2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup: the runners, the odds, the verdict

Your guide to Friday's WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature race on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival on Friday.

3.05 Cheltenham: WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup card and betting

1 Al Boum Photo

Won the last two Gold Cups, has been trained beautifully and is a reliable proposition in a test that seems to suit perfectly.

Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Paul Townend
Odds: 5-2

2 A Plus Tard

High-class chaser over shorter trips who shone when stepped up to three miles last time and represents an all-conquering team.

Trainer: Henry de Bromhead
Jockey: Rachael Blackmore
Odds: 10-3

3 Aso

Smart chaser who was second in the 2019 Ryanair, but this looks a stiff task especially with doubts about his stamina.

Trainer: Venetia Williams
Jockey: Daryl Jacob
Odds: 200-1

4 Black Op

Drying ground might help this ten-year-old who was a Grade 1-winning novice hurdler, but has yet to hit those heights over fences.

Trainer: Tom George
Jockey: Tom Scudamore
Odds: 200-1

5 Champ

Mercurial sort who won last year's RSA in extraordinary fashion and jumped as well as ever in his warm-up race last time.

Trainer: Nicky Henderson
Jockey: Nico de Boinville
Odds: 6-1

6 Frodon

Surprise King George VI Chase hero who often goes under the radar, but knows where the net is and has won six of his 13 starts at Cheltenham.

Trainer: Paul Nicholls
Jockey: Bryony Frost
Odds: 16-1

7 Kemboy

Course record can be questioned and the nine-year-old has not fired in the last two Gold Cups, but he has loads of talent if putting his best foot forward.

Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Danny Mullins
Odds: 16-1

8 Lostintranslation

Third in the race 12 months ago, he has not built on that and has become a patchy performer. However, decent ground might assist another resurgence.

Trainer: Colin Tizzard
Jockey: Robbie Power
Odds: 28-1

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9 Minella Indo

Albert Bartlett winner in 2019 who was second to Champ last season. Latest two efforts raise question marks, but festival form is encouraging.

Trainer: Henry de Bromhead
Jockey: Jack Kennedy
Odds: 8-1

10 Native River

Race regular who was third in 2017, successful a year later and fourth two years ago. Hugely popular and victory would be memorable, but conditions are against him.

Trainer: Colin Tizzard
Jockey: Richard Johnson
Odds: 12-1

11 Royale Pagaille

Dangerous novice who has come of age this term and connections should be applauded for going for gold, but best efforts have been on desperate ground.

Trainer: Venetia Williams
Jockey: Charlie Deutsch
Odds: 16-1

12 Santini

Near miss in this race last year and course form is good, so likely to produce a solid effort, but might find one or two rivals prove beyond him.

Trainer: Nicky Henderson
Jockey: Aidan Coleman
Odds: 11-1

The verdict

A race to savour, but Al Boum Photo's team have zoomed in on this since last year and he can join Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate as three-time winners of jumping's best Grade 1.

Sign up to Sky Bet and get £20 in free bets when you place a £5 bet on the Gold Cup. Why not back our selection Al Boum Photo? First single & EW bet only. Odds of 1-1 or greater. 2x £/10 bet tokens. Free bet stakes not included in returns. Free bets are non withdrawable. No free bet expiry. Eligibility restrictions. Full T&Cs here. 18+