Cheltenham Festival 2025 Odds: Dark Horses
The 2025 Cheltenham Festival is almost upon us and although most of the focus will be on the race favourites, they don’t always deliver, as we have seen over the years, and it can pay to look past the obvious.
The novice hurdle division is one that can throw up shocks more often than not as the horses are less exposed and we don’t fully know their capabilities just yet.
In this article, I will take a look at a trio of novice races at Cheltenham and pick out some big-priced runners on horse racing betting sites that could outrun their odds.
Workahead 11/1 - 13:20 Tuesday - Supreme Novices' Hurdle
Kopek Des Bordes was an impressive winner at the Dublin Racing Festival last time out, and it’s easy to see why he heads the market.
However, odds of 4/5 on betting apps for a Supreme is very short for a horse that could blow his chances before the start if he lets the occasion get to him.
Henry de Bromhead won this race for the first time last year and he looks to have another top-class prospect on his hands with the exciting Workahead.
An easy winner of a point-to-point at Cragmore in 2023, he wasn’t seen again for almost two years. However, he shaped with plenty of promise on his return to finish third behind Jasmin De Vaux and The Enabler.
It was on his next start at Leopardstown when the penny really dropped for the Workforce gelding. He was well supported from 12/1 into 13/2 for a Maiden Hurdle, and he didn’t give his backers a moment's worry as he made all to win by seven lengths.
William Munny, who he beat with ease that day, has since gone on to win his next outing by 15 lengths.
Everything seems to be trending in the right direction for Workahead, whose Cheltenham odds of 11/1 to give De Bromhead successive winners in the Supreme look great value.
Sixmilebridge 14/1 - Turners Novices’ Hurdle, Wednesday (13:20)
The Turners Novices’ Hurdle has been described as one of the clashes of the Festival as Final Demand and The New Lion lock horns in the opening race on Wednesday.
It’s a traditional clash of the English against the Irish as the duo dominate the market and look set to battle it out for favouritism.
Sixmilebridge was a surprise loser on his seasonal debut at Stratford but he has firmly got his act together since then.
Impressive wins at Leicester and Huntingdon prompted connections to have a crack at Grade 2 company for Cheltenham trials day in January and Sixmilebridge won with his head in his chest to run out a facile eight and a half lengths winner.
That performance wasn't a fluke and it’s not like he beat anything either as Potter's Charm and Billy Joyce chased him home and they have shown useful levels of form this season.
Odds of 14/1 for the Turners look far too big as he bids to give Fergal O’Brien his first-ever Festival winner.
Ballybow 16/1 - Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, Friday (15:20)
To round off my trio of dark horse tips I am going for another outsider in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
This is a race that has been won by some big-priced winners such as Stellar Story, Minella Indo and The Nice Guy just to name a few and this year's renewal looks as open as ever.
With Final Demand on course to run in the Turner's Novices Hurdle, The Big Westerner and The Yellow Clay are the only horses trading at single-figure odds but the value may lie with Ballybow at 16/1.
An impressive winner of his Maiden Hurdle at Naas in January, the Gigginstown House stud-owned gelding took another step in the right direction when he narrowly beat the highly regarded Ballygunner Castle in Grade 3 at Clonmel.
Ballybow looks tailor-made for the staying test of the Albert Bartlett and he has all the attributes to follow in the footsteps of his stable mate Steller Story who won the race for the same connections last year.
