2021 Champion Hurdle Odds Pit Honeysuckle Against Epatante

Posted: March 18, 2021

Updated: March 18, 2021

Epatante Goes For Another Win Amid A Strong Field
Find All The 2021 Champion Hurdle Odds At Bet365
Queen Mother Champion Chase To See Altior Return

Image source: Carine06 from UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A bet on the Champion Hurdle is a superb start to a wonderful festival of racing at Cheltenham. Online sportsbook sites in the UK like Bet365 offer up to the minute 2021 Champion Hurdle odds. So the question is should you bet on Epatante to repeat it’s win or back Honeysuckle to steal it’s thunder? Tricky. It’s nearly as difficult as choosing a runner in the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Altior is back again, but at long odds as it faces off against Chacun pour Soi.

Bet365 has some mouthwatering 2021 Champion Hurdle odds. Last year’s winner, Epatante, is back again but comes up against the unbeaten Honeysuckle. So we’re going to get a tight race. The Champion Hurdle is the final leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and has been run since 1927. Currently, it covers just over two miles which will suit Honeysuckle. That’s why it gets just 2/1 at online bookies in the UK. Epatante, just for comparison, gets a significantly longer 3/1.

This isn’t hugely surprising. Recent events dented the 2021 Champion Hurdle odds on Epatante. It came second at Kempton just after Christmas beaten by Silver Streak. Silver Streak only gets 14/1 at online betting sites in the UK like Bet365 in this race over similar distance. So, it seems, Epatante can have off days. Honeysuckle doesn’t. At least it hasn’t so far. The bookies are thus hedging neatly. What may just throw this all out of kilter a tad is the presence of Goshen at 4/1.

Goshen’s Storming Win Puts It In Contention

Goshen romped home over a mile and seven and half furlongs at Wincanton in February. It won by 22 lengths. That’s no mean feat. That sort of win makes the bookies sit up and take notice. Canny gamblers may feel a bet on Goshen is a good mix between odds and chance. Although a bet on Honeysuckle is probably still wisest, it’s a lovely little wager. Those eight hurdles will quickly separate the front of the field, and then we’ll see if the 2021 Champion Hurdle odds are right.

Bet On The 2021 Champion Chase

Bun Doran – 80/1

Battleoverdoyen – 66/1

Fanion Destruval – 50/1

Ibleo – 50/1

Tornado Flyer – 40/1

Duc Des Genievres – 40/1

Notebook – 25/1

Greaneteen – 25/1

Rouge Vif – 20/1

Sancro – 20/1

Cilaos Emery – 20/1

Fakir Doudairies – 14/1

Sceau Royal – 14/1

Put The Kettle On – 12/1

First Flow – 10/1

Politologue – 9/1

Nube Negra – 8/1

Altior – 7/1

Chacun Pour Soi – 4/5

More odds at bet365…

They say the weather will be quite mild so that’ll help. Going over hurdles in the rain is often a crap-shoot. Naturally the same can be said of going over fences proper. That’s why many of those taking advantage of UK gambling laws to bet on the Cheltenham Festival will have an eye on the Queen Mother Champion Chase odds too. Sure, they’re not as close as the 2021 Champion Hurdle odds, but that’s what makes them fun. Does Chacun Pour Soi deserve those short odds?

2021 Champion Hurdle Odds Close At The Front

The odds on Chacun Pour Soi are distinctly short. It gets 4/5 at Bet365 well ahead of the rest of the field. This despite the rest of the field including last year’s winner Politologue, Nube Negra and the noted Altior. That’s quite the position to be in. Sure, it hasn’t lost since December, but those thirteen fences can mock statistics. Run over two miles of the Old Course this could go anywhere. All things being equal, a bet on Chacun Pour Soi seems a sensible course of action.

2021 Champion Hurdle Odds

For Pleasure – 150/1

Petit Mouchoir – 100/1

Not So Sleepy – 50/1

Saldier – 50/1

Song For Someone – 33/1

Jason The Militant – 22/1

James du Berlais – 20/1

Sharjah – 16/1

Aspire Tower – 14/1

Silver Streak – 14/1

Abacadabras – 10/1

Goshen – 4/1

Epatante – 3/1

Honeysuckle – 2/1

However, this is English horse racing and surprises are part and parcel of proceedings. So whilst Politologue gets 9/1, because First Flow beat it at Ascot over this distance, it could still win. Likewise, Nube Negra gets 8/1 but stormed to a win over Altior at over three lengths. As for a bet on Altior itself, well perhaps that day has passed. It was once a great bet on sports in the UK but now Bet365 has better wagers to go with the great 2021 Champion Hurdle odds they’re quoting.