2026 Queen Mother Champion Chase Betting Odds at Cheltenham racecourse

2025 Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips

Jonbon has passed every assignment with flying colours so far, with the nine-year-old a hot contender when it comes to the 2025 Queen Mother Champion Chase. Nicky Henderson saddles a runner who has recorded three victories this season, with the latest of these coming at Ascot in January in the Clarence House Chase.

The horse was sent off as the 8/13 favourite in that Grade One encounter, with that coming after a smart success in the Tingle Creek Chase over nearly two miles. The horse was able to triumph by eight lengths and that came after a relatively comfortable seasonal debut when the runner was able to beat three other runners.

Il Est Francais is currently the second favourite for the Queen Mother and the seven-year-old was able to finish second behind Banbridge in the King George VI Chase, with the horse having run well over three miles and might not tackle a shorter trip. The French runner might find it hard to have the pace to overcome Jonbon.

Gaelic Warrior has yet to taste a victory this season, with the seven-year-old having last been seen finishing third out of eight runners at Leopardstown at the beginning of February. The horse underwhelmed as the 6/4 favourite in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase and that came after finishing second in the Paddy’s Rewards Club.

2024 Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips

El Fabiolo has racked up a succession of victories in his past few outings and the latest of these came at Cork in December. The horse was able to beat five other rivals to secure a win when being sent off as the 1/5 favourite, with this being a seasonal return after greatly impressing in the previous campaign.

The horse was the winner of the Arkle at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, enjoying a five and a half length win over Jonbon and this was despite not jumping fluently over two miles. The bookies still think he’s the one to beat for this upcoming encounter, although perhaps last year’s runner-up will be able to get closer in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Nicky Henderson has seen his horse rack up the victories since finishing second to El Fabiolo, with a win coming against three other runners at Aintree before another notable victory at Sandown Park at the end of April. Since then, there have been back to back wins at Cheltenham and Sandown to see off the threat of Edwardstone.

You can get much bigger odds about any other runner in the field, with Dinoblue having landed a number of wins but isn’t necessarily expected to figure prominently compared to the top two in the betting. The seven-year-old runs for Willie Mullins and may benefit from a lighter weight allowance which suggests some each-way betting value.

2023 Queen Mother Champion Chase Betting Tips

Energumene was the winner of the 2022 Queen Mother Champion Chase, with the nine-year-old returning to Prestbury Park to defend his crown. The horse was sent off as a 5/2 shot twelve months ago and the result never looked in doubt after Shishkin had been pulled off, with the Willie Mullins-trained runner winning the race by eight lengths.

However, the horse was surprisingly beaten in the Albert Bartlett Clarence House Chase on 28 January despite being sent off for the Cheltenham encounter as the 4/9 favourite. Interestingly the horse that won on that particular occasion was Editeur Du Gite and we’re surprised that this runner can be punted at such a big price.

Gary Moore will hope that his charge can follow up that impressive run by returning to Prestbury Park and running a blinder, with this looking like one of the best each-way shouts of the meeting. The horse was also able to beat Edwardstone in the same race and that was on soft ground which is likely to be similar to what we’ll see at the Festival.

However, Edwardstone is a previous winner at the Festival and won the Arkle Chase last year, with Alan King hoping the horse doesn’t fluff his lines after falling in the Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Chase, with the horse unseating his rider as the 2/5 favourite and that is always the danger with backing runners at short prices over bigger obstacles.

2022 Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips

We’re running out of superlatives to describe Shishkin. He was sent off as the 5/6 favourite in the Clarence House Chase and looked to be in danger when trailing Energumene by two lengths. However, Nico de Boinville was able to get a tune out of a horse who has enjoyed the winning habit at a wide range of Cheltenham Festival meetings.

There was so much to like about twelve length victory in the Sporting Life Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase and it wasn’t anywhere near his best sort of performance, with Shishkin having previously stormed through to win the 2020 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle a year previously.

The victory in the Ladbrokes Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton Park was achieved with ease and it was a ten-length triumph on that occasion, with the bookies going heavily odds-on when it comes to Shishkin’s chances of securing the spoils. We are sure to see this horse in plenty of Cheltenham Festival accumulators.

Can Energumene Land the Cheltenham Spoils in Queen Mother?

Energumene had enjoyed a winning run of seven races before pitching up in the Clarence House Chase and the Irish horse will be back to challenge Shishkin at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival. Possibly the biggest negative about the eight-year-old is that we’re yet to see the horse make an appearance at this track and they often say it’s horses for courses.

Indeed, this will be a stamina-sapping two mile encounter and the horse hasn’t really been tested this season with the exception of that recent Ascot clash. The ten length win in the Patrick Ward & Company Solicitors Irish Arkle Novice Chase a year ago was impressive and Paul Townend will be on board on this occasion.

