12th - 15th March 2024

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14:50 Cheltenham 14 Mar 2024 View Racecard

3 Ryanair Chase
Grade 1 | Registered As The Festival Trophy | GBB Race | Class 1 | 5YO plus
Winner £218,398 - 11 declared to run
2m 4f 127y
Soft-heavy in places
Draw Advantage: None
Weather: View course guide

Last year’s race

QuickBet
Winner: Envoi Allen
Jockey: Rachael Blackmore
Trainer: Henry de Bromhead
Owner: Cheveley Park Stud
Age: 9 Weight: 11st 10lbs
Starting Price: 13/2
Season Form Figures: 317
Previous Best: 1st - Ladbrokes Champion Chase (Grade 1), Down Royal (November 2022)

By Paul Jones

This will be the 20th running and no winner was having its first run at Prestbury Park. In fact, 15
winners had won at Cheltenham before (five of which at a previous Cheltenham Festival), as had 12
runners-up, so previous course form is a big positive. Last season’s 1-2, Envoi Allen and Shishkin,
were both dual Cheltenham Festival winners entering the race, underlining this point further.

Checking out last year’s race has been productive, as both Allaho and Albertas Run won back-to-
back runnings and Fondmort and Our Vic went one place better than 12 months earlier.

Previous course winners have narrowly outnumbered their non Prestbury Park-winning rivals to the
tune of 99-94 beforehand, but that still doesn’t suggest that the record of previous course winners
should be as dominant as is the case.

Allaho had won the Horse and Jockey Hotel Chase as his prep ahead of his two successes, and
following a season on the easy list, he used that race as a prep race again by winning it for a third
time. This century, the record of winners from that Grade 2 at Thurles in January reads 22310311611 at
the Cheltenham Festival.

However, the best individual race guide has been the King George VI Chase, as nine of the last 16
Ryanair winners ran at Kempton on Boxing Day and another was second in the King George the
previous season. Of those nine Ryanair winners to run in the King George earlier in the season, only
Our Vic and Vautour finished placed.

The Paddy Power Gold Cup (featuring five winners) and Ascot Chase (four winners) are next best, but
it has been the Grade 1 race at Ascot rather than the Grade 3 handicap at Cheltenham that has the
better record since the Ryanair was promoted to a Grade 1, not unexpectedly given its upgrade. Two
of its winners doubled up here (Riverside Theatre and Cue Card), and two other winners (Albertas
Run and Fondmort) finished placed at Ascot.

When analysing patterns for the Ryanair, it is important to differentiate between the early trends
when it was contested as a Grade 2 prize and the results since it was elevated to Grade 1 status in
2008, as a different type of horse has been emerging on top. Prior to 2008, it was two-and-a-half-
mile specialists just below top class that held the call, but following the upgrade top-notchers with
high-quality form over 3m+ have taken over, like in five of the last six years. Twelve of the last 16

QuickBet
winners had already won a Grade 1 race, and winners at the very highest level have recorded six 1-2s
in the last 13 years.

Victory for Balko Des Flos finally gave Gigginstown the win that they wanted so badly six seasons
ago, in a race they effectively sponsor, having had three seconds in the contest in addition to
subsequent Gold Cup winner Don Cossack, but they lack a leading contender this time around, unlike
Cheveley Park Stud, who are trying to win the Ryanair for the fourth year in succession.

Balko Des Flos returned at 8/1, so he wasn’t one of the 15 winners in 19 runnings to be sent off in the
first two in the betting. He also tracked the leaders before taking over three out, so I wouldn’t quite
include him as one of 15 winners to race close to, or right on, the pace, with six of the last 11 making all,
or virtually all, the running.

Irish-trained horses were 0-32 heading into the 2016 running but they put an end to that drought in
style when Vautour led home a 1-2-3, and it’s been virtually all Ireland since then, with only Frodon
getting in on the act for the home team. Willie Mullins has won five of the last eight runnings.

A couple of recent winners switched from other targets (Frodon and Vautour looked Gold Cup bound
until being re-routed), so that’s an angle to consider nearer the time.

At a glance summary
POSITIVES NEGATIVES

Trained in Ireland (notably Willie Mullins) No Cheltenham-winning form

Prominent racer Yet to win a Grade 1

Contested the King George VI Chase Starting bigger than 6/1

Finished in the first three in the Ascot Chase

Won the Horse & Jockey Chase

Ran well in last season’s Ryanair

 Proven stamina at 3m

Owned by Cheveley Park Stud

Switched from another race

For more betting and trends analysis visit Paul Jones Horseracing.

