Champion Chase Three Way Battle Set to Light Up Cheltenham Festival
Ask most punters to nominate the Cheltenham Festival race they are looking forward to the most and many people would say the Champion Chase.
The feature on day two has been criticised in the past for having small fields, but regardless of the field size this season, it looks like being a cracker.
Three horses head into the race with a great chance of winning. They are current champion Altior, the newcomer to the 2m division Defi Du Seuil and the Irish challenger Chacun Pour Soi.
Reigning Champion Shows Two Mile Class
Altior has won this race for the past two seasons and is here for a third title. This will only be his third run of the season, and only his second over two miles.
After disappointing over further, he dropped back to two miles after a rest period and won in good style at Newbury in the Game Spirit Chase.
It wasn’t flash, but it was exactly what we have seen from Altior for the past few years.
As reigning champion, he will attract plenty of support from punters having a bet in this race, but on the other hand this looks to be his toughest test to date.
Newcomer Defi Du Seuil Holds Best Form of the Season
Purely based on this season and what the three contenders have done, Defi Du Seuil would be clear favourite for this race. Not only has he won at Grade One level, but he’s also won at Cheltenham.
Many expected him to develop into a Ryanair horse this season, but the Phillip Hobbs trained runner has really excelled on his step back to two miles.
After Altior winning at Newbury, he and Defi Du Seuil are the joint favourites for this contest, with both of them available at 9/4.
Anything other than one of these two being the outright favourite, or remaining joint favourites, would be a surprise on the day.
You can get all the 2020 Cheltenham betting offers here, including free bets that can be used on this race.
Can Chacun Spoil the English Party?
Irish raider Chacun Pour Soi is the third best in the betting for this race, generally available at 11/4 behind the front two.
He has an excellent chance based on both form last year and his win at the Dublin Racing Festival at the beginning of February.
Much of the betting focus is likely to be on Altior and Defi Du Seuil, but the Willie Mullins trained runner has a genuine claim to winning the contest.
Away from these three runners, the rest of the field are available at double figure odds. At least the first two of those are unlikely to come into this race either, so it should all boil down to one of the three mentioned.
With this excitement and three top quality animals, it would be no surprise if this was the best race of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival.
