Champion Chase: The key race trials

The Champion Chase will crown the best two-mile chaser in Britain and Ireland in what is a test of speed, stamina and jumping ability. The previous years novice chasers from both the JLT and the Arkle are likely to clash against their older, more established counterparts in this top class event that sorts the best from the rest.

Some of the races you see throughout this article may not be key race trials in name, but have either produced winners at the Cheltenham Festival, an array of placed horses or include those featured prominently in the betting. 

The key race trials are the types of races that usually attract a high calibre of horse at that particular time in the season, and, in many cases, can point the way to horses running well at the Cheltenham Festival. With each of the two trials below it’s important to keep a small race analysis to ensure that the bare form and the result of the race can be relied upon.

9/10 winners have won these races on their way to Champion Chase glory!

Which Races?

•    Grade 1 Tingle Creek at Sandown 
•    Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot

Grade 1 Tingle Creek

Defi Du Seuil beats Un De Sceaux to win the Betfair Tingle Creek pic.twitter.com/fQEgV1GDcQ

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) December 7, 2019

Analysis:  

A tight betting heat prior to the off with late support coming for both the winner and runner-up but it was Defi Du Seuil who would get on top of his closest market rival in a thrilling finish in what may prove to be one of the races of the season.

Un De Sceaux attempted to make all of the running but was bypassed by the free going Ornua after jumping the first fence. Paul Townend decided he was happy to take a lead off his fellow Irish runner. Defi Du Seuil was given a patient ride in fourth. The pace was not the frantic one that many had envisioned before the race but was instead a fair galloping test. Un De Sceaux took up the running three from home, all the while being stalked by Defi Du Seuil. Phillip Hobbs’ runner then hit the front jumping the last, showing a smart turn of foot in the soft ground. Un De Sceaux couldn’t match this effort in the closing stages, despite the winner idling close to home. The runner-up was closing the gap in a thrilling finish up the Sandown hill, but to no avail. The third-placed horse, Waiting Patiently, finished like a steam train. He clocked a time one second quicker than his rivals from the final flight until the finish line.

How does the winner rate for Cheltenham glory?

The Sandown Park atmosphere after the race gave the feeling that we may have just seen a special horse in Defi Du Seuil. Bookmakers quite rightly reacted by slashing his odds immediately after the result into 5/1 in places. The race featured the 2016 and 2017 winner, as well as the second and fourth behind Altior last year, so there is no crabbing the form on this particular trial. 

Defi Du Seuil took to his toughest assignment yet like a duck to water; always travelling the strongest and looking like the winner from some way out. Sandown’s railway fences are a test for even the highest quality of chasers and many questioned if they would prove to be the undoing of the talented former Triumph Hurdle winner. He passed this assignment with flying colours despite the winning margin of only a neck. You got the feeling this could be a watershed moment in his career. 
His potent turn of foot and tactical prowess is what sets him apart from his closest market rivals at this stage and with improvement still likely to come in the jumping department, he rates an exciting prospect to take on the reigning champion, Altior.  

Recent winners:

The Tingle Creek is a race in recent years that has been a stepping stone onto the Champion Chase. Indeed, every winner of the Champion Chase has run in this race bar Finian’s Rainbow.

Un De Sceaux is the only winner of the race in the past ten years to go onto run in a race other than the Champion Chase at Cheltenham: he won the Ryanair Chase in 2017. 

Altior (2018), Dodging Bullets (2014), Sire De Grugy (2013) and Sprinter Scare (2012) all went onto do the double. Sizing Europe finished second at the festival following this race and Politologue finished fourth to Altior.

Winners Produced: 4

Grade 1 Clarence House Chase

What a horse

Defi Du Seuil wins the Matchbook Clarence House Chase #ITVRacing pic.twitter.com/eKjQb6QIT8

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) January 18, 2020

Analysis: 

A race which dubbed as the Tingle Creek rematch saw serious late market support for Un De Sceaux, meaning that both horses went off as joint favourites at 11/10. Un De Sceaux, this time, would get an uncontested lead setting the fractions for the field of five. The ground conditions had turned heavy during the week, enhancing the claims of the three-time winner Un De Sceaux and no doubt a factor in his strong market support. Defi Du Seuil looked to have an uphill task on the figures and the race conditions.

