Cheltenham 2025 – Queen Mother Champion Chase preview

The big race of day two of the Cheltenham Festival is the Champion Chase which sees the best two milers outside of the novice races compete against each other over two miles over the great Cheltenham fences.

Arguably, we've got every horse we'd like to see turning up for the Champion Chase, which is always nice to see that horses are dodging the odds-on favourite and are willing to give it a go. Even though we've seen some short-priced horses lining up for this race over the years, it hasn't always gone to plan and we have seen a fair share of upsets.

Captain Guinness managed to win this last year when El Fabiolo was pulled up after a horrendous mistake, winning at odds of 17/2. Put The Kettle On won this race back in 2021 and has been the only mare in recent history to win the race, also causing an upset at odds of 17/2, so you can definitely back against the favourite in this race, if that is something you're into.

The favourite

If all goes to plan on day one, then many will be expecting Jonbon to do the business and keep their acca rolling with a few more short-priced fancies likely to be on there later in the week. He is the favourite for a reason, and that is because this race probably isn't as deep as we'd all like it to be.

Jonbon is a strange horse, and I don't think he has captured all of the betting public, even though he is a multiple Grade 1 winner and has a string of 1s next to his form line. Every so often, he chucks in a stinker, and I think that's why people think you can get him beaten. Last year he was beaten by a much lesser horse on Trial's Day in January, and it was a credit to the horse that he managed to finish as close as he did that day as his jumping was awful and it was evident that James Bowen could not get a tune out of him. Nico De Boinville is the man for this horse, he has ridden him plenty of times and gets a great tune out of him, and his jumping is assured when Nico is in the saddle.

This year, he has been very impressive, with the latest win at Ascot being the standout piece of form when battering the two-time Champion Chase winner, Energumene by 6.5L. I think you can say that he is still value at the price he is currently sitting at, which will always upset some people who think an odds-on shot can't be deemed as value, but against a field like today's, he should technically hose up. However, recent history in this race will tell you, it's not as easy as turning up.

The opposition

I am a tad surprised to see Marine Nationale sitting as the second favourite for this race as he hasn't gone to the level that many people thought he would be. His trainer Barry Connell made it out like this horse was the second coming of Jesus Christ when he beat Facile Vega in the Supreme a couple of years ago, but he hasn't gone to the next level since. In all fairness, he looks a better horse this year than he did in his previous campaign, but he hasn't got a win to his name this season, finishing behind Solness on two occasions and Quilixios on another.

There is obviously some confidence coming out of the camp to suggest he will be a player for the places at the very least, but it would be a great turnaround and a great piece of training by Barry if this horse was to win this, especially if Jonbon stays on his feet.

Solness definitely deserves to be one of the closer horses in the market to Jonbon as he has been a revelation for Joseph O'Brien this year. Some people thought what he did against Gaelic Warrior was a fluke, but he showed that he had the class and did it again at the DRF at Leopardstown to cement himself as a player for today's race. However, everyone knows his game plan now, which is to go from the front and set a strong pace and hope that the other jockeys don't respect you and by the time you're jumping the last couple of fences the race is over as you've nicked too many lengths. If they kept that gameplan quiet and turned up to this race with the idea of doing that, he would be a huge price as I don't think he'd have won the races he has, but he'd also have a cracking chance as it would've been a total surprise. Knowing what we know now, I think it would be a surprise if he were to win in the same style that he has been doing recently, but it's definitely not out of the equation as he is still a young horse.

Energumene has to be worthy of a mention as he is a two-time winner of this race, and despite him being an 11-year-old, he is definitely good enough on his day to win a race like this, but father time has probably caught up with him now and I think he'd want the ground to be a lot softer than what it currently is. He's definitely an each-way bet for many, but if I were to bet on him, it would probably be in the lay market for him not to be placed.

You have some other decent names like Captain Guinness who won this race a few years ago, but he is also getting older and hasn't shown much form this year. Found A Fifty is a decent horse in his own rights, he beat Solness earlier this season but has a tendency to jump out to the right and he isn't in the same league as Jonbon.

Top free bets for Cheltenham Day 2

Final Judgement

I do think this will be a formality for Jonbon, who is definitely the best horse in the race and priced up at just below even money is definitely something which would entice me if I were a big-time gambler, but I think I'll keep it simple and play him in my multiple bets. If his jumping is as good as what we've seen from him this year, it should be a breeze in the park, and arguably done on the bridle. I think the Solness surprise factor is no longer a thing, and hopefully, Nico De Boinville will sit close to him so that he doesn't sneak away from the pack and then make his challenge when needed.

At a big price, and a horse I've not mentioned yet, I think Liberty Hunter is a decent price to hit the frame in second or third. This horse is a nine-year-old, but we've not seen much of him over fences and something we do know about this horse is that he handles this track well and he stays very strongly over two miles. He was beaten by Master Chewy at Newbury last time out, but I think if Solness goes off very quickly and sets a good pace to aim at, Liberty Hunter could definitely pick up some of the pieces, similar to how he did when he raced against Matata (extreme front runner) last year at this track.

🔗 Share Your Horse Racing Tips on Social Media