Altior to again miss Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham
For the second consecutive year, a late setback will prevent the star steeplechaser Altior from running in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse in England on Wednesday.
Last year, Altior missed the two-mile race because of a minor injury. Monday, trainer Nicky Henderson announced that Altior will miss the Queen Mother Champion Chase because of a cough. The popular 11-year-old won the race in 2018 and 2019.
Without Altior, Chacun Pour Soi will be an odds-on favorite against nine rivals. Trained by Willie Mullins in Ireland, Chacun Pour Soi is unbeaten in three appearances in chases this season, including an eight-length win in the Grade 1 Dublin Chase at two miles at Leopardstown on Feb. 6. He tends to run from slightly off the pace, a style that has resulted in six wins in eight steeplechases in his career.
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Last March, Chacun Pour Soi was also a late scratch from the Queen Mother because of a foot abscess.
The $417,420 Queen Mother Champion Chase is the third of four Grade 1 races on Wednesday’s seven-race program at Cheltenham, the second of four days of the National Hunt festival. The event, which is being held without fans in attendance, continues through Friday.
Mullins, widely expected to be leading trainer over the four days, has leading contenders in the other three Grade 1 races – the $130,443 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at 2 5/8 miles, the $182,621 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at three miles, and the $78,266 Champion Bumper at two miles.
In the seven-runner Novices’ Hurdle, Mullins starts Gaillard Du Mesnil, who has won two of three starts over hurdles. The mount of Paul Townend, Gaillard Du Mesnil won a Grade 1 Novices’ Hurdle at 2 3/4 miles at Leopardstown on Feb. 6 in his final prep race.
The field is led by Bob Olinger, a 6-year-old gelding who has won two of three starts over hurdles, including a Grade 1 Novices’ Hurdle at 2 1/2 miles at Naas Racecourse in Ireland for trainer Henry de Bromhead on Jan. 13.
The shortest price of the day, at around 1-2, is likely to be the Mullins-trained Monkfish in the Novices’ Chase. Monkfish has only five rivals in a smaller-than-expected field, and has top-class Cheltenham experience.
Last March, Monkfish won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at three miles. This season, Monkfish is unbeaten in three chases in Ireland.
The day’s final race is the Champion Bumper, the only flat race of the week, and a race for horses likely to run over hurdles in the autumn. Mullins has the first two in early betting as of Monday in Kilcruit and Sir Gerhard.
First post time at Cheltenham is 9:20 a.m., Eastern. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.