Coral Cup 2023: All you need to know

Incredible @JockeyCam footage from a ridiculously wet and muddy @Coral Cup at #Cheltenham 🏆

Pure bravery and commitment from @HarrySkelton89, @JJONeillJnr, @SimonTorrens123 & @Harry_Bann1310 💪

Congratulations to Shane Fitzgerald who rode the 50/1 winner Commander Of Fleet 👏 pic.twitter.com/0mUSZj3TTY

— Coral (@Coral) March 17, 2022

It is one of the season’s most competitive handicaps, with no horse winning the race more than once.

Barry Geraghty and Davy Russell are the most successful jockeys in the race with three wins, the latter steering the winner in 2008, 2011 and 2016, while Nicky Henderson is the leading trainer in the Coral Cup, saddling four winners in the past 12 years. 

Coral Cup trends

Trainers 

As we have just highlighted Nicky Henderson is the dominant training force when it comes to the Coral Cup and from his 55 runners over the last 21 years, four have won and a further eight made the placings. 

Gordon Elliott is the only other multiple winner still training having saddled Carlito Brigante (2011) and Diamond King (2016) as well as last year’s winner to success, while the Irishman has a taking strike-rate as his three winners have come from just 25 runners in the race and he has also had seven finish second, third or fourth. 

Alan King, Paul Nicholls and Philip Hobbs are other trainers to note, but beware of Jonjo O’Neill, David Pipe and Nigel Twiston-Davies, who are all yet to find the scoresheet in the Coral Cup. 

Jockeys

The evergreen Davy Russell is one of two leading riders in the race, but the only one still occupying a place in the weighing room. He hasn’t ridden the winner of the race since 2016 and will be desperate to get on the Cheltenham Festival winners’ list again before returning to retirement. 

Nico De Boinville has ridden in the Coral Cup eight times and has been aboard both Whisper and William Henry when they have won the race, while Sam Twiston-Davies is another winner of the race, who has also finished in the money on other occasions. 

Age

There have been only four winners of the Coral Cup aged nine or over and the race has favoured the young guns in recent years. 

Four of the last five winners have been seven-year-olds, while five-year-olds have won the race three times since 2010. 

Favourites

There has been only one winning favourite of the Coral Cup in the last 10 years, while four of the last five winners have been priced 33/1, 28/1, 20/1 and 50/1

Other than 2020 winning favourite Dame De Compagnie (5/1), only Aux Ptits Soins (9/1) has scored at single-figure odds in the last 10 years. 

Lightly raced

It pays to side with a horse that is unexposed and hasn’t been overly raced in their career. Most winners of the Coral Cup have run no more than four times in the season, but it is worth noting that many will already know what the winner’s enclosure looks like, while previous Cheltenham racecourse experience often pays dividend.

Who could win the Coral Cup 2023?

Philip Hobbs has recently passed 3,000 career winners and if the market moves for CAMPROUND are to be believed, he could be about to end a four-year drought at the Cheltenham Festival. 

His runner is rated just 1lb higher than when scoring at the Punchestown Festival last April and could be set to thrive in the spring once again with this likely to have been a long-term aim. 

Ireland are responsible for most of the main contenders in the Coral Cup betting with easy Cesarewitch victor RUN FOR OSCAR an interesting contender for the ever-shrewd Charles Byrnes and Paul Nolan’s HMS SEAHORSE an equally inviting proposition on the back of a taking success at Navan in January. 

It's time for the @Coral Cup 🏆

Good Risk At All and Langer Dan are both 7 years old.

What are you backing in this one? 🏇 pic.twitter.com/OOoegCiymt

— Coral (@Coral) March 15, 2023

Willie Mullins’ best hope looks to be Betfair Hurdle disappointment ICARE ALLEN, who has the form in the book to bounce back. 

Others from the Emerald Isle with strong claims include Eamon ‘Dusty’ Sheehy’s consistent operator CAPTAIN CONBY, Joseph O’Brien’s SAN SALVADOR and BEACON EDGE, who has been campaigning at a much higher level than this and may have been given a chance by the handicapper. 

Dan Skelton’s LANGER DAN is a possible for the home team with smart course form to his name and can’t be ignored.

Finally, it is foolish to ignore the claims of BENSON, who secured the Morebattle Hurdle with the minimum of fuss at Kelso and now has the chance to secure a £100,000 bonus if able to win at the Cheltenham Festival. 

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All odds and market correct at date of publication