When is the Gold Cup and who should I bet on?

Many Clouds at the forefront of the field

(Getty Images)

The jewel in the Cheltenham crown takes this place this afternoon when a field of 16 race in the Gold Cup.

The race, which begins at 3.20pm, sees Paul Nicholls-trained Silviniaco Conti, ridden by Noel Fehily, as the bookies' favourite with current odds of 3/1.

Nicholls' other horse in the race, Sam Winner, will be ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies, who was so impressive yesterday with a couple of wins.

However, The Independent's racing expert Jon Freeman believes Many Clouds, trained by Oliver Sherwood and ridden by Leighton Aspell, is the horse to beat; Many Clouds is currently at 13/2.

Read Jon's full tipping column here.