Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Celebration Chase Preview
The Celebration Chase is run in April of each year at Sandown, this Grade One chase is open to runners who are aged five or older and is run over a trip of one mile, seven furlongs and one hundred and nineteen yards, during which a total of thirteen fences will be faced.
The race was established in 2001. It was created to fill a gap when the Cheltenham festival was cancelled that year, and it replaced the Champion Chase.
Celebration Chase Information:
- Celebration Chase Past Winners
- Celebration Chase Trainer Statistics
- Celebration Chase Jockey Statistics
If you are interested in other predictions at Sandown, then head over to the Sandown tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal Races at Sandown Racecourse section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Celebration Chase market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2006 when the race had an over-round of 106%. The race in 2019 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 122%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Celebration Chase, the over-round has been 114%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £114 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Celebration Chase Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Celebration Chase Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Celebration Chase over the last 20 renewals:
- Dempsey (3:43.40) in 2007
- Andreas (3:43.90) in 2008
- Il Etait Temps (3:46.08) in 2025
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Celebration Chase next time out, then you would have backed a total of 7 winners. Backing all 17 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +1.22. Whilst we wait for the 2026 Celebration Chase remember you can get daily racing predictions from the expert tipsters on the racing predictions page.
Over the last 20 renewals, it was Dempsey, trained by Carl Llewellyn and ridden by Timmy Murphy, who set the fastest winning time in the Celebration Chase. That runner won the race in a time of 3:43.40 in 2007. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Paul Nicholls and jockey Daryl Jacob with Sanctuaire who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 4:00.60 in the 2012 renewal.
Celebration Chase Past Winners
Here are the Celebration Chase past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Celebration Chase are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 3:46.08 | Il Etait Temps (FR) 7yo 11-10 9/2 | Danny Mullins W P Mullins (IRE) |
| 2024 3:48.00 | Jonbon (FR) 8yo 11-10 15/8 | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2023 3:50.70 | Jonbon (FR) 7yo 11-10 8/13F | Aidan Coleman Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2022 3:53.60 | Greaneteen (FR) 8yo 11-7 11/8F | Harry Cobden Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2021 3:51.30 | Greaneteen (FR) 7yo 11-7 13/2 | Bryony Frost Paul Nicholls (GB) |
| 2019 3:50.10 | Altior (IRE) 9yo 11-7 1/6F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2018 3:56.90 | Altior (IRE) 8yo 11-7 2/11F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2017 3:48.00 | Altior (IRE) 7yo 11-7 30/100F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2016 3:47.00 | Sprinter Sacre (FR) 10yo 11-7 11/10F | Nico de Boinville Nicky Henderson (GB) |
| 2015 3:48.50 | Special Tiara (GB) 8yo 11-7 3/1F | Noel Fehily Henry De Bromhead (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Celebration Chase have been based:
- GB: 18 winners with an additional 19 placings from 123 runners
- IRE: 2 winners with an additional 3 placings from 11 runners
- GER: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
- FR: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 1 runner
Celebration Chase Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Celebration Chase over the last 20 renewals is Nicky Henderson, who has won the race seven times, with those seven winners coming from French Opera (2011), Sprinter Sacre (2016), Altior (2017, 2018 & 2019) and Jonbon (2023 & 2024). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Celebration Chase are Paul Nicholls (5 wins) and Gary Moore (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Celebration Chase trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicky Henderson | 17-7-12 | -3.75 | -0.02 |
| Paul Nicholls | 31-5-9 | -5.62 | -4.29 |
| Gary Moore | 7-2-2 | +1.29 | -1.22 |
| Henry De Bromhead | 7-1-2 | -3.00 | -1.87 |
| David Pipe | 5-1-2 | +5.00 | +2.90 |
| W P Mullins | 4-1-3 | +1.50 | +1.05 |
| Alan King | 9-0-2 | -9.00 | -5.95 |
| Evan Williams | 5-0-0 | -5.00 | -5.00 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
| Dan Skelton | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
Celebration Chase Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Celebration Chase over the last 20 renewals is Nico de Boinville, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Sprinter Sacre (2016), Altior (2017, 2018 & 2019) and Jonbon (2024).
