Coral Cup Odds | Gold Cup Hurdle Betting Odds for Cheltenham - September 2025

The next Coral Cup is scheduled for Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival on March 11, 2026.

How to Bet on the Coral Cup

For those wanting the best Coral Cup odds, staying up to date with the latest market moves made by betting sites is vital. Gambling.com has made that simple with our odds comparison tool, and here are all the ways bettors can benefit from finding the best prices.

  1. Futures or Ante-Post Betting

    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 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 the 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.

  2. Win Market

    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.

  3. Place Betting

    Place Betting

    This option lets your horse finish in the top few and 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 books offering to cover the top six or seven home.

    Make sure to check the place terms being offered before placing a wager.

  4. Each-Way

    Each-Way

    Each-way bets are especially popular in an ultra-competitive race like the Coral Cup. 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.

Coral Cup Betting Trends & Insights

The Coral Cup is notoriously difficult to call, but specific themes have emerged over time:

  1. 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.
  2. Experience counts: Previous experience of Cheltenham racecourse tends to be a crucial factor in most festival races, and the Coral Cup is no different. Thirteen of the last 15 winners of the Coral Cup had at least one run around Prestbury Park before their victory.
  3. 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.

How to Read Coral Cup Odds

Odds for the Coral Cup can be displayed in different formats depending on where you're betting from. 

Here's how to read the various horse racing odds:

Most common in the UK and Ireland, these odds are displayed as fractions. They give you the starting point of the number on the left and indicate 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).

What is the Coral Cup?

  • 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

The Coral Cup is a fiercely contested Grade 3 handicap hurdle 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.

The Coral Cup can attract up to 26 runners, meaning there can be a big difference in price between horse racing betting sites for sure runners. 

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.

YearHorse/Trainer/JockeyStarting 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

About Gambling.com's Odds Comparisons

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 betting sites, 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.

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