Voy Por Ustedes wins Queen Mother Champion Chase
Voy Por Ustedes, the 2006 Arkle hero, put in a super round of jumping to register his second win at the Cheltenham Festival with an emphatic victory in the Grade One Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Voy Por Ustedes puts in a tremendous leap en route to victory in the Champion Chase
There was drama early on in the two-mile race when Evens favourite Well Chief, who was pulling hard, fell at the second fence.
That left Ashley Brook in front and, as the tempo of the race steadied, Dempsey, Newmill and Oneway dropped in behind the leader.
But Voy Por Ustedes (5-1), trained by Alan King and partnered by Robert “Choc” Thornton, was always travelling nicely in behind and made his move with two left to jump.
Ashley Brook’s front-running tactics took their toll before the last, leaving 20-1 shot Dempsey up front, but it was Voy Por Ustedes who powered through to lead, stretching away to score by a handy margin.
Dempsey ran well for second, with 33-1 outsider River City taking third. Last year’s winner, Newmill, had to settle for fourth this time round.
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Voy Por Ustedes’ win is another boost to the chances of Gold Cup hotpot Kauto Star — the new Champion Chase hero finished second to him at Sandown earlier in the season.
- Don’t miss Marcus Armytage’s Cheltenham reports in next week’s (22 March) magazine
- Check back online later today for our racing editor’s exclusive Festival blog
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A Cambridge graduate and big racing fan, Karen joined H&H in 2006 first as deputy news editor, and rose to managing editor, via a stint as acting editor of our sister title, Horse. Alongside being vet page editor and running our annual Young Rider special issue, she oversaw our media agreements, round table features, reader panel and more. Karen left Horse & Hound in 2014.