• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

BettingSites.co

Betting Sites - Best UK Online Bookmakers & Sports Betting Websites

  • Home
  • Top 10
  • New Sites
  • Free Bets
  • Bookmakers
  • Sports
    • American Football
    • Athletics
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Boxing
    • Cricket
    • Darts
    • Football
    • Formula 1
    • Golf
    • Greyhound Racing
    • Horse Racing
    • Ice Hockey
    • Rugby
    • Snooker
    • Tennis
    • UFC/MMA
  • Tips
  • Banking
  • Articles

bet365 Celebration Chase: Past Winners, Stats & History

Jump Finale
Course:
Sandown
Chase Course
Grade:
Grade 1
Length:
1m 7½f
Last Winner:
Greaneteen @ 11/8
Prize Money:
£160,000 (2022)

The end of April marks the official closing of the National Hunt season and as ever Sandown Park steps in to give it a fitting send off. They have a cracking seven-race card on Finale Day, the pick of which – certainly in terms of the class of runner on show – is this event for the crème de la crème of the two-mile chasers.

The first Celebration Chase was in 2001, when Edredon Bleau won what was a replacement for the Cheltenham Champion Chase which was cancelled due to the foot and mouth crisis. The race returned the following year as the Queen Mother Celebration Chase to commemorate the passing of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and has remained an important contest ever since.

bet365 Celebration Chase Course Map (Chase Course)

Sandown Chase Racecourse Map

Runners begin this two mile chase to the east of the course before they enter the home straight. Two fences are taken before passing the winning post for the first time and completing another circuit, jumping a total of 13 fences.

bet365 Celebration Chase Past Winners

Year Winner SP Trainer Jockey
2022 Greaneteen 13/2 Paul Nicholls Bryony Frost
2021 Greaneteen 11/8 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden
2020 Abandoned - - -
2019 Altior 1/6 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville
2018 Altior 2/11 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville
2017 Altior 30/100 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville
2016 Sprinter Sacre 11/10 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville
2015 Special Tiara 3/1 Henry De Bromhead Noel Fehily
2014 Sire De Grugy 2/7 Gary Moore Jamie Moore
2013 Sire De Grugy 6/1 Gary Moore Jamie Moore
2012 Sanctuaire 9/2 Paul Nicholls Daryl Jacob
2011 French Opera 2/1 Nicky Henderson A P McCoy
2010 I'm So Lucky 9/1 David Pipe Tom Scudamore
2009 Twist Magic 7/2 Paul Nicholls Ruby Walsh
2008 Andreas 9/2 Paul Nicholls Ruby Walsh
2007 Dempsey 5/4 Carl Llewellyn Timmy Murphy
2006 River City 9/1 Noel Chance Tom Doyle
2005 Well Chief 9/4 Martin Pipe Timmy Murphy
2004 Cenkos 9/2 Paul Nicholls Barry Geraghty
2003 Seebald 11/8 Martin Pipe A P McCoy

About the Celebration Chase: Season Ending Top Two Mile Contest

Sandown Park Parade Ring
George Redgrave, flickr

The Celebration Chase is a very fitting name for a race which helps to draw the National Hunt season to a close. Held annual in late April at Sandown Park, the Celebration Chase has been established as a very important contest despite the fact that it was only inaugurated in 2001. In fact, were it not for the foot and mouth crisis of that year which forced the cancellation of the Cheltenham Festival it would likely never have been introduced.

An Instant and Enduring Hit

2001 Written in 3D Gold Numbers

The British Horseracing Authority will not remember the winter and spring of 2001 with any fondness. The cancellation of Cheltenham cost them, the course, connections and the local economy a huge amount of money and left the organisers scrambling about to find replacements for the races that were lost.

The Celebration Chase was introduced as a replacement for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. In fact its original title was the Queen Mother Championship Chase before changing to the Queen Mother Celebration Chase in 2002 and then being shortened to simply the Celebration Chase in 2005 when it was awarded Grade 2 status. It’s currently known as the bet365 Celebration Chase and is the biggest race on a card which includes both National Hunt and flat races.

Connections of the best minimum distance chasers have always supported the Celebration Chase. They love the chance for their stars to secure one more big win and a healthy prize fund which reached £160,000 in 2022. Early winners included Edredon Bleu and Well Chief and the calibre of victors has only improved with three high class horses following up victory in the Champion Chase with another in the Celebration Chase in the same season. Celebration Chase winner in 2015, Special Tiara, showed that it’s possible to do the reverse by going on to win the Cheltenham equivalent in 2017.

Dual Champion Chase/Celebration Chase Winners: 2001 – 2022

Horse Trainer Champion Chase Win(s) Celebration Chase Win(s)
Altior Nicky Henderson 2018, 2019 2017, 2018, 2019
Sprinter Sacre Nicky Henderson 2013, 2016 2016
Special Tiara Gary Moore 2017 2015
Sire De Grugy Gary Moore 2014 2013, 2014
Edredon Bleu Henrietta Knight 2000 2001

High Class Winners for a High Class Race

The presence of Champion Chase contenders who line up at Sandown every year suggests that it takes a high class performer to win this 1m7½f race. That is borne out by several trends including the fact that every previous winner was sent off at odds of 9/1 or shorter. I’m So Lucky was the latest of three 9/1 winners back in 2010. His win was one of just three from 2007 to 2022 which did not come from a horse in the top three of the betting.

Chart Showing the Start Prices of the Celebration Chase Winners Between 2001 and 2022

Another sign of the quality of the race is seen by the list of trainers to have saddled a winner of the Celebration Chase. Henrietta Knight won the first edition and has since been joined by other hugely successful trainers such as Paul Nicholls (seven wins as of 2022), Nicky Henderson (five wins) and Gary Moore, who trained Sire De Grugy for his two wins. High class jockeys have also won this. Anthony McCoy became the first to win three times on French Opera in 2011. He has now been surpassed by Nico de Boinville with four wins, once on Sprinter Sacre and three times on Altior.

The mighty and much-loved Sprinter Sacre became one of just two 10-year-olds to win the Celebration Chase following Cenkos’ second win in 2004. Eight-year-olds edge it compared to other age groups with punters generally well served by supporting horses aged between seven and nine (Sanctuaire and Well Chief are the only six-year-old winners).

Chart Showing the Ages of the Celebration Chase Chase Winners Between 2001 and 2022

Other Races of Note at Sandown

  • bet365 Celebration Chase
  • bet365 Gold Cup
  • Coral-Eclipse
  • Henry VIII Novices' Chase
  • Imperial Cup
  • Scilly Isles Novices' Chase
  • Tingle Creek Chase
  • Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle

Primary Sidebar

Sports Betting Guides

  • American Football
    • Super Bowl
  • Athletics
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Darts
    • BDO World Darts Championship
    • PDC World Darts Championship
    • PDC World Matchplay
  • Football
    • Football Articles
    • Premier League
    • Premier League Big Six
    • Championship
    • Football Cups
    • FA Cup
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • European Championships
    • Football Awards
    • English Football Teams & Leagues
    • Scottish Football Teams & Leagues
    • Irish Football Teams & Leagues
    • Welsh Football Teams & Leagues
  • Formula 1
    • Circuits
    • F1 Constructors Championship
    • F1 Drivers Championship
  • Golf
    • Golf Tournaments
    • The Open Championship
    • US Open Golf
    • The Masters
    • Ryder Cup
    • US PGA Championship
  • Greyhound Racing
    • Greyhound Racing Tracks
  • Horse Racing
    • Horse Racing Articles
    • Horse Races
    • Major Meetings
    • Horse Racing Fixtures
    • Racecourses
      • England
      • Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • Horse Racing Series
    • Prize Money
    • Race Classes
      • Grade 1
      • Grade 2
      • Grade 3
      • Group 1
      • Group 2
      • Group 3
      • Handicaps
      • The Classics
  • Ice Hockey
  • MotoGP
  • Motorsport
    • MotoGP Circuits
  • Rugby
    • Super League
    • Six Nations
    • Rugby World Cup
  • Snooker
    • Masters Snooker
    • World Snooker Championship
    • UK Championship Snooker
  • Tennis
    • Wimbledon
    • US Open
    • French Open
    • Australian Open
  • UFC/MMA

Horse Racing Articles

  • What Is the Difference Between UK & Irish Racing?
  • How Many Grand Nationals Are There in the UK & Ireland?
  • What Are the Shortest Horse Races in the UK, Ireland & the World?
  • What Are the Longest Horse Races in the UK, Ireland & the World?
  • Two Year Old Racing: Famous Races, Race Types & Controversy
  • Horse Racing in Ireland: A Guide to Irish Horse Race Classifications
  • Has Any Horse Won All Five Classics?
  • Frankie Dettori's Magnificent Seven
  • Have Any Horses Won The Grand National More Than Once?
  • What's the Different Between Chases & Hurdles in Horse Racing?
  • Worlds Biggest Horse Races
  • Tic-Tac: The Bookies Secret Hand Signals Explained
  • Horse Racing Rule 4 Deductions Explained
  • Best Odds Guaranteed Explained
  • Picking Winners: How To Study Horse Racing Form
  • What is Totepool Betting?
  • The History of Horse Racing

Events By Country

  • Countries
  • UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi)
  • South Africa
  • India
  • New Zealand
  • France
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • USA
  • Ireland
  • UK
  • Saudi Arabia

Banking

  • Apple Pay
  • Bitcoin
  • Entropay
  • Neteller
  • PayPal
  • Paysafecard
  • Skrill

Popular Articles

  • Picking Winners: How To Study Horse Racing Form
  • Betting & Tax In The UK – Do I Have To Pay Tax On My Gambling Winnings?
  • Both Teams to Score & Goals Galore Explained
  • Multiples Betting Explained
  • Dead Heat Rules – What Happens In The Event Of A Tie?

Latest Articles

  • Horse Racing Fixtures
  • Scottish Racecourses
  • Welsh Racecourses
  • English Racecourses
  • Premier League Golden Boot
  • European Golden Shoe
  • Motorsport
  • Youghal Greyhound Stadium
  • Kilcohan Park Greyhound Stadium (Waterford)
  • Kingdom Greyhound Stadium (Tralee)

Recently Updated

  • Australian Open: Past Winners, Stats & History
  • Pegasus World Cup
  • Farmers Insurance Open
  • Cotswold Chase
  • Clarence House Chase
  • Best Online Bookies & List of UK High Street Bookmakers
  • The American Express
  • Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
  • DP World Tour Championship
  • Nedbank Golf Challenge
  • Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
  • Open de France
  • Italian Open
  • BMW PGA Championship
  • Omega European Masters
  • Irish Open
  • BMW International Open
  • Porsche European Open
  • Dutch Open
  • British Masters
Copyright © 2023 BettingSites.co | 18+ BeGambleAware

Disclaimer: Please note that the legality of betting online varies between countries and it is your responsibility to verify that your actions are legal in the country you reside. All offers subject to terms and conditions. Please gamble responsibly - if you feel you may have a problem and need advice please visit Gamble Aware (UK) or Gamblers Anonymous.