Fields Take Shape for Three Major Cheltenham Races

We’ve had the latest acceptance stage for three of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival’s top chase races. Fields were shortened on Tuesday for the Gold Cup, Ryanair Chase and the Champion Chase as favourites harden for the same events.

16 Scratches from Top Three Chases

There have been sixteen withdrawals in all at the latest stage, six of them coming in the Champion Chase. American Mike, Blue Lord, Boothill, Gentleman De Mee, Kalif Du Berlais and Marator will not be taking part in the big two-miler.

In the two-and-a-half-mile Ryanair Chase, Ahoy Senor, Embassy Gardens, Grey Dawning, Il Ridoto, Martador and Stage Star have been removed. As well as this, Embassy Gardens, Gerri Colombe, Il Est Francis and Minella Cocooner are scratched for the Gold Cup with the double winner now a very short price.

Galopin a Best Priced 8/15 for Gold Cup

Gold Cup 2025 Betting

The Gold Cup market has become so seriously uninteresting that it may well go full circle and offer us something exciting.

The brilliant Galopin Des Champs, already a double winner, is no bigger than 8/15 now and as short as 2/5 to win this for a third time as any viable opposition seems to disappear. Willie Mullins’ runner won a third Irish Gold Cup recently and while he’s probably a few pounds below his best, he remains the standout.

It’s hard to see what, on the numbers, can beat him. What makes it worse is that Fact To File remains second favourite for the race. He is also now favourite in the Ryanair market which means there are more significant changes to come once his ultimate target is known.

Prices at the moment mean however that there is a way to play this race. Finding a solid type, such as L’Homme Presse at 20/1 for example, and backing it each-way may well be the value play. That’s especially true if you can get that bet ‘with a run’.

Bookies Can’t Agree on Banbridge in Ryanair

Ryanair Chase 2025 Betting

You can get Fact To File at 2/1 in a place, but he’s as short as 5/4 for this event. What price would he be if he were to be removed from the Gold Cup market?

Il Est Francais, who ran so well for a long way in the King George, is clear second favourite but the enigma here is Banbridge, his conqueror at Kempton Park.

He appears sixth on some lists at the time of writing, owing to his being available at 8/1 with at least four firms. With others, such as featured above, he is the 4/1 second or third favourite as bookies seem to disagree alarmingly on his chances in this two-and-a-half-mile chase.

Many have said that if the ground comes up ‘good’, he is in the mix in the Gold Cup. The problem there is that the same can be said for this race which means backing him ante-post is just too confusing to justify taking a chance.

The French runner looks like the solid value option as we reach five weeks to go.

Jonbon Odds-On for Champion Chase

Champion Chase 2025 Betting

Jonbon may have been a confirmed second-best to Constitution Hill back in the day, but he is 12 from 14 over fences. After he won the Tingle Creek again in December before scoring well in the Clarence House Chase, he was described as the ‘real deal’ now and he’s odds-on at 8/11 to 5/6 to win this.

Second favourite Il Est Francais is also well fancied for the Ryanair Chase so again there will be changes, while there has been a smattering of cash for 10/1 poke El Fabiolo. Gaelic Warrior appears to be slightly drifting, while there’s some interest in Marine Nationale at 11/1.