Coral Cup betting with William Hill

The Coral Cup is traditionally one of the big betting races of the Cheltenham Festival and one that’s extremely tough for punters.

This hugely competitive 2m5f handicap hurdle for four-year-olds and up is run on Cheltenham’s Old Course and has been sponsored by Coral since its inception in 1993. It was promoted to Grade 3 status in 1999.

The Coral Cup regularly attracts a large field and is generally regarded as one of the toughest betting races of the season for punters, with big-priced winners commonplace.

With that in mind, don’t be put off by double-figure odds when assessing William Hill’s Coral Cup betting lists, but do pay special attention to Irish-trained runners because they have a great record in the race.

Coral Cup betting tips

Handicapping is the key factor in any Coral Cup. The prize regularly goes to a horse who has been campaigned specifically to protect his mark so that he or she gets to Cheltenham off what connections perceive to be a lenient rating.

Connections protect the horse’s mark by running the horse over the wrong trip or on unsuitable ground, so pay close attention to a horse who has been running over much shorter trips when assessing William Hill’s Coral Cup betting.

With that in mind, try and avoid horses who come into the race on the back of a win or a string of wins. Those successes will have contributed to an inflated mark and therefore made it much less likely that he/she has anything in hand over the assessor.

The other key factor is that this race nearly always attracts a big field, and that means any potential winner needs to be able to handle the hustle and bustle of such an event. Horses who have shown their best form in single-figure fields have a bit to prove.

One further function of a big field is that the pace is generally very hot. It has proved nigh on impossible to make all the running in this contest over the years, primarily because there is so much competition up front.

Coral Cup betting trends

Avoid the favourite in this race. They have a terrible record since the turn of the century. Big-priced winners are commonplace and that is key when scrutinising the Coral Cup betting.

Avoid horses older than nine, they’re just too exposed and vulnerable to younger legs. Nine-year-olds have won the race, but they have been quite lightly-raced for their age.

Previous Cheltenham Festival experience has not proved a necessary requirement to be victorious but horses who have run in the race the previous year need taking seriously, as was the case with 2019 winner William Henry.

The race used to be won by completely unexposed ‘plot’ horses who got in off low weights but that has changed slightly in recent years because horses who haven’t shown a great deal just don’t get into the race any more.

That has led to a shift to classier types winning the race - they are by no means fully exposed but still able to carry 11st or more to victory.

Being kept fresh is another important factor. Very few winners had run within a month of the race, which fits in with the overall profile of winners of this race - namely ones that have had this as the main target for a long time.

Be wary of any horse wearing headgear. They have a dreadful record in the race in recent years.

Coral Cup ante-post betting pointers

Coral Cup winners will often go on to have a crack at one of the big graded prizes at either Aintree or Punchestown.

The Grade 1 Aintree Hurdle is a big jump in class but it provides a similar test in terms of trip and 2002 Coral Cup winner Ilnamar was able to make the step up in quality in his stride the following month.

Given so many Coral Cup winners are Irish trained, it’s perhaps no surprise that their next target is at Punchestown.

Connections can either go up slightly in trip and have a crack at the Champion Stayers Hurdle or come back down to 2m for the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, although no horse has won the latter in the same season as the Coral Cup.

Pay close attention to Irish-based challengers when studying Coral Cup betting.

Supasundae won the 2017 Coral Cup and went very close to Grade 1 glory in the 3m Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree the following month. He went on to win twice at Grade 1 level the following season.

It may be that connections want to send their Coral Cup winner novice chasing the following season, in which case races like the Arkle, JLT and RSA Chase all become possible targets. Topofthegame was beaten just a neck in the 2018 Coral Cup and went on to win the RSA Chase 12 months later.

Coral Cup history and memorable winners

Given the competitive nature of this race, it is perhaps no surprise that wide-margin winners are quite rare, but that wasn’t the case in 2011 when Carlito Brigante turned the contest into a procession.

Davy Russell’s mount barely came out of second gear throughout before shooting six lengths clear after the last and making a complete mockery of his handicap mark. Russell has a strong record in the race and his mounts needs serious attention when assessing the Coral Cup betting.

What’s Up Boys produced one of the most stunning late surges of any Cheltenham Festival winner in 2000. Sent off a 33-1 chance, he appeared to have no chance three-out but began to make rapid headway before powering up the Cheltenham hill to snatch the prize in the final strides.

Idole First, another unconsidered 33-1 chance, managed to put five lengths between himself and his rivals between the final flight and the winning post in a quite extraordinary late burst in the 2005 renewal.

A remarkable 16 lengths separated the first four home, all of which were British-trained runners - which is very rare. Idole First provided trainer Venetia Williams with her first victory in the race.

Coral Cup betting 2021

No horse has won the Coral Cup more than once, perhaps understandably given the nature of the race, so we can confidently put a line through 2019 winner William Henry, but the fact that he finished fourth in the previous renewal indicates that horses who have run well in the past should be seriously considered.

With that in mind, a mare like Apple’s Shakira, who was only beaten two and three-quarter lengths by William Henry, will only be six next year and she still has some upside.

It may be that she goes chasing, but if she sticks to hurdles a repeat bid for the Coral Cup will surely be part of the plan. She would be a leading player in the 2021 Coral Cup betting lists if kept to the smaller obstacles.

Uradel couldn’t justify favouritism in 2019 but there was promise in his staying-on effort from off the pace and plenty will want to give him another chance in 2021, especially as he’s trained by Willie Mullins.

The ground went against Brio Conti in 2019 so in the circumstances there was an awful lot to take out of his fourth-placed effort. He doesn’t have many miles on the clock for an eight-year-old and Paul Nicholls will likely be eying another crack at the race he won in 2015 with Aux Ptits Soins.