Aiteen Thirtythree heads the early Hennessy betting

Aiteen Thirtythree has been installed at the head of the horse racing betting for the Hennessy Gold Cup and there are numerous reasons to believe that he can be successful.

Some 19 horses remain in the Hennessy betting after the latest declaration stage with Phillip Hobbs duo Wishfull Thinking and Quinz the most notable withdrawals.

Aiteen Thirtythree leads the market at 6/1 and some may see this as a short price given the fact he was pulled up when seemingly struggling in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham in March and was hardly inspiring behind Somersby on his only start of the current campaign.

However, the performances of both Master Minded and Kauto Star over the weekend only showed that Paul Nicholls’ horses are improving for an early-season run and there is no reason to expect Aiteen Thirtythree not to do something similar.

There is also the argument that connections have earmarked the Hennessy for the horse for a period of time in much the same way that Nicholls did with the legendary Denman in 2007.

Nicholls has enjoyed much success in the latest runnings of the Hennessy, winning three of the last eight renewals and watching Big Buck’s throw away another in this period when unseating late on.

Horses aged seven also have a fine record, winning half of the last ten renewals, which is another trend working in favour of Aiteen Thirtythree.

Meanwhile, seven of the last eight winners of the Hennessy Gold Cup have come from towards the head of the betting, priced at 10/1 or shorter.

This statistic also bodes well for the chances of Wymott, Michel Le Bon and recent Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Great Endeavour, with the threesome all currently available at 7/1.