Cheltenham Festival 2026: Willie Mullins-trained Il Etait Temps wins Queen Mother Champion Chase

Il Etait Temps ran over the line in the Queen Mother Champion Chase to take trainer Willie Mullins’ third win on day two at the Cheltenham Festival.

Majborough was the favorite to take victory in that day’s big race, but a poor jumping display made victory impossible.

A mistake at the final fence almost cost Il Etait Temps the win, but jockey Paul Townend led it to the finish line on the first women’s day at the festival in five years.

“A lot of work has gone into this horse after Ascot, so I have a lot of people to thank,” Townend told ITV Racing. “It shows how strong this kid is. He’s a brave horse again today. He was as flat as a frying pan everywhere.

“I didn’t want to force him but he just found his rhythm.”

“Out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul Townend thinking ‘now we have a horse race,'” Mullins told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

“He started to feel confident and planned his move around the final corner.”

Liberty Hunter, at 50-1, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s horse, L’eau Du Sud, finished third.

Mullins’ first winner of the day came in the opening race with an 11-1 shot of kingpin Rasco Gray over the finish line.

Innocence Law, ridden by Nico de Boinville, followed in second place.

Mullins was “disappointed” with his horses in Tuesday’s Supreme Hurdle, but King Rasco Gray’s performance “worked”.

He told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: “We were all disappointed with our horses in Supreme, but his form was good. The day we bought him at the sales, he looked like a really smooth driver.

“I’m very happy. When I saw them here on Monday, what worried me was that they looked very good.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen my team run so well, but they’re racing well.”

Mullins was the first of the two in the Novices’ Chase with a brilliant jumping display from the 11-1 Kitzbuhel chance allowing him to hold off the challenge of the 7-2 shot final order.

Jockey Harry Cobden described Kitzbühel as “an exceptional little horse”.

He told ITV: “He’s braver than me, this little guy. He’s an exceptional horse.”

“He was great today, and he looked good all the way, so that’s why I kept him in the middle. Everywhere I asked him, he delivered. He’s very strong.”