The Victor Chandler Chase

An Overview of the Victor Chandler Chase

The Victor Chandler Chase, sponsored by leading bookmaking firm Victor Chandler, is a Grade 1 jump race for five-year-olds and above run over a distance of two miles and one furlong at Ascot racecourse in January.

First staged in 1989, the race is, alongside Sandown’s Tingle Creek Chase, one of two British Grade 1 trials for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the season’s premier two-mile chase. Although officially registered as the Clarence House Chase since 2008, it is almost never referred to by that title.

The 2010 race, run on January 23, was won by the Paul Nicholls-trained Twist Magic (centre horse in the photo above).

Victor Chandler Chase History

The Victor Chandler Chase, although now a Grade 1 race run at level weights, was inaugurated as a handicap and was staged as such for most of its history.

The first running of the race remains its most famous, as it was won in characteristically gutsy fashion by Desert Orchid. The popular and top-class grey carried top weight of 12st. Only one other winner, Well Chief, carried top weight during the time the race was staged as a handicap.

Throughout its history, the Victor Chandler Chase has been won by two-mile chasers of the highest order. Apart from Desert Orchid, the most talented winners have included Waterloo Boy (1992), Viking Flagship (1994), Martha’s Son (1995), Call Equiname (1999) and Master Minded (2009).

Tysou, who won the race in 2006, was the last horse to win the Victor Chandler Chase in its old handicap form. Tamarinbleu was the first horse to win the race in its current Grade 1 guise in 2008.

Viking Flagship (1994), Call Equiname (1999) and Master Minded (2009) are the only horses to win the Victor Chandler Chase and Queen Mother Champion Chase in the same season. Martha’s Son, the winner in 1995, went on to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1997.

Ascot Racecourse

Ascot is one of the world’s leading racecourses and is most famous as the home of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting held each June. Founded in 1711 by Queen Anne, Ascot continues to receive royal patronage and plays host to some of the biggest Flat races, including the Gold Cup, Queen Anne Stakes, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Golden Jubilee Stakes (all at the royal meeting), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

Ascot stages jump racing during the winter months, with the main events being the Long Walk Hurdle in December, the Victor Chandler Chase in January and the Ascot Chase in February (all Grade 1 races).

(For more information on Ascot check out its entry in the Racing Post’s directory of UK Race Courses.)

Victor Chandler Chase Facts

• No horse has won the Victor Chandler Chase twice.

• Outsiders have a poor record in the Victor Chandler Chase. Tamarinbleu (2008) is the biggest-priced winner at 12-1. Prior to that, Meikleour (1990) and Tysou (2006) were the biggest-priced winners at 10-1.

• Master Minded (2009) is the shortest-priced winner at 1-4. No other horse has won as an odds-on shot.

• Mick Fitzgerald, successful on Big Matt (1996), Isio (2004) and Tysou (2006), is the most successful jockey in the Victor Chandler Chase and the only one to win the race three times.

• Nicky Henderson, successful with Big Matt (1996), Isio (2004) and Tysou (2006), is the most successful trainer in the Victor Chandler Chase and the only one to win the race three times.

• Blitzkreig (1991) and Jeffell (1998) are the only Irish-trained winners of the Victor Chandler Chase.

Further Reading

1. Wikipedia has a very brief entry on the Victor Chandler Chase which does include a full list of past winners.
2. The Thoroughbred Database also offers a complete list of past winners with more information on the pedigree of the horses.
3. The official site of Ascot Racecourse offers news and information about all the happenings at the course.
4. For a real-time look at the next Victor Chandler Chase before, during and after the race you can follow the Racing Post’s horse racing news which will offer full coverage of the event.