Champion Chase 2025 Tips - Pre-season guide and preview

Stangely enough, the favourite to win the 2025 Champion Chase with a large number of bookmakers is Jonbon. Unbeaten around other venues, Jonbon is yet to win in three visits to Cheltenham. Nicky Henderson's star finished second to Constitution Hill in the 2022 Supreme, second to El Fabiolo in the Arkle the following year, and jumped deplorably when beaten by Elixir De Nutz in the rescheduled Clarence House last January.

Having missed last year's Champion Chase due to poor stable form, Jonbon won the Melling Chase at Aintree before defeating El Fabiolo in the Celebration Chase at Sandown. Henderson has said that his star chaser will remain over two miles this term and that the Queen Mother is his goal. However, the jury is out on whether Jonbon will ever produce his best form around Prestbury Park.

One of the three Willie Mullins runners near the head of the betting will likely leap ahead of Jonbon, once their plans have been confirmed. At the moment, only Energumene - winner of this race in 2022 and 2023 - looks guaranteed to head here, having missed the defence of his title last term through injury.

Gaelic Warrior won the Arkle at Cheltenham, but Willie Mullins has three-mile victories on his CV and could realistically run in any of the open chases at Cheltenham. El Fabiolo was pulled up as the odds-on favourite to win this race 12 months ago, after his jumping fell apart early on, and a step up in trip looks likely for this talented chaser.

Captain Guinness was on hand to capitalise after El Fabiolo was pulled up, seeing off Gentleman De Mee to hand Henry De Bromhead a fourth Champion Chase. At 20/1, the defending champion could be considered a dark horse.

Marine Nationale suffered an injury after a lengthy defeat at the Dublin Racing Festival and Barry Connell is keen to keep his former Supreme winner over fences. Banbridge beat Captain Guinness when the two met at Punchestown, but good ground will be key to his challenge and the ground at the Cheltenham Festival usually comes up on the soft side - especially over the opening two days.

Il Etait Temps hates Cheltenham. Ferny Hollow is always injured and Dinoblue will likely be kept within her own sex. Found A Fifty isn't happy going left-handed, Quilixios isn't good enough and, barring Jonbon, none of the other two-mile chasers in Britain are of Grade One quality.