The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the pinnacle of National Hunt racing. Over 70,000 passionate horse racing sports fans will flock to Prestbury Park to watch the showpiece event on Friday 15th March and Clan Des Obeaux could give punters a memorable day at The Festival.
Part-owned by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, Clan Des Obeaux gave a decent account of himself at Haydock Park before claiming victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day. On those two runs, you’d be hard-pressed to back against him.
Paul Nicholls had Clan Des Obeaux perfect for the Boxing Day showpiece and he has already hinted at a Gold Cup run. Most high street bookmakers are going 6/1 for the King George winner to do it on the biggest stage of all in March.
Winning trainer Paul Nicholls speaks after Clan Des Obeaux’s victory in the King George and his 10th win of the race!https://t.co/fJWWzUAGqz pic.twitter.com/abePZJ9dwH
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) 26 December 2018
Is he too young? Possibly. Only one six-year-old has won the race since 1963 and that lack of experience could work against him. With the likes of Might Bite and Native River faltering in recent months, it could be time for a younger horse to prevail.
Another horse to keep an eye on is Kemboy. At just six years old, he is still learning but the manner of his impressive victory at Leopardstown over Christmas sent shockwaves across the racing world. Write him off at your peril…
Punters have got behind Kemboy in recent weeks, with the Willie Mullins runner backed in from 50/1 to 7/1 according to Oddschecker. Despite his success at The Festival, Mullins has never trained a Gold Cup winner but Kemboy could be the horse to end that run.
📊 POLL: Clan Des Obeaux and Kemboy scored impressive victories in two of the biggest races over Christmas 🎄
❓ Who has the better chance of winning again in the Cheltenham Gold Cup? 🤔#racingtips 🏇💷
— Racing Tips (@racingtips) 8 January 2019
Kemboy’s record is excellent but he has struggled at Cheltenham in years gone by. He has finished outside the places in both Festival appearances thus far and racing backers will be wary of course and distance form above anything else.
Clan Des Obeaux has finished second on each of his previous two visits to Prestbury Park and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him go one better in March. That King George win has cemented his status as one of the most dangerous three-mile horses in training.
With the right conditions, Clan Des Obeaux ticks all the right boxes to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He will be aimed directly for the Festival showpiece and we could see another Nicholls training masterclass come March 15th. He would certainly be a popular winner in the betting ring.
