Cheltenham: Queen Mother Champion Chase - Horse Racing: All You Need To Know

bet365 News Team Jan 25 2022

We are not far away from the biggest meeting of the year in National Hunt racing, the Cheltenham Festival.

They say all roads lead to Cheltenham in jump racing and that’s because victory at this meeting means so much to those involved.

All the leading horses from the UK, Ireland and beyond will feature in their respective divisions, with 28 races scheduled across the four days.

We've got a guide to all four Championship races at Cheltenham and here is a look at the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

When is the Queen Mother Champion Chase?

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival and is one of the four Championship races at the meeting.

The 2022 Queen Mother Championship Chase is set for 15.30 on Wednesday, 16th March.

Where can I watch the Queen Mother Champion Chase?

ITV Racing will have extensive coverage of the Cheltenham Festival and will cover the Queen Mother Champion Chase as part of their day two coverage. You can also catch it on our Sports Live Streaming platform.

What is the Queen Mother Champion Chase?

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the leading two-mile race for chasers in Britain and Ireland. It is of Grade 1 status, which ensures the best in the division have this as their number one target for the season.

The race is open to horses aged five years or older and is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 1m7f and 199 yards. There are 13 fences to be jumped in the race and it is a great test of a horse's ability to jump fences at speed.

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Which horse has won the most Champion Chases?

Only one horse in history has won the Queen Mother Champion Chase three times. Badsworth Boy was successful in 1983, 1984 and 1985, in what was a dominant three-year period for Michael Dickinson's runner.

Which trainer has won the most Champion Chases?

Three trainers hold the record for the most wins in the Queen Mother Chase Champion Chase, with six victories each.

Tom Dreaper was successful with Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), Muir (1969) and Straight Fort (1970).

Seven Barrows trainer Nicky Henderson has saddled Remittance Man (1992), Finian’s Rainbow (2012), Sprinter Sacre (2013, 2016) and Altior (2018, 2019) to success.

More recently, Champion Trainer Paul Nicholls became a six-time winner, with Call Equiname (1999), Azertyuiop (2004), Master Minded (2008, 2009), Dodging Bullets (2015) and Politologue (2020) all prevailing.

Which jockey has won the most Champion Chases?

Two jockeys hold the record for the most wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase with five successes. Pat Taaffe rode Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966) and Straight Fort (1970) to victory.

Taaffe's record was matched by Barry Geraghty as he was on board Moscow Flyer (2003, 2005), Big Zeb (2010), Finian's Rainbow (2012) and Sprinter Sacre (2013) when they came out on top.

Which owner has won the most Champion Chases?

A trio of owners have won the Queen Mother Champion Chase three times.

George Ansley did so first with Fortia (1960, 1961) and Straight Fort, before Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984, 1985) helped Doug Armitage to match the record.

John Hales is also now a hat-trick holder with One Man (1998), Azertyuiop (2004) and Politologue (2020).

What's the biggest price SP of a Champion Chase winner?

Another Dolly caused a big upset in 1980 when successful in this 2m chase contest at odds of 33/1. He initially finished second past the post, but the winner (Chinrullah) was later disqualified.

Who are the five most recent winners?

Year	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	SP
2017	Special Tara	Noel Fehily	Henry De Bromhead	Sall Rowley-Williams	11/1
2018	Altior	Nico de Boinville	Nicky Henderson	Patricia Pugh	Evsf
2019	Altior	Nico de Boinville	Nicky Henderson	Patricia Pugh	4/11f
2020	Politologue	Harry Skelton	Paul Nicholls	John Hales	6/1
2021	Put The Kettle On	Aidan Coleman	Henry De Bromhead	One For Luck Racing	17/2

Who are the contenders for the Champion Chase in 2022?

Last year's Arkle winner Shishkin is the 8/15 favourite to maintain his 100 per cent record over fences and add another success for Nicky Henderson.

The Seven Barrows runner has been magnificent as a chaser and a recent victory in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase enhanced his reputation further.

Energumene gave Shishkin a good run for his money at Ascot last time out and he lost little in defeat. The Irish horse will get another chance to topple his rival at a different racecourse and is 3/1 to score.

Willie Mullins is represented by Chacun Pour Soi who missed this race through injury last season. He is a five-time Grade One winner and is 8/1 to win the biggest prize of his career so far.

Put The Kettle On prevailed in the race in 2021 and she is 16/1 to repeat her success and become a back-to-back winner.