Queen Mother Champion Chase Betting Preview – Cheltenham Day 2 Tips (2025)

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature race on Day 2 of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival and 8 runners have been declared for one of the biggest horse racing betting heats of the season.

We’ve known the early entries for the Champion Chase for some time now but decisions have been made and all eyes will be on Prestbury Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Here, we look at some of the leading players in the Cheltenham odds for this year’s race, with a Queen Mother Champion Chase selection ahead of the 2025 renewal.

Will JONBON finally break his Cheltenham Festival duck? He has a fantastic chance to claim a first success at jumps racing’s biggest meeting, having finished second in the 2022 Supreme Novices Hurdle and 2023 Arkle Novices Chase.

The Nicky Henderson-trained son of Walk In The Park has won nine Grade 1s heading into this year’s Festival and punters will be expecting him to add to that tally in the feature race on Wednesday afternoon. He’s certainly the one they all have to beat.

It would be some story if Marine Nationale was able to record a second Cheltenham Festival victory, having won the 2023 Supreme Novices Hurdle under the late Michael O’Sullivan. Neutrals will be hoping that the Barry Connell runner can prevail.

He’s been running well without winning this season, finishing behind Quilixios at Naas before his third at Leopardstown over Christmas. He took his form to another level at the Dublin Racing Festival but had to settle for second behind Solness – though many believe he can reverse the form round Cheltenham.

Speaking of the Joseph O’Brien runner, he’s done very little wrong this season and he’s got an excellent chance. He will go from the front and it’ll come down to whether he is able to dictate and stay up the Cheltenham hill as effectively as he performs around Leopardstown.

He’s finished ahead of Marine Nationale on his last two starts yet Solness is a bigger price here – it’s hard to lead pillar to post round Prestbury Park but JJ Slevin is a superb jockey and he’ll take some pegging back if he gets the fractions right.

Dual winner Energumene is no back number and any falling rain will significantly help his chances of victory. Jonbon made light enough work of him in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot and perhaps age is just starting to catch up with this six-time Grade 1 winner.

Tony Bloom will be hoping for a double on the day with Bunting fancied earlier on the card but I’m struggling to see how Energumene reverses form with Jonbon. Even with critics pointing to Jonbon’s Festival record, he has won around Cheltenham before and it wouldn’t worry me too much.

I liked Found A Fifty as a potential Ryanair Chase contender but connections decided to send him to this race instead. His form ties in with the likes of Solness but he flopped at Christmas and has been off the track since. He’s got something to prove, if truth be told.

He’s won multiple Grade 1s but he was well beaten in last year’s Arkle and you could make a case that the Old Course doesn’t suit him. He’s best watched for me – especially after pulling up the last day.

SELECTION: JONBON