The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1
National Hunt steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
in Great Britain which is open to
horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...
aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the online betting company
Betway, the race is now known as the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. It is run on the Old Course at
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile 7 furlongs and 199 yards, or 3,199 metres), and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...
in March.
It is the leading minimum-distance chase in the National Hunt calendar, and it is the feature race on the second day of the Festival.
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 sponsor from 2011 until 2013 was online gambling firm
Sportingbet.
BetVictor held naming rights for the 2014 season before the current sponsor, sports betting company
Betway, took over.
[http://thebetwaygroup.com/media/press/?pressRelease=1 ]
Records
Most successful horse (3 wins):
*
Badsworth Boy – ''1983, 1984, 1985''
Leading jockey (5 wins):
*
Pat Taaffe – ''Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), Straight Fort (1970)''
*
Barry Geraghty – ''Moscow Flyer (2003, 2005), Big Zeb (2010), Finian's Rainbow (2012), Sprinter Sacre (2013)''
Leading
trainer (6 wins):
*
Tom Dreaper – ''Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964),
Flyingbolt (1966), Muir (1969), Straight Fort (1970)''
*
Nicky Henderson - ''Remittance Man (1992), Finian's Rainbow (2012), Sprinter Sacre (2013, 2016), Altior (2018, 2019)''
*
Paul Nicholls - ''Call Equiname (1999), Azertyuiop (2004), Master Minded (2008, 2009), Dodging Bullets (2015), Politologue (2020)''
Leading owner (3 wins):
* George Ansley – ''Fortria (1960, 1961), Straight Fort (1970)''
* Doug Armitage – ''Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984, 1985)''
* John Hales - ''One Man (1998), Azertyuiop (2004), Politologue (2020)''
Winners
See also
*
Horse racing in Great Britain
*
List of British National Hunt races
*
Recurring sporting events established in 1959
Recurring means occurring repeatedly and can refer to several different things:
Mathematics and finance
*Recurring expense, an ongoing (continual) expenditure
*Repeating decimal, or recurring decimal, a real number in the decimal numeral syste ...
'' – this race is included under its original title, National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase.''
References
*
Racing Post
''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of ...
:
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----
bbc.co.uk– ''"Royalty absent and present" (2003).''
cheltenham.co.uk– ''Media information pack (2010).''
pedigreequery.com– ''Queen Mother Champion Chase – Cheltenham.''
– ''Queen Mother Champion Two Mile Steeple Chase Past Winners.''
*
External links
* Race Recording
{{Cheltenham Festival
National Hunt races in Great Britain
Cheltenham Racecourse
National Hunt chases
Recurring sporting events established in 1959
1959 establishments in England