Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips & Odds
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the showpiece Championship race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival and takes place on Wednesday 11th March 2026. Read More
You can check out the latest Queen Mother Champion Chase odds here, as well as our Cheltenham tips for the big Grade 1 contest, while we also help guide you through all the runners and help you place a bet on the race with some of the best horse racing betting sites...
Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips
We will display our Champion Chase tips for 2026 closer to the time...
About The Queen Mother Champion Chase
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature event on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, which is traditionally held on a Wednesday in March. A Grade One steeplechase over just shy of two miles (one mile, seven furlongs and 199 yards), the Champion Chase is the main minimum-distance chase in the National Hunt calendar. There have been a host of multiple winners of the race over the years, particularly recently, with Altior, Sprinter Sacre, Master Minded and Moscow Flyer all achieving the feat this century.
The Champion Chase was first run in 1959 as the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase, and the inaugural running was won by Quita Que. Several legendary names have won the race over the years, including Flyingbolt in 1966, who is officially the second-greatest National Hunt horse of all time behind Arkle. Each of Fortria (1960 & 1961), Drinny Double (1967 & 1968), Royal Relief (1972 & 1974), Skymas (1976 & 1977) and Hilly Way (1978 & 1979) won more than one renewal of the race in its first 20 years, though Badsworth Boy became the first and remains the only horse to win three renewals of the race for the Dickinson family, between 1983-1985. Several horses have won more than one renewal since, including Moscow Flyer (2003 & 2005), Master Minded (2008 & 2009), Altior (2018 & 2019) and the great Sprinter Sacre (2013 & 2016), who have all achieved the feat since the turn of the century. The race was given its present title in 1980, in honour of the Queen Mother on her 80th birthday, who was a keen National Hunt fan.
MARINE NATIONALE was a poignant winner of the 2025 Champion Chase as the horse synonymous with recently lost jockey Michael O'Sullivan, bounding clear up the Cheltenham hill as he had done with Michael in the saddle in the 2023 Supreme to see off hot favourite Jonbon.
Queen Mother Champion Chase Key Trends
- Two of the last 10 winners have been sent off favourite
- Five of the last 10 winners have been trained in the UK
- Six of the last 10 winners had won their previous race before claiming Champion Chase glory
Previous Winners Of The Queen Mother Champion Chase
| Year | Winner | Winning Jockey | Winning Trainer | Starting Price | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Marine Nationale | Sean Flanagan | Barry Connell | 5/1 | 8 |
| 2024 | Captain Guinness | Rachael Blackmore | Henry De Bromhead | 17/2 | 9 |
| 2023 | Energumene | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 6/5 Fav | 9 |
| 2022 | Energumene | Paul Townend | Willie Mullins | 5/2 | 8 |
| 2021 | Put The Kettle On | Aidan Coleman | Henry de Bromhead | 17/2 | 7 |
| 2020 | Politologue | Harry Skelton | Paul Nicholls | 6/1 | 9 |
| 2019 | Altior | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson | 4/11 Fav | 9 |
| 2018 | Altior | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson | Evs Fav | 8 |
| 2017 | Special Tiara | Noel Fehily | Henry de Bromhead | 11/1 | 10 |
| 2016 | Sprinter Sacre | Nico de Boinville | Nicky Henderson | 5/1 | 10 |
| 2015 | Dodging Bullets | Sam Twiston-Davies | Paul Nicholls | 9/2 | 7 |
| 2014 | Sire De Grugy | Jamie Moore | Gary Moore | 11/4 Fav | 8 |
| 2013 | Sprinter Sacre | Barry Geraghty | Nicky Henderson | 1/4 Fav | 7 |
Frequently Asked Questions About The Queen Mother Champion Chase
When is the Queen Mother Champion Chase?
The race takes place at 16:00 on Wednesday 11th March 2026.
Where can I watch the Queen Mother Champion Chase?
You can watch the race live on ITV1 and Racing TV which also offer options to stream the race via their streaming services.
Alternatively, you will find that most betting sites offer a free live horse racing stream allowing you to watch the race after you've placed a bet or if you have a funded betting account with some bookmakers.
Who is the most iconic winner of Champion Chase?
Several legendary chasers could stake a strong claim to this title, though few Champion Chase winners pulled at the heartstrings quite like the Nicky Henderson-trained Sprinter Sacre. Having finished third in the 2011 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Sprinter Sacre quickly made the most of the switch to chasing, and finished his novice season with a perfect record of five wins out of five, taking apart the field in the 2012 Arkle Trophy. Sprinter Sacre quickly took control of the two-mile chase division, and his 19-length victory in the 2013 Queen Mother Champion Chase led to many declaring him to be the best horse since the great Arkle. However, the bubble would burst the following season, when Sprinter Sacre was pulled-up due to injury in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton, and subsequently diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.
Many assumed that Sprinter Sacre’s best days were behind him, and he struggled to return to his brilliant best when eventually returning from injury in January 2015, suffering defeat on all three of his starts that season, including when pulled-up in the 2015 Champion Chase. However, he bounced back to winning ways on reappearance the following season, striking in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham, before following up in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton a month later. The presence of the previous year’s Arkle winner, Un De Sceaux, in the 2016 Champion Chase meant that Sprinter Sacre was widely expected to be playing for a place at best, but he found plenty of his old spark to take control of the race from two fences out, before holding on in the run in - to ensure that there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Are there any trials for the Champion Chase?
There are several recognised Champion Chase trials throughout the jumps season, with the most important being the Tingle Creek at Sandown in December, the Clarence House Chase (January) and the Ascot Chase (February), which are both held at Ascot. Other races to keep an eye on include the Haldon Gold Cup (Exeter), the Shloer Chase (Cheltenham), the Desert Orchid Chase (Kempton) and the Game Spirit Chase (Newbury). Over in Ireland, Champion Chase contenders regularly come from the Fortria Chase at Navan, the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase at Punchestown, the Hilly Way Chase at Cork and the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown.
Who is the most successful jockey in the Champion Chase?
The joint-most successful jockeys in the history of the Champion Chase are Pat Taaffe and Barry Geraghty, with five wins apiece. Taaffe’s five Champion Chase wins came on board Fortria (1960 & 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), and Straight Fort (1970), while Geraghty’s five wins in the Champion Chase came courtesy of Moscow Flyer (2003 & 2005), Big Zeb (2010), Finian’s Rainbow (2012), and Sprinter Sacre (2013).
Who is the most successful trainer in the Champion Chase?
Paul Nicholls has the finest record in the race in recent times, as he has saddled the winner six times during his illustrious career. Call Equiname (1999) was his first winner in the Grade 1, while Master Minded (2008,2009) and Politologue (2020) are just another brace of notable winners in the Cheltenham Festival contest.