Top 5 Cheltenham Festival liabilities: 'We laid Constitution Hill at 9-2' All eyes were on Constitution Hill on St Stephen's Day as he squared off against Lossiemouth in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park. In the end there was only one horse in it, as Constitution Hill blew away his rivals after a year on the sidelines. Now 4/6 favourite with BetVictor for the Champion Hurdle in March, the star hurdler would prove a huge liability if he sparkles in the day 1 showpiece. Sam Boswell, spokesperson for BetVictor, said: “As we creep towards the Cheltenham Festival, with a cold snap which has seen limited racing, it seems a good time to assess the ante post markets and our worst five liabilities in the lead up to the Festival.” “The most significant loser in our book is Constitution Hill. We laid Nicky Henderson's stable star at a price as big as 9/2 back in November, following the publicised gallop at Newbury. He’s now odds on at 4/6 having returned to his best in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day. We’ll be hopeful that Brighterdaysahead at 4/1, who was so impressive over Christmas, also opts for the Champion Hurdle and that we can get him beat in March. “It's another Nicky Henderson horse that has us running for cover in the Arkle. We saw plenty of conflicting ideas about where Sir Gino would end up but those who backed him for the two-mile novice chase at as big as 8/1 are very much on the right side of a good ante-post bet. He’s now 8/11 having blown away a disappointing Ballyburn at Kempton in the Wayward Lad, producing one of the most impressive chase debuts of recent times in the process. It feels like his backers are likely to collect come the Tuesday of the festival. The Seven Barrows pair winning would be a nasty start to the festival for us. “We are currently offering four places each-way on the Supreme, Turners and Albert Bartlett, and as a result we have seen several each-way liabilities. It's another familiar trainer whose horses are giving our traders sleepless nights, with the worst being Willie Mullins-trained Kaid d’Authie. A faller on stable debut, he improved when going up in trip at Leopardstown over Christmas, impressing many. As a result, he’s 8/1 from 33/1 for the Supreme as it is anticipated he will drop back to two miles. “Another Closutton inmate that won at Leopardstown and that we are keen to keep onside moving forward is Kopek Des Bordes, who is 12/1 from 25/1 for the Turners. Whilst we didn’t see much of his win in the fog, what the punters did manage to see clearly caught the eye. “The final horse of a Mullins trio that could prove costly for us is Willy De Houelle in the Triumph market. This horse was the talk of the town long before his debut in December for the top trainer in Ireland, but he’s yet to live up to the hype and seems poised to be one that us bookmakers have ended up the right side of for once!” BetVictor's Top 5 Cheltenham Festival liabilities Constitution Hill — Champion Hurdle 4/6 Sir Gino — Arkle Chase 8/11 Kaid d’Authie — Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 8/1 Kopek Des Bordes — Turners’ Novices’ Hurdle 12/1 Willy De Houelle — Triumph Hurdle 20/1
