Ahoy Senor. Galopin Des Champs 6/4 A Plus Tard 9/2 Bravemansgame 6/1 Noble Yeats 12/1 Stattler 14/1 Conflated 14/1 Protektorat 16/1 Ahoy. Good to Soft. 23 EDT4 March 2020 Horse Racing. J: Joe Williamson T: Philip Kirby. beaten a neck in the 2020 Gold Cup,. Deposit and place a bet of up to £10 on any sport at odds of 1/2 (1. You Wear It Well dominates in Dawn Run. 2023 Gold Cup tips are going to revolve around the most likely winner, which is clearly Galopin Des Champs, but this is horse racing and races are often not won by the best horse. Only deposits via cards will qualify. 4. 10 pm. The 47-year-old, son of former farmer and trainer Harry de Bromhead, initially trained to be an accountant. The Cheltenham Festival always saves its best for last with the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup taking centre-stage on the final day. “Magners and Cheltenham entered into a partnership in 2018 which saw Magners secure the presenting partner and sponsorship rights for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 Cheltenham Festival and Cheltenham Gold Cup. Distance: 2m5f0y. Published by Timeform on 17 Mar 2023 Posted in: Cheltenham Festival News. 50 pm. Shishkin. Last year's Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo will be looking to triumph again. He runs the nostalgia website goingbehind. About 150,000 people attended the four-day event in March. Steve Bradley is a devotee of horse racing’s halcyon days from the 1960s to the 1990s. The number of times an Irish-trained horse has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup is 25. Cheltenham Festival 2021. 25-1 23 ran Also: 4-1 Fav Front View Non Runners: 1,6. Will Freeman. Horses tackle 22 obstacles over the 3m 2½f track, looking to cement their place in racing history. Horse Racing. Our ratings system is used as a barometer for the top horses in the sport, and is made to help you pinpoint winners. A representative field for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, lacking really only the winner of the Irish Gold Cup Conflated, and it looked an open contest beforehand, with not a lot to choose between the pick of the field on their best form, a close contest continuing to look on the cards for much of the way, the pace ordinary on the first circuit, plenty still. 5 (1/2) — get £30 in free bets. See all free bet offers. Cheltenham Gold Cup runners and riders. 11 entries have been confirmed for Friday's race (15:30) and it looks like a fiercely competitive renewal of the. 2009 – Kauto Star. Only deposits via cards will qualify. Fence 15. CHELTENHAM RACECARD: DAY 4 RUNNERS AND RIDERS FOR EVERY RACE. 3 . 150/1. 30pm and is run on the New Course over 3 miles 2½ furlongs. One of the prominent was a success at the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and it finally elevated him as one of the best Gold Cup horses. Willie Mullins has won the leading trainer award at the Cheltenham Festival on six occasions since 2011 – including when saddling a joint-record eight winners in 2015 – and he again took top honours with four wins at last year’s meeting, namely Klassical Dream in the Supreme, Duc des Genievres in the Arkle. The event will begin with the Champion Day on 12th featuring 6 different races starting at 1:30pm to 5:30pm. The nine-year-old claimed the Gold Cup last year in a 1-2 for trainer Henry de Bromhead and his two star. With so many races to keep to track of for the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, the biggest story of the week (so far) is that 12 potential Gold Cup runners have now been scratched. 30pm. Al Dancer bids to give Nigel Twiston-Davies another success in the Paddy Power Gold Cup. 10): It Came To Pass (Miss M O’Sullivan) 66-1. The 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup takes place at 3. 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup Result. The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Dates: 14-17 March Races: 13:30-17:30 GMT Main race. Gold Cup 2023 date and start time. In addition to the 2019 and 2020 winner, trainer Willie Mullins runs King George VI Chase victor Tornado Flyer and Asterion Forlonge. 30pm with a preview of the day’s racing from 10am. Only deposits via cards will qualify. The race was won for the second year in a row by Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend and. 2. Winning Owner: Brocade Racing. Gold Cup day 2020 (Image: PA) The other championship races are the Unibet Champion Hurdle (Tuesday), Betway. The. The magnificent Al Boum Photo went on to become a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner for his second consecutive year in 2020. Although one of the few races at the Festival where all the leading contenders are pretty much certain to line up - barring last-minute hiccups – at this stage there’s no. Five ante-post bets for the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. There are 28 races scheduled to be contested during the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, with race distances racing from 1m7f to 3m7f and with a variety of obstacles to be jumped. 16 March 2023 Horse Racing. 1) Bravemansgame - 13/2 bet with William Hill. Willie Mullins' chaser is looking to notch up back-to-back wins in the race and has 11. 