Held at Newbury racecourse the Denman Chase is a Grade Two race that is run in February each year.
First run in 2000, the Denman Chase tales place over a trip of 3 miles, and over that time has given punters, trainers and owners alike a few clues towards the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Four horses have landed this content before going onto take the blue-riband in the same season – Kauto Star (2007), Denman (2008), Coneygree (2015) & Native River (2018).
Originally named the Aon Chase, the race was given Listed status in 2002 and then went up to a Grade 2 in 2003.
The planned 2009 renewal was abandoned at Newbury because of snow, and so the race was switched to Kempton Park that year and was run as the Levy Board Chase.
In 2012 Betfair became the official sponsor and renamed the Newbury feature the Denman Chase in honour of Denman, who won the race in 2008 and also won two Hennessy Gold Cups at the venue.
The race forms part of an excellent Newbury card which also sees the Betfair Hurdle and the Game Spirit Chase take place at the same fixture. Many tipsters will opt for this meeting to publish their NAP of the day.
The roll of honour for this race is a very impressive one too. Kauto Star won this back in 2007 before going on to win the Gold Cup at Cheltenham the following month for Paul Nicholls.
Given that the race is named after him, Denman has to be remembered as a giant of this race , while similar comments go for See More Business, Long Run, Coneygree and Native River who all took this and the Gold Cup in the respective careers.
Denman Chase Winners
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2021 – Secret Investor (14/1) Bryony Frost/Paul Nicholls
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2020 – Native River (2/5 fav) Jonjo O'Neill Jr/Colin Tizzard
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2019 - Clan Des Obeaux (2/5 fav) Harry Cobden/Paul Nicholls
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2018 - Native River (8/11 fav) Richard Johnson/Colin Tizzard
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2017 – Native River (11/10) Aidan Coleman/Colin Tizzard
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2016 - Houblon des Obeaux (3/1) Aidan Coleman/Venetia Williams
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2015 – Coneygree (15/8 fav) Richard Johnson/Mark Bradstock
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2014 – Harry Topper (7/2) Jason Maguire/Kim Bailey
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2013 – Silviniaco Conti (8/11 fav) Ruby Walsh/Paul Nicholls
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2012 – Long Run (4/7 fav) Sam Waley-Cohen/Nicky Henderson
Denman Chase Statistics
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Age: 7 of the last 10 winners were aged either 7 or 8.
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Price: 6 of the last 10 favourites have won, 9/10 winners came from the top three in the horse racing odds.
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Last Run: 5 of the last 10 winners won on their last run before the Denman Chase, 9/10 winners ran within the last 63 days.
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Previous Course Form: 9/10 winners had at least on previous run at Newbury, 7/10 winners had at least one previous win at Newbury.
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Previous Distance Form: 10/10 winners had at least two previous runs over 23-25 furlongs, 10/10 had at least two previous wins over 23-25 furlongs.
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Previous Chase Form: 10/10 winners had at least seven previous chase runs, 9/10 winners had at least four previous chase wins.
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Rating: 9/10 winners were rated 156 or higher.
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Graded Wins: 10/10 winners had at least one previous win in a Grade 1 or 2 race.
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Season Form: 9/10 winners had at least two runs that season, 7/10 winners had at least one win that season.
Denman Chase Trainers
One trainer has made this race his own in the last 20 years and that is Paul Nicholls. He has won this race 10 times out of the 20 times it has been run thus far.
His winners have been: See More Business (2000), Shotgun Willy (2001), Valley Henry (2003), Kauto Star (2007), Denman (2008), Tricky Trickster (2010), Noland (2011), Silviniaco Conti (2013), Clan Des Obeaux (2019), Secret Investor (2021).
Colin Tizzard has saddled the winner three times in just the last five years, while Nicky Henderson has recorded top honours twice.
Denman Chase Jockeys
The recently retired Richard Johnson had four successes in the Denman Chase, winning aboard Shooting Light (2004), Farmer Jack (2005), Coneygree (2015), and Native River (2018).
Of the current crop of jockeys, Aidan Coleman has won the race twice while Bryony Frost, Jonjo O’Neill Jr and Harry Cobden all have a single victory apiece.
Denman Chase 'Trial' Races
The King George tends to be the most obvious starting point for potential runners in this race.
Quite often we see Ladbrokes Trophy runners return to the same venue for the Denman Chase with previous course form turning out to be a powerful weapon.
Future runs are of course important too and needed to be studied:
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Next Run: 2 of the last 10 winners won on their next run after the Denman Chase, 2/10 placed on their next run.
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Rest of The Season: 9 of the last 10 winners ran in at least one more race that season.
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2/10 won at least one more race that season, 4/10 placed in at least one more race that season.
Cheltenham Festival Run Same Season:
7/10 winners ran in the Gold Cup at the next Cheltenham Festival, 2 of the 7 won, 2 placed.
Starting Prices
Favourites have a great record in this race with six of them doing the business in the last 10 years.
In general, the winner tends to come from the first three in the betting market but you do get the odd upset. The most recent surprise win was in 2021 when Secret Investor won at odds of 14/1 in the online betting.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 1st February 2022
