'He's such a warrior' - yet another Champion Chase shock as Captain Guinness has his big day under brilliant Rachael Blackmore

Just when you thought the glorious unpredictably of jump racing had been vanquished by a Closutton colossus and his band of unbeatable odds-on shots, along comes the Queen Mother Champion Chase with a timely reminder there is no such thing as a certainty. Even when that certainty is trained by the man who walks on water around Cheltenham.

El Fabiolo's shuddering error at the fifth fence deprived Willie Mullins of bringing up his festival century here, a milestone that arrived two hours later, and it opened the door for Captain Guinness and Rachael Blackmore to grab their first Grade 1 together. It was a first Champion Chase for the adored rider, who joined an elite group of jockeys to have won the big three at Cheltenham and the Grand National - Ruby Walsh, Tony McCoy and Barry Geraghty being the other three.

It was a fourth Champion Chase for Henry de Bromhead following on from Sizing Europe, Special Tiara and Put The Kettle On.

The Champion Chase has a habit of venturing off piste lately. Shishkin was pulled up at 5-6 in 2022; Chacun Pour Soi was beaten at 8-13 in 2021; Defi Du Seuil could finish only fourth of five when 2-5 in 2020; Douvan was stuffed at 2-9 in 2017; and Un De Sceaux didn't deliver at 4-6 in 2016.

El Fabiolo made it six beaten odds-on shots in nine years as he got in low to the third fence, wasn't great at the fourth and slithered on landing at the fifth, leaving Paul Townend with little option but to pull him up.

"The second I saw him take off, I said, 'He's gone!', said Mullins, who had earlier won the first two Grade 1s of the day with a pair of potential superstars in Ballyburn and Fact To File and it looked as though he might not let anyone else have any fun in his favourite playground.

But De Bromhead has been the one to take the fight to Mullins all week. Slade Steel won the Supreme, he had the 2-3-4 behind Lossiemouth in the Mares' Hurdle and Monty's Star got closest to Fact To File. When El Fabiolo departed the scene early, Captain Guinness was the one to take advantage.

He deserved this. Third in the 2021 Arkle, second in the 2023 Champion Chase, winner of the 2024 event. This was the day he hit the bullseye and the reception was the loudest of the day. It was a magical momentary escape from the inevitable.

"It's just incredible, unbelievable," beamed Blackmore afterwards. The Champion Chase had now been ticked off to her to-do list and added to her two Champion Hurdles and Gold Cup.

"He travelled incredibly and jumped really well. The hill felt like a long hill today, but he held on and it's incredible. I’m so pleased for his owner Declan Landy. He’s been knocking on the door in these big races."

Captain Guinness and Rachael Blackmore after winning the Champion ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

That door opened for him here and there was no second invitation needed. When El Fabiolo exited, it looked as though it might be at the mercy of the free-going and bold-jumping Edwardstone, but he appeared to be getting the worst of the argument when coming down at the second-last.

When asked to describe the feeling of winning a Champion Chase, Blackmore replied: "It’s incredible and I’m so happy to do it on this horse. He always runs his race and is really enjoyable to ride. He's enthusiastic and was too enthusiastic here in the Arkle one year and that didn’t go to plan, but his style of running now is a lot more reserved. It’s magic."

Magic indeed as De Bromhead pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat on the biggest stage of all. The Knockeen magican enjoyed this particular trick and why wouldn't he? It hasn't been the best of seasons for Captain Guinness until now.

De Bromhead said: "He’s had a tricky season. When he ran at Christmas he had his atrial fibrillation. Anyway, all that was fine, he passed all his tests, and it’s great to see him back. We’ve always said he deserved to win a Grade 1 so much.

"He absolutely winged the first few fences, and I just wondered, did he question the favourite a little bit, but I could be wrong. And then the race completely opened up and it was incredible."

He added of the thrilling climax: "When I saw Gentleman De Mee coming at us, I thought, 'Oh no', but he’s such a warrior, he just picked up. We’ve won four of these Champion Chases now. You dream of winning races like this. It’s absolutely incredible."

On Blackmore, he said: "She’s such an incredible rider, and whatever it is about here at Cheltenham, she’s amazing here as well. As good as she is everywhere else, she’s even better here. We’ve had some incredible days."

Tom Cannon thought Edwardstone was beaten when coming down. He said: "He's fine. He just got tired and wants better ground. It was a good run but he was no match for Captain Guinness turning in and when I came down to two-out my petrol was empty."

Captain Guinness just had enough petrol to get to his destination. He is now a Champion Chase winner and so is Blackmore. Who would have thought that after their last two appearances this season?

It turns out this jumps game is not always predictable. There are the odd occasions when it doesn't stick to the script and this was one such occasion.

Read these next:

'I was concerned about how badly he was jumping' - Willie Mullins on El Fabiolo's Champion Chase reverse 

'A monumental sporting achievement' - Ruby Walsh leads the tributes as Willie Mullins completes 100 Cheltenham Festival winners 

'I can't put it into words' - Willie Mullins gets his festival 100 up as Jasmin De Vaux lands Champion Bumper 

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