Cheltenham Champion Chase Betting Offers
The BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, also simply known as the Champion Chase, is day two’s feature race at the Cheltenham Festival. So bounce back from any day one disappointments, or build on your successes, with the runners and betting odds, key trends to keep on top of, and all the best Champion Chase betting offers and free bets.
Cheltenham Champion Chase betting offers & free bets 2025
Betting sites have run race-specific Champion Chase betting offers in previous years, and it’s more of the same this year. We’ll be highlighting any race specific offers here too, as well as the Cheltenham sign up offers currently available to new customers.
Champion Chase – What you need to know
The Champion Chase is the feature race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, and is considered to be the most prestigious middle distance race on the National Hunt calendar.
How long is the Champion Chase, when’s it held and where’s it run?
The Champion Chase is the centrepiece of Cheltenham Festival day two, and is run over a distance of two miles. This is less than half the length of the Grand National, so it is very rare to see the best horses go on to take part in the Aintree slogathon. More typically, Champion Chase horses go on to take part in either the Melling Chase, which is the feature race on Ladies Day, or in the Maghull Novices’ Chase, which is run at 5pm on Grand National day itself.
In previous years, the race was normally scheduled for 3.30pm, but all the feature races have been moved to a later 4pm start time for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
Champion Chase confirmed runners
Ante-post Champion Chase betting odds have available as soon as the previous year’s race has been run, as punters jostle to find early value before Cheltenham Festival entries are finalised. As things stand, the 2025 Champion Chase runners will be as follows:
- Jonbon
- Gaelic Warrior
- Energumene
- El Fabiolo
- Il Est Francais
- Marine Nationale
- Solness
- Banbridge
- Djelo
- Quilixios
You should take note of bookies who are offering Non Runner No Bet Insurance if you want to place a bet on this race. Existing customer offers are available ahead of Cheltenham.
Cheltenham Champion Chase favourites and tips
The main Champion Chase runners are listed below alongside their biggest achievements to date, and current Cheltenham Champion Chase betting odds.
| 2025 Champion Chase Runners | Best result to date | Odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Jonbon | 2024 Tingle Creek winner | 9/4 |
| Gaelic Warrior | 2024 Arkle winner | 9/2 |
| Energumene | 2022/23 Champion Chase winner | 5/1 |
| El Fabiolo | 2023 Arkle winner | 12/1 |
| Il Est Francais | 2024 King George runner-up | 16/1 |
| Marine Nationale | 2023 Supreme Novices’ winner | 20/1 |
*All Cheltenham Champion Chase odds last updated on 9th January 2025 and subject to change.
Jonbon is currently the favourite for the race but there are definitely some rivals who should not be overlooked. Here is a little bit of information explaining why Jonbon is the favourite, as well as some other information on his current closest competitors.
Jonbon
Nicky Henderson’s disappointing 2024 Cheltenham Festival meant Jonbon was amongst a number of late withdrawals. Despite that, the rest of Jonbon’s 2024 was impressive enough, featuring four wins from four, including the Melling Chase and, more recently, the Shloer Chase and Tingle Creek. Yet to face his biggest rivals though, so there will be some trepidation heading into Cheltenham, particularly after what happened last March.
Gaelic Warrior
Justified favouritism to win last year’s Arkle at a canter. However, has twice been beaten since then, both times as favourite, so there’ll be doubts heading to Cheltenham as things stand.
Energumene
Winner of the 2022 and 2023 Champion Chases, but hopes of winning the race for the third successive season were scuppered following a hind leg injury. Eventually returned to racing after a near 600 day break, winning the Hilly Way Chase by 10 lengths in December.
El Fabiolo
The 2023 Arkle winner headed to Cheltenham last year as the hottest favourite of the Festival. Alas he was pulled up as the 2/9 favourite for the Champion Chase and is yet to appear this season.
Il Est Francais
Little exposure in the UK thus far, only coming over to Kempton for successive Boxing Day meetings. Second place in the King George though, which is an achievement not to be sniffed at.
