The 2022 Cheltenham festival begins on Tuesday 15 March, with the headline event, the Gold Cup, taking place on the final day on Friday 18 March.
The race is the highest profile and most well-known of the Cheltenham festival, with the biggest names in horse racing set to compete.
Cheltenham Post horse racing columnist Ash Symonds exclusively told Park Life Sport that he has a clear favourite for the event.
Symonds, who has visited several stables recently in order to get a feeling of what to expect on Gold Cup day, believes Galvin is the horse to watch out for.
“I’m a massive fan of Galvin for the Gold Cup,” he revealed. “He’s currently the second favourite on the market and I think there’s quite a lot of red flags for all of the competitors apart from Galvin. He won the National Chase at the previous Cheltenham festival, and he’s beaten A Plus Tard. He really holds no question marks or red flags, whereas someone like A Plus Tard, who came second last year, has questions. Does he truly stay for the three miles? I’m not sure.”
Last year’s Gold Cup winner Minella Endo is among the favourites, but Symonds isn’t convinced. “Minella Endo ran really poorly in the King George, and even though he’s come out and ran well since, but I’m not so sure, and still have questions about him.” He also had some worrying news for any English fans. “Protektorat is the best English hope, but I just don’t think he’s Gold Cup quality,” Symonds revealed. “I still don’t get the agenda behind him.”
Al Boum Photo has won the event twice, and is fancied by some, but his age could be a concerning factor. “10 year olds don’t have a great record in the race,” Symonds said. “He has been quite lightly raced for a 10-year-old, so I think you could hold some each way claims.
“Then you get to Galvin. He won that National Chase really well and I think his jumping has really improved this season and he’s taking lengths out of his fences. I think he’s got the speed to deal with the Gold Cup if it turns into a little bit of a sprint test, and I think he’ll get a good spin round and Galvin for the Gold Cup.”
The Gold Cup will take place on Friday 18 March at 15:30pm.
