Front-runners hold the key at Cheltenham’s November Meeting
Anyone who has watched Cheltenham in November for long enough will tell you it pays to be handy, and the numbers back them up in a big way. I have been through all 186 races at the last ten November Meetings, and horses who made the running won more than three times as often as those held up at the back.
It is not simply a case of the best horses going forward, either. Front-runners have won about half as many races again as their prices said they should, and you would be £64 up to a £1 stake had you backed every one of them since 2017.
There is a catch, mind, because it works far better over fences than over hurdles. That is one of nine trends in our full guide to the meeting, which also covers the favourites’ record in the Paddy Power Gold Cup and the Greatwood, the age group that dominates the handicap hurdles, and the trainers and jockeys to follow.