However, it was the Tingle Creek winner who cemented his claims at the top of the 2m division with an impressive victory, winning by 2 ½ lengths, having been eased down. Paul Townend and Un De Sceaux led at a steady early gallop, which slowed down markedly in the middle part of the race. Willie Mullins’ runner then attempted to turn the screw from the front prior to the turn into the home straight. The entire field came off the bridle jumping the third last bar the eventual winner who stalked Un De Sceaux closely, having showed an improved jumping technique from their previous meeting. An excellent jump two from home saw Barry Geraghty take up the lead on Defi Du Seuil another tremendous leap at the last put the race to bed, pulling effortlessly clear from Un De Sceaux.

The 143 rated Marracudja stayed on nicely for third place finishing a flattering seven lengths behind the winner who was still full of running at the finish and could have quite easily put much more of a distance between himself and his rivals. 

The pace of the race is questionable at best. Indeed, the Grade 1 contest finished one second slower than the handicap on the card, which had been run over four furlongs further. It is likely the runner-up was not at the peak of his powers and the bare form should be not be whole heartedly relied upon going forward. 

How does the winner rate for Cheltenham glory?

There is only one way Defi Du Seuil’s odds are going on the build-up to the Cheltenham Festival and that is down. Cut on the back of his most impressive visual win to date from 5/1 to a very generous 9/4 for the Champion Chase. I think that is a great price.

Talk about Defi Du Seuil being the Champion Chase winner was rife across social platforms in the wake of his victory and it is obvious why. With race conditions favouring his twelve-year-old rival he stamped his authority on this 2m division with a fantastic display.

Phillip Hobbs looks to have done a fantastic job with his stable star as the improvement in his jumping is clear to see. He is now able to see a stride and be clever when finding himself in too tight to his fences, something he was unable to show in his season as a Novice. He now gives you confidence when watching him that he is error-free at his fences and given he is so tactically versatile it is hard to see him being beaten at this stage.

A winner of both key trials and is now joint favourite for the Champion Chase. His biggest danger, Altior, has had his seasonal prep blotted by media peer-pressure to step up in trip and it’s likely it will be a rushed preparation to get the two time Champion Chase winner back in peak form in time for March. He will have to be at his very best come March, with the race shaping up to be a stronger renewal than the past two races he has won.

Recent winners: 

A very similar roll call to the previous trial for the Champion Chase, the Tingle Creek. A stronghold over the race was held from 2016-2018 by Un De Sceaux, who could only manage second in the race in March in 2016 bumping into Sprinter Sacre. Special Tiara could only manage a well-beaten fifth in this race in 2017 but came out on top at Cheltenham the same season.

Every winner of this race in the past ten years has won the Champion Chase at Cheltenham at some point in their career bar Un De Sceaux and Somersby who both finished second. An outstanding indicator of the best two-mile chasers in Britain and the results of these trials should not be ignored.

Winners produced: 5

Which horse to take from the trials?

It’s very hard to argue with these two key trials and Defi Du Seuil looks tailor made for a speedily run Champion Chase. The preparation could not have gone smoother announcing himself on the scene in open Grade 1 Company in style. He is tactically versatile and has won under a variety of conditions and is improving with every run. The fact his going back to Cheltenham where he has performed so well previously is a huge positive for him too. 

A lot will depend on his biggest rival Altior, who has had an interrupted preparation since his defeat to Cyrname at Ascot over 2m5f. He will need to be at his brilliant best to stop Phillip Hobbs’ runner and I expect Defi Du Seuil to be very well supported for the race. 

Get more insight and previews for the Festival on our Cheltenham tips page.