Who Are the Other Queen Mother Champion Chase Contenders?

Chacun Pour Soi was sent off as the Queen Mother Cheltenham betting favourite in last year’s renewal although the 8/13 favourite was only able to finish third behind Put The Kettle On and Nube Negra. The ten-year-old will have plenty of work on his hands to beat the front two in the betting.

Willie Mullins will hope that the horse can potentially run into third place and he’s an each-way betting price based on a fine performance in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, with Envoi Allen and Nube Negra potentially the other horses that could be in the frame.

Can Altior Make it a Hat-Trick of Queen Mother Victories?

Altior is a living legend and the Nicky Henderson-trained horse has been a serial winner at the Cheltenham Festival over the past few years. There was a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle triumph which kicked things off before an Arkle Chase success and then came back-to-back Champion Chase victories which cemented his legendary status.

However, the 11-year-old wasn’t able to defend his crown due to injury at the last Cheltenham Festival and will potentially return to Prestbury Park to try and land a belated hat-trick this time around, with Altior not yet making an appearance at the time of writing and the last time he was seen running was in a Grade 2 Chase in February when winning at Newbury.

Chacun Pour Soi Favourite to Become New Champion

It was a strange 2020 Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival considering that Altior and Chacun Pour Soi’s names were both removed from the racecard leading up to the race, with the latter strongly fancied as the young pretender although the nine-year-old should get his chance to make amends when the 2021 Queen Mother Chase comes around.

The Willie Mullins-trained charge hasn’t run for over a year, although there is plenty to like about a horse that was really impressive when winning the Dublin Chase at the beginning of February, beating Min and he should have serious credentials and might reward antepost punters betting early on the contest.

Put The Kettle On Third Favourite to Win Queen Mother

It truly appears that Put The Kettle On is a horse that acts well at Cheltenham Racecourse, with the seven-year-old upsetting the odds when winning the

Post Arkle Chase on 10 March 2020, with the horse obliging at odds of 16/1.

Henry De Bromhead is the trainer of this horse and has previously done excellent things with Sizing Europe, with the runner then winning the Shloer Chase having obliged at odds of 7/4 and announcing himself as a top-class chaser rather than a flash in the pan. That means there has now been three victories on the bounce at Cheltenham and a horse to be taken seriously.

For some people, the Queen Mother Champion Chase is the highlight race of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival, with this two-mile encounter seeing top class horses go over the big obstacles at speed, with Altior having been the king of this race over previous years.

Altior broke on to the scene at the 2016 Cheltenham Festival when beating Min in the Supreme Novices’ Chase and the Nicky Henderson horse has gone on to enjoy a brilliant career which included an Arkle Chase success in 2017.

Then came back-to-back wins in the Queen Mother Champion Chase which has led many to consider Altior is the best two-mile chaser of all time and that claim will certainly be strengthened if the horse is able to clinch victory on Day Two of the Festival.

It’s possible that Henderson might choose a different route for a horse who was actually beaten on Saturday 23 November when Cyrname lowered his colours in the Christy 1965 Chase at Ascot, with the Paul Nicholls horse landing a two-length victory over two miles and five furlongs.

There are mitigating circumstances for that defeat considering it was Altior’s first outing of the season and there were only three runners in the race which can sometimes create a false pace compared to a larger pack of horses.

However, a failure to win over a longer distance could see Altior brought back to chasing over two miles in the bid for a historic hat-trick and William Hill currently go 3/1 about him landing the spoils in this race.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Altior won this race as the 4/11 favourite last year and perhaps the price will shorten a great deal if the nine-year-old is confirmed for the race.

There are some other lively contenders lining up to have a crack and that includes Chacun Pour Soi who is available at 4/1 to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase and it must be noted that there are plenty of good attributes for this horse.

The seven-year-old spent his formative years racing in France although he’s now part of the Willie Mullins stable and the horse followed up a victory at Naas with an impressive win in a Grade 1 Novice Chase at Punchestown in May.

That was a tough field in which to come out on top, with Defi Du Seuil finishing second and Duc Des Genievres was in third place, with Defi currently trading at 10/1 with William Hill to claim a victory in this race.

The six-year-old was the winner of the JLT Novices’ Chase at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival and the fact that it beat Lostintranslation looks even better considering the latter recently won the Betfair Chase.

Defi Du Seuil beat Politologue over two miles in a recent clash at Cheltenham and could be the current value in the race.

Cilaos Emery and Douvan are also among the favourites, with the latter having enjoyed a fabulous career and he’ll potentially want to have another crack at the Champion Chase after falling in the 2019 renewal.