition update
Our Cheltenham site on Facebook,
Cheltenham Festival News, ran a tipping competition on Thursday, which was won by ‘Lee Swfc Hague’. Lee very generously requested that his £10 prize be donated to comic relief and we decided to match it tenfold and a £100 donation has been made to the charity. Follow Cheltenham Festival News on Facebook to get all the latest tips, share views with other racing fans and enter Friday’s competition.
Bookmaker update
The bookmakers had mixed fortunes on Thursday with hot favourites Poquelin and Wishfull Thinking failing to win. Big Buck’s Ladbrokes World Hurdle win was, however, a huge blow with almost all bookmakers reporting massive losses on Paul Nicholls’ record breaking. Junior’s phenomenal win in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup was also big win for punters, after being well backed throughout the day.
Leading Irish bookie Boylesports had a narrow escape when Kalahari King just failed to catch Albertas Run in the Ryanair Chase, having offered top price on Ferdy Muphy’s horse throughout Thursday. They are celebrating by offering top price on the fancied Long Run in the Gold Cup.
The popular firm are also continuing their enhanced place terms and will pay ¼ odds on the top four in the Foxhunter Chase and top five in both the County Hurdle and Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.
Paddy was hit hard by Big Buck’s win in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle and reported more than €1.2 million in losses on the Paul Nicholls’ superstar. As it was a Ruby Walsh ridden winner, Paddy also returned €500,000 to those who bet on second placed Grand Crus.
Nonetheless, the popular Irish firm is continuing to take on the biggest names and will refund all losing bets in the Gold Cup if your chosen horse finishes second to reigning champ and favourite Imperial Commander. Paddy is also paying 5 places on the 2.05 County Hurdle.
Like Paddy, Fred was hit hard by Big Buck’s win, having gone top price of 5/4 on the World Hurdle winner. The Bonus King won’t let that stop him offering punters extra value and he is paying bonus of up to 200% on Yankee, Canadian and Heinz bets, plus offering ¼ odds on all races at Cheltenham.
Fred has also promises some surprise price boosts on Friday morning, so remember to check back for the latest enhanced odds offers.
A great bookmaker for the Cheltenham Festival, thanks to their Best Odds Guaranteed commitment, Channel 4/1 offer and the chance to watch every race live at the bet365 site. There is also up to £200 in free bets when you sign up.
In addition to an exclusive £50 sign-up bonus, Victor Chandler also have lots of Cheltenham promotions including Free Fall (stakes refunded if your horse falls) and Yankee cashback (where you'll get a refund if you get one selection incorrect). Both promotions have been running throughout the festival and have proven exceptionally popular.
They have pulled out all the stops on Friday and are offering to refund all losing Gold Cup bets if your selection finishes either second or third. They are also paying out an extra place in each of the other six races on Day Four’s card.
Stan James are offering all customers a £25 sign-up bonus throughout the Cheltenham Festival and will be running daily promotions and 'Best Price Guarantees' on the feature races. Use the code MAXIMUMBONUS when you sign-up
Back a winner at 5/1 or bigger on any live Channel 4 race at the Cheltenham Festival and Totesport will match your winning stake with a free bet (up to £25) to use the following day.
Ladbrokes has rolled out a £50, £50, £50 cash match offer making £150 extra Cheltenham bankroll. Even if you don't bet on horses consider opening a Ladbrokes account this week as offers don't come more generous than this!
As well as offering all new customers a £25 sign-up bonus, Hills are also promising to be industry best price on a number of favourites each day. On Thursday they offered top odds on Poquelin and Grand Crus and were big winners after both failed to win.
Their Friday enhanced prices are still under wraps but they have already released a Gold Cup special. Simply place a £20 bet on the day’s big race and Hills will give you a free £10 bet to use on the weekend’s football.
