- Queen Mother Champion Chase
-
Grade 1 race
Queen Mother Champion ChaseLocation Cheltenham Racecourse
Cheltenham, EnglandInaugurated 1959 Race type Chase Sponsor Seasons Holidays Website Cheltenham Race information Distance 2 miles (3,219 metres) Track Turf, left-handed Qualification Five-years-old and up Weight 11 st 10 lb
Allowances
7 lb for maresPurse £320,000 (2010)
1st: £182,432The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are twelve fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the Cheltenham Festival in March.
It is the leading minimum-distance chase in the National Hunt calendar, and it is the feature race on the second day of the Festival.
Contents
History
The event was established in 1959, and it was originally called the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase. It was given its present title in 1980 – the year of the Queen Mother's 80th birthday – in recognition of her support to jump racing. The Queen Mother was a successful owner of National Hunt horses, particularly chasers, and among these was Game Spirit – the runner-up in this race in 1976.
The Queen Mother Champion Chase was not sponsored before 2007, and between 2008 and 2010 it was backed by Seasons Holidays. The new sponsor from 2011 until at least 2015 will be online gambling firm Sportingbet.com.
Records
Most successful horse (3 wins):
- Badsworth Boy – 1983, 1984, 1985
Leading jockey (5 wins):
- Pat Taaffe – Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), Straight Fort (1970)
Leading trainer (6 wins):
- Tom Dreaper – Fortria (1960, 1961), Ben Stack (1964), Flyingbolt (1966), Muir (1969), Straight Fort (1970)
Leading owner (3 wins):
- George Ansley – Fortria (1960, 1961), Straight Fort (1970)
- Doug Armitage – Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984, 1985)
Winners
- Amateur jockeys indicated by "Mr".
Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner 1959 Quita Que 10 Bunny Cox Dan Moore Mrs D. R. Brand 1960 Fortria 8 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper George Ansley 1961 Fortria 9 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper George Ansley 1962 Piperton 8 Dave Dick Archie Thomlinson Archie Thomlinson 1963 Sandy Abbot 8 Stan Mellor George Owen Mrs J. D. McKechnie 1964 Ben Stack 7 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper Duchess of Westminster 1965 Dunkirk 8 Dave Dick Peter Cazalet Bill Whitbread 1966 Flyingbolt 7 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper Jean Wilkinson 1967 Drinny's Double 9 Frank Nash Bob Turnell Paul Mellon 1968 Drinny's Double 10 Frank Nash Bob Turnell Paul Mellon 1969 Muir 10 Ben Hannon Tom Dreaper Waring Willis 1970 Straight Fort 7 Pat Taaffe Tom Dreaper George Ansley 1971 Crisp 8 Paul Kelleway Fred Winter Sir Chester Manifold 1972 Royal Relief 8 Bill Smith Edward Courage Edward Courage 1973 Inkslinger 6 Tommy Carberry Dan Moore Mrs M. Jenney 1974 Royal Relief 10 Bill Smith Edward Courage Edward Courage 1975 Lough Inagh 8 Sean Barker Jim Dreaper A. Martin 1976 Skymas 11 Mouse Morris Brian Lusk Matt Magee 1977 Skymas 12 Mouse Morris Brian Lusk Matt Magee 1978 Hilly Way 8 Tommy Carmody Peter McCreery J. W. Sweeney 1979 Hilly Way 9 Mr Ted Walsh Peter McCreery J. W. Sweeney 1980 Another Dolly [1] 10 Sam Morshead Fred Rimell Ian Urquhart 1981 Drumgora 9 Frank Berry Arthur Moore D. Monahan 1982 Rathgorman 10 Kevin Whyte Michael Dickinson J. Lilley 1983 Badsworth Boy 8 Robert Earnshaw Michael Dickinson Doug Armitage 1984 Badsworth Boy 9 Robert Earnshaw Michael Dickinson Doug Armitage 1985 Badsworth Boy 10 Robert Earnshaw Monica Dickinson Doug Armitage 1986 Buck