Key Points
- Today’s betting tip ran a huge race at the Cheltenham Festival!
- There are multiple reasons why he can reverse the form with the reopposing winner
- His trainer has a great record in the race and this horse is his only runner
The 2025/26 National Hunt season comes to a close at Sandown today, with their Jump Finale meeting taking place. It’s always a great meeting to end the season on, as the fantastic prize money on offer attracts plenty of top-class horses. With the National Hunt Trainers Championship already over, it’s not quite the meeting it once was, with less Willie Mullins horses coming over from Ireland, but it’s still great action nonetheless! Today’s betting tip runs in the feature Handicap race of the day, the 2026 bet365 Gold Cup, which is worth £175,000! I think this horse can progress further and lat odds of 9/1, he looks a fantastic each way bet!
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Betting advice
- 15:30 Sandown -
Road To Home
@ 9/1 (4 places) -
1pt each way
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He missed the Scottish Grand National but he can land this!
Road To Home was set to be Willie Mullins’ only runner in the Scottish Grand National, worth £200,000. But sadly the ground deteriorated and he was withdrawn from the race. The Closutton camp now turn their attention to this £175,000 race, which is not a bad alternative! I think Road To Home has a huge chance of landing this, and feel he is overpriced at 9/1. In this article, I’ll be breaking down my case for him, so make sure you read on in order to understand my logic!
Road To Home ran a huge race at the Cheltenham Festival!
Road To Home was always prominent in the Kim Muir at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. As they turned for home, he travelled supremely well in second. After the last, Road To Home made rapid headway to head Ask Brewster but sadly he rallied and just denied Road To Home by a neck at the line. Ask Brewster was perhaps just idling and the competition from Road To Home saw him dig in and fight.
The pair were both due to run in the Scottish Grand National but due to the testing ground up at Ayr, they have both been diverted here instead. I think that Kim Muir form is well worth following, so they both interested me in this race. The third and sixth in the Kim Muir - Monbeg Genius and The Enabler went on to finish fifth and third respectively in the Irish Grand National. The Kim Muir fourth, Kim Roque, then took his chance in the Scottish Grand National and finished third, beaten by just a length and a half.
Considering the strength of the form, I think handicap rises of 7lb and 6lb for Ask Brewster and Road To Home could underestimate their ability. Especially as the pair pulled clear up the famous Cheltenham hill. Off their revised marks of 135 and 137, they have lovely racing weights of 10st 11lb and 10st 13lb here too. The former has the same Irish amateur (S Cotter) aboard again, claiming 7lb, so he actually only carries 10st 4lb!
Whilst I rate the chances of both Ask Brewster and Road To Home, I’m leaning towards the latter for more than one reason. Firstly Road To Home has a 1lb swing at the weights with Ask Brewster for a margin of defeat that was only a neck. Therefore, simply on the numbers, he has to have an obvious chance of reversing the form.
In addition to that, whilst they are both only seven years of age, Road To Home has only had half of the runs over fences that Ask Brewster has. In his 11 race career to date, Road To Home has had just five starts over these bigger obstacles whereas Ask Brewster has now had 10. Therefore, whilst Ask Brewster is far from fully exposed, he’s certainly more exposed and less open to improvement than Road To Home. The fact that Ask Brewster has tried 3m 4f and 3m 4.5f previously only adds to that fact, whereas Road To Home is yet to step beyond 3m 2.5f. Whilst he has to prove he will stay this longer trip, I think Road To Home will relish it and it can bring out further improvement.
Last but certainly not least, Ask Brewster needs to prove he can act around this track. He ran here at Sandown in December and it was a poor effort from him, as he was beaten 15 lengths and he only beat one rival home that day. Arguably the ground was the problem that day rather than the track, as it was officially Good to Soft but the time being 32 seconds slow, suggests it was properly soft. As a horse that prefers better ground, that may have been his downfall but even still, the Sandown question mark still lingers until he proves himself here.
Road To Home’s trainer has a great record in this race
In 2024, Willie Mullins sent over three runners for this bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase. The two main contenders - Minella Cocooner and Nick Rockett went on to finish first and third and the outsider of the three - Aime Desjy came home in eighth. The following season, Nick Rockett then went on to win the Grand National at Aintree!
Last year, Willie Mullins came back with a battalion of 10 runners. Despite that Resplendent Grey managed to come out on top for Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen. That said, Willie Mullins was responsible for the second, third, fourth and fifth that day. The fifth was Grangeclare West who went straight to the race after finishing third in the Grand National. The one in third, High Class Hero went on to finish fifth in this year’s renewal of the Grand National.
With the UK’s National Hunt Trainers Championship already wrapped up by Dan Skelton, there is less appeal for Willie Mullins to bombard the race like he did last year. However, it remains a mouthwatering pot of £175,000 nonetheless and as such, he still wants to compete for the excellent prize money. Rather than 10 runners though, he has sent over just one and that is Road To Home. He was also going to be his sole runner in last weekend’s Scottish Grand National and he must think highly of his chances to send him alone.
Can Road To Home win this race for Willie Mullins?
With so much in his favour, I think Road To Home has an excellent chance of regaining this race for Willie Mullins! He ran a cracker in the Kim Muir and that is looking like a red hot renewal of the race as we watch the form play out. Considering the strength of the form, a 6lb rise for only being beaten a neck in the race (and clear of third horse) could prove to be too lenient from the handicapper. Whilst I respect Ask Brewster in here, I think with the 1lb weight swing and the less exposed profile, Road To Home is the one to be with here. With Willie’s record in the race, Road To Home has to be respected here but as his only runner, I think that respect has to be heightened even further.
In terms of negatives for Road To Home, obviously you would prefer not to have the 6lb rise for his second last time out as it certainly doesn’t help his chances. It always feels quite cruel to be hiked up in the handicap when you didn’t even end up winning the race. However, he did all but win the race and in hindsight, he may have deserved more than a 6lb rise. Whilst it’s not a negative as such as he could thrive due to it, the step up is certainly a question mark and he has to prove he can stay these additional two furlongs strongly. It is also worth noting that whilst he is improving with every run, he is repeatedly coming up short over fences with form figures of 35332 and the bridesmaid trait is not one you would want him to continue on with.
All elements considered, I think 9/1 is a fantastic price for Road To Home, especially considering that Ask Brewster is a much shorter price of 11/2-13/2. With the odds of 9/1 and four places on offer, Road To Home looks superb each way value to me and well worth a solid 1pt Each Way bet.
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