• 13/03/2019
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Cross Country Chase betting tips for the 2023 Cheltenham Festival looks at one of the unique races of the four-day event.

The Cross Country Chase odds are for the longest race at the Cheltenham Festival, as it is a massive test of three miles and six furlongs.

This year’s edition will be the 17th renewal of this contest which lines up on Day 2, and closer to the start of the Festival, our betting experts will be uploading the best Cross Country Chase tips.

There was a massively popular Festival winner in last year’s renewal, with Tiger Roll taking the marathon for the third time in his career.

(Tips to follow)

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Cross Country Chase Tips – Overlooked Outsiders

The Cross Country Chase is a real slog. It takes anywhere between eight and a half to nine minutes to complete on average.

Thirty-two different obstacles stand in the runners’ way, so it can be an unpredictable contest.

Our tipsters will be digging through the big field to look at some longer Cross Country Chase odds that lean towards the each-way options.

While there has been a lot of dominance from Tiger Roll in recent times, there have also been a couple of long-priced winners coming home in the last decade.

In 2013 Big Shu got the job done from a 14/1 SP, and a couple of years later, Rivage d’Or did it from a bigger 16/1 quote.

Tips for Cross Country Chase betting at Cheltenham 2023 will be available for punters a little closer to the start of the Festival.

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Cross Country Chase Runners – Wednesday 17th March 4:10

NUMBER	SILKS	HORSE	TRAINER/JOCKEY
1		Alpha Des Obeaux	T: Gordon Elliott J: Jody McGarvey
2		Back On The Lash	T: Martin Keighley J: Sean Bowen
3		Brahma Bull	T: Willie Mullins J: Brian Hayes
4		Delta Work	T: Gordon Elliott J: Jack Kennedy
5		Diesel D’Allier	T: Richard J Bandey J: Harry Bannister
6		Easysland	T: Jonjo O’Neill J: Jonjo O’Neill Jr
7		Midnight Maestro	T: Enda Bolger J: Luke Dempsey
8		Mitchouka	T: Jim Dreaper J: Keith Donoghue
9		Plan Of Attack	T: Henry De Bromhead J: Darragh O’Keeffe
10		Poker Party	T: Henry De Bromhead J: Rachael Blackmore
11		Potters Corner	T: Christian Williams J: Jack Tudor
12		Prengarde	T: Enda Bolger J: Mark Walsh
13		Shady Operator	T: Enda Bolger J: Derek O’Connor
14		Step Back	T: Mark Bradstock J: Nico De Boinville
15		Tiger Roll	T: Gordon Elliott J: Davy Russell
16		Tout Est Permis	T: Noel Meade J: Sean Flanagan

We are yet to reach the point of having the complete list of runners available for the 2023 renewal of the Cross Country Chase.

But the ante-post market is loaded, and that can lead to some early calls for horse racing betting on this one.

Some prominent names should make it to the final declarations, all being well. That includes last year’s winner, Tiger Roll.

He is such a Festival favourite that he will be well-supported in 2023. The 12-year-old former Grand National winner is lightly raced these days, and it may be his Cheltenham swansong.

Old rival Easysland is likely to be back in the thick of the Cross County action this year. He got on the scoreboard in 2020 in a very slow grind in some challenging conditions. 

Interestingly, however, neither of the stalwarts have been able to touch current ante-post favourite Prengarde in the ante-post. 

The French youngster has been making significant strides in chasing and won a Cross Country at Compiegne last November by a wide margin.

Keep an eye out for this year’s best Cross Country Chase tips, which will be uploaded here.

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Cross Country Odds 2023

Horse/Form	Silks	Jockey/Trainer	Odds
Tiger Roll 614-P0		J:Davy Russell T:Gordon Elliott	6/4
Delta Work U3-466		J:Jack Kennedy T:Gordon Elliott	6/1
Prengarde 14110		J:Mark Walsh T:Enda Bolger	13/2
Shady Operator 09102		J:Derek O’Connor T:Enda Bolger	10/1
Easysland /42-PP		J:Jonjo O’Neill Jr T:Jonjo O’Neill	11/1
Brahma Bull 2333P		J:Brian Hayes T:Willie Mullins	14/1
Midnight Maestro -42091		J:Luke Dempsey T:Enda Bolger	14/1
Diesel D’Allier 236-31		J:Harry Bannister T:Richard J Bandey	16/1
Back On The Lash 71515		J:Sean Bowen T:Martin Keighler	20/1
Plan Of Attack F7-043		J:Darragh O’Keeffe T:Henry De Bromhead	25/1
Potters Corner 6P2P0		J:Jack Tudor T:Christian Williams	25/1

 

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How to pick a Cross Country Chase winner

Those all-important trends for Cross Country Chase betting need to be sized up, and that is just what our expert tipsters will be doing.

