Why Not Play a Day One Cheltenham Festival Placepot?
The Cheltenham Festival is finally here. Day one’s seven-race card has attracted 95 runners, and the action gets underway with the traditional curtain-raising Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 1.30 pm. The afternoon’s feature race is the Champion Hurdle. The leading Cheltenham betting sites quote Constitution Hill at 4/11 for the 3.30 pm contest. If successful at those odds, he will become the shortest-ever priced winner of the two-mile championship.
Placepot banker? Constitution Hill could become the shortest-ever priced Champion Hurdle winner this afternoon. ©GettyImages
For fun and entertainment with the possibility of a big win, a Placepot is an ideal bet to complement the day’s racing. The Placepot is a Tote wager offered by the best online betting sites. It only requires punters to select one horse to be placed in each of the first six races of the day.
Big Money Potential for Small Stakes Players
However, the task is far trickier than it appears. To underline its difficulty, consider: over the past five years, the average Cheltenham Festival Placepot has paid £2,361.39 for a £1 stake. During a day’s racing at the 2019 Festival, there was a record Placepot dividend of £91,283.90!
Unquestionably the best way to tackle Festival Placepots is to make multiple selections in most – if not all – races. Perming your Placepot bets dilutes stakes, but with a 10p winning Placepot line paying an average of £236.19, the strategy is no hardship. Below is our idea of a Placepot perm that could produce a healthy profit on day one of the festivities.
Leg 1, Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, 1.30 pm
Facile Vega won the Champion Bumper at last year’s Festival and looked outstanding when taking his first two starts over hurdles this season. But, setting a suicidal pace when racing at the Leopardstown Festival in February, he finished out of the frame at odds of 4/9. Later declared to have finished lame, this Willie Mullins’ trained horse is very short in the betting at 9/4.
If he fails to make the frame again, the Placepot will automatically lose a significant number of its tickets. Let us hope that happens, and either the unbeaten Marine Nationale or the UK’s leading hope, Tahmuras, can finish in the first three.
Leg 2, Arkle Novices’ Chase, 2.10 pm
Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon and Willie Mullins’ El Fabiolo are disputing favoritism here. Both are unbeaten over fences, and when they met over hurdles at Aintree in 2022, only a neck separated them. El Fabiolo made a horrible mistake winning his most recent start, and for that reason, Jonbon appears the safest option.
Jonbon has a proper spring in his step ahead of the Arkle @CheltenhamRaces next week! pic.twitter.com/4XYtErRYOl
— Brett Williams (@bwhorseracing) March 6, 2023
Leg 3, Ultima Handicap Chase, 2.40 pm
23 seemingly exposed runners racing over three miles and a furlong on soft going means this race is a difficult jigsaw to solve. Lucinda Russell does have her string in exceptional form – producing nine winners from 14 runners during the past 10 days – meaning Corach Rambler has to be included. The nine-year-old won this contest 12 months ago.
Winning six of his last seven starts – shooting 35 pounds up the handicap – Into Overdrive is the biggest improver in the field and another to place into your Placepot slip. Monbeg Genius completed a hat trick when winning last time. But, his appeal is his trainer, Jonjo O’Neil. The local horseman has won this race three times in the past.
Others to include are the stamina-laden The Wolff, the lightly-raced Harper’s Brook, and Fastorslow, a horse that is stepping up in trip and has winning French form on very soft going.
Leg 4, Unibet Champion Chase, 3.30 pm
Except for State Man, Constitution Hill has scared off rivals with the credentials needed to win a normal Unibet Champion Hurdle. Unbeaten in all five career starts – including a breathtaking 22-length thrashing of Jonbon at last year’s Festival, Nicky Henderson’s star is impossible to oppose.
Leg 5, Mares Hurdle, 4.10 pm
A fantastic renewal of this race sees 2020 Champion Hurdle winner Epatante clash with two-time Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle. But it is Marie’s Rock that heads the betting, and Love Envoi – unbeaten in seven UK starts – looks sure to have a say!
Honeysuckle has not been at her best this season, but her record of 16 wins, a second and a third from 18 career starts speaks for itself, and she is the logical choice when looking for a runner to make the frame.
Leg 6, Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, 4.50 pm
Owner JP McManus has three runners in the field – each could have been laid out for this contest. They are Sundial, Risk Belle, and Tekao. All three should be included in the Placepot’s final leg.
The history books strongly suggest the race winner will carry between 11-stone and 11-stone nine-pound. It makes Perseus Way and Sir Allen two other contenders to add to your slip.
Placepot Selections
- Race 1: 10, 14
- Race 2: 6
- Race 3: 6, 9, 10, 15, 20, 22
- Race 4: 1
- Race 5: 4
- Race 6: 2, 3, 4, 6, 20
Perm: 2 x 1 x 6 x 1 x 1 x 5 = 60 Placepot lines
