BetVictor Gold Cup Tips, Betting Offers and Odds

Some of the best odds and betting tips are on offer here for the BetVictor Gold Cup (formerly the Paddy Power Gold Cup), brought to us from the Old Course from Cheltenham.

BetVictor Gold Cup Tips and Betting Offers, 2:25, 16th November 2019

The BetVictor Gold Cup is, for many, the highlight of the November Meeting at Cheltenham. It’s certainly a cracking betting contest with the last 10 renewals seeing winners at 25/1, 20/1 and 12/1 alongside one winning favourite. This year’s renewal is shaping up to be every bit as competitive with several quality horses in the field capable of getting the job done but where does the value lie?

Siruh Du Lac the Value at the Head of the Market

The market has priced up three favourites for the 2019 BetVictor Gold Cup. Slate House (9/2 generally) narrowly sits top of the betting market. Colin Tizzard’s seven-year-old did some good work last season and returned to action last time out with victory at Cheltenham over the same 2 mile 4 furlong trip as the BetVictor Gold Cup.

Spiritofgames (7/1 generally) has not been seen yet this season. Dan Skelton and everybody at home has put in a lot of work to make sure that the seven-year-old is as fit as possible for his seasonal debut. He, too, did some good work during a curtailed last campaign but does he lack the quality required to win a race of this calibre?

There can be few doubts that Siruh Du Lac is good enough to come out on top on Saturday. Nick Williams’ six-year-old won all four of his starts last season, including twice at Cheltenham. The second one of those Cheltenham wins made it six wins from eight over fences for a horse who has the ability to win at an even higher level than this.

The heavy rain in the Cheltenham area means the Old Course is going to be soft on Saturday. Siruh Du Lac’s ability to get the trip up the Cheltenham hill and to set the pace from the front stands him in good stead for the testing conditions so he must be considered a very good bet at 11/2 with Ladbrokes.

Brelan D’As Worthy of Another Chance

Although this is a tough race to win, around half of recent winners did so on their first appearance of the season. Brelan D’As is not in that group as he returned to action in October but things did not go to plan.

Truth be told, he was struggling a little in the 2 mile handicap chase at Cheltenham before he unseated Barry Geraghty. He carried on gamely towards the finish after that error three from home and should come on for that run. If that is the case, he could have a real impact in this race, certainly bigger than his odds of 20/1 with Coral suggest.

Betting Predictions

Siruh Du Lac is a very strong option towards the head of the betting for the 2019 BetVictor Gold Cup. An 11/2 shot with Ladbrokes, the six-year-old could have a very big season ahead of him which is likely to get off to a strong start. As for an each way bet, the odds of 20/1 that Coral are quoting about Brelan D’As cannot be ignored.

BetVictor Gold Cup Previous Winners

  • 2018 – Baron Alco – jockey Jamie Moore, trainer Gary Moore
  • 2017 – Splash Of Ginge – jockey Tom Bellamy, trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies
  • 2016 – Tarquin Du Seuil – jockey Aidan Coleman, trainer Jonjo O’Neill
  • 2015 – Annacotty – jockey Ian Popham, trainer Alan King
  • 2014 – Caid Du Berlais – jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, trainer Paul Nicholls
  • 2013 – Johns Spirit – jockey Richie McLernon, trainer Jonjo O’Neill
  • 2012 – Al Ferof – jockey Ruby Walsh, trainer Paul Nicholls
  • 2011 – Great Endeavour – jockey Timmy Murphy, trainer David Pipe
  • 2010 – Little Josh – jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies
  • 2009 – Tranquil Sea – jockey Andrew J. McNamara, trainer Edward O’Grady
  • 2008 – Imperial Commander – jockey Paddy Brennan, trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies
  • 2007 – L’Antartique – jockey Graham Lee, trainer Ferdy Murphy
  • 2006 – Exotic Dancer – jockey Tony McCoy, trainer Jonjo O’Neill
  • 2005 – Our Vic – jockey Timmy Murphy, trainer Martin Pipe

Race History

The best day in Jump racing this side of Christmas is brought to us from Cheltenham racecourse. There are a total of seven races across this day of racing, all of which are of considerable value and prestige. However, the highlight of the day comes in the form of the BetVictor Gold Cup (called the Paddy Power Gold Cup until the 2016 renewal), a handicap race which has been ran every year since 1960. The race attracts some of the best jockeys and trainers around to compete here, drawing in large quantities of spectators.

It is a Grade 3 National Hunt chase ran over a distance of two miles and four and a half furlongs with a total of fifteen fences to be jumped. It was originally known as the Mackeson Gold Cup until 1995 due to the original sponsors, with the current sponsors, BetVictor, taking over in 2016 from Paddy Power who supported the race since 2003. Murphy’s and Thomas Pink filled the sponsorship gap between the years of the Mackeson and Paddy Power sponsorship.

There are a number of horses who have been successful on a couple of occasions in this particular race, but there has never been a single horse to win this one three times. Five horses have ran out victorious twice here with the most being Cyfor Malta. This is the only Martin Pipe trained horse to have won the Paddy Power Gold Cup twice, despite Pipe having one of his horses winning this race on eight different occasions. This makes Pipe the leading trainer of this race’s history, with these eight victories spanning across almost 20 years, from 1987 with Beau Ranger until 2005 with Our Vic.

The leading jockey here is Tony McCoy. He too has a tie to Cyfor Malta as he was in the saddle back in 1998 when Cyfor Malta enjoyed his first Gold Cup triumph. This trainer-jockey partnership has been successful more than once as well. In three different years have these two been in the winning camp together, the first was Cyfor Malta, the second in 2000 with Lady Cricket and the last in 2001 with Shooting Light.

In more recent years the Twiston-Davies family have particularly impacted the results of this race. Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies has had two of his horses winning in the past seven years, whilst his son, Sam, has been the jockey on two occasions over the similar period. Only once have they formed a winning partnership in this race with a victory in 2010 with eight-year-old Little Josh.

NB – check out our Greatwood Hurdle betting tips and offers for the big race at Cheltenham on Sunday too!