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The Queen Mother form generally is easy to work out as for a start there are only a handful of quality two mile chasers who have a great cruising speed and the ability to jump like a stag. Going through previous winners races like the Tingle Creek are useful pointers to who will come out on top at Cheltenham and Moscow Flyer and Master Minded are perfect examples of that.
It is also well worth noting that winners of the Arkle Challenge go on to run well in the Champion Chase, with that in mind we shall be watching the progress of Sizing Europe through the season as he looks to step up to this company. We have been assessing all the major races in the build up to the 2012 Queen Mother Champion Chase with a paticular focus on the movements of the likes of Sizing Europe and Big Zeb who have been the two to watch.
Queen Mother Champion Chase Trial Races and Odds
We have seen two potential Champion Chase contenders for 2012 make their seasonal bow in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter and it was the classy grey Medermit who came out on top. The Alan King horse stayed on well to claim the win after Arkle winner Captain Chris fell at the last, it is hard to say who won but both are top class on their day with the Champion chase a possible target for both.
2010 Champion Chaser Big Zeb has made his return to the track with an impressive win in the Fortria Chase at Navan when sent off second favourite. He finished strongly despite his ageing years to hold off Ryanair Chase favourite Noble Prince and top class chaser Forpadydeplasterer. The three rematched at Leopardstown over Christmas in the Dial-A-Bet Chase and once again it was Big Zeb who came out on top. He was once again too good for Noble Prince and Forpadydeplasterer and will go to Cheltenham with good claims once again.
Sizing Europe has been slashed in the Champion Chase Betting after an emphatic win in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown. The Champion Chaser from last year has been tried over further this season but looked back to his best as he destroyed a good field over his favoured two mile trip, he remains the warm favourite to win at Cheltenham for the second consecutive year in March.
Sizing Europe and Big Zeb met in massive clash at the start of February in the Tied Cottage Chase and there was an emphatic winner. It was Sizing Europe who comfortably claimed the win from a toiling Big Zeb in what could be the defining trial race of the season. The bookmakers slashed Sizing Europe in the Champion Chase betting as a result while Big Zeb has plenty to find at 11 years old based on this form.
Last season's Arkle runner-up, Finians Rainbow, has finally made his seasonal debut and he won for favourite backers in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton over Christmas. He looked beaten after a bad jumping mistake but under a masterful ride from Barry Geraghty he finished like a train to pip the good Wishfull Thinking to prove his undoubted class. Finians Rainbow went into the Victor Chandler Chase well backed but came unstuck in a close finish behind Somersby at Ascot. The horse travelled in style under neath Barry Geraghty but just struggled to quicken enough after the last fence against a good horse. Finians Rainbow is inexperienced over fences and may still be improving which is a plus but on the bare form this season will need to.
Following on from last year, we are delighted to announce that we are featuring horse racing tips from Channel Four Racing presenter, Tom Lee.
Tom appears on Channel 4's Morning Line & covers live Racing in the afternoon as well fronting RTE's Racing coverage in Ireland, his Cheltenham Festival Tips and previews of each day's Racing will be available during the Festival and supported with opinions and views from our Racing writers.
View Tom's Racing Tips
We now have the latest bookmakers betting odds for the main Cheltenham Festival Races.
These odds are updated regularily to ensure that you in touch with all the market moves in the build up to the festival.
The four days of the Cheltenham Festival play host to a number of high quality races: