Cheltenham Festival Tips – Top Trainer 2019

If you are having a bet in the Top Trainer market for the Cheltenham 2019 Festival you have to look for value.

Given the nature of the sport and the cruel fact that each rider chalked up in the betting is just a bit of bad luck away from only having one ride or one day at the Festival, it is best to shop around.

The Top Trainer market is slightly different. Gordon Elliott showed that last year.

Elliott left Cheltenham on the Tuesday last year without a winner. A quarter of the Festival over and a 1/2 Apples Jade beaten. Yet Elliott returned the following day with Samcro winning the first to provide the springboard to his second successive Leading Trainer title at Cheltenham.

Elliott finished up with an incredible record equalling eight winners last year, two more than his winning total of the previous year.

BoyleSports are 5/4 about Elliott with Henderson 15/8. I’d imagine it’s a while since Willie Mullins was third favourite in this market but you can back the winningmost trainer at this meeting at a very tempting 3/1.

Over the next week the 3/1 about Mullins might just prove the most popular among punters.

However, Elliott is a solid bet at 5/4. Apple’s Jade might well get him off to a better start on the opening day this year but even if she doesn’t, he is going to send close to 60 runners to the meeting and his team could hardly be in better form.

Tiger Roll will be one of the bankers of the week thanks to the conditions of the Cross Country Chase. Battleoverdoyen is one of the real promising novices of this season, Delta Work went favourite for the RSA Chase on Monday night and in Envoi Allen he has arguably the most impressive bumper horse of this season so far.

Then remember just how much of a force Elliott is in the handicaps and you could be looking at him posting a target of five winners for his rivals to catch. That is a conservative estimate but in this unique season five could be hard to beat this year.

You won’t get rich with odds like 5/4 and maybe on Friday week that 3/1 about Willie Mullins might haunt us, but it’s as much about how hard it is to back against Elliott in this market.

*Prices correct at time of publication