The regally named Queen Mother Champion Chase is one of the highlights of the second day at the Cheltenham, and gets underway at 3.20pm. There is a prize fund of £320,000 handed to the winner of the event, while the race is classed as a Class 1 Grade A chase.
The course is run over a distance of two miles and is open to horses of ages five years old and upwards.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase is aptly named, as when you initially look at the field, it usually has fewer entrants than the majority of other Grade 1 events, giving it the exclusive ‘royalty only’ feel.
Despite this, the smaller number of competitors does not hamper the electric feel of the event by any means.
Even the biggest field, which was attracted in 1999, when 13 runners gathered, is relatively modest when compared to some of the festival’s other races.
While on multiple occasions, including; 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1985, there have been only five runners up to the challenge.
What it lacks in its numbers of entrants, it makes up for in sheer jaw-dropping speed, which goes a long way to explaining why this event has become such a favourites with the crowds of festival-goers.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase has built up a reputation as being synonymous with producing some of the most thrilling finishes in the sport’s history, with 1994′s battle between Viking Flagship, Travado and Deep Sensation standing testament to the claims.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase’s most successful owners are Doug Armitage and George Ansley, who have both notched up three wins each over their time competing in the race.
The race certainly favours horses in their prime, with youngsters and veterans winning on the minority of occasions. Moscow Flyer is one notable exception, trained by Mrs J Harrington, he stormed past the post in 2005 at the age of 11-years-old.
Big Zeb emerged victorious in 2010, the impressive 9-year-old, trained by C Murphy came home at 10/1 odds.
In 2011, big things are again expected of Big Zeb, though he will be facing some stern competition from 2008 and 2009 winner Master Minded.
