Ben still in Queen Mother frame Tony Martin has not ruled out a crack at the BetVictor Queen Mother Champion Chase with Benefficient. Outright favourite with some firms for the Ryanair Chase, should the ground still be soft or heavy at Cheltenham for the Festival then a tilt at the two-mile championship could be the direction connections decide to take. Winner of the Jewson Novices' Chase at the meeting last March, Benefficient has only had two runs this season, when fourth in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby before winning the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase over an extended two miles at Christmas, beating Hidden Cyclone and Arvika Ligeonniere. "He'll go straight to the Festival," said Martin. "He's still in the Champion Chase, but the Ryanair is favourite at this stage. "We'll just see what the declarations are like and see what the ground is like nearer the time. If it's soft I wouldn't rule out the Champion Chase. "I suppose a lot depends on Sprinter Sacre and if he runs in the Queen Mother, but if it was soft or heavy we'd have to seriously think about it. "It was a really good run the last day and he won at the Festival last year, so we know he likes the place." Benefficient is 10-1 with the sponsors for the Queen Mother and as low as 4-1 for the Ryanair.
