Master Minded Eyes Tingle Creek on the Road to Champion Chase Double

With the National Hunt season now in full swing, each weekend is not only providing racing fans with both top class racing action but also providing plenty of clues to finding the winners of the races at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival. Last weekend it was the Betfair Chase and Betfair Hurdle, which both provided pointers to the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle at the Festival, while this coming weekend’s Hennessy Gold Cup meeting is sure to unearth a new name in the reckoning for either the Gold Cup or Ryan Air Chase.

Next weekend, attention will turn to Sandown Park, for the running of the Tingle Creek, where the 2008 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner, Master Minded, will make his seasonal reappearance. He is the youngest winner of the Champion Chase and is held in very high regard at home, even being muted as a potential superstar in some quarters. He is sure to be the centre of attention at the Surrey track in view of his credentials ahead of his forthcoming campaign.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 Chase for five year old’s and above racehorses and is the feature race on day two of the Cheltenham Festival. It is run over a distance of two tough miles over the Cheltenham Festival course and there are a total of twelve fences each four feet high, to be jumped. Due to the race not being run in 2001 the race in 2009 will be the 50th running of this very prestigious race. Formerly known as the National Hunt 2 Mile Champion Chase, the late Queen Mothers name was added to it in 1980 as a celebration of her 80th birthday.

In real terms, the race has a short history but it has been an exciting one. The race always brings together an exceptionally strong field, where the winner will need speed, strength and an excellent jumping technique to win. It was why a prize fund of well over £300,000 is put up by the sponsors, Seasons Holidays.

For the first time last year, a five year old took the race in the form of Master Minded. Master Minded was ridden by Ruby Walsh and is trained by the champion trainer, Paul Nicholls, and is currently favourite to win the race again in 2009 at current odds of 11/10 with Paddypower. Second in the betting is last year’s Arkle Trophy Champion, Tidal Bay at 5/1. Past Arkle Trophy winners have a tremendous record in the Queen Mother Chase as it is a natural stepping stone and Tidal Bay will come into the race high on confidence and with lots of ability.

The Paul Nicholls yard has the two highest rated steeple chasers in the county under their wing, they are Denman, winner of the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup and Kauto Star, winner of the 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup, there is no doubting the ability of these two fantastic horses, but the word at the stable is that Master Minded has the potential to be possibly better than both of them.

If that is the case, then Nicholls can rightly think that he has a horse that will be rated higher than the great Arkle himself and at an age where he has plenty of time to break all known chasing records. Master Minded is said to now be bigger and stronger and has really enjoyed his summer break. He is set to make his seasonal reappearance in the Tingle Creek at Sandown Park on the 6th December, a race regarded as trial for the Queen Mother Chase.

Nicholls has had a monopoly of this race for the past three years, with Twist Magic winning last year and Kauto Star winning the two previous renewals. Master Minded is sure to be a red hot favourite to keep the Tingle Creek Trophy at Nicholl’s Ditcheat yard for the fourth year running and if winning impressively, expect the Queen Mother Champion Chase odds to shorten as a result.

Bookmark this article with:

              

Previous Cheltenham Festival News: