History was made today (17 March) when Put The Kettle On became the first ever mare to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham Festival. Trained by Henry De Bromhead, who also trained yesterday’s Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle, the seven-year-old mare, owned by the One For Luck Racing Syndicate, charged up the hill to win by half a length over Nube Negra.
Jockey Aidan Coleman said: “This mare is something else. I don’t think anyone has ridden a tougher mare and it’s testament to her ability — she could hear them coming behind her and she just gave it everything.
“It’s an extremely good buzz riding a horse of her quality in a race like that. When you’ve got heart as much as she has, it’s something else. Pulling up at the end of the race was emotional — we do this job day in and day out and when you ride something like her, it’s what it’s all about. Who needs a girlfriend when you’ve got Put The Kettle On?”
Odds-on favourite Chacun Pour Soi was an eventual one-and-a-half length third for Paul Townend and Willie Mullins. Last year’s winner Politologue was withdrawn before the race after a small amount of blood was seen in his nostril while in the saddling boxes.
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