Multiples

Horse racing fans are eagerly awaiting the Cheltenham November Meeting, a three-day extravaganza featuring several races right out of the top drawer. Formerly known as The Open, this prestigious meeting always unearths stars of the future and this year will be no different. There are several runners that we cannot wait to see in action, but here is the top five:

 

Cause of Causes

The American bay gelding was last seen at the Grand National, where he put in a sensational performance to finish second to One For Arthur in the Aintree showpiece. He has been rested over the summer and will be making his return to competitive action in the Glenfarcas Cross Country Chase on the opening day of the meeting.

 

 

It is known as Countryside Day as money is raised for the Countryside Alliance and part of the famous racecourse is dedicated to a country fair, but the racing is the main attraction and Cause of Causes is a star name. He is 8/1 in the fixed odds betting and looks well priced so he is sure to be of interest in the horse racing spread betting markets as he has the stamina and quality to usurp shorter priced rivals in this clash.

 

Romain de Senam

 

Saturday’s Gold Cup is the main draw during the three-day meeting and the field is extremely competitive, with seven horses priced between 7/1 and 10/1. The average starting price for the winner of this race over the past 15 years falls into that bracket and the big stables have monopolised it in recent times, so that could help you whittle down a broad field.

Romain de Senam fits the bill and comes into the race in splendid form: he returned to action last month and won back-to-back handicaps at Chepstow and Stratford within the space of a week. Trainer Paul Nicholls, who has enjoyed plenty of success in this renewal down the years, has since given him a four-week rest, so he will be raring to go for the big race. The likes of Tully’s East, Kylemore Lough, Foxtail Hill and Gold Present will make it a fierce contest, so it might be advisable to keep stakes low, but Romain de Senam looks a good option.

 

Finian’s Oscar

Colin Tizzard’s charge is one of the shortest priced favourites during the three-day festival and deservedly so. He is an intriguing prospect as he won at Grade 1 level over hurdles and has now made the transition to fences. It all went off without a hitch as he posted a dominant win on his fences debut at Chepstow and it will be interesting to see if he can keep the momentum going in the Arkle Trial on Sunday, where he will have to fend off the challenge of some strong runners like North Hill Harvey and River Wylde.

 

Fox Chase

One of the most exciting races at this year’s Cheltenham Festival was the Champion Chase, which developed into a pulsating battle between Special Tiara and Fox Chase. Special Tiara ultimately snatched victory, but there was a lingering sense that Fox Chase was running better and should have secured the win. He will be given a shot a redemption in a much hyped rematch in the Shloer Chase on Sunday. Special Tiara is the antepost favourite, but Fox Chase looks well priced as the second favourite and could be a great each-way shout if he ends up at 4/1 or higher.

 

Bedrock

All the talk is focused on Dame de Compagnie and Slate House ahead of the Supreme Trial Novices’ Hurdle on Sunday and rightly so as they are both strong contenders. But this race has yielded several high priced winners over the years, and Dan Skelton’s Bedrock looks an interesting long-shot at current odds of 20/1.

He put in a commanding performance to secure victory on his reappearance at Bangor last month and looks poised to give the favourites a really good run for their money in this highly anticipated race.

 

Author bio

Martin Green is an experienced tipster and horseracing correspondent and has been covering the industry for many years.

It takes a certain type of person to place a multiple bet. It’s definitely a different mentality than you’ll find in those ‘lumping on’ a big odds-on shot and thinking that they’ve solved an unsolvable equation when it predictably romps home in first place. Some of those betting on accumulators are very comfortable with the long game, cool, calm, considered. At the same time others drawn to multiples are more like madcap, lottery lovers who probably get help picking their selections from their pet budgie. Let’s explore the various personalities and pitfalls of acca lovers.

 

‘The Fonz’

Some people just breeze through life. One lucky Leicester punter must have been over the moon as a result of winning a huge sum of money from little more than a ‘beer money’ level (well okay, a bar meal!) bet earlier this year. Or at least you’d have imagined so but this ultra cool customer didn’t even bother to check the results until the next morning after a lively night out. When he did check the Punchestown punter saw that his £19 five horse accumulator had turned into the dizzying sum of £823,000 .

Commenting on his win this chilled out moneybags said “Over the years I’ve come close landing a big return a couple of times but kept hitting the woodwork, and now I’ve done it I feel remarkably calm”.

 

‘Big Event Punter’

Some punters, whether going for a single bet or accumulator, tend to feel the excitement of wanting a flutter when the next big event comes around. It’s hard to argue with this really as I’m sure we’ve all found ourselves feeling the desire to palce a bet on the Grand National or World Cup. Having a punt on the Grand National is something of a tradition that we all get in on. Someone who won’t regret opting for the big events is a 67 year old factory worker who bagged a cool £250,000 from a £1 bet on the last day of last year’s Cheltenham Festival. He backed 5 big priced selections as part of a Lucky 31 bet. The first four won (Arctic Fire, Penhill, Pacha Du Polder and Champagne Classic), if the fifth (Dodging Bullets) had won the punter would’ve won a million pounds! Still, not a bad day’s work!

“My heart is still pounding. My wife has always wanted a bungalow. Now we can buy one and make the dream happen.”

‘Lucky man’

A not uncommon type of acca punter has to be the random selector. Some people like making selections based on the name of horses, something they recognise or get a feel for, or because the horse looks faintly like Aunt Gertrude. The actual odds are often neither here nor there to this type of person, much like those drawn to the lottery – though at least with the horses it’s pretty much ‘odds to chance’ rather than a ‘cat in hells chance’ rip off.

A 34 year old mechanic at Wolverhampton racecourse used this (non) strategy to bag himself a fortune in Janury of last year. With just a £30 bet he made 7 different horse selections based on name alone. The finger of fate pointed his way and he left the course giddy at the fact he was £245,000 richer.

“When the seventh had won, I was jumping around the place.I’ll be working this weekend and I don’t plan on telling many people, else they’ll all be wanting discounts!” said the lucky punter, to a local newspaper.