50): Chosen Mate (D Russell) 7-2 FavThe 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup (known as the Magners Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 92nd annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and. Henry De Bromhead became the first trainer to win the Unibet Champion Hurdle, Betway Champion Chase and Wellchild Gold Cup at the same Cheltenham Festival when Minella Indo, ears pricked, galloped. Cheltenham Gold Cup 2020 runners, riders and odds. The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of National Hunt jumps racing and a week that all racing fans look forward to. Go To The Deal. 1. Book your tickets for the Cheltenham. Kings Fountain. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 metres) with 13 fences to be jumped. The meeting began with a great tussle between Kalashnikov. Angels Dawn edges Kim Muir thriller. He died at Saxon House. The Coral Cup is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race that consists of ten hurdles over a distance of 2 miles and 5 furlongs. The 2022 Unibet Champion Hurdle: guide to the potential runners. The world-famous. The roll of honour for the most prestigious race of the season features legendary chasers Golden Miller, Arkle, Best Mate and Kauto Star and last year's winner Al Boum Photo is set to bid to become the first. Trainer: Willie Mullins. Odds Comparison Tips. This is the one they all long to win. 6. Going: Soft. Cheltenham Festival: Day 1 runners and riders. Fri 17 Mar 2023. A Plus Tard was last year’s winner, doing it in tremendous style. . Who should you bet on? Here is our runners and riders guide to the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup. A third win for both trainer and jockey following Al Boum Photo's wins in 2019 and 2020, this was a suitably regal end to the week for the Closutton maestro. In 2017/18 he produced an utterly remarkable 212 winners from 797 runners. 17. 11-10. 30 pm. Day One’s action centres around the Champion Hurdle, considered by most people to be the premier hurdles race in the world. 30pm, while Racing TV is airing the festival live from 12. By Tom Ward 17 March 2023 • 3:13pm. 20 ), in which French Dynamite heads the betting. Cheltenham Festival 2023. The Gold Cup is set to take place at Cheltenham on Friday, March 17. 22 fences jumped during the Cheltenham Gold Cup. 1. 4s. 4. As well as the Gold Cup, punters will be excited to take on plenty of Grade 1 races this week and the action does not stop after Good Time Jonny. Fences: 21. Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup: runner-by-runner guide. The jewel in Cheltenham Festival’s crown is the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and Friday's wide-open renewal promises to be a thriller. The home team for the Cheltenham Festival will need to pull out all the stops to keep Irish raiders at bay this year. WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH BALLYMORE NOVICES'. A betslip shared by the Sun shows details of a seven-race punt with the potential to land. 30pm: The JCB Triumph HurdleThe latest 2023 Cheltenham Gold Cup declaration stage was on Saturday 11th March 2023, and we saw 13 possible Gold Cup runners stand their ground (see below). Paddy Power Gold Cup betting tip and 1-2-3 prediction. SP. Bookmark. The Gold cup has ruled the highest echelons of jump racing since 1924. Friday’s Cheltenham coverage on ITV1 starts at 1pm and runs until 4. Having had her fairytale breakthrough at Cheltenham 12 months ago somewhat spoiled by Covid and her incorrect choice of Gold Cup mount, for the second time this week Blackmore was once again. Fence 15. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is the pinnacle of jump racing and famous for its fairytale finales. 1. Major races won. T&Cs apply. " A son of Timos, Galopin Des Champs is owned by Audrey Turley and her. The Gold Cup is a horse race second only to the Grand National in the nation's affections. The race was won by Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend and trained by Willie Mullins. 30pm on Friday to catch the blue riband race. A Dream To Share. However, it makes much more sense to focus on the scintillating action that will take place on the racetrack than lament the deafening silence. Conditions. The latest Ante Post odds for horses running in the 2024 Queen Mother Champion Chase. Odds. com, which features daily reflections of historic race cards from. Good times back for Tony Martin in Pertemps. In the 1850s there was a movement to establish a true steeplechase and revive what some saw as the golden sporting age of steeplechasing in the 1830s. Next race off. The 2022 Gold Cup will have a similar range. Ballyburn. great racing with probably the greatest Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup in recent times. of hurdles: 10. 