Rowan Ward
The 2022 Cheltenham festival reaches its crescendo on Friday, March 18 with the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup (G1)! Run at three miles and two and a half furlongs, over 22 fences, it is one of the most important horse races betting events of the jumps season. With a rich £625,000 purse, it drew a field of 11 of the top European chasers.
The field includes the Henry De Bromhead pair that finished 1-2 in the race in 2022: Minella Indo and A Plus Tard. It also drew Gordon Elliott star Galvin, who got the best of A Plus Tard by a short head in the Savills Chase (G1) in December. Al Boum Photo, winner in 2019 and 2020 for Willie Mullins, also lines up again.
Will one of these leading lights win, or will a new star emerge? Read on to find out.
Where to Bet the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Before you start handicapping the Cheltenham Gold Cup, it is time to find the right place to bet the Cheltenham Gold Cup online. With so many options, it can feel like a tough decision. But, our betting experts are here to help you find the best online racebooks. They can give you all the information you need for a fun and profitable Cheltenham!
The recommended sportsbooks all have smooth user interfaces, trustworthy cash-outs and deposits, and true Vegas odds. Different sportsbooks also offer different incentives, and you can maximize your betting profit by picking the one whose sign-up bonuses, deposit bonuses, and rebates suit your betting style the best.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Horses and Odds
This is the official field for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup including draw numbers, trainers, and jockeys:
- Al Boum Photo (Willie Mullins/Paul Townend)
- A Plus Tard (Henry de Bromhead/Rachael Blackmore)
- Asterion Forlonge (Willie Mullins/Bryan Cooper)
- Aye Right (Harriet Graham & Gary Rutherford/Callum Bewley)
- Chantry House (Nicky Henderson/Nico de Boinville)
- Galvin (Gordon Elliott/Davy Russell)
- Minella Indo (Henry de Bromhead/Robbie Power)
- Protektorat (Dan Skelton/Harry Skelton)
- Royale Pagaille (Venetia Williams/Charlie Deutsch)
- Santini (Polly Gundry/Nick Scholfield)
- Tornado Flyer (Willie Mullins/Danny Mullins)
As post time for the Cheltenham Gold Cup draws closer, the odds will fluctuate. Your Cheltenham Gold Cup best bet is to keep an eye on the odds, and be ready to place your bet when you see an overlay on a horse you think will win.
Online sportsbooks offer fixed odds betting, which means you can lock in your odds the moment you place your bet, and watch the race confident that you got the best odds on your horse. These are the current Cheltenham Gold Cup odds at top sportsbooks, though keep watching as they may change closer to the race.
 |  |  |
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| Galvin | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| A Plus Tard | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Minella Indo | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Protektorat | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Al Boum Photo | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Tornado Flyer | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Free Cheltenham Gold Cup Picks
Once you have signed up for the sportsbook that best fits your needs, it is time to handicap the race. These are the best horses in the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Favorites
Though there are a couple of defending champions in the race, A Plus Tard is the most appealing in the group. He has yet to win the Gold Cup, but he ran a good second last year to stablemate Minella Indo, and comes into this year’s edition in better form than his stablemate. He also gets Rachael Blackmore in the irons, and it’s a positive sign that she sticks with him.
A Plus Tard does have tables to turn on Galvin, though with the going likely to be soft (good-to-soft in places), it suits A Plus Tard just a little bit better than Galvin. Galvin certainly figures for a place, but the ground should give A Plus Tard what he needs to make up that short head (and then some) on Galvin.
Al Boum Photo obviously like Cheltenham, with two Gold Cup wins in his pocket already. However, he may be a little past his best, at ten years old now, and ten-year-olds typically don’t win the Gold Cup. They do frequently capture placings, and Al Boum Photo does come in off his traditional prep in the New Year’s Day Chase (G3) at Tramore, which he won for the fourth year in a row. Consider him for exotics.
Longer Shots in the Cheltenham Gold Cup
The buzz horse among the new faces is Protektorat, who comes in off of a 25-length romp over now-retired 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Native River. That came over soft ground, and was Protektorat’s first try going longer than three miles. This improving seven-year-old passed that test with flying colors, making him a smart each-way chance for the price player.
Another to consider for exotics is Tornado Flyer. He was a 28-1 outsider when he won the King George VI (G1) in December. He did so over soft going, and he does tend to find his best form when there is some cut in the ground. He got a piece at Cheltenham when third in the shorter Ryanair Chase (G1) last year, but with that nice try at three miles last out, this is the right spot for him this year.
Cheltenham Gold Cup Free Picks
Now that you know where and how to bet the race online, here are the best bets for Saturday’s 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup:
- $20 to win – #2 A Plus Tard
- $10 each-way – #8 Protektorat
- $1 exacta key – #2 A Plus Tard with #6 Galvin and #8 Protektorat
- $0.50 trifecta key – #2 A Plus Tard with #1 Al Boum Photo, #6 Galvin and #8 Protektorat
- $0.20 superfecta key – #2 A Plus Tard with #1 Al Boum Photo, #6 Galvin, #8 Protektorat, and #11 Tornado Flyer
