A premier handicap fixture run over two-miles and five-furlongs, the Coral Cup is open to horses aged fours years or older and is considered one of the most competitive handicap races on the UK & Ireland’s National Hunt racing calendar.

2023 isn’t expected to be any different, and with 13 of the most heavily backed horses in the ante-post Cheltenham betting odds ranging from 7/1 to just 14/1 – it’s clear punters and bookies alike believe the Coral Cup is wide open for the taking.

With that in mind, read on as take a look at the thoroughbreds who, at the time of writing, are considered the best chances of reigning supreme in the third race on day two of the Festival.

Run For Oscar

A relatively inconsistent performer since making his debut in December of 2019, eight-year-old Run For Oscar will be entering the Coral Cup with back-to-back third-placed finishes at Punchestown and Haydock. While it’s not the ideal preparation for the Charles Byrnes-trained horse, there are plenty of punters who haven’t forgotten the gelding’s two outings prior to the aforementioned pair of third-placed results – in which he won by three-and-a-half and four lengths respectively.

As a result, Run For Oscar currently sits as the favourite at 7/1.

Camprond

In what has been a season to forget for seven-year-old Camprond, in which he has failed to finish inside the top half of the field in all five of his races, the Philip Hobbs-trained thoroughbred will need to wind back the clock to his strong 2021 form if he is to bag his connections the £56,270 on offer for the winner.

Despite his less than stellar showings in late 2022 and early 2023, Camprond is garnering odds of 8/1 – which is good for second favourite. His short price when compared to the remainder of the field could be in large part to his previous success at Prestbury Park, with the French horse having secured a triumph in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham two years ago.

HMS Seahorse

With a win in his most recent outing and a 19th-placed finish prior to that, the contrast between HMS Seahorse’s performances in his 2022/23 campaign have been surprising to the say the least. The five-year-old showed exceptional speed and won going away at Navan, yet struggled to find another gear to challenge the leading pack when running at Curragh. Therefore, while it’s difficult to tell which HMS Seahorse we’ll get on the day, he showed enough in January to garner the interest of punters and sits as the third favouriteat 9/1 with some operators.

Haut En Couleurs

Never write off a Willie Mullins-trained horse. Taking part in Grade 2 company in his last outing, Haut En Couleurs was there or thereabouts down the stretch but could not get past stablemate Janidil up the straight. However, having gone up against a number of elite horses such as the likes of GalopinDes Champs, Fakir D’oudairies, Blue Lord and Edwardstone– the 10/1 shot has enough big-race experience to challenge a lesser field in the Coral Cup.