Envoi Allen is thought to have forced his way into deeper contention for the Champion Hurdle at next year’s Cheltenham Festival following an impressive showing at Royal Bond on Sunday. The undefeated star, now favourite to win both the Supreme and Ballymore Novice Hurdles, beat stablemate Abacadabras at Sunday’s event to see to the shortening of odds on his chances.
As it pertains to the Supreme, Envoi Allen is 5/2 to win with Paddy Power. Abacadabras is now 8/1 while Unexpected is 10/1. The five-year-old is 2/1 to conquer all chasers at the Ballymore with William Hill, who are offering 8/1 odds on Andy Dufresne, 10/1 odds on Abacadabras and 12/1 odds on Thyme Hill.
Bet365 has 20/1 going on Festival dEx and The Big Breakaway; Son of Camas is 25/1 with Skybet and Elixir Dainay is also 25/1, but with Unibet.
Abacadabras looked the most threatening where Envoi’s unbeaten streak was concerned on Sunday but, with the Gordon Elliot-trained star forced to make most of the running, he took control for the final two miles to snag a sensational victory.
“That’s a relief, but they are two very good horses,” Elliot said after the race, via The Sun. “We like Abacadabras a lot, and we think Envoi Allen is the real thing. The one thing that could beat him is a slow pace, and we had to do all our own donkey work. His jumping was class, apart from the last.
“He could step up in trip, but I’ll have to talk to Davy and the owners, and we’ll make out mind up. He’ll be entered in everything and could run next at Christmas or Naas (Grade 1 Lawlor’s Novice Hurdle).”
Envoi Allen’s showing has led to suggestions that there’s even more to come at Cheltenham. And, if we’re to consider Buveur D’air’s injury on Saturday to be a season-ending one, he (Envoi) seems an even better choice.
Rider Davey Russel has backed Envoi Allen to keep performances up and has acknowledged that the horse is now a favourite among fans.
Now 8/1 with Paddy Power for the Champion Hurdle, we imagine plenty of punters will be keen on placing bets on the five-year-old undefeated runner. Betvictor is offering 12/1 too, which seems even more tempting, and fans could take advantage of the free bets for Cheltenham being offered by freebets.uk. Of course, there are such offers available therein for all of the major sports.
Meanwhile, Klassical Dream is favoured to come out on top at 7/2 with Bet365, with Saldier the second favourite at 4/1. Pentland Hills is 8/1 with Ladbrokes and the bookies also have 10/1 bets going on Honeysuckle.
The Cheltenham Festival, one of the most prestigious horse races on the calendar, starts on March 10 and ends on March 13. The event will present fans with several opportunities for betting as every day of the competition is set to feature seven races.
Envoi Allen has certainly enhanced his reputation ahead of the event but there will be enough to go on in terms of making up one’s mind before the Festival is upon us as he has a few more races to run in the lead up to the huge event.
