2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup Betting Tips, Preview & Trends

The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the most prestigious event in jumps racing and the Grade 1 contest is the showpiece of the final day of the Cheltenham Festival. Naturally, punters flock to the best horse racing betting sites on the Friday of the Festival hoping to land a big winner in the feature race.

It’s a race that brings together the finest staying chasers in training and the Gold Cup roll of honour features legendary names like Arkle, Best Mate, Golden Miller, Kauto Star, Denman and Mill House.

No horse has landed more Gold Cups than Golden Miller, who won five successive editions between 1932 and 1936.

Only four horses have won the race at least three times but Al Boum Photo, winner of the race in 2019 and 2020, has an opportunity to join that elite group this year.

The 2022 edition of the Blue Riband event looks wide open on paper, with no outstanding candidate, so expect Gold Cup betting tips to vary greatly. The market is dominated by Irish-trained runners but the home challenge looks dangerous in 2022 as well.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Tips

• Minella Indo to win the Gold Cup - 8/1 with FansBet

Cheltenham Gold Cup Runners in Focus

Here's an in-depth look at some of the leading contenders for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup:

A Plus Tard Heads Gold Cup Betting

Ante-post Gold Cup betting odds lists are headed, rather surprisingly, by 2021 runner-up A Plus Tard.

Sent off second favourite behind Al Boum Photo on the day, A Plus Tard was the choice of Rachael Blackmore over stablemate Minella Indo but that rival just proved a touch stronger from the second-last to edge home by just over a length.

A Plus Tard proved his stamina for the extended three miles that day and he should be approaching the peak of his career now as an 8-year-old but he’s let short-priced favourite backers down a few times, not least when he was collared by Galvin (who went into the race rated 9lb inferior) in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. There is a feeling in some quarters that he doesn’t win as many races as a horse of his ability should do.

However, that is probably the strongest piece of chasing form in the book this season, so A Plus Tard will return to the Cheltenham Festival as one of the leading form candidates and he is sure to be primed to the minute for the occasion by Henry De Bromhead, whose runners dominated the championship races in 2021.

Galvin Sure to be a Popular Gold Cup Betting Pick

Stamina has never been an issue for 2021 National Hunt Chase winner Galvin but for many the question was whether he would be classy enough to be competitive in a Gold Cup.

The doubters got their answer when Galvin overcame some trouble in running by storming home after the last to collar odds-on favourite A Plus Tard in the Savills Chase over Christmas.

That was Galvin’s first success at Grade 1 level but more could be on the way now that the Gordon Elliott-trained 8-year-old has proved that he can mix it with the best around.

This strong stayer looks for all the world like he’s ready for a shot at the Gold Cup and although he’s a bigger price than A Plus Tard, it would hardly be a surprise if this progressive chaser was able to confirm that Leopardstown form.

One thing we know for sure is that he’ll be coming home strongly, so if he’s within striking distance off the home turn, Galvin will be a huge Gold Cup player. The 4/1 second-favourite will be the subject of many Gold Cup tips.

Still Plenty of Life in Photo

Al Boum Photo lost his Gold Cup crown in 2021 but the dual winner ran an honourable race to finish third, having been a touch outpaced off the home turn before keeping on. Ground conditions were a little quicker than he would have ideally liked and that meant that he was vulnerable to younger rivals with a little more speed.

Al Boum Photo is 10 years old now and no horse of that age has won the Gold Cup this century, which means Gold Cup trends followers won’t want him on their side. However, he’s been campaigned fairly sparingly by Willie Mullins (only seven runs since the beginning of 2018) and his four-length defeat of Burrows Saint at Tramore on New Year’s Day suggests he’s not far away from being as good as ever. He is a rock-solid yardstick with obvious place claims and some wet weather in the build-up would enhance his claims further.

Minella Indo can Bounce Back From Kempton Failure

If there is value in the ante-post Gold Cup market then it probably lies with last year’s winner Minella Indo, who was pushed out to a price of 7/1 with FansBet from around 9/2 after his disappointing performance in the King George VI Chase.

