Al Boum Photo Leading Betting For Second Gold Cup

With only a couple more months to go until the 2020 Cheltenham Festival begins, the ante-post betting markets are starting to take shape as the early bets begin to get laid. Many expert horse racing tipsters have already scoured the bookies looking for that extra value which going ante-post provides.

The Festival is packed with high-quality racing from start to finish, so there are plenty of exciting betting options to analyse. Naturally, the Cheltenham Gold Cup commands the most attention as this is one of the showpiece races on the UK’s National Hunt calendar.

In 2019, Al Boum Photo secured a first Gold Cup triumph for both his trainer Willie Mullins and Jocky Paul Townend. Therefore, it’s little surprise that the bookies have notched Al Boum Photo down as the 7-1 favourite to make it back-to-back successes. It’s never easy to win the Gold Cup in successive years, however. The legendary super horse Kauto Star didn’t manage it. You have to go back to the early 2000s to find the last back-to-back winner. That, of course, was Best Mate, who went on to win the race three years on the trot.

While it’s hard to ignore Al Boum Photo, a strong case can be made for last year’s starting favourite Presenting Percy. He clattered a fence hard early on in 2019 and finished the race lame. Last month, you’ve could’ve got 20-1 on Percy but his price has already been slashed to 12-1 at some bookmakers. This indicates that several other ante-post punters are getting on him as well.

Kemboy is around 8-1 in the markets but its widely thought that the famous uphill finish at Cheltenham will be his undoing. Lostintranslation is certainly a contender, and he’s currently between 12-1 and 9-1 in the betting. A question mark remains over his stamina which will be tested to the hilt in this race.

Going further out in the betting, the two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll is 33-1 and Anibale Fly, the horse which finished third in 2018 and second in 2019 is quoted at 40-1. Could this be worth an each-way punt?

Those are some of the contenders to consider. Check out the form guides, tipsters predictions and other resources to find your preferred pick, but don’t wait too long as the prices are already shortening on the top horses.