Cheltenham Festival Market Movers - 23/11/21

The first big market mover from the weekends racing is the Gold Cup favourite A Plus Tard, who put up a scintillating performance in the Betfair Chase at Haydock to take the race by 22 lengths.

A superb horse last year landing the Grade One Savills Chase and then finishing a narrow second to stablemate Minella Indo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, punters this year are backing the Cheveley Park Stud owned gelding to go one better.

7/1 before his win in Haydock feature, he was then slashed by most bookmakers into 7/2 and is now the stand alone favourite for the race.

We are still yet to see many of the contenders in this years renewal, but that performance lays down the gauntlet in a big way.

The next horse that took the eye at the weekend from a Cheltenham festival betting perspective was the Gordon Elliott trained Hollow Games.

The five year old son of Beat Hollow had been a superb horse to date for Bective Stud, winning all four of his events (one P2P, two bumpers and one hurdles) and on Sunday gave a career best effort top extend his winning run to five.

Making a superb hurdles debut at Down Royal, he was then sent to the Grade Three Monksfield Novice Hurdle at Navan on Sunday and showing an impressive turn of foot landed the contest by close to three lengths.

He was tried at 2m4f for that race but he looks a staying type and that would make him a perfect candidate for the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle.

Punters have got behind this animal, moving from 25/1 into 14/1 after his debut and after the weekend is now 8/1 with most firms for the Grade One event in March.

The final market mover for the Cheltenham festival comes from another runner for Gordon Elliott with Run Wild Fred now as short as 5/1 for the National Hunt Chase.

The Gigginstown House Stud owned gelding has been a superb horse over the last few years, finishing second four times in a row since December 2020, most notably in the Thyestes Handicap Chase and Irish Grand National.

Having had a pipe opener in October at Cork behind Cape Gentleman, he was well backed on Sunday to land the Troytown Handicap Chase and he did so in splendid isolation.

After winning the tough handicap by close to eight lengths, he went from 11/1 for the NH Chase on the Tuesday of the festival into 5/1 favourite.