Badsworth Boy is the only horse to win the Champion Chase three times (1983, 1984 and 1985). However, Altior could become the second horse to complete the treble at the Cheltenham Festival in March. The winner in the last two years can be backed at +350 with Bovada to win the Champion Chase again. There are inherent risks in betting at the odds, but the evidence of 19 wins in 19 starts before a recent defeat and four Festival wins means the price must be taken.
With eight weeks before the Festival, Altior could pick up a minor injury. If the horse is withdrawn, usually all bets are settled as losers. However, the major online bookmakers are now beginning to introduce the non-runner/no bet rule. The concession currently applies to the four major championship races, including the Champion Chase, but it will be extended to all 28 races at Cheltenham in the near future. Under this rule, stakes are returned if a backed horse is taken out of a race.
Altior and Tiger Roll have won races at four Festivals and are favourites for their targets this year. Tiger Roll won the Cross Country Chase at the last two Festivals before winning the Grand National. Connections are taking the same route and Tiger Roll is a best price of +175 to win the Festival race over a variety of obstacles. The owners are dithering over the National, but that could be a ploy to get a decent weight. Tiger Roll is +700 to win the 2020 Grand National.
The Champion Chase is the two-mile championship race for chasers. It is run over 12 fences on the Old Course at Cheltenham, where one jumping error can put a horse out of the race. It has a history of producing two-time winners, but only Badsworth Boy has won the race three times. Altior is clearly proven over the course and distance and the trainer will have the horse primed for the second day of the Festival. At one-fifth the odds for three places, there are other each way possibilities for a race with clear trends.
Each of the last 10 winners of the Champion Chase had won over two miles and one furlong or further. Every winner in the last decade had run in at least seven chases. All the winners since 2010 had an adjusted Racing Post Rating of 170 or more. All but one winner was within nine pounds of the RPR top-rated runner. Nine of the last 10 winners had already won a Grade 1 chase. Five winners had previously won at the Festival. The horse that ticks most of these boxes is called Altior.
Footpad meets some of the criteria and can currently be backed at +4000 to win the Champion Chase. The horse looked a world-beater when hosing up in the 2018 Arkle Chase, where in stayed on strongly and won the race by 14 lengths. He ran to a RPR of 170 and followed up with a win at Punchestown at the end of April. Footpad ran well at Thurles in November and poorly in the King George, but the race conditions did not suit the horse.
Riders Onthe Storm is a progressive horse that could make the payout places at a big price. The horse is currently on offer at +3300 to win the Champion Chase. He would have to find something on ratings because his best RPR is 169, but that mark is close to the trend. Riders Onthe Storm produced that rating in a graduation chase at Ascot in December. The horse won readily in a manner that suggested room for improvement. However, Riders Onthe Storm cannot beat Altior off level weights and the hat-trick in the Champion Chase is on the cards.