Coral Cup Odds
How to Bet on the Coral Cup
The Coral Cup is a fiercely contested Grade 3 handicap hurdle held on Ladies’ Day (Wednesday) at the Cheltenham Festival. It’s open to horses aged four years and up and is run over a distance just shy of 2 miles and 5 furlongs.
Known for its large fields, fast pace, and unpredictable nature, the Coral Cup is a race where plot horses, improvers, and well-handicapped contenders often emerge victorious.
The Coral Cup can attract up to 26 runners, meaning there can be a big difference in price between horse racing betting sites when it comes to certain runners.
For those wanting the best Coral Cup odds, it is vital to stay up to date with the latest market moves made by betting sites. Gambling.com have made that simple with our odds comparison tool, and here's all the ways bettors can benefit from finding the best prices.
Futures or Ante-Post Betting
The Coral Cup is one of the Festival’s most popular handicaps, and bookmakers tend to offer odds well in advance of race week. You’ll typically find Coral Cup odds listed in the ante-post or futures section of a sportsbook’s horse racing hub.
Getting your bets on early can be rewarding if your selection shortens in the market after a strong build-up to the Festival. Key form lines to watch include performances in the Betfair Hurdle, Relkeel Hurdle, or competitive handicaps at Leopardstown.
However, bettors should be prepared for odds to go the other way if their selection doesn't perform well in the build up to Cheltenham or the ground is deemed unsuitable. Closer to the Festival, many bookies introduce Non-Runner No Bet terms. This ensures your stake is refunded if your selection doesn’t run in the Coral Cup, a useful safety net in a race known for last-minute reshuffles.
Win Market
A win-only wager is as straightforward as it gets. If your chosen horse finishes first in the Coral Cup, your bet is a winner. Any other result and the bet is lost.
Place Betting
This option allows your horse to finish in the top few and still generate a return. Most firms pay out on at least four places for the Coral Cup due to the size of the field, with some sportsbooks offering to cover the top six or seven home.
Make sure to check the place terms being offered before placing a wager.
Each-Way
In an ultra-competitive race like the Coral Cup, each-way bets are especially popular. This approach splits your stake with half going on the horse to win and the other half on it to place.
If the horse wins, both halves pay out. If it only places, you’ll still receive a return at a reduced rate (usually 1/5 or 1/4 of the odds), depending on your bookmaker’s terms.
This strategy is well suited to double-digit odds selections in such a wide-open handicap.
Understanding the Coral Cup Odds
Odds for the Coral Cup can be displayed in a few different formats depending on where you're betting from. Here's how to read the various horse racing odds you find on sportsbooks:
Most common in the UK and Ireland. Odds are displayed as fractions and give you the starting point of the number on the left indicating the potential profit if you wagered the number on the right of the line.
For example, Coral Cup odds of 12/1 would mean a £10 bet would return £130 if successful (£120 profit + £10 stake).
Coral Cup Factfile
- Race type: Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle
- Distance: 2 miles 5 furlongs (4,225 metres)
- Hurdles jumped: 10
- Day: Wednesday at the Cheltenham Festival
- Eligible runners: Horses aged 4+
- First run: 1993
- Field size: Typically 20+ runners
- Weight carried: Assigned based on handicap rating
Recent Coral Cup Winners
Year | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Starting Price |
| 2025 | Jimmy Du Seuil | Willie Mullins | David Mullins | 16/1 |
| 2024 | Langer Dan | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton | 13/2 |
| 2023 | Langer Dan | Dan Skelton | Harry Skelton | 9/1 |
| 2022 | Commander Of Fleet | Gordon Elliott | Shane Fitzgerald | 50/1 |
| 2021 | Heaven Help Us | Paul Hennessy | Richard Condon | 33/1 |
| 2020 | Dame De Compagnie | Nicky Henderson | Barry Geraghty | 5/1 |
Coral Cup Betting Trends and Insights
The Coral Cup is notoriously difficult to call, but certain themes have emerged over time:
Beware the favourites: Even the sportsbooks find this race difficult to predict and the favourite on betting sites is one to avoid. Just one of the last 12 Coral Cups has been won by the horse that went off as the top price in the market.
Experience counts: Previous experience of Cheltenham racecourse tends to be a crucial factor in most festival races and the Coral Cup is no different. 13 of the last 15 winners of the Coral Cup had at least one run around Prestbury Park before their victory.
Avoid the heavyweights: This race tends to favour lightly raced hurdlers who haven't been hit by the handicapper too severely with only one of the last 31 top-weight entries having won it.
Comparing Coral Cup Odds
Coral Cup odds can shift dramatically, especially in the 72 hours before the race when final declarations are made and betting volume ramps up.
At Gambling.com, we keep track of the live Coral Cup markets across trusted sportsbooks, helping bettors to find the best odds quickly. Whether you're eyeing a well-backed favourite or taking a swing at a double-figure each-way shot, our comparison tool highlights the best value.
Check back regularly as the Festival approaches for up-to-the-minute odds and expert insights on one of the trickiest puzzles on the Cheltenham schedule.