Cheltenham Champion Chase past winners
Although a number of horses have managed to win the Champion Chase on more than one occasion, actually accomplishing the feat is still seen as the sign of a truly great two-miler. Altior, Sprinter Sacre and Master Minded are the horses that have won the Champion Chase twice recently, with Energumene adding his name to that elite list in 2023. Sadly, injury has put paid to Energumene’s hopes of joining Badsworth Boy as a three-time Champion Chase victor, although he’s back for another go in 2025.
- 2024 – Captain Guinness (17/2)
- 2023 – Energumene (6/5 fav)
- 2022 – Energumene (5/2)
- 2021 – Put The Kettle On (17/2)
- 2020 – Politologue (6/1)
- 2019 – Altior (4/11 fav)
- 2018 – Altior (Evens fav)
- 2017 – Special Tiara (11/1)
- 2016 – Sprinter Sacre (5/1)
- 2015 – Dodging Bullets (9/2)
- 2014 – Sire Du Grugy (11/4 fav)
- 2013 – Sprinter Sacre (1/4 fav)
Cheltenham Champion Chase betting trends
Studying the trends relating to past Champion Chase winners is one popular way of trying to find an edge in the race. We’ve dug back through the archives to find out whether there are any similarities between the horses who were first past the post since 2013.
Key Cheltenham Champion Hurdle betting trends
- 12/12 – Winner had already won at least 6 races
- 11/12 – Winner had raced at Cheltenham before
- 11/12 – Winner was priced at single-figure odds (9/1 or less)
- 8/12 – Winner was priced at 5/1 or less
- 7/12 – Winner had won at the Cheltenham Festival before
- 6/12 – Winner had won their most recent race
- 6/12 – Winner had run in the Champion Chase before
- 5/12 – Race was won by the favourite
- 4/12 – Nicky Henderson trained the winner
- 3/12 – Nico de Boinville rode the winner
- 3/12 – Winner had won the Champion Chase before
- 3/12 – Winner was aged 7 years old or less
- 2/12 – Winner was aged 10 years old or older
Evidently, it’s rare to find a Champion Chase winner at really big odds, as you might do in the Grand National, although the record of favourites is pretty hit-and-miss. Surprisingly few Champion Chase winners in recent times came into the race off the back of a win, although all had won at least six races already.
How to watch and stream the Cheltenham Champion Chase
Once you’ve placed your Champion Chase bets, you’ll no doubt want to watch the race play out. As the Champion Chase is one of the Cheltenham Festival’s feature races, it’ll be screened on ITV.
However not all races from the Festival can be viewed on free-to-air TV, so it can be worthwhile finding a suitable bookmaker as the majority will stream the whole event on their sites. In many cases, it isn’t even essential to have placed a bet in advance of the Festival, although there’s generally a requirement to have deposited into your account previously.
Cheltenham Champion Chase FAQs
What date is the Cheltenham Champion Chase 2025?
The Cheltenham Festival will run from the 11th to the 14th of March this year. The Champion Chase will be the feature race on day two, and so is scheduled for Wednesday 12th March.
Who won the Champion Chase 2024?
Captain Guinness was the Champion Chase winner in 2024, finishing 1½ lengths clear of Gentleman De Mee in second. Both horses are set to line-up for the Champion Chase again in 2025, although the odds suggest neither will feature prominently.
What time is the Champion Chase at Cheltenham?
The Champion Hurdle was scheduled to start at 3.30pm in previous years, but it has been moved to the later start time of 4pm this year.
What distance is the Champion Chase?
The Champion Chase is run over a distance of two miles. It takes place on Cheltenham’s old course and there are a total of 12 fences to be jumped.
Has any horse won the Champion Chase three times?
Although a number of horses have won the Champion Chase twice, Badsworth Boy remains the only three time Champion Chase winner. Energumene, winner in 2022 and 2023, will attempt to join the elite club in March.
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