There have been plenty of discussion points after the UK’s biggest jumps racing festival drew to a close for another year. Attendances at Cheltenham 2025 were down on previous years, with many fans citing the extreme cost of heading to races. Indeed, many fans opted to head to sunny Spain to catch the action instead, with Benidorm, in particular, acting as a popular alternative. Of course, there was also the continued dominance of the Irish, particularly Wille Mullins, which will rank high as a discussion points once again.
Yet, one of the curious trends of the week was seeing short-priced favorites flop in the championship races: Constitution Hill, Galopin Des Champs, and Jonbon all started as odds-on favourites for the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, and Gold Cup, respectively, and none of them delivered.
Plenty of Support for the Big Names
Of course, you will find that the loudest Cheltenham roar comes when a hot favourite wins a race. The crowd follows the money. Whether you are into online horse betting or place your wagers on the track, you can appreciate that most crowds will be on the favourites.
Yet, there would have been plenty of punters feeling quite smug about themselves backing the likes of Golden Ace, a fabulous 28/1 winner of the Champion Hurdle. Capitalising on the travails of Constitution Hill and the dramatic fall of State Man, Golden Ace netted a tidy profit for those taking a risk.
The week was characterized by plenty of other big-price winners, including 100/1 shot Poniros taking the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle. Later in the day, Wonderwall charged home at 28/1 to take the Hunters’ Chase. As we know, Galopin des Champs failed to become a three-time Gold Cup champion.
It was a day of shocks coming in a week with plenty of big-price winners.
Golden Ace Had a Bit of Luck
On the other hand, it is worth remembering that you need a bit of luck to get in on the action. While a worthy winner, Golden Ace had the benefit of seeing State Man grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory when coming down on the final hurdle. On another day, Golden Ace would have been a distant second.
Still, the point stands. Horses can fall in jump races, which also happen to the favourites. On the other side of the coin, Poniros looked like a superstar when taking the JCB Triumph Hurdle, with the horse and jockey making their luck rather than relying on the misfortune of others. It’s worth noting, too, that another 100/1 shot, Place de la Nation, came 5th in the race, with many bookies paying five (some six) places for each-way shots.
Across the week, we counted 15 horses with odds of over 33/1 – some as big as 150/1 (Caballero Cliff in the Champion Bumper – placing in the Festival’s 28 races. It is arguably not a trend, as such, and Cheltenham Festivals have been noted for their shock winners and flopping favorites in the past, and they will do so again. But for punters, the 2025 Festival should act as a reminder that there is always a bit of value in the longshots, even in the biggest races on the grandest stage.