RSA STEEPLE CHASE INFO
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Type: Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase
The RSA Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase run at the Cheltenham Festival’s day two. One of the standout fixtures of Wednesday’s action-packed card, it has become a popular event with race goers and punters betting on the outcome across the country.
With over three miles and twenty fences standing between the starting field neatly positioned at the tape and a 2022 RSA Chase champion crossing the finish line, winning this marathon is certainly no mean feat. The honours roll includes some star names but the whopping £175,000 in prize money ensures a talented field will be in attendance for this year’s renewal.
The race has undergone a number of changes since its launch in 1946 when won by Borthlaw for Ted Vinall and Tommy Rayson. Who will come out on top and win what is sure to be a competitive renewal of this famous race? That remains to be seen but many leading bookmakers have already drawn up their antepost list and offers like Ladbrokes Cheltenham specials etc., allowing followers to back their predictions with hard cash.
Read our overview of the RSA Steeple Chase 2022, including a complete betting guide, updated antepost market, past winners, handy trends, trials and the promotions you can expect to find.
The 2023 Cheltenham Festival may still be many months away, but the preparation begins now. The start of the National Hunt season in the UK and Ireland means backers can begin jotting down their fancies, running through the form and picking their bets for March. The hard work done at this point of the campaign could land you a profit when things get serious.
Antepost betting continues to grow in popularity, with an ever-increasing number of players realising there’s real money to be made by getting in early and taking a punt on a horse winning a big race in the future. Bookmakers often make available their antepost prices up to a year in advance. When the results of a race are in the books it doesn’t take long for the odds to pop up covering next year’s renewal.
That is the case with the majority of races at the Cheltenham Festival. No sooner had the 2022 champion crossed the line than traders were publishing the betting for the 2022 racing extravaganza at Prestbury Park. They did just that with the Cheltenham RSA Steeple Chase, allowing us to predict which horses will run in the race and the eventual winner of this battle over three miles in Gloucestershire.
Tips Coming Soon…
Check out our Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide for the list of TOP 15 betting sites to place a bet on upcoming Festival.
Here you will find a list of the latest Cheltenham Festival offers, including those covering the RSA Chase. As we approach race month you will see new RSA Chase offers and promotions begin to flood the market and bookmakers battle for your attention. Some of the deals that proved popular last year and you can expect to see them back again this time are free bets for new customers, enhanced odds on favourites, extra places each way on selected races, money back if your horse falls, free bets if you back a winner and cash back if your pick finishes second to the SP favourite.
Below is a list of top bookmakers currently offering odds on the RSA Chase 2022 at the Cheltenham Festival. Keep this close and refer back when you are ready to place your bets. This will allow you easy access to the best offers and prices.
Our team of horse racing experts also offer their advice on how you should approach the festival, detailing betting best practices.
Promotions are an important weapon in your battle against the bookies. Major firms must offer a better deal than their competitors to stand out from the crowd and that’s great news for backers, especially heading towards Cheltenham. Some of the offers you can expect are price boosts, enhanced place terms, money back and free bets. These are available to both new and existing customers of every major online betting site.
Best odds is something you should get with every bet you place, at Cheltenham or otherwise. When you have decided on the horse you want to back, you should then visit a respected price comparison website. There you’ll find a list of all odds offered on your selection, with top price in bold. The most generous bookie is the one you should trust with your stake money.
Antepost betting gives backers the chance to get a better price on their runner by getting in early. The odds available at this stage will be much better than what is available to punters waiting until the day of the race. Antepost betting appeals to most shrewd backers but it is not without risks. The main one being you will lose your stake money if your horse doesn’t run in the race, either through injury or by entering another contest. Many prefer to wait until the non-runner money back promotion comes into play.
Live streaming has changed the way we watch horse racing. A number of big bookies offer live streaming on UK racing to customers free of charge. If you back a horse at Cheltenham you can follow the race live through an HD quality stream on your desktop or mobile app. Never again will you be forced to check a results service.
Researching the form of the RSA Chase is a great way to help you whittle down the field and pick your runner. The stats and RSA Chase trends often guide backers to a strong selection and knowing the recent winners will boost your chances. Below is a list of the 10 most recent winners of this race…
Winner: Champ
On a good day for leading Irish owner JP McManus, Champ showed superb speed to somehow get up and land the RSA Novices’ Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. Sent off at 4/1 for trainer Nicky Henderson, he had lofty expectations to live up to. Champ is named after McManus’ former retained rider and 20-time British champion jumps jockey Sir Tony McCoy.
Turning for home, the eight-year-old had plenty of ground to make up on front-running pair Minella Indo and Allaho. Although again not entirely convincing with his round of jumping, notably when pecking on landing two out, Champ demonstrated a real turn of foot to run on between the emptying the Irish horses to touch off 3/1 shot Minella Indo by a length. Allaho, the 5/2 favourite, was beaten a further length in third and this front trio pulled a further 22 lengths clear of previous Grade 1 scorer Battleoverdoyen.
There were tired fallers further back in the RSA Novices’ Chase. The way Champ came with a strong run in the final 150 yards or so up the famous Cheltenham hill showed scintillating speed at the end of a race over an extended 3m. A crack at the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup surely beckons now for Champ. Ante post quotes for next year’s Festival have him a 16/1 shot for the blue riband event of steeplechasing.
There will be no hiding place in a race as competitive as the Gold Cup, however, and Champ really looks like he will have to brush up on his jumping between now and then. Not even his superb flat speed may be enough to follow-up at the Cheltenham Festival come next year, but he is still learning to tackle steeplechase fences.
Topofthegame won the 2019 running of the RSA Chase and he was a deserving champion. The Paul Nicholls trained chestnut gelding went into the contest on Wednesday 13 March as a 4/1 runner. He was ridden by Harry Cobden and that proved to be a winning partnership with the pair leading home a talented field by a ½ length from runner-up Santini.
Popular with backers on the day of the race, Topofthegame continued to attract attention right up until the off and it proved to be smart money. He was given a patient ride by his pilot, sitting in mid division and waiting for the right time to strike. That came when challenging at the last and he was soon running past beaten horses while bettering the main contenders for pace. There was a scrap for the line between Topofthegame and Santini, but we got the right winner in the end.
Paul Nicholls beat Nicky Henderson that day with Gordon Elliott back in third, DeltA Work crossing the line in the bronze medal position. There was little over two lengths between the first three finishers and followers certainly got value for money from that race. Let’s hope this year’s renewal lives up to the 2022 version.
In the run up to the Cheltenham Festival 2022 there will be a number of key trial races run, including for the RSA Chase. These give followers the chance to get an update on the form of the main runners in the antepost field. Below you’ll find a list of trials results which will be updated after every result. This can be used to check how your runner of choice has been performing this season.