The 2026 Queen Mother Champion Chase shapes up as a proper test of nerve as well as speed, with ten runners lining up on Wednesday 11 March at 4.00pm over the Old Course’s 2m (1m7f199y) trip at Cheltenham.
This is the day-two feature, a race that tends to expose any weakness in jumping or temperament in about the time it takes to boil a kettle, and this year’s renewal has a clear story: can anything stop Majborough?
The 2026 Champion Chase is the championship event for two‑mile chasers, a Grade 1 contest where even a minor mistake can cost you the race.
Recent history and the current market both tell the same tale: class usually rises to the top in this race, and it rarely turns into a lottery.
Ten runners are set to go to post, representing a good mix of seasoned campaigners, improving second‑season chasers and ambitious outsiders stepping into the deep end.
With going currently described as good to soft, possibly good in places, conditions should be fair and may favour those with a bit of tactical pace as well as stamina for the uphill finish.
Majborough: The One They All Fear
Majborough comes into the race as the odds‑on favourite and, on paper, he has the profile you’d draw up if you were designing a Champion Chase winner from scratch.
He is course‑and‑distance proven, has already posted a high Racing Post Rating in the mid‑170s, and has the backing of the all‑conquering Willie Mullins yard with Mark Walsh booked to ride.
He did fluff his lines at the Festival last year when beaten as a short‑priced favourite in the Arkle, but that experience may actually help this time, as connections clearly still believe he belongs at the top table.
The key positives are his slick jumping at speed, strong pace, and the fact that he is still open to further improvement as a six‑year‑old. If he brings his best form and keeps the errors out of his game, he sets a clear standard.
L’Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps: Main Dangers
If Majborough is the obvious one, L’Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps are the two most credible alternatives and will attract plenty of support from punters who don’t like taking odds‑on in a race with this many moving parts.
Both have high‑class form and arrive here with genuine claims of upsetting the favourite.
L’Eau Du Sud has already shown he handles Cheltenham well, winning over this course and distance in November by a wide margin, and he brings a Racing Post Rating in the 160s that puts him firmly in the mix.
He’s trained by Dan Skelton, who has an excellent recent Festival record, and ridden by Harry Skelton, which gives the horse a cohesive, battle‑tested partnership.
His strengths are sound jumping and the ability to travel strongly off the bridle, but he may need Majborough to underperform slightly, or the race to turn tactical, to turn the tables.
Il Etait Temps, also from the Mullins yard, has already proved he can mix it with the very best, including a decisive Tingle Creek success over Jonbon last December.
That performance underlined his cruising speed and stamina for a stiff two miles, and his RPR figure in the 170s shows he’s very close to Majborough on raw ratings.
The question with him is whether he can put it all together at Cheltenham, a track where he has yet to win, but if he settles and jumps fluently, he is absolutely good enough to pounce should Majborough falter.
Others Who Add Depth
Behind the front three in the market sit a cluster of runners who wouldn’t be complete shocks if they made the frame, and in some cases, if things fell apart up front, they could sneak a big prize.
Irish Panther, for example, is an improving type with recent placed form and a solid official mark in the low‑150s; he might just lack the star quality of the principals, but looks the sort to run his race and pick up pieces late.
Quilixios brings back‑class and a Cheltenham record that reads better than his overall profile suggests, though his fall in last year’s Champion Chase is a reminder that his jumping can go missing under pressure.
Found A Fifty, Libberty Hunter, Saint Segal, Brookie, and Captain Guinness are all capable on their day but would typically need both a personal career‑best and some underperformances from the big guns to land the top prize, making them more interesting for place or each‑way players than as likely winners.
2026 Champion Chase Tips and Predictions
From a betting perspective, this looks like a race where you either side with Majborough’s class or make a conscious decision to play against him for value.
On trends, ratings and current form, Majborough is the most likely winner and deserves his place at the head of the market; he fits the age profile, sits right at the top of the RPR stack, and represents a yard that knows exactly how to peak a horse for this week.
He is a logical win selection, especially for multiples or as the anchor in more conservative staking plans.
If you want to oppose the favourite, L’Eau Du Sud makes a lot of sense as an each‑way or “without the favourite” option, given his proven course form and the Skelton team’s knack for getting horses to outperform their marks in Festival Grade 1s.
Il Etait Temps, meanwhile, is the more obvious straight‑win alternative: he has already posted top‑drawer form in open company and could be the one cruising into it turning for home if the pace collapses.
All Good On Paper
On paper, the 2026 Champion Chase feels like one of those editions that might be summed up afterwards with the phrase “the best horse won,” and Majborough has every chance of being that horse.
L’Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps give the race proper depth at the top of the market, though, and there’s enough pace and pressure in behind to ensure nobody will be coasting through this.
Whether you’re backing the obvious or fishing for each‑way value, this is the sort of race that rewards a cool head and a willingness to trust the numbers as well as the narrative.
If Majborough finally delivers his Festival redemption, it will feel like the result many expected; if one of the challengers lowers his colours, it will be the kind of upset that keeps us all coming back to Cheltenham year after year.
BETFRED
