What does NAP in horse racing mean? Cheltenham Festival to be set off by fabled favourite tag

"That's my NAP for Cheltenham."

You'll see those three letters in sequence many times over the next four days as the Festival gets under way.

In racing tips parlance, a punter's NAP of the day is their best bet for the entire meeting.

You'll find it crop up in all the big meetings, from the Grand National at Aintree and its Scottish counterpart at Ayr to Glorious Goodwood and Cheltenham.

The top horses down the years have been described as a NAP, from Sprinter Sacre to Annie Power.

But what on earth is it short for? The answer may surprise you.

NAP is in fact a shortening of Napoleon, the French military leader and emperor.

But its usage in racing actually comes from the card game of the same name, which originated in France long after the revolutionary's death.

In that, the winner calls out 'Napoleon!' when they believe they have won the game.

So in a similar sense, you might cry out when your NAP trots first past the winning post... hopefully.

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