A value play away from Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup

I was recently looking into the betting for Gold Cup and have decided that there is a price which is too good to be true. I'll keep this short and sweet as the horses here will be well-known to most.

Perhaps looking at his recent profile, you'd think he was not the most reliable horse having unseated on his penultimate start and refusing to race on his seasonal reappearance, but Shishkin can be found at 5/1 on William Hill in the betting without Galopin Des Champs Market. I think this is a huge price considering this can also be played each way with 3 places on offer, an excellent cover with you then getting money back as long as he hits the first 4 (so long as you expect Galopin to be in the first three that is. I can actually see him being well supported on the day and going off around 5/1 in the normal betting, let alone in the W/O market.

There are doubts surrounding second favourite Fastorslow's connections will divert him to the weak looking Ryanair, leaving the 5/1 looking even bigger still. Shiskin is a high class horse on his day and on paper, is the only one you would think has a realistic chance of upsetting the favourite with him already having beaten the other contenders. He looked set to win the King George before his unseat something which I wouldn't worry about that too much as he had not fallen or unseated prior to that since his hurdles debut in 2019. The refusal to race is admittedly a black mark against him, but I'd hope the buzz of the Cheltenham crowd would be enough to ensure he jumps off. His form last season once stepping up in trip from 2 miles was exceptional. A demolition job in the Ascot Chase and a good win proving his stamina over the extended 3 miles in the Aintree Bowl either side of a staying on 2nd in last year's Ryanair where a mistake at a crucial time allowed Envoi Allen to get first run and he to me still looked like the best horse in the race. His most recent win in the Denman Chase I really liked and although he hit his usual flat spot, and Hitman was travelling into it nicely, you never once thought that Shishkin wouldn't knuckle down, which he did en route to an easy win. He'll certainly be staying on up the hill and I'd be optimistic he can finish second behind Galopin even if Fastorslow doesn't defect, and if not at least get money back with the place part.

For me this is a strong 2pt each-way play.