Two horses have been touted as potential Queen Mother Champion Chase winners on Wednesday 13th March on day two of the Cheltenham Festival, but a third horse has been well and truly thrown into the mix in the shape of Edwardstone, who stormed to an emphatic victory in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury.
The ante-post betting for the 2m Championship contest has long been dominated by last year’s Arkle 1-2 El Fabiolo and Jonbon, with the former currently a long odds-on jolly after he cruised to victory last time out, while Jonbon fluffed his lines in the rescheduled Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham on Trials Day.
However, Alan King’s Edwardstone showed his brilliance yet again on Saturday afternoon, as having been sent to the front from the flag fall by Tom Cannon he produced a sumptuous round of jumping to ease to a facile 40-length victory and he was duly cut in the betting for the Champion Chase. Now around the 8/1 mark, at the time of writing, Edwardstone’s front-running tactics are sure to add notable intrigue to the Queen Mother Champion Chase in a few weeks time and should he be on a going day then he has to be a leading player.
Yes, Saturday’s Game Spirit lacked significant strength in depth, but the manner in which Edwardstone pinged every obstacle and cruised clear showed he is in rude health before another crack at the race he disappointed in last year.
Sent off a 15/8 second favourite for last year’s event, he was no match for Energumene and eventually came fifth, but he showed when winning the 2022 Arkle Challenge Trophy that he knows how to deliver the goods at Prestbury Park and he will be hoping he can kick on from that Newbury success and lay a challenge down to El Fabiolo and Jonbon.