Clarence House Chase

The Clarence House Chase is a prestigious Grade 1 Steeplechase and is run over a trip of two miles and one furlong. The race is run each January at Ascot Racecourse and is open to horses aged five years or older and there are thirteen national hunt fences to be jumped.

Clarence House Chase Overview

The Clarence House Chase is a Grade 1 Steeplechase that is usually run in mid-January. It attracts high-class chasers over a trip slightly longer than two miles. It often serves as a trial for the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival a couple of months down the line. Previous winners of this race who went on to score in the main race at Cheltenham include Master Minded, Sprinter Sacre and Sire De Grugy.

The race is run at Ascot and there are thirteen fences to be jumped. The race carries a valuable first prize of almost £98,000.

Clarence House Chase Betting Trends and Statistics

The leading trainer in the Clarence House Chase in recent years is Nicky Henderson who has won the race six times with those five winners coming from Isio (2004), Tysou (2006), Sprinter Sacre (2013), Altior (2019) Shishkin (2022) and Jonbon (2025). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the Clarence House Chase are Paul Nicholls (4), Willie Mullins (3) and Gary Moore (2).

The leading jockey in the Clarence House Chase in recent years is Nico de Boinville who has won the race three times (Shishkin 2022,  Altior 2019 and Jonbon 2025). Freddie Gingell has a 100% strike rate in the race having won on his only ride in the race (Elixir Du Nutz) and will be hungry for more glory. Daryl Jacob is a jockey to avoid in this race. He has ridden in it four times and has never even been placed in it.

Prior to Jonbon’s win in 2025 the two previous horses that started as favourites in this race were both beaten; however, between 2016 and 2020, each favourite in this race won it. Participants who run here have often run in the Tingle Creek at Sandown the previous month (December). Sandown winners have a fantastic record for following up in this race.

Clarence House Chase History

The race was meant to have its inaugural running in 1987, but due to bad weather in successive years, the first running of the Clarence House Chase did not occur until January 1989. The race was sponsored by Victor Chandler from 1989 until 2013.

Since then it has been subsequently sponsored by Sodexho (2014-2017 inc) Royal Salute Whisky (2018) and then Matchbook (2019 – 2023). The race has attracted new sponsors for the 2025 renewal in Bet MGM.

The 2024 renewal of this race was switched to Cheltenham due to a frozen track at Ascot weather which resulted in the abandonment of the meeting the previous week.

Previous Clarence House Chase Winners