The reigning champion was in trouble a long way out in the first-time cheekpieces at Kempton and was quickly pulled up before three-out, although a post-race examination failed to reveal any abnormalities.

However, fans of Henry De Bromhead’s top-class chaser should keep the faith because his mid-season form in 2021 was well short of what he produced at Prestbury Park and it feels churlish to desert him on the back of a run that came under completely different conditions to those that he excelled over in March.

His master trainer has had him primed to win at two Cheltenham Festivals already and, if he does that again in 2022, then this 8-year-old is going to be the one they all have to beat once again.

King George winner Tornado Flyer has done most of his racing over shorter trips but he finished his race off so well that the extra two furlongs at Cheltenham will surely not prove troublesome and he brings untapped potential in staying chases to the table. He does, though, need to prove that 25/1 success wasn’t a fluke.

Protektorat the Pick of the Home Challenge

Gold Cup betting tips are dominated by Irish-trained runners but there is a dangerous runner lurking among the home challenge in the shape of Protektorat.

It was impossible not to be seriously impressed with his 25-length demolition job in the Grade 2 Many Clouds Chase at Aintree, where he positively thrived over the 3m1f trip which he was tackling for the first time.

Unexposed and on the up, he bolted up in a novice chase at Cheltenham in 2020, so we know he acts around Prestbury Park and he could be the joker in the pack for punters who expect Irish-trained runners to dominate the 2022 Gold Cup.

It might also be folly to overlook the claims of Chantry House despite his desperate performance in the King George. Nicky Henderson was adamant that he hated the ground at Kempton and was never travelling so he can be forgiven that and his 32-length defeat of Shan Blue, who would have hosed up in the Charlie Hall Chase had he not fallen at the last fence, at Aintree last season was arguably the novice chase performance of the season.

He won last year’s Marsh Novices’ Chase so we know he handles the big occasion.

He is by no means a forlorn hope in this year’s Gold Cup, especially back on some nice spring ground.

Stablemate Champ still has untapped potential over fences but connections might be tempted to stick to the smaller obstacles and go for the Stayers' Hurdle after he looked so good in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

Cheltenham Gold Cup Odds

• Odds correct as of 25/01/2022 - For full latest odds head over to FansBet

Cheltenham Gold Cup Trends

• Avoid the older contenders: The last 21 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners have been aged nine or under, which is a concern for fans of Al Boum Photo.
• Only the cream need apply: The last 20 Gold Cup winners were Grade 1 winners going into the race.
• Key festive trials: 17 of the last 22 Gold Cup winners ran in either the King George VI Chase or the Savills Chase in Ireland.
• Lightly-raced chasers have strong recent record: 11 of the last 16 winners had run no more than nine times over fences prior to landing the big one.
• Festival form counts: Since the turn of the century, 14 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners had previously finished first or second at the festival. Furthermore, every one of the last 12 winners had run at Cheltenham before.
• We are in the midst of Irish dominance: Runners trained in Ireland have won six of the last eight Gold Cups.
• Stamina is essential: 11 of the last 12 Gold Cup winners had won at least once over at least three miles.

Recent Cheltenham Gold Cup Winners

Cheltenham Gold Cup Verdict

2022 Gold Cup betting tips will spread across several runners who all bring strong credentials to the table, but there is value in the 7/1 odds offered by the best betting sites for last year’s winner MINELLA INDO.

He was clearly nowhere near his best at Kempton on Boxing Day but he’s bounced back from incompletions in the past and he can do so again because he is trained by Henry De Bromhead.

Twice a Cheltenham Festival winner, his spring form is impossible to knock and there is absolutely no reason why he won’t run another huge race in 2022 if he’s in A1 shape come March.

Stablemate A Plus Tard only has a length to find but he is less than half the price, despite being beaten by Galvin in the Savills Chase. Galvin has to be a huge threat, particularly if they go a good gallop because he’s such a strong stayer.

Don’t be surprised if the likes of Protektorat or Chantry House post a big performance but Minella Indo has been there and done it when it matters most, and that counts for an awful lot.