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Inglis Drever - new favourite.
As the rains continue to fall on the sacred Cheltenham turf, 2005 hero Inglis Drever has usurped Black Jack Ketchum at the head of Betfair's exchange market for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle. Having been considered the banker of the meeting for so many, doubt has been thrown on the participation of the latter as prospects of a soft-ground Festival continue to strengthen due to the inclement weather. Inglis Drever now trades at around the 4-1 mark on the exchange, with Black Jack Ketchum drifting to around 9-2. "Black Jack Ketchum has been backed at the lowest price of any horse for the Festival on Betfair, with punters taking 1.85 (5-6) about him winning the World Hurdle before his defeat last time," explained Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin. "It is a remarkable turnaround to now see him as not even favourite for the race. "But of course, the current Betfair price factors in the very real chance that he won't even line up for the race given testing conditions." On a similar tack, William Hill have been forced to reassess their prices on what the official going will be on day one of the Festival. The firm still make good to soft the favourite in their market, with a mainly mild week anticipated in Gloucester. However, they have been forced to cut the odds of soft going predominating to 13-8 (from an initial 11-4), due to popular demand. "The going at the Festival hasn't been heavy for almost two decades, but that hasn't stopped punters quite literally pouring their money onto the ground being softer than good on the opening day," explained spokesman Tony Kenny. "The ground is crucial to the plans of many of the leading contenders at the Festival. "And with soft ground now a possibility, we expect to see a lot more money for horses that enjoy any ease in the ground." Official going on the first day of the Festival William Hill bet: 4-5 Good To Soft, 13-8 Soft, 6-1 Heavy, 10-1 Good, 200-1 Good To Firm.