2015 – Coneygree. Ridden by Walsh, he won the Savills Chase at Tramore on 1 January 2019. Ask six people who they think might win, and you might get six different answers. Conditions. We could have a rare Irish winner of Saturday’s £160,000 contest at 14:20 as Mouse Morris’ French Dynamite heads our Paddy Power Gold Cup odds. Constitution Hill delivered one of the most impressive performances at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival to rout the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle field and the gelding’s time also compared favourably to Honeysuckle’s in the Champion Hurdle. Applies to bets placed from 09:00 9th March 2022 until 15:30 18th March 2022. Respectable seventh of 14 in Paddy Power Gold Cup on reappearance. Steve Bradley is a devotee of horse racing’s halcyon days from the 1960s to the 1990s. 5. Kim Bailey. 50 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza (£0. 2023 Cheltenham Festival Results. It will take place on Wednesday 13th March 2024 | Time 14:50. Cricket. 10 per spin) credited on. Pioneering jockey Rachael Blackmore said she had fulfilled an "impossible dream" by becoming the first female rider to. Rachael Blackmore made history when A Plus Tard won the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. It will take place on Wednesday 13th March 2024 | Time: 15:30. Hermes Allen has won his past three races over. Often referred to colloquially as the ‘four miler’, the National Hunt Challenge Cup Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase for amateur riders, which is open to horses aged five years or older. Fixtures. A Plus Tard - R Blackmore - H De Bromhead. Champ and 2020 Gold Cup runner-up. Mr D Maxwell. It’s the Gold Cup, so it’s easy to make an each-way case for several runners, not least last year’s hugely impressive winner A Plus. The winner of that race, Ahoy Senor, and runner-up Sounds Russian have both been declared for Friday's £625,000 event. The race takes place each year during the Cheltenham. This is the premier event which is over 3 miles and 2 furlongs long. Fri 17 Mar 2023. Friday. It is one of seven races that take place on Friday: 1. Rachael Blackmore made history when A Plus Tard won the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. James's Place Foxhunter Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Chase. net take a look at the Runners that have been entered into the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup in March. Cheltenham Gold Cup Entries as HorseRacing. The latest antepost odds for horses running in the 2024 Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is the one. Max £1 bet at 70-1. There’s been no more than a dozen runners in the past three renewals of the £625,000 showpiece but a final field of 13 has been declared. When: 2. Following back-to-back Gold Cup wins in 2019 and 2020, the Willie Mullins-trained Al Boum Photo had to make do with minor honours in third when bidding for the hat-trick 12 months ago. It replaced the Novices’ Handicap Chase, which was scrapped from the entire Festival. Place a min £10 bet on Horse Racing on odds of min 1/2 (1. Idris Elba is among the famous faces who have arrived for the Gold Cup event. Legends rewrite history. Paul Townend tells Lydia Hislop about winnng the Gold Cup for the second year running aboard Al Boum Photo in 2020. Anthony Tory. 1 Al Boum Photo, P Townend, 10-3. Al Boum Photo – 2019. 2018 Cheltenham Festival Results. A betslip shared by the Sun shows details of a seven-race punt with the potential to land. Unrelenting prestige, competition, and excitement. Cheltenham Festival Races 2020. 30pm - Gold Cup Chase A Plus Tard (Rachael Blackmore/Henry de Bromhead) 4. 5. Tips, runners, odds, form and betting for. 30pm: The JCB Triumph HurdleCheltenham Festival saw Rachael Blackmore steer Honeysuckle to an emotional farewell victory on Day 1 before Energumene and Delta Work were among the big-name winners on Day 2. 2s. The statue of the great Three-time Gold Cup winner Arkle looks out over the Cheltenham paddock. Supreme Novices Hurdle. Run over 3 miles and 2½ furlongs on Cheltenham Racecourse’s new course, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is open to racehorses aged five and above. He has been given a sparing campaign this season, but his trainer Pat Kelly is a master at getting his horses to peak at the Cheltenham Festival. Updated: 15:10, 13 Mar 2020 AL BOUM PHOTO heads a field of 12 declared for the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. A racegoer drinks straight from a champagne bottle as the Cheltenham Festival comes to a close Credit: Getty. 13:30 The Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle; 1 Shishkin (Nico de Boinville) 6-1 2 Abacadabras (D N Russell) 11-4 3. It creates memories for life. Al Boum Photo – 7/2. 30 Cheltenham Gold Cup. 250/1. Bet £10 on Racing, Get £30 in Free Bets. Cheltenham festival takes place every year in March in Cheltenham, UK. Al Dancer bids to give Nigel Twiston-Davies another success in the Paddy Power Gold Cup. Rachael Blackmore made history when A Plus Tard won the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. Best Odds. Al Boum Photo – 2020. Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase. The 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup (known as the WellChild Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 93rd annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and was held at Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire, England, on 19 March 2021. The race was won by the 7-5 favourite Galopin Des Champs, owned by Mrs Audrey. The 9-1 chance Minella Indo won by one and a quarter lengths with two-time champion Al Boum Photo in third. NATIVE RIVER (Wellchild Cheltenham Gold Cup, 3. Cheltenham Festival tips: Tom Stanley’s ante-post Lucky 15. Tip: Stattler Danger: Galopin Des Champs. This is it. [1] The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Racecourse in. The 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup (known as the Timico Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 88th annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and was held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday 18 March 2016. Tips, runners, odds, form and betting for every race at the. Just as he has in each of the past three years, the 10-year-old has warmed up for Cheltenham with a solitary run and win at Tramore on New Year’s Day. Dates: 16-19 March Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Races: 13. Only deposits via cards will qualify, Apple pay not valid on this promotion. What is most striking about this year’s Gold Cup is its wide-open look. It features 22 fences and its winner takes home £263,766. Cheltenham Gold Cup Prediction. Gold Cup day round-up. Compare odds. Dates: 10-13 March, Cheltenham Racecourse Races: 13:30-17:30 GMT. An incredible 28 races make up this event, which is held on an annual basis. 8/1. Jodami (1993), Imperial Call (1996) and Sizing John (2017) are the three horses to have won both races in the same year, while in the DRF era Minella Indo, fourth in the Irish Gold Cup in 2021, is. 15 EDT E ven by the ordinary standards of sport horse racing is an escapist place to spend your time. Gold Cup 2022 runners and riders. He had to make do with minor honours in third behind the De Bromhead pair in his hat-trick bid last year and returns off a familiar preparation – a solitary New. 6. Rachael Blackmore made history when A Plus Tard won the Cheltenham Gold Cup last year. T he Gold Cup is a horse race second only to the Grand National in the nation's affections. 2020 - Willie Mullins (7) 2019 - Willie Mullins (4) 2018 - Gordon Elliott (8). He may have suffered defeat at the. 1. He is a proper, proper horse because he's run about three different races and still won a Gold Cup. Our champion tipster picks his best betting selections for final day of this year's Cheltenham Festival as Rachael Blackmore wins Gold Cup. The 2022 Gold Cup will have a similar range. The Gold Cup betting is the big highlight of the Cheltenham Day 4 betting tips. Hennessy Gold Cup, Newbury;. Good times back for Tony Martin in Pertemps. 2022 Paddy Power Gold Cup: the runners, the odds, the verdict. 2020 Paul Townend (5)14:50 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered As The Spa Novices' Hurdle) Commander Of Fleet. 2. The race is now run on the Old Course over a distance of about two and a half miles (2 miles, 3 furlongs and 200 yards), and horses will jump nine hurdles in. 2010 – Imperial Commander. Kauto Star, who took the spoils in 2007 and 2009 and was the only horse to ever regain the Gold Cup. There’s been no more than a dozen runners in the past three renewals of the £625,000 showpiece but a final field of 13 has been declared. 30pm on Friday 17 March, with live TV coverage on ITV. The Cheltenham Gold Cup, run over three miles and two-and-a-half furlongs, has a history longer than most races at The Festival. Tune into ITV or Racing TV at 3. Place a min £10 bet on Horse Racing on odds of min 1/2 (1. 1 Angels Breath 2 Stage Star 3 Unexpected Party. A gallant winner of the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, Minella Indo has struggled to kick on from that victory in recent times, but did warm up for the 2023 renewal with a gutsy win of the New Year's. POS: HORSE: PRICE: 1st: 2nd: 3rd: Race Summary: Bet 365 New Customer. Race 3 – 2. The 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by A Plus Tard. . The Cheltenham roar, the extraordinary racing and the priceless moments all return next year. Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Dates: 14-17 March Races. A number of clues for all four championship races – the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, Paddy. The Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Steeple Chase (Grade 2) 2m abt ½f. The amount of runners in the Cheltenham Gold Cup varies. First prize: £90,032. Minella Indo won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2021 under Jack Kennedy Cheltenham Festival 2022 Venue: Cheltenham Racecourse Dates: 15-18 March Races: 13:30-17:30 GMT Main race: 15:30 GOLD CUP DAY 2024 AWAITS . Irish-trained Galvin enters the race as the bookies’ favourite. The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race run on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse in England, over a distance of about 3 miles 2½ furlongs (3 miles 2 furlongs and 70 yards, or 5,294 m), and during its running there are 22 fences to be jumped. The feature Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup (3. For many, it’s a lifetime obsession - to win ‘The Cup’, to claim the title, to be crowned champion chaser of the year. 2018 – Native River,. Cheltenham Gold Cup – Results. Yet to taste victory at Cheltenham in five visits and has failed to fire in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2019 and 2020 (UR in 2019, 7th in 2020), but is a proven class act in Ireland. Cheltenham Festival 2020. 