The Novices’ Handicap Chase is the final race on the opening day of the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and while it might not share the glamour of some of the Grade 1 races that take place earlier in the day, it should bring us an exciting close to proceedings. As usual, this year’s renewal looks wide open and will be very difficult to predict. That won’t stop us trying, of course, so read on for our betting tips that we hope will make you a few quid. And check out our live odds comparison that helps you pick out the best available odds for every racing bet.
Run over a distance of two mile and four and a half furlongs, this race has 16 fences for the horses to clear and we certainly don’t expect all of them to make it to the end. Given the exciting but treacherously difficult-to-call nature of this race, and the fact that it is a handicap, no clear favourite has emerged at the time of writing, with the bookies appearing as stumped as the punters. But with each way bets being paid at a quarter of the odds for a top four finish, there is plenty of value to be hoovered up.
We certainly like the look of the Rebecca Curtis-trained seven-year-old Imagine The Chat, who won a novices’ handicap chase at Newbury in late December in fine style on soft ground and also won at Bangor when the going was good last April. Currently priced at betting odds of 20/1 with BetVictor.
There are plenty of other options, of course, and another fancy of ours is the French gelding, As De Mee, who is trained by Paul Nicholls and who was second in a novices’ chase at Cheltenham in November of last year. With four victories, five seconds and two thirds from his 15 races to date, he is a consistent performer who jumps well whether the ground be heavy or good.
Whilst it might prove prudent to await until the final declarations for this one, our early betting tips are certainly worth considering for those in search of some each way value.