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Queen Mother Champion Chase
29 Apr 2013: Hurricane Fly Wins Champion Hurdle
5 Apr 2013: 2013 Melling Chase Betting Preview
4 Apr 2013: 2013 Aintree Hurdle Betting Preview
3 Apr 2013: 2013 Betfred Bowl Chase Betting Preview
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Chase held annually in March during the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. The race features twelve fences over a distance of two miles. The Queen Mother Champion Chase is established as the top minimum-distance hurdling event in the United Kingdom, awarding a purse of whopping £320,000 and allowing entry to horses aged five years and over.
This fixture was inaugurated in 1959 under the name of the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase. It was not until 1980, the year the Queen Mother celebrated her 80th birthday, that the event was given its current name in honour of the much-loved monarch. Until 2007 the Queen Mother Champion Chase was not a corporately sponsored race; however, since then Seasons Holidays has become the proud sponsor of the prestigious event.
The most successful jump horse in Queen Mother Champion Chase history is Badsworth Boy, who ran three consecutive winning races from 1983 to 1985. The record-winning jockey of the race is still the legendary Pat Taaffe, who rode five winners at the Queen Mother Champion Chase between 1960 and 1970. The fact that records like Taaffe's and the wins of Badsworth Boy remain untouched for decades can be seen not only as a testament of their outstanding sportsmanship and talent, but also as a sign for the tremendous grade of difficulty of the race itself.
Recent Winners of the Queen Mother Champion Chase:
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer |
2012 |
Finian's Rainbow |
9 |
Barry Geraghty |
Nicky Henderson |
2011 |
Sizing Europe |
9 |
Andrew Lynch |
Henry de Bromhead |
2010 |
Big Zeb |
9 |
Barry Geraghty |
Colm Murphy |
2009 |
Master Minded |
6 |
Ruby Walsh |
Paul Nicholls |
2008 |
Master Minded |
5 |
Ruby Walsh |
Paul Nicholls |
2007 |
Voy Por Ustedes |
6 |
Robert Thornton |
Alan King |
2006 |
Newmill |
8 |
Andrew J. McNamara |
John Joseph Murphy |
2005 |
Moscow Flyer |
11 |
Barry Geraghty |
Jessica Harrington |
Queen Mother Champion Chase Odds and News
22 Apr 2013: Sprinter Sacre Headlines 2013 Punchestown Festival
Equine superstar Sprinter Sacre is the headline act on the opening day of the 2013 Punchestown Festival and will take on four opponents in the Champion Chase.
The son of Network is undefeated this season and is currently available at Champion Chase odds of 1/7, in the betting market at 
Bet365, to win his tenth straight race.
Trainer Nicky Henderson knows he is asking a lot of the horse, to send him to his third festival in just over a month, but was excited to showcase him to the dedicated National Hunt fans in Ireland.
“We’ve always said we’d like to take him over to Ireland,” Henderson told The Guardian.
“He’s been to Cheltenham and he’s been to Aintree, it’s quite easy to say he’s not getting terribly hard races, but those Festivals take quite a bit out of horses, whatever happens.”
The going at Punchestown tomorrow is expected to be soft but the seven-year-old has proven this season that he can handle the heavy conditions.
“Earlier in the year Barry Geraghty was very worried when it was soft, but it didn’t bother the horse,” Henderson said.
Sprinter Sacre’s only real competition in the 2013 Punchestown Champion Chase is expected to come from last year’s winner Sizing Europe but even his trainer Henry de Bromhead said he would have preferred to avoid the equine sensation.
“Sprinter Sacre fairly put us away at Cheltenham but we just haven’t got the ground to step him [Sizing Europe] up in trip so we will stick to two miles and do right by the horse,” De Bromhead said.
Sizing Europe is currently on the second line of Champion Chase betting and is available at odds of 13/2 at Bet365.
The other Grade 1 races on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival are expected to be far more competitive.
The Herald Champion Novice Chase is an extremely open race with Champagne Fever (11/8), Jezki (13/8) and Rule The World (4/1) all legitimate winning chances while any of the eight horses in the Growise Champion Novice Chase field is good enough to win.
You can find the best Punchestown Festival odds at Bet365.
10 Apr 2013: Sprinter Sacre Entered For 2013 Punchestown Champion Chase
11 Feb 2013: Sir Des Champs Wins Hennessy Gold Cup in Thrilling Finish
28 Jan 2013: Sprinter Sacre Records Another Easy Win