30pm with a preview of the day’s racing from 10am. Odds: 5-2. DAY ONE . Starting at 12/1 in a field of sixteen, he gave Mullins a long-awaited first victory in the race. 2020 – Al Boum Photo (Horse), Paul Townend (Jockey), Willie Mullins (Trainer). As usual it was a. Willie Mullins waited many years to strike but captured two in 2019 and 2020 with Al Boum Photo and he’s a huge chance today with Galopin Des Champs - a horse who was desperately unlucky here 12. Runners: 14 (MAX 20) Going: Soft. The National Hunt Challenge Cup, known as the National Hunt Chase, is a novice chase for amateur riders over 3m6f at the Cheltenham Festival. The race was won for the second year in a row by Al Boum Photo, ridden by Paul Townend and trained by Willie. Gold Cup Day Races – Cheltenham Day 4 Friday 17th March; 13:30: JCB Triumph Hurdle: 14:10: County Handicap Hurdle Race: 14:50: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle Race: 15:30: Cheltenham Gold Cup: 16:10: Foxhunter Steeple Chase Challenge Cup:. The Cheltenham Festival could have helped to "accelerate the spread" of coronavirus, a former government chief scientific adviser said. 2 hours ago · Despite romping up the hill at Prestbury Park in March, OLBG have looked into the trends surrounding Cheltenham Gold Cup winners and how they have fared on return. 3m abt 2½ f. Coordinates: 51°55′13″N 2°3′28″W. Henry de Bromhead trained the first two home in the 2022. Red Splash was down at 5/1 odds and raced to win around £700, equivalent to £28,741 today – still a whopping £595,000 less than what it is run for now! Rees was of Welsh origin and is regarded as one of the greatest inter-war jockeys in British. The David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle was switched to its current position on day one of the Cheltenham Festival in 2009, and was upgraded to Grade 1 status in 2015. 7. T&Cs apply. Odds. 17. Gold Cup: Guide to the key runners and latest William Hill odds. Cheltenham Festival 2020. 50pm - Mares’ Chase Elimay (Mark Walsh/Willie Mullins)3. Galopin Des Champs is the likely favourite for Fridays feature race of the Cheltenham Festival; Willie Mullins won the race in 2019 and 2020 with Al Boum Photo; Mullins also trains last years. Every horse, jockey, trainer, breeder, owner and fan worth their weight in gold is here. Place a min £10 bet on Horse Racing on odds of min 1/2 (1. The Arkle Chase Trophy is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase run on Champion Day, the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. You Wear It Well dominates in Dawn Run. The Cheltenham Festival 2024 - Tuesday 12 to Friday 15 March. 2013 – Bobs Worth. The 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup (known as the Magners Gold Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 92nd annual running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup horse race and was held at Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire, England, on 13 March 2020. 7 million. Henry de Bromhead’s charge got the better of stablemate A Plus Tard 12 months and the pair reoppose in Friday’s 3. Last year's event was run behind closed. 2020 Race Results. While last year's victories at Prestbury Park and Aintree had. Beaten in the Punchestown Gold Cup by stable companion Kemboy thereafter, but had exactly the same preparation for Cheltenham this year. TFrom a Cheltenham betting. One punter has missed out on a possible £1 million from a stake of just £5 at the Cheltenham Festival. who finally got his head in front 12 months ago after near-misses in both 2020 and 2021. net give us a Runner-by-Runner guide for the Feature Race of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. Day three of the Cheltenham Races saw all jockeys return safe from the racecourse but sadly one horse died. The Cheltenham Festival 2024 - Tuesday 12 to Friday 15 March. 2012 – Synchronised. Winner: £56,270. Confirmed runners and riders for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. It was his day as the sun shone on Prestbury Park, as he saddled the winners of the first four races. Sizing John – 2017. Donnelly. The winner of that race, Ahoy Senor, and runner-up Sounds Russian have both been declared for Friday's £625,000 event. 30pm, while Racing TV is airing the festival live from 12. who finally got his head in front 12 months ago after near-misses in both 2020 and 2021. Henderson had to play second fiddle again in 2020 with Santini as Al Boum Photo registered an historic second successive victory in the race. Race 7 – 5. Nearly 100 years old, the Gold Cup was first run in 1924 when the prize to the connections of the winning horse was just £685 – a far cry from today’s £351,688! It’s now the most valuable race. |. It is very simple – all you need to do. 6s; Full result * Horse: Age: Jockey: Trainer: SP: 1: Jodami: 8:. Minella Indo will face ten rivals on Friday when he seeks to retain his crown in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup ( 3.