Queen Mum Champion Chase - Name your winner

big zeb for me also, cant have master minded 1 bit , same applies to somersby, over 2m on sat he was 10lth behind MM over that final furlong he got withing a neck,clearly needs a step up in trip , big zeb ch, somersby ryan air

I have Big Zeb and Tataniano in my TTF but fancy Woolcombe Folly most at the moment.

big zeb for me, although i do like woolcombe folly and was impressed at cheltenham run

Big Zeb,best around now.

Big Zeb - I really think he will pi$$ up, think he has even improved this season and he seems a much better jumper (touch wood) and seems to have stopped throwing in the odd blunder.

had a bet last week on big zeb, time for rupert (rsa), big bucks and quevega. be shocked if any of the 4 lose

Big Zeb is my nap of my meeting. Also my biggest bet of the festival by a distance.

Big Zeb for me too. I think Geraghty being on board is very important. I also think the horse has not been given the credit it deserves for winning easily last year and continuing the theme this.

I think if he beats Sizing Europe on sunday then retains his title at Cheltenham then he'll be given the credit he deserves.

He has to do it though. No certainties in racing.

Is anyone concerned by Big Zeb's age!? Only 3 horses since 1985 have won the race at 10 years plus...and one of them was Moscow Flyer!!

No, I worry about form.

Oh I see, so you're backing Denman each way with race figures of 122 for the Gold Cup are you!?

Nope. Denman was beaten with no excuses last year and no reason to think he  will reverse that form.  Zeb won impressively last year and is unbeaten since.

Also 6/13 of the past winners have been 9 yo or older, with three being 10 our older.

Age is a strong trend in the gold cup not in the champion chase.

Big Zeb for me too.

dwm - I'm a touch worried about his age but he's quite lightly raced and I still think he's the most likely winner.

Most worried about Sizing Europe if he shows up.

Big Zeb no doubt

Sizing Europe would be my pick if he shows up, although I still think with the right ride Somersby will go very close!

Yeah fair point CV, im not overly concerned by his age either I must admit, only a slight doubt!

Kauto again for the Gold Cup then is it? Or no, hang on, let me guess...Pandorama if he turns up fit and well, Diamond Harry if not!?

I never underestimate the predictability of stupidity!!

I thought more people would fancy big zeb myself

Why's that!? Is it because you do and you're never wrong!?

(I apologise to everyone else, but this character has infuriated me for a long time with his inability to accept an opinion which goes against his own, and his infamous "all the BEST people have gone to another site" comment a while back!)

It was a joke man, ie everyone who has posted has picked big zeb.

10 picked zeb and I posted before I saw you're pick for sizing. It was a very obvious joke man. Chill out.

It may well have been, I just can't resist a chance to try and wind you up!!

And epically failed to do so, getting yourself wound up in the process

Master Minded my bet of the festival had 5-1 in September .

BIG ZEB by far the best option.

well you never know, I will stick with Master Minded. :-)

big zeb the most likely winner and have backed him but also had a decent bet on captain cee bee & b4 anyone asks 2 weeks before pricewise tipped him, master minded looks lay material to me imo

Can't see too much wrong with MM myself, Somersby has been threatening to put in a huge performance for quite some time now and imv will end being recognised as a decent tool. The rest were beaten pretty much hollow after AP gave him a self confessed poor ride.
I certainly wouldn't want him red in my book (although he is a bit at the mo!!!!)

Big Zeb.

Filled my boots at 7/2.

Will probably go off favourite.

Totally depends on ground for me. Would fancy Master Minded to beat Big Zeb if it had some reasonable juice in it, but would be against MM on quicker stuff. In that instance, I'd take Tataniano and Captain Cee Bee against the field. If it's genuine good/soft, then I'd be on Big Zeb. Complicated race for me you see...

Decent ground i.e good/soft tataniano soft ground if he turns up somersby

sizing europe for me if he shows.

guess this weekend in ireland is the race to watch for me..do like zeb and seems his jumping problems have been ironed out and looks the complete package now but se looked so impressive last year in the arkle as seemed to be pulling andrews arms out for the first mile and i think thats why somersby got so close at the finish,the horse had nearly chucked it away by being so keen,has never had any problems with all types of ground,jumps for fun,has bags of pace.....cant wait for sunday as could see a new second fav or my hopes of a arkle/champion chase double up in smoke if he gets hacked over by zeb.

where are the cee beast fans btw.???

Where are the Cee Beast fans? They're only allowed out at selected times of the day!!

I fancy Cee Beast, I've him backed antepost since april last year. He's just been a little forgotten while zeb and master minded have been winning. He has a shout, especially given the likely ground.

im a fan too cv just last year they was most vocal about his chances but no-one had selected him on this thread..hopefully ed is keeping him ticking over at home waiting for better ground(in my ttf )

todays result threw a spanner in the works for big zebs fans

Big Zeb/Woolcombe Folly

Still a massive Big Zeb fan and today wouldn't put me off one bit. People seem to under rate Golden Silver massively - his form outside of Cheltenham over 2 miles since joining Willie Mullins is 111121121211 only losing to Big Zeb. So the only horse who has beaten him in those 12 starts is Big Zeb. Personally don't think he'll be up to it at Cheltenham on quicker ground so Big Zeb is still the stand out bet and have topped up at 4/1 NRNB this evening.

zeb for me above post is excellent by the way

Still think Big Zeb is the most likely winner. Golden Silver doesn't act at Cheltenham and the Irish form looks better than the British to me.

Could be wrong but I got the impression that Geraghty got caught out a little today - i.e. once he'd got Sizing Europe beat he thought he'd won. Golden Silver came out of nowhere and Big Zeb had already to given his effort by then.

To put it another way, Big Zeb could be ridden tactically to better effect than he was today. But, like I say, just an impression.

Appreciate what you are saying there EC.

Strontium, am surprised you think the Irish form looks better than the English. I have yet to make my mind up regarding this year's QM, and although I am not a Big Zeb fan as such, I do respect his chance. However, the one thing I have clear in my mind is that the English form looks much stronger this year. Agree that Cheltenham (and different tactics) will see BZ in a better light, but think the current price is about right.

Still have a feeling that Captain Cee Bee and/or Tataniano could have a big say in this if conditions fall right.

agree Barry thought he'd done it what price diud zebby hit in running 1.1 id say or less

hurricanr fly drift

Tomdeane - I guess how you judge the British v Irish form depends on whether you think Masterminded and Big Zeb are better or worse than last season. For me, both look roughly as good as they were last year, so I take the Irish form as stronger. Masterminded keeps beating the same horses who are below top class. We won't know until March 16th :) i'm sure the Irish form has more depth (BZ, Capt CB, Golden Silver, Sizing Europe). Somersby is the wild card (will he keep improving, will he run in the Ryanair)?

I'll start the Captains charge !

EC's post sums it up for me,spot on imo

Just out of interest - Woolcombe Folly seems to be walking a bit in the market - not sure if this means anything or just an indication of the price settling after the Somersby decision. WF has lengthened almost 2 points in as many days.

captain cee bee