Barbers Shop could be a Gold Cup King

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We’ve already revealed why we think Neptune Collonges offers good value tomorrow (check the Best Bets panel on your right) but here’s why Barbers Shop is the best of the non Paul Nicholls-trained horses:

BAD NEWS FOR KAUTO STAR!
Four of the last six Gold Cups were won by the favourite but ahead of the final day of the Cheltenham Festival nine successive races have passed without one winning, while two of the three feature race frontrunners have underperformed.

Good omens for Barbers Shop:
» He’s a seven-year-old, as were three of the last four winners.
» His jockey Barry Geraghty won the Champion Hurdle on 22/1 Punjabi.
» He’s won in various conditions so the weather shouldn’t affect him.
» He was placed at last year’s Festival, as were 9 of the last 11 winners.
» Nicky Henderson has had more Cheltenham winners than any other current trainer.

Paddy Power are paying FOUR PLACES each-way on Friday’s 1.30pm race and FIVE PLACES each-way on the 2.05pm!

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Kasbah Bliss is the 11/10 favourite to win Thursdays’s Ladbrokes World Hurdle (3.20pm) but here’s why we are backing Punchestowns at 10/3 with Paddy Power:

REASONS TO DISCOUNT KASBAH BLISS!
Just three favourites have won this race in the last ten years. Kasbah Bliss finished second in 2007 and 2008 but only one of the last eleven runners-up have triumphed the following year.

» Four of the seven winners of Ascot’s Long Walk Hurdle between 1998 and 2007 also won the World Hurdle. Punchestowns won at Ascot in December.

» Punchestowns meets all the vital trends: he’s aged between six and eight, he’s not Irish and he’s priced under 8/1. Both jockey Barry Geraghty and trainer Nicky Henderson (twice) have won this race before.

Paddy Power are paying FIVE PLACES each-way in Thursday’s 2.05pm, 4.00pm and 4.40pm races!

Enjoy some Stones, then make some dinero at the 2.05pm race

Hopefully you followed our advice for the festival’s opening race and backed Go Native at a massive 12/1. Wednesday’s Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle could be the most open race so far, and third-favourite Diamond Harry is generously available at 9/2 with Paddy Power.

PROMISING TRENDS!
Diamond Harry, who is unbeaten in six races, has all the key attributes that past winners of this race have possessed. He is in the first six of the betting at under 12/1, he finished first or second on his last outing and is aged five or six.

The two other frontrunners also meet these specifications but there are reasons to write both off. Only one jockey has retained since 1988 and last year’s winner Ruby Walsh rides favourite Mikael D’Haguenet while Karabak’s jockey Tony McCoy hasn’t won this race in twelve attempts.

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Did we mention how brilliant Paddy Power are? They’re paying e/w on an extra place in the 4pm and 5.15pm races

A brief interlude from normal football programming to give you a great tip for Cheltenham and some music from Bonio and co

Cousin Vinny is the 9/4 favourite to win the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle - the opening race of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival. Paddy Power will refund all bets if Patrick Mullins’ mount triumphs, so you have the perfect chance to kick-off the week with a big win by backing against the favourite.

PROMISING TREND!
11 of the last 12 winners of this race had won their last race. This is good news for those backing against Cousin Vinny, who unseated his jockey on his last outing at Leopardstown.

Other key trends in this race include that nine of the last 12 winners have been aged either five or six while ten of the last 17 were Irish trained.

Second favourite Torphichen (6/1) is only four and wasn’t trained in Ireland but third and fourth favourites Go Native (10/1) and Kempes (11/1) meet all three specifications. Whether you choose to bet win or each-way on this race is entirely your choice because the money-back special applies to both.

SPECIAL OFFER! Click here to open a Paddy Power account and claim a free £25 bet

Gold Cup, today, 3.30pm, bet here

If you’ve just emerged from solitary confinement, a coma or a lengthy spell in a monastery, today’s Cheltenham Gold Cup is only the RACE OF THE CENTURY! The rest of you, if you’re not on it yet, need your heads testing. If you’re still not sure what to do, then just follow these simple steps.

1) Open an account to bet online. You could choose any of this country’s fine turf accountants, but if you open an account with Ladbrokes or Paddy Power, you’ll get a £10 free bet.

2) If you’d rather go with a betting exchange, and bet against other people, open an account with Betfair, and get a £25 free bet.

3) Choose a horse to bet on. To see the best odds, click here.

4) If you still can’t make your mind up, then go with horse of the century KAUTO STAR to win - he’s considered near unbeatable.

5) Don’t like that? Then get on DENMAN. Also considered near unbeatable, except against Kauto Star.

6) Don’t like that? Then get on one of the supporting cast with an each way bet. The Spoiler likes NEPTUNE COLLONGES or KNOWHERE

For more Gold Cup facts, click here. And hurry up - the clock is ticking! GET RIGHT ON IT!

Unless you haven’t noticed, everyone is going absolutely horses bonkers, and Cheltenham is - for the only time in the year - the big place to be. Walking proudly with their groomed manes, the WAGs look amazing (boom, boom!), and some friends of The Spoiler are offering great free bets. Get on it!

GET A FREE GOLD CUP £10 BET WITH LADBROKES HERE!

GET A FREE £10 BET WITH PADDY POWER HERE!

OR GET A FREE £25 BET ON BETFAIR HERE!

The Spoiler’s Cheltenham tip of the Day: My Way De Solzen in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at 3.30. Click the links above to have a punt.

Cheltenham Gold Cup, Friday, 3.30pm, bet here

People are always debating this thing against that thing, often forgeting that there are loads of other things in between which are great too. For example, everyone knows that gingers are better than blondes or brunettes, and that amongst the many legs and breast men lurks a secret society made up of discerning bottom men. So, at the races this weekend, it mightn’t be all about Kuato Star and Denman - flying out of leftfield comes option 3: Exotic Dancer. But can he do it?

Betting on the Cheltenham Festival? Get a free £10 bet with Paddy Power or Ladbrokes when you open an account.

Why bet on Exotic Dancer

» Exotic Dancer is the favourite in the market without Kauto Star and Denman.

But the Gold Cup will still go on

As you can see from the snap above, the corporate hospitality section of the Cheltenham festival is no longer as cosy as was once intended. Even though the men in suits may have to enjoy their prawn sandwiches in the rain, the Gold Cup is still going ahead this Friday, and you can watch it from the relative comfort of your home or office from 3.15.

Betting on the Cheltenham Festival? Get a free £10 bet with Paddy Power or Ladbrokes when you open an account. But before you take the plunge, take in the chickendinner Gold Cup preview.