THE next two weeks will prove absolutely massive in the Cheltenham Festival ante-post markets.
A blockbuster nine-race card on Cheltenham Trials day comes the weekend before the Dublin Racing Festival.
SportsfileAll eyes will once again be on Mullins and his superstar team at the Festival[/caption]
All the big names will have almost all their big horses running in one last tune-up before those four days in March.
Some would argue much of the value has already gone.
And that may be true for certain runners.
But there is still plenty of hope for some multiples to keep you going throughout the week.
Here, Sun Racing picks out three 100-1 accas that might just be worth a quid or two.
As always with ante-post betting there is the risk the horse might not run in the race, so gamble responsibly.
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124-1 treble (Bet365)
Dysart Dynamo – Arkle
Impaire Et Passe – Ballymore
Home By The Lee – Stayers’ Hurdle
This standout treble is made up of two second-favourites and one favourite.
The mightily impressive and hugely progressive Home By The Lee is fav for a very open-looking Stayers’ Hurdle on Thursday.
While Jonbon heads the market for the 2m Arkle on Tuesday, Willie Mullins’ Dysart Dynamo – who has always run around the 2m mark – looks a real challenger.
He was a 28-length winner on his seasonal return over Christmas and looked to be going really well in last year’s Supreme before tipping up.
Impaire Et Passe, another Mullins runner, is the final piece of this puzzle.
He could still run in the Supreme… but Facile Vega looks nailed-on to run for the Closutton supremo.
A winner over 2m3f in December, the move up to the 2m4f Ballymore trip looks logical – although it could come down to where the owners want their horse to go so, as ever with ante-post, there is risk attached in this treble.
146-1 treble (Paddy Power/Ladbrokes)
Weveallbeencaught – Albert Bartlett
Energumene – Champion Chase
Brandy Love – Mares’ Hurdle
Weveallbeencaught looks to be absolutely screaming out for the 3m challenge of the Albert Bartlett.
The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained six-year-old was all heart when seeing off 66-1 Rock My Way in a thriller over 2m4½f at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
He got stronger as the race went on and has only ever been beaten by Ballymore fav Hermes Allen and Gordon Elliott’s Music Drive.
Energumene has such a high cruising speed he looks a fairly safe bet in the Champion Chase.
We will never know how Shishkin would have fared in a rematch of their epic Clarence House Chase at last year’s Festival due to his bone condition.
But with his main rival gone, the race will need someone to come from the pack to challenge him.
Another who missed the Festival last year is Brandy Love.
She will reportedly go straight to Cheltenham without a run – and although undeniably a bit mad, has absolutely stacks of natural talent.
Her penchant for jumping left should be OK at Prestbury Park and her rapid turn of foot can give Marie’s Rock something to think about.
Mullins 145-1 treble (Skybet)
Sir Gerhard – Turners’ Novices Chase
Billaway – Hunters’ Chase
Facile Vega – Supreme
Mullins says he hasn’t been so excited about a horse in years.
Facile Vega, son of his beloved Quevega, has some strong competition in the shape of Royal Bond winner Marine Nationale.
But Facile Vega has done nothing wrong in all his starts and the suspicion is he hasn’t hit top gear yet. The Supreme could be a cracker.
Sir Gerhard makes his long-awaited debut over fences on Thursday.
At odds of 2-15 24 hours before the race, it looks a foregone conclusion he wins.
And punters think the form will carry over to the Festival, where he has won twice before (Champion Bumper and Ballymore).
Add Billaway, another proven Mullins Cheltenham performer to this monster treble.
The 11-year-old is getting on a bit but his whole year revolves around one race.
A satisfactory warm-up at Thurles last Sunday (same race and finish position as last year) will have the juices flowing to defend his Hunters’ Chase crown.
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