Race 4 · Ladies' Day · Wednesday, 11 March 2026 · ~3:30pm ⭐ Feature Race
Queen Mother Champion Chase
Live betting odds for the two-mile chasing championship of the world — 1m 7f 199y · Grade 1 · Old Course · Ladies' Day Feature
Live betting odds for the two-mile chasing championship of the world — 1m 7f 199y · Grade 1 · Old Course · Ladies' Day Feature
Compare the latest odds from all major bookmakers for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. The most explosive race of the Festival — updated regularly in the run-up to Ladies' Day 2026.
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The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the supreme test of two-mile chasing — the race where the sport's fastest jumpers are separated at championship pace over the Old Course's iconic fences. It is the feature race of Ladies' Day and one of the four championship races that defines Cheltenham Festival.
First run in 1959 as the Champion Chase, the race was renamed in honour of the late Queen Mother following her death in 2002 — a tribute to a patron of the sport who had won the race twice as an owner. The Queen Mother's love of jump racing was legendary, and the championship chase that bears her name has consistently attracted the very best two-mile chasers in the sport to Cheltenham each March.
The race demands absolute jumping precision at extreme speed. Horses who win the Queen Mother Champion Chase are invariably those who can jump the 12 fences on the Old Course in full, flowing stride without losing pace — any interruption to that rhythm at two-mile championship speed is usually fatal to winning prospects. The ideal winner combines the nimble foot-speed of a sprinter with the bravery of a steeplechaser.
Irish-trained horses have dominated the modern era of the race, with Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead between them winning the majority of recent renewals. British trainers Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have fought back with quality two-mile chasers, but the quality gap between Irish and British two-mile chasing has generally narrowed only when a British trainer produces an exceptional individual talent.
The difference between Champion Chase contenders and ordinary two-mile chasers often comes down to the speed at which they jump — not whether they jump cleanly, but whether they jump with an explosive, momentum-building technique that takes nothing out of them between fences.
The Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown in December is the primary British trial, while the Hilly Way at Cork and the Grade 1 two-mile chases at Leopardstown provide the Irish pointers. Horses who win these Grade 1 trials convincingly and who then improve at Cheltenham have the ideal profile.
Horses who have competed at a previous Cheltenham Festival — and especially those who have won here — carry a profound confidence advantage. The atmosphere, the course and the demands are unlike anywhere else in the sport, and proven Festival performers translate that experience directly into performance.
The Champion Chase market is one of the most reliable at the Festival in terms of favourites performing to expectations. Short-priced market leaders have a high win rate, and the race is generally not the place to look for extreme each-way value — instead, look for the best price on the horse you believe will win.