Two Cheltenham Festival Bankers It is always a tough task for any horse to go to Cheltenham and win any race, as this is the most competitive racing of the season. To go back the following year to defend a race takes a special type of horse. Two such horses this year are Altior and Tiger Roll and the pair look bankers to go to the Cheltenham Festival in three weeks’ time and defend the titles they won in 2018. They look set to go off as the two shortest priced horses of the week at a general 2/5 and 5/4 respectively. Altior is a leading star of national hunt racing, but is still remarkably rated lower by some than Cyrname following his two destructive victories at Ascot recently, that has seen him improve from a mark of 151 to running to an RPR rating of 181. Altior is unbeaten in 17 starts over obstacles, and looks set to further enhance this record by defending his title in the upcoming Queen Mother Champion Chase. Altior appears to have little dangers as he has comprehensively beaten the likes of Min on multiple occasions, including in this race last season by seven lengths. Success in this race could then see Altior step up in trip next season to tackle the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, which has the potential to be one of the most exciting races of modern times. This could see him face off against the previously mentioned Cyrname, as well as the defending champion and leading gold cup contender, Clan Des Obeaux. Altior is the home banker of Cheltenham and is going to be included in many people’s accumulator’s across festival week. The 2018 Grand national winner Tiger Roll is fast becoming one of the most popular horses in training and is set to be the Irish banker of the Festival. He was sent to contest the Boyne hurdle most recently and was sent off at odds of 25/1, as this looked a nice final prep for the horse prior to Cheltenham and Aintree. Trainer Gordon Elliott voiced beforehand that the horse was only around 75 per cent fit, hence the reason he was sent off such a big price. However, he put in a jaw dropping display to ease away on the bridle from a field that included the recent Ladbrokes hurdle winner, Off You Go. Tiger Roll seems to come alive at the festival, and will be looking to win a race there for the third year in succession and fourth in total following victories in the 2014 Triumph hurdle, 2017 National hunt chase and last season’s Cross Country Chase. If he jumps round then he is going to take the world of beating as all roads lead to him defending his title in the Grand national off a 9lb higher rating, as he looks to become the first horse to do so since the great Red Rum in 1974.
