JCB Triumph Hurdle 2020

The 2020 JCB Triumph Hurdle will take place on the fourth and final day of the upcoming Cheltenham Festival, Friday 13 March being the JCB Triumph Hurdle date. It is the biggest afternoon of the meeting when the Gold Cup takes centre stage and the stands will be packed to witness one of the standout fixtures on the UK horse racing calendar. Millions more will follow the action around the world live on TV.

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JCB Triumph Hurdle 2020 Preview & Tips

The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race that was first run in 1939 when won by Grey Talk for Serge Rochet and George Batchelor. Pentland Hills entered the books as last year’s champion, scoring under the ride of jockey Nico de Boinville for trainer Nicky Henderson. Who will come out on top this year? It’s anyone’s guess at this stage but two miles and eight hurdles standing between the starting field and a champion, it will be great fun finding out.

Bookmakers have priced up their antepost market and we take a closer look at the main names in the frame, according to traders. There’s also a handy betting guide which will help with advice on the stats and trends as well as a list of past champions.

Antepost Key Runners & Favourites

All major online bookmakers have made their antepost markets for the Triumph Hurdle available and this allows punters to get in early and back their preferred runner. With antepost betting, the sooner you get your cash down the better the odds on your chosen horse will be. Act now to get a much better quote than the one given to those leaving their bets until the week of the race or even the day of the contest.

Shrewd backers love antepost betting as it gives them the chance to really profit from their knowledge and deliver a body blow to the bookies. At this early stage there’s also a degree of uncertainty amongst the trading teams of different firms and that’s music to the ears of value hunters. If, for example, most firms are 10/1 on a horse winning a big race at the Cheltenham Festival but you shop around, do your homework and find a site offering 14/1, that rates as a great bet. You can then get your cash down confident in the fact you have the value working in your favour and that allows you to enjoy the contest, whatever the result. Horse racing betting isn’t just about picking the winner, it’s has as much to do with getting it at the right price.

Antepost betting, like all forms of gambling, comes with risks, however, so don’t allow yourself to get carried away by the eye-catching odds. When betting before the final field has been declared you run the risk of your horse not entering the race you backed it to win. For example, it could be pushed into another contest at the festival or could even bypass Prestbury Park entirely. If that were the case you would lose your stake without ever getting a run for your money.

Let’s look at some of the early favourites in the antepost betting and pick out which bookmakers rate as the most generous in the betting ring.

Micro Manage (14/1)

We are confident enough to say that most traders aren’t quite sure what to make of the Triumph Hurdle 2020 and, as such, have been forced into pricing up a wide-open market. The money men seem no clearer on who the next champion will be so have thrown together a book filled with attractive odds and allow backers to make up their own minds. Remember, not all horses quoted in the antepost market will make the final field.

Micro Manage is our favourite at the time of writing but the fact there’s a 14/1 price tag attached by bet365 proves just how competitive this renewal is set to be. If you do intent do go with the leader we would encourage you to take advantage of the generosity shown by bet365 as many other firms are trading just 10/1 on the same horse. A four points difference about a jolly is something well worth paying attention to. If Micro Manage does make the final field for the 2020 JCB Triumph Hurdle you can be sure the odds will be slashed across the board and the 10/1 will prove much more accurate by the time we get down to race day. Back enough 10/1 shots at 14/1 and you won’t go far wrong in this game, that much is true.

The jolly is an Irish bred horse owned by Merriebelle Irish Farm Limited and trained by Willie Mullins. The latter has an astonishing record at the Cheltenham Festival and each of his runners this year will prove to be very popular, both with dedicated followers of the game who like to study the form and casual backers who will be more than happy to trust the great trainer with their stake money. When backing a Willie Mullins horse at the Cheltenham Festival you can be sure of a run for your money. Will Micro Manage give backers that and win the JCB Triumph Hurdle in March?

The three-year-old colt is certainly a capable looking runner and arrives with confidence on side. He has shown glimpses of what he is capable of so far, living up to his impressive breeding, but the general feeling is there is plenty more to come from Micro Manage and 2019/20 will prove to be a very important season for him. Victory at the Cheltenham Festival, either in this race or one similar, would certainly help to launch his career.

Micro Manage didn’t get off to the kind of start handlers had hoped and he finished 11th at Curragh in a maiden over seven furlongs. He did get things right at the second time of asking, however, and went on to win each of his next two starts, moving his career stats to two wins from three outings. Backers will be hoping there’s more winning to be done in the coming weeks and months.

The Triumph Hurdle antepost favourite got off the mark with a win at Tipperary in a 1m 1f maiden last October and returned in the summer of this year to grab his second victory. That came back at the Curragh when landing the Calphormin Handicap over 1m 4f in June. He beat off runner up Cuban Hope that day, winning by an incredible 12 lengths. Micro Manage was sent off an even money favourite and that turned out to be a bit of value for those who had him backed as he eased down towards the finish line.

Trueshan (16/1)

The main danger to Micro Manage winning the 2020 JCB Triumph Hurdle will come from Trueshan, according to bookmakers who have him priced as second favourite. Again, there’s plenty of value available to those happy to work for it. Trueshan can be backed at 16/1 with most online betting firms, including 888Sport, but be warned there are more than a few giving 14/1 on the same runner. Backing a winner at the Cheltenham Festival is no mean feat so you wouldn’t want to take two points less about your pick pulling off a great achievement.

Trueshan is a three-year-old gelding trained by Alan King and owned by the Barbury Lions. He went into the season with stats showing four wins and a runner up from his first half dozen starts and followers are certain this runner is capable of adding to his list of victories. He, like Micro Manage, got off to a poor start when finishing sixth at Nottingham on debut but has done nothing but progress since.

He won second time out at Wolverhampton in August and followed that with victory at Ffos Las, Newmarket and Newbury. The latter came in late October over 1m 5f when beating Hamish by a neck under the ride of William Buick. That result was achieved off an SP 2/1 – beating a 4/7 fav – but much better is needed if he’s to win the Triumph Hurdle, that’s for sure. Traders respect his talent and breeding so aren’t in a rush to say he can’t or won’t win this race. If we get the kind of progress that’s expected from Trueshan this season he will be in with a shout come Cheltenham Festival time but keep a close eye on his results between now and March.

Check out our Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide for the list of TOP 15 betting sites to place a bet on upcoming Festival.

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