Cheltenham Festival 2026: Queen Mother Champion Chase race analysis and preview

Britain and Ireland will resume their annual head-to-head in just over four weeks’ time, as the 2026 Cheltenham Festival gets underway. 

Four days of unmissable racing will see National Hunt’s elite yards do battle in 28 races, backdropped by the Gloucestershire hills. 

Each day is headlined by a feature race and day two’s is the Queen Mother Champion Chase. 

Runners and riders will embark on two miles of Prestbury Park and negotiate 13 fences, as they look to win a share of £400,000 in prize money. 

This year’s renewal sees owner/trainer Barrie Connell’s Marine Nationale look to continue his 100% record at the meeting and go back-to-back in this race. 

The 2023 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner made an emotional return to the course last year, when winning the Champion Chase following the tragic passing of Michael O’Sullivan – who rode him to victory in the Supreme. 

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Unlucky defeat

Marine Nationale will arrive here off the back of consecutive second-placed runs from two runs this season, the first of which came behind Solness in an unlucky defeat at Leopardstown. 

He is the higher-priced of two Irish-trained runners at the head of the market and at 9/4, he is preceded by trainer Willie Mullins’ Majborough – who made a resounding return to action at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival, when defeating Marine Nationale by 19 lengths. 

Despite this, Connell retains confidence in last year’s Champion Chase winner, telling Racing TV: “He’s in good shape afterwards, there isn’t a mark on him and he seems bright in himself.

“It was very unfortunate we got probably three months’ rain in a week at Leopardstown, which we never get. 

“I walked the track on Sunday morning and I thought it didn’t walk too bad, but it was proper heavy ground.

“He’s won on spring soft ground and we said we’d try it, but he never got going for the first mile, the winner jumped off smartly and got into a good rhythm and they were going 34/35 mph around the bend, so for the first mile of the race he was out of his comfort zone.”

Cheeky addition

The addition of cheekpieces and a positive ride by jockey Mark Walsh, saw Majborough bowl along in front and attack his fences to win the Dublin Chase. 

It was a race that saw him correct his jumping mistakes previously highlighted by Mullins, following poor runs at Cork and Leopardstown, latterly in a race behind Marine Nationale.  

After the race, Mullins said: “That’s more like it. Mark wanted to do things his way and it paid off. 

“The horse was a lot happier doing it, so it’s onwards and upwards. 

“Mark was adamant Majborough wanted cheekpieces on and he wanted to ride him his own way. All credit to him.

“It was poetry in motion down the back. 

“I was afraid he might not have enough left in the tank over the second-last, but Mark said he had plenty.”

He is one of two runners looking to carry the colours of JP McManus to victory for the first time in the history of the Champion Chase. 

Festival hoodoo

The other is Jonbon who – despite being an 11-time Grade One winner – will have to overcome his Cheltenham Festival hoodoo to win his first Champion Chase. 

Trainer Nicky Henderson’s gelding has finished second in all three runs at the Festival, once over hurdles and twice over fences. 

His 2022 second-placed effort came behind Constitution Hill in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, before he finished second to El Fabiolo – in the 2023 Arkle – and to Marine Nationale, in this race last year. 

Henderson hasn’t won this race since Altior won it in consecutive years back in 2018 and 2019. 

Jonbon’s latest run birthed his first victory of the campaign, when he bounced back to form with a resounding victory in the Clarence House Chase, at Ascot,

It is preceded by two second-placed runs behind L’eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps, both of who are set to line up in this race. 

The former is an admirable performer for trainer Dan Skelton, with the pick of his form a Grade One victory in 2024 at Sandown 

Third-placed finish

He has since finished a close fourth of five in last season’s Arkle (Majborough third), before ending last season with a third-placed finish at the Grand National meeting. 

L’eau Du Sud comfortably defeated Jonbon on their seasonal debut, but then finished third in the race won by Il Etait Temps (Jonbon was second). 

Il Etait Temps would have been favourite for this race, but for falling in the Clarence House when last seen in action. 

He could be very overpriced having gone undefeated in five races (four Grade Ones) prior to his fall at Ascot. 

Though he too is looking to break his Cheltenham Festival maiden tag, having failed to win in any of three runs at the meeting. 

Skelton’s horse is priced at 7/1, whilst Mullins’ higher priced raider is out at 8/1 and Jonbon is given little chance at 20/1. 

The latter heads the rest of the market, which also features Quilixios, Thistle Ask and Found A Fifty.

READ MORE: Cheltenham Festival 2026: Stayers’ Hurdle race analysis and preview