Bookies' view: Ireland 6-4 to have 20-plus Cheltenham Festival winners

A number of bookmakers have begun to offer markets on just how far Irish domination of Cheltenham might reach next month, though Betfair traders believe it may be hard going to reproduce the 2021 'greenwash' of 23 winners.

Betfair's fixed odds sportsbook and stablemates Paddy Power make 20 or more Irish winners their 6-4 favourite, while Sky Bet go 11-8 that success will fall in the range 18-21, with 22-25 next best at 7-4.

Irish-based BoyleSports are more bullish on the visiting team's prospects and are even money about the same 18-21 bracket.

But the Betfair exchange line on festival winners trained in Ireland is 19 or more, with spokesman Barry Orr suggesting that how Irish horses are treated when the handicap weights are revealed on March 1 will play a big role in how punters view that market.

Honeysuckle: one of 23 Irish winners at last year's festival is odds-on to repeat her Champion Hurdle successCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"People become more focused on these markets once the handicap weights come out and the UK handicapper has been dropping horses over there quite aggressively, while Irish horses are being left more in line with previous years," said Orr.

"There is a school of thought both internally and externally that Irish horses might struggle in the handicaps this year."

Orr added: "Twenty or more is a 6-4 chance which is achievable but it’s still a big ask and last year might have been a slight anomaly when the stars aligned for the Irish runners.

"What the UK handicapper does is within the sphere of influence if there’s to be a 'correction' in the number of Irish winners from last year."

Michael Shinners of Sky Bet expects the odds-against for Ireland to win 18-21 to be popular, though the firm are not noticeably longer on a repeat of last year's numbers.

"We’ve currently got 18-21 Irish winners as our favourite in the market at 11-8 closely followed by 22-25 Irish winners at 7-4 which has been calculated by current prices in our ante-post and non-runner no-bet markets," said Shinners.

"Although the likes of Nicky Henderson boast strong chances, we expect similar dominance from the Irish with Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead the first three in the market for top trainer at this year’s festival."

A repeat of last season's Irish-trained 1-2-3 in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup has received support with BoyleSports, who are now 9-4 from 3-1 about the same outcome.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

Sky Bet: 3 A Plus Tard, 7-2 Galvin, 5 Minella Indo, 8 Protektorat, Al Boum Photo, 10 Conflated, 11 Tornado Flyer, 14 bar

Read more on the Cheltenham Festival:

'I can't see him being beaten' - Pricewise guru Tom Segal answers your questions

Big-race tips: why this horse can win at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival

The key Irish formlines you need to follow at this year's Cheltenham Festival

Head over to our dedicated Cheltenham Festival site for the latest tips and odds for every race at the festival. Our leading horseracing tipsters share their Cheltenham Festival tips and predictions and it's completely free!