Captain Guinness triumphs in dramatic Champion Chase

Captain Guinness finally earned his Grade One day in the sun and stayed on strongly after the final fence to run out the winner of a highly dramatic Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase in the championship highlight on day two of the Cheltenham Festival.

El Fabiolo was sent off the 2-9 favourite to land the big race  - his task seemingly made even easier by the withdrawal of Jonbon this morning - but a juddering error at the fifth fence ended his unbeaten record over fences as he was pulled up by rider Paul Townend with Willie Mullins forced to wait a little longer for a landmark 100th Cheltenham Festival victory. 

Captain Guinness travelled strongly behind the pace-setting Edwardstonecoming down the hill before hitting the front turning into the straight, though the winner was made to work all the way to the line by the gallant Gentleman Du Mee who was a length and half in arrears at the line. With Edwardstone coming down two from home, Funambule Sivola was the last of three to finish.

Trainer Henry de Bromhead has trained some fine two-mile chasers and was celebrating his third Champion Chase winner, while this was a first for Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup and Grand National-winning rider Rachael Blackmore. 

De Bromhead told Racing TV's Tom Stanley: "He really toughed it out and this horse deserves to win a Grade One so much. 

"I thought Rachael really forced that jump when she was upsides the favourite and maybe she forced him into that, who knows. 

"It's amazing - these are the ones you dream of and it really means a lot this one."

The winning rider told Racing TV's Lydia Hislop that she was aware of the big-race error from El Fabiolo and that it certainly changed her thinking on the way round, while also helping to help pave the way for a top-level breakthrough for Captain Guinness. 

"I could see him or hear him make the mistake beside me so I knew he was sort of out of the equation then. 

"Your thinking changes I suppose but it happened quite early on so we still had a long way to go. You're still trying to ride from fence to fence, but it does change your brain a little bit for sure."

On her thoughts towards the business end of the race, Blackmore added: "He's such a  good jumper the horse in front [Edwardstone] and I just didn't want him to have it too easy in front. 

"It was a long way up the hill at the same time after the last and I was glad we got to the line!

The rider continued: "It's just fantasic - I'm not shocked because I thought his day would come but at the same time I cant believe it came! 

"He ran so well here last year - I know he was beaten a long way but he still ran really well behind an incredibly talented horse - and he's been in great form at home. Just when you're riding for Henry around here this week, he does just get them spot on. 

"I was very hopeful coming into the race and I'm just delighted that it's actually happened.

"I know Henry has won this race a few times but I haven't and it's just an incredible race to win."

Willie Mullins said he was concerned from an early stage about the jumping about El Fabiolo but hopes his chaser can make amends later this spring. 

Speaking to Racing TV's Lydia Hislop, the trainer said: "I was very concerned with how badly he was jumping - two out of the three [before the race-ending error] were bad.

"He jumped the last fence well and I thought 'OK, he's warmed up now, he's going to go,' and then he just stood too far off and didn't get any height. 

"Hopefully there's Aintree or Punchestown, hopefully he's sound - he looked OK coming in."

On his runner-up Gentleman Du Mee, Mullins thought that his lesser-fancied runner might grab big-race glory on the run to the line at one stage - an opinion shared by rider Mark Walsh. 

"Mark thought the same, he thought I was going to get back, but [with] Rachael's style of riding she had a little bit up her sleeve, she's a real artist at that. You've never got Rachael beaten, she'll always pull out more."