The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 chase which is open to horses aged five years or older.

It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are twelve fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival in March.

It is the leading minimum-distance chase in the National Hunt calendar, and has been host to some rather excellent winners over the years.

Traditionally, the race has fewer entrants than the other Grade 1 events, but it certainly doesn’t suffer as a result. In fact, for many, this is the most exciting race of the fours days as it provides the thrilling spectacle of the best two mile chasers flying the Cheltenham fences at break neck speed.

Previous winners of the Arkle Trophy have a great record in this race – in fact the last 12 Arkle winners who returned the following season to compete in this race ALL finished in the first 3 (five winners, five second-places and two third-places). You very rarely get a below par winner of the race and indeed the winner of this race is often rated higher by the handicapper than the winner of the King George or the Gold Cup.

The event has produced some great winners and some great Festival memories, including some of the most incredible finishes in the history of the sport. No one who was there to witness them will ever forget the epic battles between Edredon Blue and Direct Route in 2000, or Viking Flagship, Travado and Deep Sensation in 1994, and the emotional triumph for One Man in 1998 must rate as one of the most popular Festival victories of all time.

History:

The event was established in 1959, and it was originally called the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase. It was given its present title in 1980 – the year of the Queen Mother’s 80th birthday – in recognition of her support to jump racing. The Queen Mother was a successful owner of National Hunt horses, particularly chasers, and among these was Game Spirit – the runner-up in this race in 1976.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase was not sponsored before 2007, and between 2008 and 2010 it was backed by Seasons Holidays. The new sponsor from 2011 until at least 2015 will be online gambling firm Sportingbet.com.

Race Previews:

Sizing Europe on way to impressive success in 2011.

Previous Winners:

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