Queen Mother Champion Chase: a close look at the key players

Who will win the feature race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival on March 11? Alex Scott takes a close look at all the key players, including Majborough, Marine Nationale, Il Etait Temps and L'Eau Du Sud. Plus don't forget our Cheltenham Festival betting offers.

Trainer: Willie Mullins. Official Rating: 174. Festival form: 1st (Triumph), 3rd (Arkle). Jump Index: 8.9. Best odds: 7-4. 

An extraordinary horse. Despite not always impressing with his jumping to the eye, Majborough's career Jump Index is incredibly high.

He obviously has bundles of ability, that much was obvious early on; how a huge, tall, scopey chaser was able to win on debut in France with such ease, before winning the Triumph Hurdle on his second start for his current connections.

But he is also extremely intelligent. Fiddly at some of his fences  at Cork on his seasonal reappearance in the Hilly Way, he managed to put himself right at each fence and find a way over. Same again at Leopardstown over Christmas. He has a huge engine too, his blunder two from home in last year's Arkle ought to have stopped him in his tracks, but he somehow regained momentum to almost win it.

We finally saw what many thought he was capable of at the Dublin Racing Festival last time, where he was virtually faultless throughout, recording a Jump Index of 9.5 en route to a 19-length victory over Marine Nationale in the Dublin Chase in first time cheekpieces.

If he turns up in that form, the son of Martinborough should prove extremely hard to beat, but there is no room for error in this race. Short-priced favourites to have been turned over in recent years include El Fabiolo (2/5), Shishkin (5/6), Chacun Pour Soi (8/13), Defi Du Seuil (2/5), Douvan (2/9) and Un De Sceaux (4/6).

Master Minded, Sizing Europe and Sprinter Sacre have also been beaten favourites, whilst just three market leaders have obliged in the past ten years - Altior (x2) and Energumene.

Trainer: Barry Connell. Official Rating: 169. Festival form: 1st x2 (Supreme and Champion Chase). Jump Index: 7.4. Best odds: 5-2.

At his County Kildare base two weeks ago, owner/trainer Barry Connell was once again in bullish mood about Marine Nationale's bid to retain his Champion Chase title, despite his comprehensive DRF defeat last time out.

He appeared to be taken out of his comfort zone there, losing 4.7 lengths with his jumping, but there is mounting evidence that Leopardstown is not his track, having lost at the meeting three years in a row and his past four defeats all having came at the Dublin venue.

His Cheltenham record, meanwhile, is faultless, and his record on better ground is also encouraging. An 18-length winner of the race last season (albeit he was aided by Quilixios falling at the last), a repeat of that form should see him bang there again.

As is typical for horses from the yard, he is still lightly-raced for his age, and it is hard to imagine there being as big a gap between him and Majborough this time around, with a dry week sure to aid his chances.

Trainer: Willie Mullins. Official Rating: 171. Festival form: 5th x2 (Triumph and Supreme), 3rd (Arkle). Jump Index: 7.5. Best odds: 8-1.

Il Etait Temps was at the head of the market for this contest with many firms for much of this season, but after a tired fall at Ascot in the Clarence House Chase last time, he finds himself as an 8-1 general third favourite.

Prior to that, he had racked up five successive victories, four of which came at the top level, with his best performance coming in December when beating Jonbon by nine lengths to land the Tingle Creek.

Smaller than the two market leaders, the compact gelding is yet to win at the Festival, having been beaten in all three of his runs at the track. However, two of those were over hurdles and he is clearly a much better horse over fences these days despite his size, so there is no reason why he cannot run well there this year providing last month's accident has not left an impact.

Likely to be held up, he is a strong stayer over this trip and, whilst he handles soft ground, is another that will probably appreciate a dry forecast.

Trainer: Dan Skelton. Official Rating: 163. Festival form: 2nd (County), 4th (Arkle). Jump Index: 7.5. Best odds: 8-1.

Fellow grey L'Eau du Sud went into plenty of Queen Mother shortlists at the November meeting after he landed the Shloer Chase in emphatic style, however he weakened after two out to finish a remote third in the Tingle Creek last time, so more would be needed to feature in a race of this quality.

However, that contest may have came too soon after his winning reappearance, and we know he goes well fresh. This has been his target ever since and a bold bid is surely very likely.

A fine jumper on the whole and a strong traveller who traded at 1/2 in a remarkable Arkle last year, yet only managed fourth, his past three wins have all came on ground officially described as soft. He has work to do on ratings, but have we seen the best of him yet? It is very possible there is more to come from the leading British-trained contender in the race.

Trainer: Henry De Bromhead. Official Rating: 163. Festival form: 1st (Triumph), 8th (Arkle), Fell (Champion Chase). Jump Index: 8.1. Best odds: 20-1.

Quilixios is reportedly a likely runner in this after working well last week despite being absent since falling at the last in the race 12 months ago.

He was running a stormer up until that point and would surely have finished second, and it was an uncharacteristic mistake, as his jumping is usually very good, born out by the RaceiQ data.

Though he finished behind Jonbon (entered in this but much more likely to run in the Ryanair) in last season's Tingle Creek, he actually has winning form over Marine Nationale, having defeated him in the Barberstown Castle Chase on his seasonal reappearance last term, giving him weight too.

That is encouraging for his first run of this season in this, but he will need a career best and there are much likelier winners, for all his admirable qualities.

Trainer: Dan Skelton. Official Rating: 160. Festival form: N/A. Jump Index: 7.0. Best odds: 20-1.

An incredible 2025 saw Thistle Ask climb from a rating of 108 to 160, with 45lb of that improvement coming under the care of new trainer Dan Skelton.

He won the Haldon Gold Cup from out of the handicap and blew the Desert Orchid Chase apart to win by ten lengths in track record time, so underestimate him at your peril. However, his second in the Clarence House last time, whilst a fine effort, still leaves him with plenty to find if the favourites in this race run up to form, and will he handle the undulations and right-handed track at Cheltenham as well as he did at Exeter and Kempton?

He is also entered in the Ryanair Chase on the Thursday and connections may well bypass the Festival altogether, though he would be a fascinating runner should he take his chance and victory would cap an already remarkable season.

There are 18 horses entered at the time of writing and that number is likely to contract significantly over the next two weeks, so who are the other likely runners?

Recent Ascot Chase hero Jonbon is a best-priced 16-1 for this race but is far more likely to contest the Ryanair Chase the following day should he head to the Festival. The 12-time Grade One winner was a beaten favourite in last year's Champion Chase, though did well to finish second after a shuddering mistake.

Gordon Elliott could saddle Found A Fifty, though he is also entered in both contests and has work to do with Majborough and Marine Nationale on Dublin Chase form.

The progressive Irish Panther would be one of the more intriguing outsiders should he take his chance, as the Eddie and Patrick Harty-trained nine-year-old won his first two starts this season impressively before giving Romeo Coolio a race in Grade One company last time. However, as a novice, the Arkle looks the much likelier target, for which he is a best-priced 12-1.

Joseph O'Brien has a horse on his hands capable of beating the very best two-mile chasers on his day in last year's fourth-placed finisher Solness. He could line up in either the Champion Chase (40-1) or head straight to Aintree.

Well beaten in the Dublin Chase last time, he had previously landed the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase for a second year in a row over Marine Nationale, who would probably have won with a clear round, with Majborough back in third.

Other entries include surprise 2024 winner Captain Guinness, another doubtful runner, plus the British-trained outsiders Saint Segal and JPR One.