2012 Cheltenham Queen Mother Champion Chase Preview & Tips

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 race open to horses aged five years and older. It is the biggest middle distance chase of the National Hunt season and is the show piece on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. First run in 1959, the Champion Chase takes place over a trip of 2m and is currently sponsored by bookmaker Sportingbet. Badsworth Boy is the only horse to have won the race three times, in 1983, 84 and 85.

Last year’s Queen Mother Champion Mother Chase was won by the Henry de Bromhead trained Sizing Europe. The 10/1 chance ridden by Andrew Lynch took the race by five lengths from Big Zeb, with Captain Cee Bee back in third. Sizing Europe is the strong 9/4 favourite for the 2012 renewal.

Queen Mother Champion Chase Trends

19 of the last 25 winners were previously placed at the Cheltenham Festival.
8 of the last 10 winners ran in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown.
9 of the last 10 winners were beaten the following year.
Since 1997, only one horse older than 10 has won the race.
10 of the last 12 Arkle Trophy winners were 1st or 2nd in this race the next year and all 12 finished in the first 3.
28 of the last 29 winners started at odds of no bigger than 11/1.

Queen Mother Champion Chase Betting Odds (Prices from Paddy Power)

Sizing Europe 9/4
Big Zeb 9/2
Finians Rainbow 11/2
Wishfull Thinking 12/1
Al Ferof 14/1
Peddlers Cross 16/1
Hold Fast 16/1
Realt Dubh 20/1
Gauvain 20/1
Kauto Stone 22/1
Ghizao 33/1
Somersby 33/1
40/1 Bar

Queen Mother Champion Chase Tips

My normal process for the Queen Mother Champion Chase would start by looking at the winner of last year’s Arkle. The fact that Captain Chris isn’t taking part in this year’s Champion Chase means I need to refine my approach slightly! The horse that finished second that day was the Nicky Henderson trained Finian’s Rainbow. The nine year old has won both his starts since and looks like decent value at around the 11/2 mark.

Both Sizing Europe and Big Zeb hold sound claims and are proven champions but I just feel as though Finian’s Rainbow is still unexposed and may well improve past these two more experienced rivals. I certainly wouldn’t be rushing in to back Sizing Europe at 9/4 but he is definitely a better horse at this trip of two miles rather than some of the longer races that his trainer Henry de Bromhead has tried him in.

Tipsters Pick: Back Finians Rainbow @ 11/2 with Paddy Power

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