Cheltenham Festival Accumulator: six horses to include in combination bets

Landing a huge combination bet, especially an accumulator, is the ultimate dream for punters and there is no better time to win than at the Cheltenham festival. With that in mind, who is worth including in the weekly multiple? SBK tipster Tom Collins is on hand to answer your question.

Why would you start a Cheltenham festival accumulator with any horse other than Honeysuckle, who is unbeaten in 14 races and warrants her prohibitive odds in the featured Champion Hurdle on day one. 

The rest of Tuesday looks difficult and you never want a combination bet to fall on the first day, so it could be wise to move onto Wednesday’s banker Shishkin. He should have a similarly unbeaten record, but he fell on hurdling debut back in 2019. His SBK Clarence House Chase victory confirmed his superiority in this division and, at a short price, he has to go in.

Galopin Des Champs vs Bob Olinger will be one of the best head-to-heads of the week in the Turners Novices’ Chase on Thursday. Preference is for the former, who may gain an advantage on his rival early and prove difficult to catch. Similar tactics will be employed on Allaho, who is largely considered the most obvious winner over the four days in the Ryanair.

So far, so good. But you will have seen many multiple bets suggesting that you include the aforementioned four runners, so it’s time to add some spice to the mix. Ain’t That A Shame is a novice going places and he has strong claims of taking the Kim Muir, which ends Thursday’s card. He will boost the accumulator's odds no-end.

If you make it to Friday with a combination bet still in-play, you have done better than most. I’d be pretty confident at this point, too, given my NAP of the meeting, Vauban, is the sole selection remaining. He could be the next Champion Hurdler-in-waiting and can cap off a fine week for punters.

Recommended accumulator

Honeysuckle (Champion Hurdle, 3.30 Cheltenham, Tuesday)
Shishkin (Champion Chase, 3.30 Cheltenham, Wednesday)
Galopin Des Champs (Turners Novices’ Chase, 1.30 Cheltenham, Thursday)
Allaho (Ryanair Chase, 2.50 Cheltenham, Thursday)
Ain’t That A Shame (Kim Muir Handicap Chase, 5.30 Cheltenham, Thursday)
Vauban (Triumph Hurdle, 1.30 Cheltenham, Friday)

Odds at the time of writing: 198-1