Celebration Chase

Grade 2 race
Celebration Chase

Location	Sandown Park Esher, England
Inaugurated	2001
Race type	Chase
Sponsor	Bet365
Website	Sandown Park
Race information
Distance	2 miles (3,219 metres)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Five-years-old and up
Weight	11 st 2 lb Allowances 7 lb for mares Penalties for wins 4 lb for Grade 1 chase * * in last 18 months
Purse	£75,000 (2010) 1st: £42,758

The Celebration Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late April.

History

The event has its origins in 2001, when the Cheltenham Festival was cancelled due to a foot-and-mouth crisis. Replacements for some of the Festival's races were held at Sandown in late April, and the equivalent of the Queen Mother Champion Chase was a Grade 1 event called the Championship Chase.

The following year the race returned as the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Celebration Chase, in memory of the Queen Mother (1900–2002), who frequently attended racing at Sandown. The event was downgraded to Class B level, but it continued to attract high quality chasers. It was promoted to Grade 2 status in 2005, and at this point its title was shortened to the Celebration Chase.

The race is currently sponsored by Bet365, and it takes place at a meeting which features both jump and flat races. Other events at this meeting include the Bet365 Gold Cup, the Gordon Richards Stakes and the Sandown Mile.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins):

• Cenkos – 2002, 2004

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Leading jockey (3 wins):

• Tony McCoy – Edredon Bleu (2001), Seebald (2003), French Opera (2011)

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Leading trainer (4 wins):

• Paul Nicholls – Cenkos (2002, 2004), Andreas (2008), Twist Magic (2009)

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer
2001	Edredon Bleu	9	Tony McCoy	Henrietta Knight
2002	Cenkos	8	Barry Geraghty	Paul Nicholls
2003	Seebald	8	Tony McCoy	Martin Pipe
2004	Cenkos	10	Barry Geraghty	Paul Nicholls
2005	Well Chief	6	Timmy Murphy	Martin Pipe
2006	River City	9	Tom Doyle	Noel Chance
2007	Dempsey	9	Timmy Murphy	Carl Llewellyn
2008	Andreas	8	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2009	Twist Magic	7	Ruby Walsh	Paul Nicholls
2010	I'm So Lucky	8	Tom Scudamore	David Pipe
2011	French Opera	8	Tony McCoy	Nicky Henderson

See also

• Horseracing in Great Britain
• List of British National Hunt races
• Recurring sporting events established in 2001 – this race is included under its original title, Championship Chase.

References

• Racing Post:
  • 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
  • 2011

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• pedigreequery.com – Celebration Chase – Sandown.