Sunderland Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle betting and odds preview

Events / Editor / 20 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

The Sunderland Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle is a seriously competitive listed race that forms the first leg of a £50,000 bonus offered by the sponsors, if the winner of this race can win again at the Cheltenham Festival the following week.

This hurdle race is normally a hot betting contest in which punters seeking a bet have latched onto the excellent record in the race of the Pipe family.

In 2007, David Pipe sent out Gaspara to land a gamble at odds of just 11/4 favourite before going on to claim the bonus with a win in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham.
David's father Martin had won the race three times in the previous fiver years, each time with horses that had been the subject of sustained betting interest and whose odds tumbled when the betting public latched on to them from the morning of the race.

Betting odds compilers also keep a close eye on any horse running well in behind the winner of the Imperial Cup, as many trainers view this as an ideal opportunity to get their horses 'spot on' for a bid at the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle, the fierce betting event that closes the Cheltenham Festival.