The Cheltenham Festival

Tomorrow sees the start of the long-awaited Cheltenham Festival and the star of the day in tomorrow’s six exciting races has to be Binocular, running in the Champion Hurdle. Far and away the favourite at 13/8 with the next horse, Celestial Halo, a distant 9/1 shot, Binocular seems, to most horse racing betting fans, the obvious and sensible place to put your money. After all, the horse will be ridden by Tony McCoy, rider of more than 3000 jumps winners, who took Binocular to a spectacular victory in the Boylesport International Hurdle at Ascot.

Binocular totally dominated the race and left his nearest rival in tomorrow’s race, Celestial Halo, trailing in his wake. Victory seems assured but what of the other 23 horses in the field? Trainer, Nicky Henderson concedes that McCoy will need ‘a battleplan’ to achieve his expected dominance of the race. There are half-a-dozen horse quoted in triple figure odds by online betting sites and not letting them get in his way will be part of the McCoy strategy. On top of that, Henderson acknowledges the competitiveness of the race and knows that there are also half-a-dozen horses which can upset the cosy applecart.

Other notable in the race include last years winner, Katchit at 14/1, and second and third, Osana (10/1) and Punjabi (25/1) respectively. Snap Tie at a tempting 40/1has beaten Katchit at Kempton and Crack Away Jack (12/1) and Ashkazar (20/1) were first and second in last season’s Fred Winter Juvenile Novices Handicap Hurdle.

This race will set the tone and mood for the rest of the Cheltenham Festival – there’s nothing like a well-backed favourite romping home to boost the feelgood factor in the crowd. Binocular has been well rested and all signs point to a well deserved victory for this remarkable and outstanding horse.