Cheltenham 2026 Champion Chase – All The Runners, Odds And Predictions – Who Will Win?
The 2026 Queen Mother Champion Chase shapes up as a deep, tactical renewal, with a short-priced Irish favourite facing a mix of seasoned Grade 1 performers and improving challengers over Cheltenham’s unforgiving two miles.
With ten runners declared for Wednesday’s feature on day two of the Festival, this looks less like a procession and more like a proper Championship test where jumping, pace, and pressure will all play their part.
Run over 2m on the Old Course, the Champion Chase is the defining test for two-mile chasers and the centrepiece of Cheltenham’s Wednesday card.
It is also a race steeped in specialist history, with multiple dual winners such as Moscow Flyer, Altior, and more recently, Energumene in 2022 and 2023.
In modern renewals, the Champion Chase has become a strong Anglo-Irish clash, but recent trends show Irish trainers have matched British counterparts stride for stride over the last decade.
Champion Chase 2026 Odds & Runners
Ten runners go to post this year, headed by Majborough, the clear market leader and already a Festival winner over hurdles at the track.
Willie Mullins also saddles Il Etait Temps, providing a powerful second string, while Dan Skelton’s L’Eau Du Sud leads the home defence after a notable course-and-distance success earlier in the season.
Depth comes from Quilixios for Henry de Bromhead, a previous Cheltenham Festival scorer who fell at the last when still in contention in last year’s renewal, and Captain Guinness, the 2024 Champion Chase winner, now looking to roll back the years.
Found A Fifty, Irish Panther, Libberty Hunter, Saint Segal, and the outsider Brookie complete a line-up that mixes proven graded form with upwardly mobile handicappers stepping into the top tier.
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Majborough | Mark Walsh | W P Mullins | 4/5 |
| L'eau Du Sud | Harry Skelton | D Skelton | 4/1 |
| Il Etait Temps | Paul Townend | W P Mullins | 5/1 |
| Quilixios | Darragh O'Keeffe | H De Bromhead | 9/1 |
| Irish Panther | Kieren Buckley | E & P Harty | 14/1 |
| Found A Fifty | Jack Kennedy | G Elliott | 40/1 |
| Captain Guinness | Jordan Gainford | H De Bromhead | 50/1 |
| Saint Segal | C Gethings | Mrs J Williams | 50/1 |
| Libberty Hunter | S Bowen | Evan Williams | 66/1 |
| Brookie | Sam Twiston-Davies | A J Honeyball | 100/1 |
Leading Fancies
Is it even a Cheltenham race if Willie Mullins doesn't have the favourite? Majborough arrives as the standout on ratings, already a Grade 1 winner over fences and with a profile that suggests he is still improving at six.
He has course form as a previous Festival winner (Triumph Hurdle in 2024) and comes into the race on the back of a consistent campaign, typically trading around odds-on or close to it with most firms.
Stablemate Il Etait Temps was on a hot streak earlier in the season before a heavy fall in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, yet he retains a lofty official mark and has the tactical speed you need for this race, even if his Cheltenham record so far is patchy – he has never won here.
L’Eau Du Sud produced a career-best when landing the Shloer Chase over this course and distance, and that proven C&D form, combined with a solid British campaign, has pushed him into single-figure prices as the main home hope.
Quilixios adds intrigue: a Triumph Hurdle winner (2021) turned chaser whose form has been stop-start, but who was still in with a serious chance before falling at the final fence in last year’s Champion Chase.
We haven't seen him since, so there is no way to know what kind of form he is in.
Captain Guinness, though now in the veteran bracket for a top two-miler, and the oldest horse in the race, brings invaluable experience as a former Champion Chase hero, and any hint of a strong pace collapse could see him pick up late pieces.
Champion Chase Winning Trends
Recent Champion Chase trends are clear on a few key points and are useful filters when working through this year’s field.
- Age: 10 of the last 12 winners were aged between seven and nine, with horses in that bracket combining maturity with the speed needed at this level.
- Odds: Only four of the last 12 winners were favourites, but 11 of the last 12 came from the first three in the betting, so genuine shocks are rare, even if odds-on shots are not automatic bankers.
- Ratings and class: Nine of the last 12 winners were rated 162 or higher, and 11 of 12 had already won a Grade 1, underlining that Championship-level class is almost a prerequisite.
- Recent form: Most winners had run at least twice that season, with the majority winning or running very well last time out, and a significant chunk coming via the Clarence House Chase as the key mid-season trial.
- Course experience: Ten of the last 12 had run at Cheltenham previously, and seven had already won at the track, reinforcing how important familiarity with Prestbury Park can be.
Applied to this renewal, those trends narrow focus onto horses like L'Eau Du Sud and Il Etait Temps, who tick the age, odds, form, class, and ratings boxes.
Tips and Likely Winners
There's every chance that Majborough will turn up and absolutely decimate the rest of the field. Winning the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown by a staggering 19L definitely laid down a marker, but he's not infallible. He is odds on, so there is no value in the betting.
Il Etait Temps also appeals as a solid alternative, particularly if you are willing to forgive his Clarence House fall; his cruising speed and established Grade 1 level mean he could be the one to capitalise should Majborough make a mistake.
L’Eau Du Sud looks a fair each-way or “without the favourite” option, with that Shloer Chase win showing he handles the course, the trip, and the likely race tempo, and his current mark suggests there may still be a bit more improvement to come.
Among the bigger prices, Found A Fifty and Saint Segal have enough recent consistency to grab minor money if the race collapses late or several of the principals underperform, but they look more place than win players on bare figures.
Mullins vs Skelton vs Mullins
The 2026 Champion Chase brings together a strong Irish favourite, a deep supporting cast, and a race shape that should be truly run from flagfall, which is exactly what you want from a midweek Cheltenham Championship.
Majborough can add his name to the roll of honour, but with Il Etait Temps, and L’Eau Du Sud bringing credible form and differing tactical strengths, this feels more like a proper contest than a coronation.
From a betting point of view, building positions around Majborough on the win side and Captain Guinness each-way (won it in 2024 and was 3rd in 2025) looks a sensible way to play a race.
As the field swings for home and the Cheltenham roar rises, the horse that has jumped cleanly, travelled sweetly, and kept just enough in reserve for that rising ground will be the one crowned the new champion of the two-mile division.
BETFRED
