Road to the Cheltenham Festival 2025 – 7 weeks to go

It’s that time of year again, where we look ahead to the Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival in March and with two months before the feature race, here is our first post of the year!

For those who haven’t followed Severn Sport during the run up to and the Festival itself, our coverage includes posts at 8, 4 2 and 1 week to go markers, as well as a Tipster League during Festival week – where figures from football in Gloucestershire compete to be crowned our King Tipster.

This year however, due to how the racing calendar fell we wanted to wait for the Clarence House and a number of the festival fancies to run this past weekend – so we begin with a look ahead at 7 weeks to go!

With that being said, Severn Sport’s Ryan Butler is joined by Tipster League veteran, Damon Highet, and Slimbridge Manager, Tom Deakin, for our first preview post.

At the 7 weeks to go mark, the early betting market is a minefield – so to help you, we are looking at the Best Priced Favourite, Favourite to take on and our antepost Longshot (10/1+)

As always, Severn Sport encourages everyone to bet responsibly and the prices below are taken from Oddschecker at the time of writing, so are subject to change.

As always, let’s start with the Best Priced Favourite:

TD: Has to be Teahupoo in the Stayers Hurdle. 5/4 in some places but he wins, simply put. He shouldn’t have got beat two years and went and won comfortably last year.

Nothing from last year’s novice division has stepped up and beat the same horses last year, so it makes the favourite the one to beat, for sure.

Best Price – 11/8 (betway, betfair, Paddy Power)

DH: The best priced favourites are Constitution Hill (Champion Hurdle) or Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup), but for me I will take the former as the banker and excellent value.

Just under Even money for Constitution Hill is incredible and whilst I appreciate Brighterdaysahead has made a name for herself beating State Man twice, but it was a State Man that didn’t look the same so I can’t really consider her beating Conny Hill.

Best Price – 5/6 (betfair, Paddy Power)

RB: After Saturday, to be able to get Jonbon over even money for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, offers good value for me.

In the Clarence House he looked assured, jumped well, escalated away from Energumene with plenty left in the tank and when you look at the rest of the field for the CC it doesn’t really scare you if you are a Jonbon fan.

There are question marks over which of the Willie Mullins battalion will line up to take him on and I am not sure if any of them get near Nicky Henderson’s superstar.

Best Price – 5/4 (betway, betfair, William Hill, Paddy Power)

Next up is the Favourite to take on:

TD: It pains me to say it, but Ballyburn at 7/2 for the Brown Advisory Novice Chase. There is seemingly no race for him at the festival with the Turners being turned into a handicap and 7/2 when you have the likes of The Jukebox Man and Dancing City at bigger prices is silly.

Best Price – 7/2 (betway, BetVictor, Paddy Power)

DH: Lulamba in the Triumph Hurdle. You can’t be backing a horse that hasn’t run under rules in the UK at Cheltenham in my opinion and I’ve been really impressed by East India Dock, so I would happily take my chances that Henderson might be wrong on this one.

I may end up being wrong, but for me, this favourite makes sense to take on.

Best Price – 6/4 (betway, bet365, Bet Victor, betfair, Paddy Power, William Hill)

RB: Ironically, my favourite to take on is one I have backed throughout the year in the antepost market and that is Salvator Mundi in the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

The opening race of the festival can often set the tone for punters and bookies alike and after his win in the Moscow Flyer there were plenty of question marks about whether he is as good as his reputation would have had you believe prior to the race.

The jumping wasn’t fluent but his engine may just be enough in March, but there are others like Romeo Coolio, Kopek Des Bordes and potentially even the Triumph favourite, Lulamba, could be waiting in the wings to take advantage if once again the jumping lets him down on the big stage.

Best Price – 7/2 (betway, betfair, Paddy Power)

And to round off the first post of the season, the boys’ Longshot at this stage – we gave them one rule, a minimum price of 10/1 at the time of writing.

TD: My longshot is Tommy Beau in the Cross Country Chase. Running well when running out at Cheltenham in November and will get a low weight now it’s a handicap.

20/1 for a horse that was favourite that day is a big price – especially when he has been run on a couple of occasions since to keep him ticking.

Best Price – 20/1 (betway, bet365, Paddy Power)

DH: Jet Blue won really well in the grade two Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham in December for his first for David Cottin and could follow that up in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle in March.

The owners have had some decent horses in the past and have had winners at Cheltenham, so I can see this being somewhat of a plot horse and if he comes over, I think you’re quids in from a value perspective.

Best Price – 20/1 (Paddy Power)

RB: There are a number of handicaps that offer prices of 10/1 and whilst it is a guessing game as to who runs where and questions on whether some horses will even make the trip to Cheltenham, there are nuggets of value spread around the markets.

With bookies now going into “Non-Runner No-bet” stage, risk free punts are seemingly worth it and one I am going for is Journey With Me in the Ryanair Chase, at 50/1! Let’s dream!

I really like Henry De Bromhead’s Gelding and whilst the horse hasn’t seen Cheltenham since falling in the Ballymore in 2022, the 9 year old has gone on to win twice at 2 miles 4 furlongs and at just under that trip.

After the weekend’s run at Windsor it feels unlikely that he does come over, but if he lines up in the race then he won’t go off at 50/1, so a punt is worth it at this risk free stage.

Best Price – 50/1 (bet365, betway, Paddy Power)

Next month we will be back with another preview post for the Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival, as Butler starts piecing together this years Tipster League!