Bet On The Stanjames.com International Hurdle

A seven-strong complement of hurdlers will line up for the International Hurdle this Saturday, with two horses in particular fielding a lot of the attention in the build up to the race: Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained The New One and the winner of the 2012 edition of the race, Zarkandar. These two aren’t the only runners with a chance in this field, however, with Court Minstrel, who will look to redeem himself for his disappointing return so far this season after coming into it with a big reputation after winning the Sussex Champion Hurdle and the Scottish Hurdle Champion last season, also in the mix.

2013 International Hurdle Odds

Although Stan James is the official sponsor of the event, the best place to have a bet on the 2013 International Hurdle is with Bet365.com. The odds below were taken from the site, and you will be able to find the latest race odds there as well. Bet365.com is also offering each-way betting on the race, with which you will receive 1/4 if should your selection place in the first two positions.

The New One 1/2

Zarkandar 9/4

Court Minstrel 14/1

Seabreeze D’ho 25/1

Jumps Road 33/1

Hawkhill 50/1

Albert Hall 66/1

This race looks like a repeat of the Aintree Hurdle run in April, where Zarkandar got the better of his rival for Saturday by half a length. The New One looks to have built some form in the intervening period, however, with a strong win over Rock On Ruby in a Listed race at Kempton in October. In contrast, Zarkandar was comprehensively beaten by Annie Power in Ascot when first up; for this reason the marked difference in the odds on these two horses for the International on Saturday.

The New One’s team is understandably confident in their charge’s chances for the race, with Sam Twiston-Davies, the horse’s jockey, and son on the trainer, saying he was looking forward to the race.

‘It’s not a big field but it’s competitive. He’s in good form and it will be nice to get him back on the course again,’ the younger Twiston-Davies said. ‘He was very impressive at Kempton. It was nice how he came out of the race and he’s progressed from it since.’

Connections for the Evan Williams-trained Court Minstrel are interested in seeing how their horse will run this weekend, after seeing an improvement in his form since finishing seventh in the StanJames.com Greatwood Hurdle just under a month ago, though they remain realistic about his chances.

Williams: ‘He has been in flying form since the Greatwood and I thought he ran a really good race under top-weight. I was delighted with him. We hoped at the start of the season that he had progressed from last year, but he hasn’t and that is what he is. He is in very good form though and his work has been as good as it’s even been.’

‘If we finish third, I will be very happy and just to be running in a race with likes of The New One and Zarkandar is brilliant.’

Where To Bet On The International Hurdle

As mentioned above, the best racebook to place a bet on the 2013 International Hurdle is Bet365.com, who will offer the best odds on the race. When visiting Bet365.com, click on ‘Horse Racing’ in the left sidebar and scroll down to the Antepost section of the page, where you will find the markets for this race and many more. The winner takes home approximately GBP 75,000.

About The Race

The StanJames.com International Hurdle is a Grade 2 hurdle race for horses aged four and older, with eight hurdles are to be jumped during its running. The race is run over a distance of two miles and one furlong at Cheltenham Racecourse in England and has a purse of GBP 130,000,

Check out the race’s wiki page to learn more about the event.