The Queen Mother Champion Chase was introduced all the way back in 1959, with Quita Que winning the inaugural running. Back then it was called the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase.
The race received the current name back in 1980 as a thank you to the Queen Mother for all of the support she had given to the sport. She was a successful owner herself and had the runner up in the 1976 renewal with a horse called Game Spirit. Until her passing, the Queen Mother would always be present for the trophy presentation.
The race is the feature on Wednesday, which is the second day of the
Cheltenham Festival. With £400,000 of prize money up for grabs, including £225,000 to the winner, along with the prestige of a Cheltenham Festival victory, this race attracts all of the best two mile chasers. With the way the race is run, it is arguably one of, if not the most electrifying races that the four days have to offer.
Champion Chase distance, course & race conditions
The Champion Chase is all about speed, taking place on the Old Course at Cheltenham and over a distance just shy of 2m (1m 7f 199yds). For those not familiar, the Old Course at Cheltenham is speed focused whereas the New Course is more testing in terms of stamina.
There are 13 fences and to win a Champion Chase, you usually have to be foot perfect at them all! With the horses almost always flat out from flag fall until the finish line, one mistake can see your chance of winning gone.
This race has it all. You need a strong traveller to stay in contention, you need a great jumper to successfully tackle the fences, you need a horse that can handle the undulations of Cheltenham and after all that, you need a horse with the stamina and determination to get up the famous hill.
Champion Chase eligibility and entry requirements
To be eligible to run in the Champion Chase, the horse must be five years of age or older and they also have to be rated 130 or more by the British Horseracing Authority.
The race is open to horses of both sex, with the males carrying 11st 10lb and the mares receiving a 7lb allowance, meaning they only carry 11st 3lb.
Champion Chase past winners and records
In 2026, the Queen Mother Champion Chase was won by Il Etait Temps in emphatic fashion. He cruised into the race and despite pecking on landing at the last, he still went clear on the run-in to win easily by a margin of 10 lengths. Although the favourite - Majborough, jumped poorly and the race arguably lacked depth.
There have been many multiple winners of the race, the first of which was Fortria in just the second and third runnings of the race in 1960 and 1961. Royal Relief made history in 1974 when he became the first horse to regain the race after previously winning it in 1972.
Badsworth Boy won three consecutive renewals in 1983, 1984 and 1985. That feat sees him remain the most successful horse in the race’s history to this day. Another record breaker was the great Master Minded who won the race as a five-year-old in 2008, making him the youngest winner!
One of the most memorable races was when Sprinter Sacre regained the race in 2016. He had previously won the race in breathtaking style in 2013, winning by 19 lengths. However, he subsequently suffered from an irregular heartbeat and two and a half years in the doldrums before Nicky Henderson got him back to the top - The impossible dream achieved!
Most successful trainers & jockeys in the Champion Chase
The most recent winning trainer and jockey were Willie Mullins and Paul Townend with Il Etait Temps in 2026. The pair had previously won the race in both 2022 and 2023 with Energumene.
Despite three wins each, neither of the pair are the most successful trainer or jockey in the history of the race. Pat Taaffe and Barry Geraghty share the honour jockey wise, with both being aboard five winners of the race.
In terms of the most successful trainers, there are three tied with six wins in the race. They are Tom Dreaper, Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls. There are also three leading owners tied too with three wins each - George Ansley, Doug Armitage and John Hales.
Champion Chase trends
There are a few pointers to follow when looking to find a Champion Chase winner. The obvious starting point is the previous year’s Arkle with many winners of that novice chase going on to win the open company contest as well.
The sweet spot age wise is between seven and ten with eight the most successful age. Only four horses six or younger have been successful in the race. There have also only been two 11-year-olds and one 12-year-old that have landed the race as well. Skymas, who won the race at both 11 and 12 was an admirable anomaly.
Given that just one mistake can prove very costly in this race, it’s no surprise that favourites have struggled over the past couple of decades. Only a handful have won and many have been defeated at odds on prices! That said, only one of the last 42 winners have returned a bigger SP than 11/1.
Popular betting markets for the Champion Chase
As with most races, the main two markets bet on are the antepost market and then the Win/Each Way market. This is a race that can often cut up with small fields going to post or at least a lack of depth in terms of quality. Therefore, it can pay to play early on this race as eight of the last 12 winners have returned prices 5/1 or shorter.
Another popular market will be distance betting and it’s one that would have been fruitful in recent times. Il Etait Temps won the 2026 renewal by 10 lengths and Marine National won the 2015 renewal by an even wider margin of 18 lengths. Whilst it was closer in 2024, the two previous years saw Energumene dominate by 8.5 lengths and then 10 lengths.
The Champion Chase is often a race that can cut up and it’s no shock to see less than eight runners. Therefore, antepost betting each way where you get three places rather than the two on the day can be a smart move as well. We had a larger field in 2026 but it was still only 10 and that was largely due to question marks lingering over some of the principals.
How to pick a winner in the Champion Chase
Like many of the Grade 1 races at the Cheltenham Festival, the Champion Chase is a race that has seen Irish domination in recent years. Each of the last six renewals have been won by Irish trainers and given the 1-2 in the 2026 Arkle were both Irish trained as well, it looks set to continue.
As already mentioned above in the trends section, there are a few factors that look to be key pointers when looking to
pick out the Champion Chase winner. These include looking at the Arkle from the year prior, as many winners go on to perform well in the Champion Chase and also finding horses in the seven to ten age bracket.
Three key races to be watched ahead of the Champion Chase are the Tingle Creek Chase, the Shloer Chase and the Clarence House, as the winner often runs in these races. In fact, the most recent winner - Il Etait Temps ran in two of them! For the Irish contenders that do not head to the UK until Cheltenham there are Grade 1s at Leopardstown both over Christmas and at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
Willie Mullins looks to hold the aces for the 2027 renewal with current champion - Il Etait Temps likely to defend his crown and potential superstar - Kopek Des Bordes emerging from the novice division. He also has Kargese and Majborough among other potential contenders, albeit that pair do have alternative options.
