Cheltenham 2012: Day 4, Gold Cup Day Tips & Preview - The Big Punt

Can the legendary Kauto Star regain
the Gold Cup crown for a second time?

It seems a lifetime ago that we heard that famous roar as the Supreme Novices' Hurdle got underway on Tuesday.

But here we are, Gold Cup day 2012 and a fourth fantastic day of racing is in store. Prior to Kauto-Long Run V in the Gold Cup there is the small matter of the Triumph Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett featuring the hugely promising Boston Bob.

It's the Gold Cup that is at the forefront of everyone's minds though and the 2012 renewal looks like really being one for the ages as Kauto Star attempts to defy history, stats and records by landing the Gold Cup a third time. He's up against it though and you can hear The Big Punt's preview of Day 4 along with our tips for every race on the card by following the link below and downloading our final mini-pod of the week. 

Download Friday's Big Punt mini-pod HERE

You can also check out our daily festival tips for Friday by following @thebigpunt on twitter.

Cheltenham 2012: Day 3 Tips & Preview - The Big Punt

The mighty Big Buck's is the main attraction
on Thursday as he has bids to win the
World Hurdle for a 4th time.

Day 2 of Cheltenham 2012 was a bit of a shocker by all accounts from a betting point of view but was still a fabulous day of racing. You may feel exhausted but we're only at the half-way point!

A great day looks in prospect for Thursday with a cracking renewal of the Ryanair, an intriguing Jewson and of course the return of the beast that is Big Buck's to defend his World Hurdle crown.

The Big Punt mini-pod previewing all Thursday's action and offering tips for every race is available for download now HERE
You can also check out our daily festival tips by following @thebigpunt on twitter.

Cheltenham 2012: Day 2 Tips & Preview - The Big Punt

Sizing Europe bids to retain the Champion
Chase crown on Day 2 of Cheltenham 2012 

After a great start to the 2012 Cheltenham festival thanks to Cinders And Ashes (advised at 16/1 on the podcast back in January) in the very first race, The Big Punt's Day 2 mini-pod is available for download now.

Each of Wednesday's races is covered as Sizing Europe bids to retain his Champion Chase crown and the hugely talented Grands Crus bids to cement his position as the pretender to the throne in the 3m division in what looks to be a cracking second day of the festival.

You can download the day 2 preview HERE

You can also check out The Big Punt on twitter for daily festival tips by visiting @thebigpunt

Cheltenham 2012: Day 1 Preview - The Big Punt

After months of waiting, Cheltenham is finally here!

The incomparable Hurricane Fly is
the star of Day 1 of Cheltenham 2012



Sam and I have slaved over the form and will have previews for each day of one of the sporting calendar's greatest weeks of the year.

Our Cheltenham 2012 Preview for Day 1 of this year's festival is up now along with our special festival yankees.

You can download The Big Punt mini-pod for Tuesday HERE

Cheltenham Festival 2012: A-Z - What Culture

With Cheltenham now only days away, I've compiled an A-Z of the 2012 festival for What Culture.

You can read my alphabetised guide to this year's 'greatest show on turf' by following the link below:

Cheltenham Festival 2012: A - Z

Festival Focus: The Arkle

Sprinting to the Finish
- Arkle favourite Sprinter Sacre

With the Cheltenham Festival now just a mere two weeks away, it’s time for another instalment of Festival Focus and in the wake of Paddy Power’s announcement that they would be offering the quite astounding concession of money back if Sprinter Sacre wins it seems only fitting to cast an eye over the market for the second race of the festival, The Arkle.

Named after possibly the greatest racehorse to ever jump a fence, the Arkle is a 2 mile speed test for novice chasers and is usually run at a blistering pace.

Winners of the race have a fantastic record of following up a year later in the Queen Mother Champion Chase – as reigning champ Sizing Europe did last year after winning the Arkle in 2010 – so the importance of this race can not be undersold.

With such an exciting crop of novice chasers this season, the 2012 Arkle has always looked like being one to savour, but with the recent exploits of the aforementioned Sprinter Sacre it has rapidly become one of the most hotly anticipated races at the festival.

Sprinter Sacre was good over hurdles, losing just twice - one of said defeats was at the festival when third in last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle behind Al Ferof – but he’s been even better over fences.

He built on an easy debut over larger obstacles at Doncaster by comprehensively accounting for Peddlers Cross at Kempton over the festive period, although excuses can seemingly be made for Peddlers Cross that day it was a performance by Sprinter Sacre that catapulted him to the forefront of the betting for the Arkle and he has been there ever since.

Festival Focus: Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Too hot to handle?
Cinders And Ashes is a leading fancy for the
Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham

The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is the Cheltenham Festival’s curtain raiser and is usually accompanied by that famous roar that signals the beginning of the week’s festivities.

For the past couple of renewals we’ve had red hot favourites in Dunguib & Cue Card, both of whom have been beaten, so in that sense the race is one of the more unpredictable of the week and to make matters worse this year’s renewal looks more wide open than ever.

Al Ferof sprung what some would call a surprise last year, but if you look at him now – Timeform’s highest rated novice of the season – it is hard to imagine he was allowed to go off at the price he started at.

It just goes to show how a horse can seemingly come from nowhere in the Supreme Novices’ and go on to become a superstar and future champion.

This year’s race will surely be no different and there are already several horses entered that are being touted as the next big thing.

Grand National, Cheltenham, Ffos Las & Superbowl - The Big Punt

Will Kelly Clarkson's
stomach make an
appearance this
Sunday!?

The latest instalment of The Big Punt podcast is available for download.

Join Sam and me as we talk Cheltenham, the Grand National, this weekend’s Racing from (fingers crossed) Ffos Las and Punchestown, what could have been at Sandown (now sadly off due to the big freeze) and the Superbowl, including a few special bets and an analysis of Kelly Clarkson’s abdomen and the likelihood of it making an appearance this weekend (it’ll make sense in context!)

You can download the twentieth edition of The Big Punt HERE 

Gold Cup Entries Announced

The stage is set for Kauto-Long Run V after both horses, as expected, were among 34 horses entered for the Cheltenham Festival show piece the Betfred Gold Cup on March 16th.

Last season belonged to Nicky Henderson’s young pretender, but this season has all been about the legend that is Kauto Star, as the now 12 year old superstar rolled back the years and defeated Long Run in both the Betfair Chase and the King George prompting scenes of jubilation from his legions of fans rarely seen at a race course.

Long Run supporters will be hoping the extra distance and that gruelling Cheltenham hill will be enough to see the younger legs of Long Run win out this time around though, but with Kauto seemingly in the form of his life you’d be a fool to rule him out of making history yet again.

As much as it may look like this year’s Gold Cup is nothing more than a match between the aforementioned former winners of the race, but that is in fact far from the case however. I actually fancy perhaps the most controversial name on the list of the horses entered to win the Gold Cup this year and that horse is David Pipe’s brilliant novice Grands Crus.