Coral Cup

by Darren Brett
A 2m 5f Handicap Hurdle where there is usually more than one big gamble on the day of the race. However, big price winners of this race are very common so why not try for an outsider!

Coral Cup Trends

10/10	had an official rating of 147 or lower
10/10	had won between 2m 2f and 2m 6f over hurdles
9/10	had won a race earlier in the season
9/10	had not run for at least 32 days
8/10	were aged seven or younger
8/10	winners carried no more than 11st
7/10	had no more than four runs that season
7/10	had no more than nine runs over hurdles
6/10	won last time out

Coral Cup Analysis

As with a lot of the Cheltenham Handicaps this race is rarely won by a horse carrying more than 11st and with seven Irish winners out of nineteen renewals it's becoming clear that having a well fancied Irish raider in your selections is essential if you want to show a profit on this race.

Lightly raced horses tend to do well in the Coral Cup with most of the winners in the last decade only having less than ten runs over hurdles.

The last stat highlighted above six of the last eight winners won last time out is especially worthy of note as on average less than a third of the runners will meet this criteria.

Lastly, it may be best to avoid front-runners as they have a poor recent record in the Coral Cup.

Coral Cup Last Ten Winners

Table below shows the last ten winners of the race.

Year	Horse	Age/Wgt	Trainer	Jockey	Price
2013	Medinas	6-11-10	A King	W Hutchinson	33/1
2012	Son Of Flicka	8-10-6	D McCain	J Maguire	16/1
2011	Carlito Brigante	5-11-0	G Elliott	D Russell	16/1
2010	Spirit River	5-11-2	N Henderson	B Geraghty	9/1
2009	Ninetieth Minute	6-10-3	T Taaffe	P Flood	14/1
2008	Naiad Du Misselot	7-10-13	F Murphy	D Russell	7/1
2007	Burntoakboy	9-9-12	R Newland	S Jones	10/1
2006	Skys The Limit	5-11-12	E OGrady	B Geraghty	11/1
2005	Idole First	6-10-10	Miss V Williams	A OKeeffe	33/1
2004	Monkerhostin	7-10-8	P Hobbs	R Johnson	13/2

Coral Cup Preview

Give close inspection to the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury and the Boylesports.com Hurdle at Leopardstown when studying the form as the equivalents of these two races have thrown up five recent winners.

Favourites do not have a good record in this race with just one outright and one joint favourite in nineteen runnings.

Philip Hobbs' runners are always of interest in the hurdle handicaps and with two wins and six other finishers in the top six from just twenty runners, his Coral Cup entries warrant the closest inspection. His record may even be better than this had Wishful Thinking not fell at the second last in 2010. Racing there off 144 he has marched up to 164 over fences so may have gone quite close!