The Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park is one of the top two-mile races of the season.
It is a significant trial for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and has been won by many great chasers.
Paul Nicholls has won the Tingle Creek ten times, including two victories apiece for Kauto Star (2005, 2006) and Master Minded (2008, 2010). Other famous winners include Viking Flagship (1994), Moscow Flyer (2003, 2004), Sprinter Sacre (2012) and Altior (2018).
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The Race
The Tingle Creek takes place at Sandown in early December with thirteen fences over two miles.
Although Sandown is far removed from Cheltenham, the race has proved a reliable guide to the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
The emphasis is on fast, accurate jumping and there is no room for error at this level.
Famous Tingle Creek Chase Winners & History
The Tingle Creek Chase was first run in 1979 and was named in honour of a popular chaser and Sandown specialist.
The inaugural running was won by Artifice while News King became the first dual winner in 1981 and 1982.
Desert Orchid added his name to the roll of honour in 1988.
The race was originally run as a handicap but became a Grade 1 Chase in 1994 with victory going to Viking Flagship. It was now established as one of the most significant trials for the Queen Mother Champion Chase and has maintained a high quality of winners throughout history.
Flagship Uberalles (1999 – 2001) is the only horse to have won the race three times. He won for three different trainers and jockeys. He was trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Joe Tizzard in 1999 before following up from the Noel Chance stable and the hands of Richard Johnson. His final success came in the care of Philip Hobbs with Robert Widger in the saddle. Johnson was back in the saddle when Flagship Uberalles won his only Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2002.
Paul Nicholls dominated this race for six consecutive seasons between 2005 and 2010. The victories were shared equally between Kauto Star, Twist Magic and Master Minded. His most recent winners were Dodging Bullets (2014) and Politologue (2017), both of which went on to win a Champion Chase.
Ireland has been successful here with Moscow Flyer (2003, 2004), Sizing Europe (2011) and Un De Sceaux (2016).
Another very popular winner was Sire de Grugy (2013, 2015). His first success was marred by reigning Champion Chaser Sprinter Sacre being pulled up with a heart condition. Fortunately, Nicky Henderson’s great chaser was able to make a full recovery and recaptured his Cheltenham crown in 2016.
Henderson also won this valuable prize with Altior in 2018, one of the true greats of National Hunt racing. He racked up a record 19 consecutive steeplechase victories and won at four Cheltenham Festival meetings in a row.
Key Tingle Creek Chase Trials
The importance of this race as a trial for the Queen Mother Champion Chase is illustrated by the fact that six horses have completed the double in the past 17 seasons.
The form of last season’s Champion Chase often dictates the betting market here.
The Shloer Chase at Cheltenham and the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter have each produced three Tingle Creek winners in the past twelve years.
Betfair Tingle Creek Chase Betting Trends
Favourites have a fine record in the Tingle Creek with seven clear market leaders and one joint-favourite winning in the past twelve seasons.
Only Dodging Bullets (9-1 in 2014) won from outside the front two in the betting.
This race is often on the agenda for the Queen Mother Champion Chase favourite so it is unusual to have a large field.
Sprinter Sacre (2012) and Altior (2018) both won at odds-on for Nicky Henderson while Master Minded (2008, 2009) also landed the odds for Paul Nicholls.
Defi Du Seuil completed the excellent run of favourites when winning for Paul Hobbs in 2019.
Tingle Creek Chase Stats
- Five of the last twelve winners had won last time and two-thirds of them had raced within the previous month.
- There have been a wide range of successful age groups in the Tingle Creek. Kauto Star (2005), Twist Magic (2007) and Master Minded (2008) all won at the age of five while Moscow Flyer won as a ten-year-old in 2004.
- Six-year-olds have won three of the last six renewals including Defi Du Seuil in 2019.
- More than half of recent winners had previously won at Sandown Park.
- Almost all had raced at least seven times over fences and a rating of 160 or higher is normally required to win the Tingle Creek. Master Minded (186) was the highest rated winner in recent times.
- The last twelve winners had won at least once at Grade 1 to 3 level.
Top Trainers and Jockeys of the Tingle Creek Chase
Paul Nicholls has a fine record in the Tingle Creek with a record ten victories. His first was Flagship Uberalles (1999) with his most recent being Politologue (2017). Nicholls trained three dual winners; Kauto Star (2005, 2006), Twist Magic (2007, 2009) and Master Minded (2008, 2010).
Richard Dunwoody still holds a record five Tingle Creek victories including two apiece aboard Waterloo Boy (1991, 1992) and Sound Man (1995, 1996).
Recently retired Barry Geraghty rode his fourth and final winner in this race with Defi Du Seuil (2019), matching the total achieved by Ruby Walsh.
Betting on the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase
Tingle Creek betting opens as soon as the entries are announced with the focus on Champion Chase entries.
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Summary of The Betfair Tingle Creek
The Tingle Creek is one of the top two-mile chases of the season and often features star names like Sprinter Sacre and Altior.
It has proved to be a valuable guide to the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
It is one of the biggest days of the season at Sandown Park and provides a thrilling spectacle for jump racing enthusiasts.
