Queen Mother Champion Chase betting

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature race on the second day of the Cheltenham in March. It pits the top two-mile chasers against one another and down the years there have been some classic renewals.

In 2021, Put The Kettle On became the first mare to win the race. She did it in typical battling fashion to hold off the fast-finishing Nube Negra and warm favourite Chacun Pour Soi.

It was Henry de Bromhead’s third success in the race after Sizing Europe (2011) and Special Tiara (2017).

In 2022, Put The Kettle On will bid to defend her crown and go back-to-back in the Grade 1, following in the footsteps of Badsworth Boy, Viking Flagship, Master Minded and Altior.

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Bet on the Champion Chase

Queen Mother Champion Chase betting tips

Most Champion Chase winners had won on their previous start before the Cheltenham Festival. A very high percentage had raced within the previous two months and had experience at Cheltenham.

Winning form at Cheltenham is a useful factor to consider when assessing the Queen Mother Champion Chase odds.

Many Champion Chase winners had already chalked up five or more chase victories, mostly at two miles. These often include a Grade 1 victory and a win during the current season.

Nicky Henderson equalled Tom Dreaper’s record of six Champion Chase victories when Altior won it for a second time in 2019. The Lambourn trainer also won with Remittance Man (1992), Finian’s Rainbow (2012) and Sprinter Sacre (2013, 2016).

Barry Geraghty drew level with Pat Taaffe on five wins in the race when riding Sprinter Sacre to victory in 2013. Taaffe’s victories included the great Flyingbolt in 1966.

Queen Mother Champion Chase betting trends

Favourites have a mixed recent record in this race. Master Minded (2009), Sprinter Sacre (2013) and Altior (2019) were all very heavily supported in the Queen Mother Champion Chase betting.

Sire De Grugy (2014) also returned favourite with most recent winners being in the first three in the Champion Chase odds.

There have been surprises with Big Zeb (2010), Sizing Europe (2011) and Special Tiara (2017) returning at 10-1 or bigger. Newmill was a 16-1 outsider in 2006 when he beat a field that included Kauto Star and Moscow Flyer.

He had been a 33-1 Queen Mother Champion Chase tip in the early betting for a high profile newspaper tipster.

There have been a wide range of ages among Queen Mother Champion Chase winners but most have been between seven and 10. Moscow Flyer did win the race as an 11-year-old in 2005 while Master Minded was only five when securing his first title in 2008.

Badsworth Boy (1983 – 1985) became the first horse to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase three times. There have been numerous two-time winners and the previous running is always a good place to start for your Queen Mother Champion Chase tips.

Queen Mother Champion Chase betting - ante-post pointers

The Clarence House Chase at Ascot has been the best guide for Queen Mother Champion Chase tips. Master Minded, Sprinter Sacre, Sire De Grugy and Dodging Bullets also won the Clarence House before winning the Champion Chase. Finian’s Rainbow was runner-up in the same race behind Somersby before winning at Cheltenham.

Sprinter Sacre won the Desert Orchid Chase in December 2015 and did not race again until winning this race the following spring. Altior won the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury prior to his victory in 2018 but took the more traditional route of the Clarence House Chase in 2019.

There are three major races open to winners of the Queen Mother Champion Chase before the end of the National Hunt season.

The Celebration Chase at Sandown has proved the most popular in recent years with Sire de Grugy, Sprinter Sacre and Altior all victorious. The alternatives are the Melling Chase at Aintree or the Champion Chase at Punchestown.

Almost all winners contest the same race the following season and usually top the Champion Chase ante-post betting. Altior became the first horse to record back-to-back Champion Chase victories since Master Minded (2008 and 2009).

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Queen Mother Champion Chase betting history and memorable winners

The Queen Mother Champion Chase was first run in 1959 when it was known as the National Hunt Two-Mile Chase. The inaugural running was won by 10-year-old Quita Que, trained by Dan Moore and ridden by Bunny Cox.

The name was changed in 1980 to mark the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday. Although she never won this race as an owner, Game Spirit carried her colours into second place in 1976.

Flyingbolt was one of the easiest ever winners of the Champion Chase when winning by 15 lengths in 1966. He won so comfortably that he ran in the Champion Hurdle the following day and was beaten just over three lengths into third place.

Crisp had already established himself as a superb jumper in his native Australia before joining Fred Winter’s Lambourn stable. He won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1971 but will forever be associated with his heart-breaking defeat by Red Rum in the 1973 Grand National at Aintree.

Badsworth Boy completed a hat-trick of victories in this race between 1983 and 1985. He won by a distance in his first Champion Chase victory and was rated the best horse he had ever trained by Michael Dickinson.

Pearlyman (1987, 1988), Barnbrook Again (1989, 1990) and Viking Flagship (1994, 1995) were all popular Queen Mother Champion Chase bets.

The grey One Man was another well backed winner in the race in 1998. It was a fine training performance by Gordon Richards with the horse having already won the King George VI Chase over three miles in 1995 and 1996.

Moscow Flyer (2003, 2005) and Master Minded (2008, 2009) joined the list of two time Champion Chase winners. Sprinter Sacre (1-4) won in 2013 at the shortest Queen Mother Champion Chase betting odds in history.

He absolutely destroyed the opposition to win by 19 lengths without coming off the bridle.

There was speculation that Sprinter Sacre would step up to three miles for the King George but his career was put on hold after a heart condition was discovered.

He returned to Cheltenham in 2016 to win his second Champion Chase, this time defeating the Irish-trained favourite Un De Sceaux by three lengths.

Queen Mother Champion Chase betting 2022

Put The Kettle On has an incredible record. She’s won on all four runs at the track, including the Arkle in 2020, meaning she’s a dual-Festival winner.

But Nicky Henderson knows what it takes to train the Queen Mother Champion Chase winner. He’s the joint-winning trainer, picking up this race on six occasions.

His exciting Shishkin is another two-time Festival winner. He was triumphant in the 2020 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, then was saved to tackle fences. Henderson’s charge has thrived over the larger obstacles, and is unbeaten in five races, which includes a comprehensive 12-length victory in the 2021 Arkle.

Last year’s third Chacun Pour Soi and the electric Energumene all offer stern challenges, as Willie Mullins looks to win this race for the first time.

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