Half-term report: Champion Chase

Last week 24 entries were made for the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, two less than last season’s total of 26. Thankfully, all those toward the head of the market remain in the mix for a race that has recently experienced its fair share of drama in the build up to the Wednesday of the Cheltenham Festival.

Now some eight weeks out from the leading two-mile chase of the National Hunt calendar, let’s take a look at the main protagonists and 'best of the rest' still in contention at this stage of the campaign.

MARINE NATIONALE (Barry Connell)

No better place to start than with the reigning champion, with Marine Nationale’s 167-rated performance enough to take advantage of a victory-ending blunder from Jonbon five out and a final fence fall from Quilixios when upsides the Barry Connell-trained winner. But regardless of that fortune, the former Supreme winner still managed to put 18 lengths between himself and the chasing pack, while a subsequent 7-length success in the Punchestown Champion Chase all but cemented his position as the best two-mile chaser in training.

The nine-year-old bypassed the rearranged Fortria Chase on account of the soft/heavy conditions at Navan, with Connell instead opting to send his stable star straight to Leopardstown for the 2m 1f Grade 1 he finished third in last season. Sent off second-favourite behind Hilly Way runner-up Majborough, jockey Sean Flanagan was forced to perform miracles in the saddle following a bad mistake at the second fence, eventually recovering well enough to mount a challenge turning into the home straight. A much better jump at the last saw his mount get within half a length of Solness, but his earlier exertions eventually took their toll, with the same margin splitting the pair at the line. A rematch between the trio looks to be on the cards in the Dublin Chase, with the winner likely to shorten considerably for Cheltenham as a result.

IL ETAIT TEMPS (W P Mullins)

After missing the majority of last season through injury, Il Etait Temps made a timely return to action in April’s Celebration Chase at Sandown, where Willie Mullins’s charge readily saw off an ambitiously-campaigned Jonbon to win by 5½ lengths. Connections opted for a soft starting point for their then-seven-year-old following another lengthy break, with precious little to be gleaned from an 18-length victory over Senecia as 2/9 favourite in the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase.

That easy win did at least prove his wellbeing, as did a subsequent entry for the Tingle Creek back at Sandown. This time up against a race-fit Jonbon, along with his Shloer Chase conqueror L'Eau Du Sud, the market spoke overwhelmingly in favour of Paul Townend’s mount, which was soon justified by a 9-length winning margin over the J P McManus runner. That success propelled the grey to near enough joint-favouritism for the Champion Chase, though plenty will continue to highlight his poor record at Cheltenham (0 wins from 3 starts, including a 13¼-length 3rd behind Gaelic Warrior in the 2024 Arkle). A first visit to Ascot for the Clarence House Chase is up next - with old rival Jonbon once again heading the British opposition - and victory there would surely result in Il Etait Temp’s Cheltenham credentials being thoroughly examined.

MAJBOROUGH (W P Mullins)

Following his dramatic third in last year’s Arkle, Majborough was quick to reverse form with Cheltenham runner-up Only By Night by the best part of 14 lengths in the 2m Grade 1 novice chase at Punchestown. That comfortable victory marked Willie Mullins’s inmate as a future Champion Chase contender, so there were plenty of eyes on his seasonal reappearance in the Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase at Cork. Mark Walsh allowed the 4/6 favourite to stride on but a sketchy jumping performance followed, with a bad mistake at the second last ultimately resulting in a 1½-length defeat to Found A Fifty.

Despite that less-than-convincing return to action, the six-year-old still garnered enough support to see him start 6/4 favourite for the Grade 1 Paddy's Rewards Club Chase over Christmas. On better ground (yielding, good to yielding in places), Majborough comfortably reversed form with Found A Fifty (4th) but had little answers when it came to passing Marine Nationale (2nd) and Solness (1st) in the closing stages, eventually losing out by 3¼ lengths. A return to Leopardstown for the Dublin Chase would give the former Irish Arkle winner the opportunity to prove he really does have what it takes to mix it with the very best two-mile chasers, as well as the opposite.

L'EAU DU SUD (Dan Skelton)

After being beaten less than 2 lengths into fourth in the Arkle a month on from winning the Grade 2 Kingmaker Novices' Chase - and subsequently finishing third in the Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree just 25 days after that run at Cheltenham - trainer Dan Skelton said he would take a new approach with L'Eau Du Sud heading into this year’s Cheltenham Festival following the grey’s impressive return to action in the Grade 2 Shloer Chase. The talented second-season chaser was worth every inch of the 15 lengths that separated him from runner-up Jonbon, with his ability to handle soft underfoot conditions once again on display.

During that interview, Skelton also committed his eight-year-old to the Tingle Creek a little over three weeks later, so we probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised by the 18-length defeat that followed behind Il Etait Temps, with Jonbon perfectly splitting the two in second. Considering the quick turnaround, there was still plenty to like about that effort, still holding every chance before tiring shortly after jumping the third last. No Clarence House Chase entry suggests L'Eau Du Sud will indeed head straight to Cheltenham, where a small field and soft ground would only further enhance his chances of recording a third chase success at the track.

Best of the rest

The obvious place to start is Sir Gino, given Nicky Henderson’s 163-rated hurdler would likely be competing for favouritism for this were he not Champion Hurdle-bound (2.56 on Betfair Exchange for the latter at the time of writing). Still, should connections see fit to reshuffle their deck ahead of Cheltenham, the six-year-old would instantly become a ‘main protagonist’ for Wednesday’s feature. Speaking of Henderson, three-time Cheltenham Festival runner-up Jonbon looks to have one more chance to prove that he deserves a place in this year’s Champion Chase in the form of the Clarence House at Ascot. Victory could well convince connections to have one more roll of the dice in Wednesday’s two-mile feature, especially if Majborough fluffs his lines at Leopardstown, while defeat would likely steer the 10-year-old to either the Ryanair or Aintree. Tingle Creek conqueror Il Etait Temps is undoubtedly the biggest obstacle to the former, though it would be foolish to rule out Dan Skelton’s rapid-improver Thistle Ask or Harry Fry’s 1965 Chase runner-up Gidleigh Park.

The result of the Dublin Chase, as well as the ground at Cheltenham, will likely dictate the depth of the Irish challenge. A convincing win for either Marine Nationale or Majborough may well put off connections of some of the bigger-priced runners, while a win for the likes of Solness, Found A Fifty, Quilixios or Energumene would likely result in a bigger field at Cheltenham. The first of that quartet once again showed his ability on good-to-yielding ground at Leopardstown with a second success in the Grade 1 Paddy's Rewards Club Chase, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Joseph O’Brien’s charge successfully defend his Dublin Chase crown on similar ground. The eight-year-old was well beaten (4th) in last year’s Champion Chase, however, as was this season’s Fortria/Hilly Way Chase winner Found A Fifty (5th) for trainer Gordon Elliott. Quilixios hasn’t been seen since his final-fence tumble at Cheltenham, though Henry de Bromhead has confirmed the nine-year-old is on track to run at Leopardstown, while you’d imagine two-time Champion Chase winner Energumene (pulled-up in last year’s renewal) would need soft ground and an upturn in form to be competitive anywhere these days.