Saturday Ascot tip: Clarence House Chase best bets & odds

The first event of Ascot’s 2025 racing calendar takes place this weekend, with the famed racecourse re-opening for the BetMGM Clarence House Chase Raceday on Saturday (live on ITV1 from 1.30pm).

This raceday is part of the Berkshire Winter Million Weekend in partnership with Windsor Racecourse, and it showcases some high-class jump racing.

The highlight of the day is the Grade 1 BetMGM Clarence House Chase at 3.32pm, as two contenders for Cheltenham’s Champion Chase face off in the first big contest of the year.

Betting sites have Jonbon as the favourite at 8/13 over Energumene (2/1) for that one, while Martator is the close favourite in the second biggest race of the day – the bet365 Handicap Chase (2.15pm).

Horse racing betting sites have Jonbon as the ante-post favourite for the main race of the day, though it is clear that there’ll be a battle with Energumene, with the latter the winner of the Champion Chase last March.

These are two of the early favourites in the Cheltenham odds for the 2025 Champion Chase, and though Energumene returned from a lay-off of almost two years to win at Cork in December, Jonbon’s success in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown last month seemingly gives him a leg up on his rival.

The nine-year-old has won eight of his last ten races, and betting apps offer boosted odds of 4/6 for the win on Saturday.

Clarence House Chase Raceday prediction 1: Jonbon to win - 4/6 Bet365

The second most important race of the day is the Bet365 Handicap Chase (2.15pm), a two-and-a-half mile class two race that features favourite Martator (4/1) as well as Kotmask (9/2), Flegmatik (5/1) and Scarface (5/1).

In what is clearly a fairly evenly matched field, Martator stands out having won three from three at Ascot, including winning twice in November of last year. The most recent success was in the Lay & Wheeler Hurst Park Handicap Chase, where he triumphed over Kotmask.

Martator has dropped a class since coming third in the G2 Desert Orchid Handicap Chase at Kempton at the end of last month, and Ned Fox will be confident of a win with his 3lb claim.

Clarence House Chase Raceday prediction 2: Martator to win - 4/1 BoyleSports

Bettors should always follow responsible gambling practices. Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses.

When using gambling sites be aware that sports betting can be addictive so please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget. The same applies whether you’re using new betting sites, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium.

It’s particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.

You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.

You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.