Blackmore is the Queen of Cheltenham
Emotions soar as “warrior” Captain Guinness is crowned champion, the Skeltons land a double and Willie Mullins lands a Festival century
“I’M not shocked, because I thought his day would come, but at the same time I can’t believe it came today,” said Rachael Blackmore after
Captain Guinness went one better than his second to Energumene in 2023, claiming the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The race opened up after 2/9 favourite El Fabiolo was pulled up by jockey Paul Townend after a juddering mistake at the fifth fence, then Edwardstone and Tom Cannon parted company at the second-last.
But Blackmore and the Henry de Bromhead-trained nine-year-old son of Arakan always seemed to be travelling and showed great grit to pull 1½ lengths clear of Gentleman De Mee, with 100/1 shot Funambule Sivola the only other finisher in third.
“Oh man, it’s unbelievable!”
RACHAEL BLACKMORE
Captain Guinness has won two Grade Twos and has a string of Grade One runnerup spots to his name, but this was his first success in a Grade One at his 14th attempt, crowning Blackmore as the first woman jockey to win the Champion Chase.
“The hill felt long today!
I’m so pleased for his owner, Declan Landy. He’s been knocking on the door in these big races, but this is the biggest of his division, so… oh man, it’s unbelievable,” she said.
Captain Guinness was pulled up on his chasing debut in December, where he was found to have an atrial fibrillation, similar to that of Denman and Sprinter Sacre.
“He was fine, he passed all his tests and it’s great to see him back,” said the trainer, saddling his fourth Champion Chase winner. “When I saw Gentleman De Mee coming, I thought, oh no, but he’s such a warrior, he just picked up.
“Captain Guinness is loved on the yard. Sam Cotterill, who looks after him, said the horse has been trying to kill him for the past two weeks – he’s been bucking every day. He’s a legend – we’ve had him since he was four. He’s a gorgeous horse.”