WEATHERBY’S CHAMPION BUMPER INFO
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023 – Day 2
Type: Grade 1 National Hunt Hurdle Race
Distance: 2 Miles and 87 Yards
Age Of The Horse: 4-6 Years Old
As we approach the festival you will notice the Champion Bumper Cheltenham 2023 offers and specials begin to flood the market. These are a marketing tool used by major bookmakers to help them standout in what has become a packed market.
The offers are updated every year to ensure they are fresh, appealing and ahead of the game but we can get an idea of what to expect by looking back at promos that have proven popular in the past.
Deals available to new and existing customers you can look forward to include free bets, matched bets, price boosts for favourites, money back for fallers, enhanced each-way and plenty more besides. Bookmark this page and we’ll update the Cheltenham Festival promotions as and when they become available.
Plenty of time for backers to organise and prepare their bets. Major online bookmakers have drawn up an antepost market covering the race and you can get your cash down early and support the runner you believe will win the lion’s share of a whopping £75,000 prize pot.
This event was first run back in 1992 so there’s plenty for followers of the stats to go on here. The below preview arms readers with everything they need to know about the race before parting with their hard-earned cash and placing a bet. We have taken a closer look at the major players in the early betting before turning our attentions to the race stats and trends.
There’s also a handy betting guide you should keep close when preparing your punts. This is designed to help you beat the bookies and profit from one of the standout races of the Prestbury Park festival. Who will come out on top in March?
Coming Soon
Modern betting often allows backers to make their predictions months in advance of the event. Antepost markets became available for the biggest and best races at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival almost as soon as the 2021 results were added to the book.
This gives us the chance to nail down a better price on our bets than the odds available to those betting on the week or even the day of the contest. The potential prizes may be more appealing but antepost betting comes with an increased risk. When getting your stake money down on a horse to win the 2022 Cheltenham Festival Champion Bumper, for example, you are not only saying your pick will win the race, you are also gambling on the fact it will run in the race.
Antepost betting markets often mention the same horse in two or three different events at the festival and the reason for that is we just don’t know which races a horse will be entered in until much nearer the time. You can gamble on a horse to win one race and connections decide in the early stages of 2022 to enter it into a different event at Prestbury Park. In that instance you would lose your stake money, without even getting a run.
Anything can happen in horse racing over the course of a season and your pick could lose form or suffer an injury that could lead to it being pulled out of the festival all together. Again, if that were the case and you had backed it in the antepost market you would lose your cash.
The trick to success when betting antepost is to keep your stakes smart and resist the urge to snap at the big prices, simply because they are more generous than they should be. Weigh up the potential risks against the rewards on offer. If it seems worth a punt, get in early and enjoy the benefits that come with jumping the queue.
Below you’ll find some of the early market leaders in the Weatherby’s Champion Bumper Cheltenham antepost betting. These are the runners traders expect to run in the race come March and go close to winning it. Not only do we look at the favourites in a bit more details, we also flag up which bookmakers are offering market best price. This is vitally important if you are serious about making a strong profit over the course of the festival.
Digging deeper into the trends and we find a few other points worth mentioning, facts and stats that could prove useful when deciding on the runner to back in this year’s Champion Bumper. Pick the trend that makes most appeal to you and apply it to this year’s field…
You will find plenty of expert Champion Bumper tips and predictions available closer to race time, but it is advisable to do your own research and make your own bets. This may take a little work but it’s worth doing. Read as much as possible on the race, including stats, interviews, injury news and form. This will allow you to make a well-informed decision.
Below you’ll find a table of the offers made by the top bookmakers. Keep this close and you will always be just one click away from placing a bet and getting the offer that suits you.
When you have made your decision on the runner to back your next stop should then be the antepost list. Check the price and if it seems worth backing, act sooner rather than later. The earlier you get your stake money down the better the odds available. Remember, don’t get carried away with your stakes while there’s still the risk you could lose your funds without ever getting a run for your money.
Live streaming is available with the best online bookmakers and it comes at no extra cost. Watch the Cheltenham Festival on your desktop computer or mobile app through a live streaming service. With many firms, if you have placed a bet on the outcome of the race you will be able to watch the HD quality stream for free.
Many backers like to follow the trends when placing their bets at the Cheltenham Festival. This includes researching previous winners, hot jockeys, successful owners and trainers or even a pattern of age groups. Below you’ll find a list of the last 10 winners of the Champion Bumper.
Last 10 Weatherbys Champion Bumper winners:
Winner: Ferny Hollow
It took the Cheltenham Festival’s winningmost trainer Willie Mullins until halfway through the 2020 meeting to get a victory on the board when Ferny Hollow led home a one-two in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at odds of 11/1. The question about this horse – owned by Cheveley Park Stud who topped and tailed the Ladies Day card thanks to earlier success with Envoi Allen in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle – surrounded his maturity level.
Ferny Hollow had proved difficult to get settled in his previous races, but any past keenness wasn’t evident as he secured a record tenth Weatherbys Champion Bumper success for County Carlow handler Mullins. After being held-up by stable jockey Paul Townend, the five-year-old started to make headway when denied a clear run three furlongs from home, but led halfway up the Cheltenham hill and ran on well under a drive to beat stable companion Appreciate It, who sent off the 15/8 favourite, by 2 1/2 lengths.
Mullins’ son and amateur jockey Patrick rides most of the bumper horses in their races throughout the season, but was somewhat embarrassed by his decision to ditch Ferny Hollow for the runner-up who pulled 3 1/4 lengths clear of Gordon Elliott trained mare Queens Brook at 6/1. The best of the British horses in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper was 16/1 shot Third Time Lucki for Dan and Harry Skelton, beaten just a neck behind in fourth.
Now that Ferny Hollow has learned to settle better, he looks a very smart prospect for novice hurdles next season. Although bumper horses can want further than two miles and this horse comes from a point-to-point background, he has earned a 16/1 first-show quote for the 2022 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the next Cheltenham Festival.
The 2019 running of the Weatherby’s Champion Bumper was won by Envoi Allen for trainer Elliott and jockey Codd. The champion was sent off as a 2/1 shot that day and held on to beat runner up Blue Sari into second by just shy of a length. Back in third was Thyme Hill who was another 1 ¾ lengths off the major finishers.
Envoi Allen was given a patient ride that day but delivered to perfection by his experienced pilot who has been around this track more than once before. They challenged three from home and took the lead turning for home. Backers were delighted when their horse responded to the encouragement of his jockey and he soon took a keen hold of the race. An impressive effort and the way Envoi Allen stayed on in the closing stages to see the race out stuck in the minds of those in attendance and watching the contest live on TV around the country.