RacingBetter News
	Tuesday 24th January 2023

Ante-Post Cheltenham Tips

There will be plenty of punters that have already placed their ante-post bets for this year's Cheltenham Festival. With prices being available for the big races at the festival nearly 12 months in advance, value can be found on horses that you think will be next year's sure things.

Of course, this can sometimes be ill-advised given the ever-changing nature of horse racing. Racing is far from an exact science as we know, horses can pick up injuries, trainers can be in and out of form, and most of all, plans on which race a horse is targeted at can be changed mid-season.

At this stage, the entries have been confirmed for Cheltenham 2023, so let's take a look at two of the latest betting tips that might be worth having at this year's festival.

Champion Hurdle - Tuesday 14th March

There is still uncertainty around Honeysuckle's participation in this year's Champion Hurdle, but one horse that is definitely going to line up and be hugely popular in the latest betting tips for the opening day's showpiece is the seemingly unstoppable, Constitution Hill.

Nicky Henderson's monster was the impressive winner of last year's Supreme Novices, and he has shown further maturity in winning the big races this season.

The Champion Hurdle is never a penalty kick, however, so at the prices, it might be worth taking a punt on the Willie Mullins trained, State Man. Last year's County Hurdle winner is another that matured over the summer, and has been hugely impressive in his two Grade 1 wins this season.

The 6-year-old showed his liking for Cheltenham last year, and he could be the one to give Constitution Hill the most to think about.

Tip - State Man 9/2 (Champion Hurdle)

Stayers' Hurdle - Thursday 16th March

This year's Stayers' Hurdle is the most open field among the big races at this year's festival. A case can easily be made for nearly all of the runners involved, but there is a feeling that Gordon Elliot's Teahupoo might be being slightly overlooked.

His poor performance in last year's Champion Hurdle can be forgiven as he just couldn't keep up with the pace. He has shown this year that a longer trip might be just what he needs, something he showed in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle when being the first horse to beat the brilliant, Honeysuckle.

Going 3 Miles around Cheltenham will test his stamina to the limit, but he is a great price in such an open race.

The last two renewals of the Stayers' Hurdle have been won by Flooring Porter, but he has been poor so far this season, so a hat-trick seems unlikely. The veteran, Paisley Park, also has a win in this race to his name, and although he showed great heart in winning the Long Walk Hurdle over Christmas, another win at the festival might just be beyond him.

Tip - Teahupoo @ 10/1 (Stayers' Hurdle)