The Champion Bumper is the only flat race at the Cheltenham Festival. The event is open to four, five and six-year-olds only, and has been a popular race with trainers, owners and punters alike since its inception in 1992.
The winners of this content generally go on to bigger and better things as their National Hunt career progresses, horses such as Florida Pearl and Cue Card to name but two, so it’s well worth logging the full result for future reference.
Here at 888sport, we will guide you through the main protagonists in the Cheltenham races betting odds we have for this 2m½f contest:
The Willie Mullins-trained It’s For Me (7/2) currently tops our list and there are plenty of reasons why that is the case.
Winner of a point-to-point for Stuart Crawford team, owners Munir and Souede sent him over to Willie Mullins who trained him to take a Pro/Am Flat Race at Navan in January.
The sent off the 4/9 favourite he easily won that contest by ten lengths and it could have been more. He’s clearly got an engine and punters have been keen to bet on him with us.
Proving popular in the betting too is the John Kiely-trained A Dream To Share (5/1).
He has already won his first three races and was recently purchased by legendary owner JP McManus after he romped home in fine style in the Dublin Racing Festival bumper.
Amateur rider John Gleeson will be in the plate again at Cheltenham, with the purchase not resulting in any different riding arrangements which is nice for the young jockey.
Fun Fun Fun (7/1) is a nice mare trained by Willie Mullins. She’s two from two at the moment and won with any amount in hand at Leopardstown at the start of February.
Munir & Suede also own this five-year-old who will carry their distinctive double-green colours at Prestbury Park.
Owner Ronnie Bartlett has a Flemensfirth-gelding called Ballyburn (8/1) in training with Willie Mullins and he must be fancying his own chances too.
He could be smart 🏇
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) February 19, 2023
Winning pointer Ballyburn motors home to land the @punchestownrace bumper and throw his hat into the ring for @WillieMullinsNH Cheltenham Festival bumper team! pic.twitter.com/tfjZXSV4kK
A winner of his one and only point-to-point race, he was a 7-4 poke for his bumper at Punchestown and scored going away under Patrick Mullins.
Chapeau Du Soleil (9/1), again for Willie Mullins, tasted defeat by Better Days Ahead at Fairyhouse but is expected to bounce right back and is well regarded at home.
Better Days Ahead (12/1) looks like one of Elliott’s better prospects and he has been successful in the bumper on two previous occasions. It would come as no surprise to see this Bective Stud-owned five-year-old take top honours.
Of the others Western Diego (12/1) was a £125,000 purchase after winning his point-to-point and comfortably won his Naas bumper at the end of January, while Gordon Elliott’s Pour Les Filles (14/1) won at Leopardstown on Boxing Day from Did I Ask You That and will have plenty of each-way supporters when they place their horse race bets online.
Champion Bumper Selection:
In a wide open contest I am going to oppose the Willie Mullins throng and side with an each-way bet on Gordon Elliott’s Better Days Ahead. I personally thought he would be a single figure price but the Mullins horses have kept his price slightly inflated.
Champion Bumper 2023 prediction: Better Days Ahead @ 14/1 EW
