Safe Bets for the Cheltenham Festival

Straight Forecast

Prestbury Park is gearing up for the Cheltenham Festival this week. The Gold Cup, a chase over three miles long for horses over five years old, is running on Saint Patrick's Day. I'd like to wish our Irish readers a happy Saint Patrick's Day. It's a safe bet that most of you will be at Cheltenham for the festival this week — amongst the sea of brown trilbies and covert coats — so best of luck with your flutters too.

Cue Card or Native River are widely anticipated to take the prize — with the resultant low odds on each. Cue Card fell in the race last year, but he's priced to finish well and in good form. Both horses are trained by Colin Tizzard. You could back both in a Straight Forecast bet to amplify your certain winnings.

Delicious English Milk Stout for Saint Patrick's Day

Traditionally, a large quantity of stout is consumed at Prestbury Park during festival week. If our Irish friends can see it in themselves to drink an English stout on Saint Patrick's/Gold Cup Day, I heartily recommend the Spilt Milk stout from Bath's Electric Bear Brewing.

The street art-style labels and pump badges the brewery use for their beers aren't what a fuddy-duddy like me is used to — I'm a lions rampant insignia or Toby jug emblem kind of chap — but this English milk stout is terrific, with dark malts and lactose providing a delicious creamy coffee and chocolate taste. It's a veritable meal in itself.

Sláinte, my dear chaps.