This Grade 3 handicap is run over a distance of more than three miles, with 19 fences to jump and given the tough test it offers, it’s no surprise that many runners here go on to be future Grand National horses. Read on as we preview the 2023 race, offering up our predictions, betting tips and live odds comparison.
This race is open to horses aged five years and upwards and is run over the Old Course at Cheltenham. The winner will join greats such as West Tip, Rough Quest and Wichita Lineman on the roll of honour, as well as taking home more than £50,000 in prize money.
The Ultima Handicap Chase is the first horse race of the 2023 Cheltenham Festival that is a handicap race. This means that every runner is carrying a certain weight that has been afforded by the handicapper. The trick is to find a horse that has been favourably handicapped and look to get the best possible odds.
The Ultima betting odds are worth comparing and you can either place a Cheltenham bet that is win only or each-way. When it comes to taking a big price, it’s worth going down the each-way Cheltenham bet route so that you can get a profitable return if the horse finishes in the frame.
Shan Blue is the Cheltenham betting favourite to win Race Three of the first day of the Festival, with Dan Skelton hoping that his stable star gives a good account of himself. The eight-year-old has plenty of class and finished mid-table when landing fifth in the Marsh Novices’ Chase and he might find this company more to his liking.
It’s worth noting that while Shan Blue did fall on a recent outing at Wetherby in the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase, the horse was all-but the winner after comfortably getting ahead of the other horses. However, it does bring the charge’s jumping ability into sharper focus when it comes to the 2023 Ultima Handicap Chase.
School Boy Hours and Simply The Betts are among the other leading players when it comes to this Cheltenham Festival betting market. There are lots of bookies who will be offering Cheltenham prices.