The Cheltenham Festival is the pinnacle of national hunt racing in the UK, and right at the heart of the festival is the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This race tests every aspect a horse has to offer, from jumping ability to stamina and not forgetting speed, all done over three miles and two furlongs, with one animal and their rider crowned the winner at the end.
Although only second in the 2021 Gold Cup, A Plus Tard has shot to the head of the market to win the 2022 race. The Henry de Bromhead-trained runner is +400 favorite to land the race according to horse racing latest odds, ahead in the betting of Minella Indo, who beat him last season. There are still months to go until the race takes place in March, and many prep runs along the way for both of these horses and others, but as things stand right now, the market certainly favors last year’s runner-up to go one better in 2022.
Why is A Plus Tard Favorite?
The main reason why A Plus Tard is favorite is all down to his reappearance win at Haydock. This was hugely impressive and came in a field which appears to have been very strong. The race is known for being one of the better Gold Cup trials, even though the trip and style of course are not the same as what the horse will face at Cheltenham.
A Plus Tard blows the field apart to win the Betfair Chase ????
Pure class.
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???? https://t.co/fkQLQLtgFY pic.twitter.com/LEROTLraMZ— ITV Racing (@itvracing) November 20, 2021
The seven-year-old could still be improving, and given the race at Haydock was in November, that is the most recent sighting we have of him. He lost the Gold Cup by just over a length, so even a small bit of improvement would be enough to pull him level with the winner Minella Indo, who is a year older at eight, and for that reason, not as likely to improve.
Are There Any Negatives?
If you look back to Minella Indo’s Gold Cup win then there is one thing that sticks out as being a potential issue for A Plus Tard, and it is something that hasn’t yet been shown this season. This is his ability to truly stay the Gold Cup trip.
There is no doubt that of the two horses, Minella Indo stayed up the Cheltenham hill better than A Plus Tard. The going was good-to-soft on the day, conditions won’t be any better than that unless we have unusual weather, so staying the trip in 2022 is not going to be any easier.
The win at Haydock came on a flat track with no hill finish, and the race distance was three miles, so two furlongs shorter than the Gold Cup. While the Haydock victory was very impressive, and A Plus Tard appeared to have plenty left in the tank at the end, it did not answer the staying question.
This is something that punters are currently guessing on, and it is unlikely we will know before the Gold Cup whether this is still a negative or not.