Cheltenham Day Four Betting Tips: Can Al Boum Photo claim Gold Cup glory again?
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Odds, tips and preview for the fourth day’s racing
We’ve arrived at the fourth and final day of action at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, and this is the big one – Gold Cup Day.
We’ve already seen some fantastic action, but there are just seven races left to enjoy from this year’s Festival.
Gold Cup Day gets underway at 13:30 with the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle, followed by the County Hurdle at 14:10 and the Albert Bartlett at 14:50.
At 15:30, it’s the main race, the Gold Cup, where Al Boum Photo looks to become the first back-to-back winner since Best Mate, who won three in a row from 2002 to 2004.
The Foxhunter Chase follows at 16:10, before the Grand Annual at 16:50, and the final curtain call at Cheltenham this week at 17:30 with the Martin Pipe. We’ve gone through the runners, rides and the form books to give you tips for Day Four of the Festival…
Three wins from three over hurdles this season sees Allmankind come into the Triumph Hurdle in great form.
A win by 9l from Cerberus in a clean performance where he made all of the running and found plenty extra in the last two furlongs turned heads. There’ll be plenty of competition in this race, with Goshen also coming in with a clear record of three wins from three.
But with a win over course and distance in November by little over 2l from Botox Has means the four-year-old Dan Skelton-trained gelding could have the valuable experience to pick up an important win in this one.
The former point racer Monkfish took his form to a new level in the W.T. O’Grady Novices’ Hurdle at Thurles last time out, running clear of the field and winning by a solid 20l from Alpine Cobra.
Another strong win by 11l in December at Fairyhouse, despite being held up behind the leaders for most, leading from three jumps out and continually extending the advantage, proves the six-year-old gelding has plenty in the tank for this, and could yet have more to come.
Latest Exhibition and Thyme Hill are likely to prove the biggest threat over the 2m 7f course, with the latter having valuable winning experience on the course, but it’s Monkfish, who’ll be ridden by Paul Townend, who has proved he can last over the distance with more left over to pull away.
The 2020 Gold Cup could see Al Boum Photo become the first horse since Best Mate to retain his title in the Friday showpiece at the Cheltenham Festival.
He’s been given a light prep ahead of his Gold Cup defence, but with the Buck’s Boum gelding often running well off the back of a small break, that absence should be of little concern.
The eight-year-old followed up his Gold Cup win with a second-placed finish at Punchestown in May, where he was beaten 2l by Kemboy. A 245-day break followed, with a triumphant return to the course at Tramore in January, winning by 6l from Acapella Bourgeois in a dominant showing.
He’s likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Santini and Delta Work, withthe formerpicking up a win at Cheltenham in January in the Cotswold Chase by over 3l from Bristol De Mai, where he lasted the distance and showed well at the end.
Three red hot contenders for the latest episode of the Gold Cup could see it go down as one of the best in history.
Cheltenham Festival Day Four Racing Tips:
13:30 Triumph Hurdle – Allmankind
14:10 County Hurdle – Aramon
14:50 Albert Bartlett – Monkfish
15:30 Gold Cup – Al Boum Photo
16:10 Foxhunter Chase – Billaway
16:50 Grand Annual – Greaneteen
17:30 Martin Pipe – Pileon
View the latest Cheltenham Festival odds.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication.
