Gold Cup Tips: Cheltenham 4:00pm Friday - FreeBets Team Predictions
It's Cheltenham Gold Cup day and for the big race, we've assembled our team to gather their predictions. Four experts have Gold Cup tips for you, and to make life easy, we've put them all on this dedicated page.
Make sure you're sticking with us on Friday, we've got some fantastic Cheltenham Festival free bets for the last day of the festival.
Gold CupTips
Our tipsters give their Gold Cup verdict below, and after you've read the tips, we've also got our race card for the race, so you can check out the full runners and riders.
All race cards include the latest odds from a variety of betting sites so you can also see the betting market.
Paddy Brenna - Haiti Couleurs
Haiti Couleurs has been my pick for a couple of months now, and the closer I get to the race, the more confident I am — especially with the rain that's coming in. It could get up to 10mm and the more rain that falls, the better for him.
He won the Irish Grand National and the Welsh Grand National last year in December — an incredible horse. I just think he's made for this. Horses like The Jukebox Man and Jango Baie have got to get up that hill, and we know Haiti Couleurs will get up it.
He also won at the Cheltenham Festival last year. He's a winner, and I think this race is absolutely made for him. He's a good price at 7/1.
Charlie McCann - Inothewayurthinkin & Jango Baie
INOTHEWAYURTHINKIN did us a favour in the Gold Cup twelve months ago and cannot desert him despite a miserable season to date. He has been fitted with cheekpieces, and there has been an application of cash for the horse in recent days. Gavin Cromwell's horses have been running well this week, and he is a must for the shortlist, although I appreciate he cannot win on this season's form.
Cromwell suggested midweek that he had improved every day since his lamentable defeat at the DRF, and he did bolt up last year despite jumping right. His Kim Muir success in 2024, when he hardly jumped a twig in the first half of the race, means he is defending an unbeaten record over course and distance, and I remember his subsequent success in the Grade 1 at Aintree when he went from last to first in half a furlong.
On last season's success, he should be 6/4; on this season's form, he should be any price. I am prepared to take a chance at 15/2 win only, although I have also supported JANGO BAIE, who has stamina to prove, and has looked to be crying out for a step up in trip at both Ascot – won over 2m5f – at Kempton in the King George when beaten half-a-length behind Gaelic Warrior and The Jukebox Man.
A fortunate winner of the Arkle at this meeting last year, he struck me as the one from the King George who was a possible Gold Cup winner, although the Harry Redknapp-owned The Jukebox Man would be the story most in the media would wish for.
Alan Kelly - Gaelic Warrior & Firefox (EW)
Bookmakers are struggling to find a favourite for what looks to be a wide-open Gold Cup, the market headed by three horses who were separated by just half a length in Kempton’s King George V1 Chase on Boxing Day, The Jukebox Man, GAELIC WARRIOR and Jango Baie. Of the three, preference is for Willie Mullins’ impressive Arkle winner of two years ago.
The eight-year-old is versatile trip-wise, and if Paul Townsend can settle his mount better than has been the case on some occasions, this hugely talented son of Maxios looks the one they all have to beat. At a massive price, I think Godon Elliott’s FIREFOX (Each-Way) is more than capable of outrunning his odds and I will have an each-way saver on Jack Kennedy’s mount.
Just over eight lengths behind Gaelic Warrior when fourth in Leopardstown’s Irish Gold Cup at the DRF on his first try over a trip of 3m plus, the Walk In The Park gelding will be better suited by today’s livelier ground and looks overpriced at current odds of 33/1.
Craig Jones - Haiti Couleurs (EW)
I'm going to spend most of the build up doing a rain dance, and the more rain the better for my Gold Cup pick, Haiti Couleurs.
The softer it gets, the better for him, and not only that, but the more its an inconvenience to others too.
Same with the trip, the longer he goes the better, and this is a trip that finds out non-stayers, and there's a few amongst this field.
Some Gold Cup winners are full of class, others are just built to win a race like this, they stay strongly and they grind things out well, and that's exactly the profile of Haiti Couleurs. I don't think he's the most flashy, I just think he'll dig in at the right time, and do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Over three miles, there's four or five I'd back to beat Haiti Couleurs, but the additional two furlongs here are huge. Look for horses struggling up the hill, while Haiti Couleurs is coming into his own and staying on strongly, I just hope he's close enough to stay on past every other runner.
Gold Cup Racecard
We've got daily racecards on Free Bets every day there's racing, so if you want to check out the runners and riders you can do so without leaving our site.
Alongside the runners and riders, you'll also see the latest betting odds, pulled and updated all the time from a variety of bookmakers, so you can see how the market stands.
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