Here are some of the top Celebration Chase jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nico de Boinville | 7-5-7 | +1.63 | +1.87 |
| Harry Cobden | 4-1-1 | -1.62 | -2.14 |
| Bryony Frost | 1-1-1 | +6.50 | +4.06 |
| Danny Mullins | 1-1-1 | +4.50 | +2.81 |
| Sam Twiston-Davies | 8-0-2 | -8.00 | +2.26 |
| Harry Skelton | 4-0-0 | -4.00 | -4.00 |
| Paul Townend | 3-0-2 | -3.00 | -1.76 |
| Rachael Blackmore | 2-0-1 | -2.00 | -0.75 |
| Tom Cannon | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
| Niall Houlihan | 2-0-0 | -2.00 | -2.00 |
2026 Celebration Chase Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 2, 1, 6, 2, 3, 5, 2, (2, 6), 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well.
- 20 / 20 (52%) - No bigger than 9/1
- 20 / 20 (73%) - Within the first 5 of the market
- 20 / 20 (76%) - Ran in 2 - 18 races (Chase)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 50/1 (Career)
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Furthest ran 2m½f - 2m5f
- 20 / 20 (77%) - Achieved an RPR of 151+ (Last 3)
- 20 / 20 (79%) - Not in a G3/Cl4 (Debut)
- 20 / 20 (81%) - Not in a G3/LST/Cl3/Cl6 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - In a field of 4 - 12 (LTO)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Achieved a TS of 130+ (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (82%) - Ran in 1 - 6 races (Season)
- 20 / 20 (83%) - Had 3 - 19 wins (Non-Hcps)
- 20 / 20 (85%) - Furthest Won 2m½f - 2m4½f
- 20 / 20 (88%) - Ran in 1 - 7 races (1 Year)
- 20 / 20 (89%) - Highest Placed is not LST/Cl2
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Sandown racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Celebration Chase. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, it is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Celebration Chase by adding a tip on the race here.
101 Ways to find Winners in Horse Racing
Celebration Chase Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +5.54, is when runners finished in 1st last time out.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners last place was 2 starts ago, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-38.
The course which has produced the most winners of the Celebration Chase is Cheltenham, there have been a total of 11 winners of this race who ran at Cheltenham last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Aintree, there have been a total of 4 winners of this race who ran at Aintree last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 134 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 2 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Celebration Chase:
- High Chaparral (3 Wins)
- Great Pretender (2 Wins)
- My Risk (2 Wins)
- Walk In The Park (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was River City in 2006, winning for Noel Chance at odds of 9/1 under the guidance of Tom Doyle. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 9 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.
Route to the Celebration Chase
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Celebration Chase, these are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Il Etait Temps Punchestown - 1st of 4 (7/2) | Barberstown Castle Novice Chase |
| 2024 - Jonbon Aintree - 1st of 7 (11/10) | Melling Chase |
| 2023 - Jonbon Aintree - 1st of 4 (59/50) | Maghull Novices Chase |
| 2022 - Greaneteen Leopardstown - 5th of 5 (5/1) | Dublin Chase |
| 2021 - Greaneteen Cheltenham - 4th of 9 (50/1) | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| 2019 - Altior Cheltenham - 1st of 9 (4/11) | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| 2018 - Altior Cheltenham - 1st of 9 (1/1) | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| 2017 - Altior Cheltenham - 1st of 9 (1/4) | Arkle Challenge Trophy |
| 2016 - Sprinter Sacre Cheltenham - 1st of 10 (5/1) | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
| 2015 - Special Tiara Cheltenham - 3rd of 9 (18/1) | Queen Mother Champion Chase |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Celebration Chase Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for National Hunt Racing.
James Banting
Tipster Competition Assistant
Andy Powell
Content Editor
