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Friday 19th March 2021
   
Cheltenham 2021 - Triumph Hurdle Preview & Tips

Cheltenham Festival
Image source: Carine06 CC BY-SA 2.0 viaWikimedia Commons

The 2021 Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching and some top contenders are starting to emerge for the various races across the four days. Punters can now start grabbing the early prices in the knowledge that most bookmakers will refund their bets in the event of a non-runner. With that in mind, it’s a good time to start looking at contenders for some of the key races.

The Triumph Hurdle

The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt race open to four-year-old juvenile novice hurdlers. It covers a distance of 2 miles 179 yards (3,382 metres) and features eight hurdles. There was drama last year when favourite Goshen fell at the final hurdle while 10-lengths clear, paving the way for 12-1 shot Burning Victory to win for Willie Mullins. So, who has impressed in the lead-up to this year's race?

Emerging contender

One horse that has staked a strong claim for the Triumph hurdle is Tritonic, who blitzed the field in the recent Grade 2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton. If there were any doubts about the potential of the Alan King-trained horse, they evaporated as he made it 2 from 2 over hurdles, backing up his performance at Ascot back in January.

Track record

He already had a strong track record as a handicapper on the flat and has taken his first jumps in his stride. He therefore looks to be a potent force. However, he won’t have it all his own way at Cheltenham, where he is set to go up against the likes of Zanahiyr - who is unbeaten over hurdles in Ireland - and stablemate Quilixios, who has gained strong support after winning the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown.

The 20-day gap between races should give him sufficient time to recover, and the 3/1 price looks decent value at this stage. Alan King previously led Penzance to victory in both the Adonis and the Triumph Hurdle in the same year, and Tritonic could become the seventh horse overall to complete that double.

Picking a Cheltenham winner

Today, picking winners is a much simpler process than it once was. There are plenty of online tools to help aid the process of picking and betting, including AI-based systems for horse racing predictions and other digital racing prediction systems. These systems use race card data and in-depth statistics, including speed and form ratings, to create a referral database that can be used to identify betting opportunities.
Alternatively, you can keep your own records and refer to numerous racecards and results archives that are available online. Once you are familiar with the horses, trainers, and annual schedules, you’ll soon create a much clearer picture of the contenders for the season’s big races including Cheltenham.

Triumph Hurdle Top Tip

Friday at Cheltenham is a special day with the Gold Cup topping the bill, but the Triumph Hurdle is a great way to kick off the day. As things stand, Tritonic seems a good tip for the race and, with Non-Runner No Bet (NRNB) offers available, you won’t lose out if he withdraws between now and the big day.