Queen Mother Champion Chase Odds: All eyes on Jonbon

The Queen Mother Champion Chase. Truly a spectacle to behold on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, and now we can run through each of the eight runners and riders, and their odds ahead of the start at 16:00 on Tuesday.  Check out the full Queen Mother Champion Chase Odds down below. 

Queen Mother Champion Chase Odds

Jonbon @ 5/6

Jonbon and Cheltenham just haven’t gone together well in the past have they? Nicky Henderson’s runner has won nine Grade 1 races heading into this year’s Festival so you can see why he is well-backed again by the punters. He’s got the most pace in this field but he’s not yet won here. 

Second in the Supreme Novices Hurdle in 2022 and second in the 2023 Arkle Novices Chase was tantilisingly close to the win, when again he was much-fancied. How much weight do you give to past performances at this particular Festival rather than his nine Grade 1 wins? It’s up to you - but all eyes will be on Jonbon for the Queen Mother. 

Marine Nationale @ 5/1

We all saw the damage that Marine Nationale did in 2023 as he stormed to victory in the Supreme Novices Hurdle under the late great Michael O’Sullivan. There'll be a lot of love for him from the punters in the hope that he can produce the goods again, but he’s not been winning this season. 

He’s lost to several runners in this race recently, finishing behind Quilixios at Naas, and then losing to Solness at the Dublin Racing Festival. The performances haven’t been poor by any stretch, and clearly the punters are backing him to reverse that form on a course which seems to suit him. 

Energumene @ 7/1

If the rain falls, expect Energumene’s to drop as rapidly as the raindrops. The issue he has is that Jonbon beat him so easily in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot and despite having six Grade 1 wins to his name, I don’t think he’s as quick as he once was. Brighton owner, Tony Bloom could land a big double on the day with Bunting also running earlier on, but I can’t see how Energumene gains so much ground on Jonbon, let alone the other contenders. 

Solness @ 15/2

Joseph O’Brien’s runner has already got a mention in this piece for good reason. You don’t finish ahead of Marine Nationale on two occasions if you aren’t a serious contender. The bigger price seems slightly strange given how well he has performed around Leopardstown, but he likes to lead from the front and that could put punters off here. 

It’s very difficult to lead from start to finish at Cheltenham, but JJ Slevin will know the task at hand and could pull off a masterful win if he gets things right.

Cheltenham Betting Odds

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Found A Fifty @ 12/1

Found A Fifty possibly could have run at the Ryanair Chase but he’s been put in here instead. He put in a really poor performance at Christmas time and hasn’t raced since, so it leaves too many unanswered question marks to get on board on this occasion. He didn’t do much in last year’s Arkle despite several Grade 1 wins. Maybe the owners know something we don’t, but there’s not a lot to go on for this horse. 

Captain Guinness @ 25/1

Last year’s winner, but a fortuitous one at that. Remember Jonbon was withdrawn and El Fabiolo was pulled up as Rachael Blackmore capitilised to take the victory. He was beaten here by Energumene in 2023, while his recent performances haven’t been amazing, as he was beaten by rival Solness twice at Leopardstown. Work to do to retain his crown.

Quilixios @ 25/1

Triumph Hurdle winner from 2021, but form has dipped recently in the Dublin Chase and at Naas in November. Still without a Grade 1 success over fences and has lost to several of his rivals in this race, so it would take something bizarre for him to finish above Jonbon and Marine Nationale. 

Libberty Hunter @ 28/1

Lowest rating of the field explains the long odds, but has won two of three handicaps at Cheltenham. Came second in the Grand Annual on this card in 2024 and recently came second at Newbury as well, but this is a tough ask. Could produce something competitive and may be worth E/W consideration as a result. 

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