This is a race for specialists as not all horses, not even the great stayers of chasing, are all built for this kind of stamina test. This is beyond that – it’s for runners who have deep, deep wells of stamina reserves.

There have only been two favourites in the last ten editions delivered on their odds. One of those was Tiger Roll in 2019.

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Last 10 Cross Country Chase Winners Odds

• 2021 Tiger Roll 9/2
• 2020 Easysland 3/1
• 2019 Tiger Roll 5/4F
• 2018 Tiger Roll 7/1
• 2017 Cause Of Causes 4/1
• 2016 Josies Orders 15/8F
• 2015 Rivage d’Or 16/1
• 2014 Balthazar King 4/1
• 2013 Big Shu 14/1
• 2012 Balthazar King 11/2

There has been a definite trend towards Irish horses regarding the Cross Country Chase. 14 of the 17 previous editions of this race have been won by an Irish runner, two from GB and one from France.

No female horse has won the fixture before. However, again this is a race for specialists, so there are some key trends to pick through.

Notably, there hasn’t been a Grey or a Chestnut winner of the contest, and none of the editions has been won by a runner who has ever been larger than 66/1 in their career.

All but one of the Cross Country renewals have been won at no bigger than 16/1 odds, and all winners had had their last win over a distance of at least 2m 5f.

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All About The Cross Country Chase: Past and Present

Known as the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase for sponsorship reasons, this fixture at the Cheltenham Festival is a Cross Country Chase. Therefore, it is hosted on the Cross-Country Course at Cheltenham.

The race distance is 3 miles and 6 furlongs, with thirty-two obstacles for the runners to negotiate. The Cross Country Chase was a handicap fixture for most of its history, but it has been a conditions race since 2016.

The leading jockey in the history of the Cross Country Chase, which was introduced in 2005, is Nina Carberry, with four wins. Keith Donoghue has won three of the last four renewals, teaming up with Tiger Roll.

The leading trainer is Enda Bolger with four victories, followed by Gordon Elliott, who has won three of the last five renewals, twice with Tiger Roll.

For a fascinating stat, neither Paul Nicholls (16 runners) nor Willie Mullins (13 runners) has managed to produce a Cross Country Chase winner.

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How Do Horses Qualify For The Cross Country Chase Race?

The minimum age for a place in the Cross Country is 5-years-old. This is a conditions race now, meaning that its weights are allocated by sex and age, among other things, to level the playing field as much as possible.

What is the Cross Country Chase Prize Money in 2023?

The purse details for the 2023 Cross Country Chase betting are not known at this time. However, last year’s winner Tiger Roll took the top prize of £30,246.12. The other prizes issued were 2nd £9,030.12, 3rd £4,549.99, 4th £2,302.63, 5th £1,191.13, 6th £635.38.

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Cross Country Chase Past Winners

You can’t talk about previous winners of the Cross Country Chase without mentioning the great Tiger Roll, of course. His first win came in 2018 by two lengths before bolting up the following year on his title defence to win by 22-lengths over former winner Josies Orders. 

Tiger Roll had his hat trick bid in 2020 smashed by Easysland but got the better of that rival in last year’s edition. Other notable winners of the Cross Country Chase are Garden Champetre and Balthazar King, who both won it twice.

Year	Horse	Odds	Jockey	Trainer
2021	Tiger Roll	9/2	Keith Donoghue	Mrs Denise Foster
2020	Easysland	3/1	Jonathan Loguanou	D Cottin
2019	Tiger Roll	5/4F	Keith Donoghue	Gordon Elliott
2018	Tiger Roll	7/1	Keith Donoghue	Gordon Elliott
2017	Cause Of Causes	4/1	Mr J J Codd	Gordon Elliott
2016	Josies Orders	15/8F	Ms N Carberry	E Bolger
2015	Rivage d’Or	16/1	Davy Russell	A J Martin
2014	Balthazar King	4/1	Richard Johnson	Philip Hobbs
2013	Big Shu	14/1	B M Cash	Peter Maher
2012	Balthazar King	11/2	Richard Johnson	Philip Hobbs
2011	Sizing Australia	13/2	A E Lynch	Henry De Bromhead
2010	A New Story	25/1	A P Heskin	Michael Hourigan

Other Races on Day 2 of the Cheltenham Festival

The Cross Country Chase betting will unfold on Day 2 of the Festival, following the feature race that is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Here are all the races for Wednesday at the Festival:

13:30 The Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle Race (Grade 1)

14:10 The Brown Advisory Novices’ Steeple Chase (Grade 1)

14:50 The Coral Cup Hurdle (A Handicap Hurdle Race) (Grade 3)

15:30 The Betway Queen Mother Champion Steeplechase (Grade 1)

16:10 The Glenfarclas Cross Country Steeplechase

16:50 The Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Steeple Chase Challenge Cup (Grade 3)

17:30 The Weatherbys Champion Bumper (A Standard Open NH Flat Race) (Grade 1)