Altior over Cheltenham and ready to sprinkle stardust as curtain closes

Bet365 Celebration Chase (Grade 1) | 2m | 5yo+ | ITV/RUK

Altior will have the stage to himself as he bids to bring the curtain down on another championship-winning campaign.

While other favourites such as the retiring Cue Card are parading, the Queen Mother Champion Chase hero will have to exert himself a little further in what should amount to no more than a lap of honour on the track.

Altior took last year's event after landing the Racing Post Arkle Chase and now returns having swept aside Min, God's Own and Politologue at the Cheltenham Festival.

Watch Altior win the Champion Chase

Unbeaten in eight races over fences, Altior meets five opponents at level weights with a 15lb advantage on official ratings over the next best Special Tiara, last year's runner-up who has not been at his best this season. His perfect record ought not be under threat.

Trainer Nicky Henderson said: "It took Altior a couple of weeks to get over Cheltenham. It was tough, as you would expect it to be, but everyone has been very happy with him in the last ten days. He's had only two runs this season because he missed all that time so he's a fresh horse."

Special Tiara is without a win this season and was pulled up in the Champion Chase but has always run well at Sandown, finishing in the first three in all four visits.

God's Own finished 18 lengths behind Altior at Cheltenham but is often at his best at this time of year, usually at Punchestown, where he has recorded two Grade 1 wins.

Trainer Tom George said: "The ground at Punchestown would have been too soft for him so we thought we would try this race instead. Hopefully it will be better.

"We were going to have to take on a good one wherever we went. Altior is going to be tough, but he ran solidly in the Queen Mother and if he gets better ground he can improve again."

After winning the Maghull Novices' Chase at Aintree, Diego Du Charmil will get a flavour of what he can expect in the senior ranks next season.

Watch Diego Du Charmil win at Aintree

"He won well at Aintree but this is quite a tough race and if Altior is on his top game we're all playing for second place," said trainer Paul Nicholls, who also saddles San Benedeto.

"San Benedeto has been off for a while and with his rating it is very hard to find races for him. This is the start of a spring campaign. He might pick up some crumbs, like he did last year."

Tingle Creek third Ar Mad has done well to make the line-up after what he experienced at Cheltenham.

"The poor horse overstretched at the first jump and bled for three hours into his scrotum," said Gary Moore. "The vets at Cheltenham did an amazing job, as did my staff and the vets back at my yard.

"They got him back and he seems in great order, which he will need to be. If he is back to his Tingle Creek form he could run very well."

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