House 8 Tommy Carmody Mouse Morris Mrs Phil Purcell 1987 Pearlyman 8 Peter Scudamore John Edwards Valerie Shaw 1988 Pearlyman 9 Tom Morgan John Edwards Valerie Shaw 1989 Barnbrook Again 8 Simon Sherwood David Elsworth Mel Davies 1990 Barnbrook Again 9 Hywel Davies David Elsworth Mel Davies 1991 Katabatic 8 Simon McNeill Andrew Turnell Pell-Mell Partners 1992 Remittance Man 8 Jamie Osborne Nicky Henderson Jim Collins 1993 Deep Sensation 8 Declan Murphy Josh Gifford Robin Eliot 1994 Viking Flagship 7 Adrian Maguire David Nicholson Roach Foods Ltd 1995 Viking Flagship 8 Charlie Swan David Nicholson Roach Foods Ltd 1996 Klairon Davis 7 Francis Woods Arthur Moore Chris Jones 1997 Martha's Son 10 Rodney Farrant Tim Forster Hartigan / Ward-Thomas 1998 One Man 10 Brian Harding Gordon W. Richards John Hales 1999 Call Equiname 9 Mick Fitzgerald Paul Nicholls Coburn / Barber / Lewis 2000 Edredon Bleu 8 Tony McCoy Henrietta Knight Jim Lewis no race 2001 [2] 2002 Flagship Uberalles 8 Richard Johnson Philip Hobbs Gutner / Krysztofiak 2003 Moscow Flyer 9 Barry Geraghty Jessica Harrington Brian Kearney 2004 Azertyuiop 7 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls John Hales 2005 Moscow Flyer 11 Barry Geraghty Jessica Harrington Brian Kearney 2006 Newmill 8 Andrew J. McNamara John Joseph Murphy Mary Hayes 2007 Voy Por Ustedes 6 Robert Thornton Alan King Sir Robert Ogden 2008 Master Minded 5 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls Clive D. Smith 2009 Master Minded 6 Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls Clive D. Smith 2010 Big Zeb 9 Barry Geraghty Colm Murphy Patrick Joseph Redmond 2011 Sizing Europe 9 Andrew Lynch Henry de Bromhead Ann & Alan Potts 1 Chinrullah finished first in 1980, but he was subsequently disqualified after testing positive for a banned substance.
2 The 2001 running was cancelled because of a foot-and-mouth crisis.References
- bbc.co.uk – "Royalty absent and present" (2003).
- cheltenham.co.uk – Media information pack (2010).
- pedigreequery.com – Queen Mother Champion Chase – Cheltenham.
- sportingchronicle.com – Queen Mother Champion Two Mile Steeple Chase Past Winners.
- The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. 1993. p. 231. ISBN 1-873626-15-0.
See also
- Horseracing in Great Britain
- List of British National Hunt races
- Recurring sporting events established in 1959 – this race is included under its original title, National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase.
Tuesday Supreme Novices' Hurdle · Arkle Challenge Trophy · Stewart Family Spinal Research Handicap Chase · Champion Hurdle · Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase · David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle · Centenary Novices' Handicap ChaseWednesday National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup · Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle · RSA Chase · Queen Mother Champion Chase · Coral Cup · Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle · Champion BumperThursday Jewson Novices' Chase · Pertemps Final · Ryanair Chase · World Hurdle · Byrne Group Plate · Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge CupFriday Triumph Hurdle · Vincent O'Brien County Handicap Hurdle · Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle · Cheltenham Gold Cup · Christie's Foxhunter Chase · Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle · Johnny Henderson Grand Annual ChaseDiscontinued Cathcart Challenge CupCategories:- National Hunt races in Great Britain
- Cheltenham Racecourse
- National Hunt chases
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