Latest odds from Stats Guides

Tuesday 12 March
Ryanair Chase (Grade 1) (Registered As The Festival
Trophy) (GBB Race) Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase (Grade 1)

QuickBet
No. Horse Odds
Ultima Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
ENVOI ALLEN (FR) (124)
11/4 Unibet Champion Hurdle Challenge Trophy (Grade 1)
5 J Rachael Blackmore T H De
Bromhead Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle (Registered As The
David Nicholson Mares' Hurdle) (Grade 1)
BANBRIDGE (IRE) (61)
2 J J J Slevin T J P O'Brien 9/2 Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle (Registered As
The Fred Winter) (Premier Handicap)
STAGE STAR (IRE) (73) National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys'
11 J H Cobden T P F Nicholls 5/1 Novices' Chase (Grade 2)

CONFLATED (IRE) (40) Wednesday 13 March

4 J J W Kennedy T G Elliott 13/2
Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1)
CAPODANNO (FR) (47) Brown Advisory Novices' Chase (Grade 1) (Registered
3 J M P Walsh T W P Mullins 8/1
As The Broadway Novices' Chase)

PROTEKTORAT (FR) (33) Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)

10 J Harry Skelton T D Skelton 9/1
Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase (Grade 1)
Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase
AHOY SENOR (IRE) (26)
1 J D R Fox T Miss Lucinda V Russell 12/1
Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup
Handicap Chase (Premier Handicap)
View full racecard Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Standard Open
National Hunt Flat Race) (Grade 1)

Thursday 14 March

Turners Novices' Chase (Grade 1) (Registered As The

Golden Miller)
Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle (Premier
Handicap)
Ryanair Chase (Registered As The Festival Trophy)
(Grade 1)
Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Grade 1)
Trustatrader Plate Handicap Chase (Premier
Handicap)
Ryanair Mares' Novices' Hurdle (Grade 2) (Registered
As The Dawn Run Mares' Novices' Hurdle)
Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur
Jockeys' Handicap Chase
Friday 15 March

JCB Triumph Hurdle (Grade 1)

County Handicap Hurdle (Premier Handicap)
Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle (Grade 1) (Registered
As The Spa Novices' Hurdle)
Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (Grade 1)
St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open
Hunters' Chase
Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase (Registered As The
Liberthine Mares' Chase) (Grade 2)
Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle

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Previous winners
Year Going Ran Winner Draw Age Weight OR Form Last Trainer (Distance) Jockey SP Time
run

2023 Soft 9 Envoi Allen 9 11 10 - 613- 80 H De Bromhead Rachael 13/ 2 5:12.31

317 days Blackmore

2022 Soft 7 Allaho 8 11 10 - 411-211 53 W P Mullins Paul Townend 4/ 7 5:09.71

days

2021 Good to 11 Allaho 7 11 10 - 213- 50 W P Mullins Rachael 3/ 1 5:09.40

Soft 641 days Blackmore

2020 Soft 8 Min 9 11 10 - 151- 40 W P Mullins Paul Townend 2/ 1 5:19.66

212 days

2019 Good to 12 Frodon 7 11 10 - 50- 47 P Nicholls (69 Bryony Frost 9/ 2 5:05.59

Soft 1211 days miles)

2018 Soft 6 Balko Des Flos 7 11 10 - F3- 77 H De Bromhead Davy Russell 8/ 1 5:23.30

QuickBet
1232 days

2017 Good 8 Un De Sceaux 9 11 10 - 22- 47 W P Mullins Ruby Walsh 7/ 4 5:09.60

1611 days

2016 Good 15 Vautour 7 11 10 - 1211-12 82 W P Mullins Ruby Walsh EVENS 5:05.30

days

2015 Good 14 Uxizandre 7 11 10 - 21- 33 A King (44 miles) A P McCoy 16/ 1 5:01.20
418U days

2014 Good 11 Dynaste 8 11 10 - 1121- 77 D Pipe (100 Tom 3/ 1 5:09.40

25 days miles) Scudamore

2013 Good to 8 Cue Card 7 11 10 - 212- 26 C Tizzard (83 J Tizzard 7/ 2 5:19.10

Soft 151 days miles)

2012 Good 12 Riverside Theatre 8 11 10 - 5F121- 26 N Henderson (51 B J Geraghty 7/ 2 5:09.60

1 days miles)

2011 Good 11 Albertas Run 10 11 10 - 211- 61 Jonjo O'Neill (1 A P McCoy 6/ 1 5:07.20

4FP days miles)

2010 Good to 13 Albertas Run 9 11 10 - 3- 26 Jonjo O'Neill (1 A P McCoy 14/ 1 5:11.50

Soft P1362 days miles)

2009 Good to 10 Imperial 8 11 10 - 3114- 76 N Twiston- Paddy 6/ 1 5:18.34

Soft Commander 16 days Davies (1 miles) Brennan

2008 Good to 9 Our Vic 10 11 10 - 1223- 47 D Pipe (100 Timmy 4/ 1 5:10.20

Soft 22 days miles) Murphy

2007 Good to 9 Taranis 6 11 0 - 11-1F31 40 P Nicholls (69 Ruby Walsh 9/ 2 5:10.60

Soft days miles)

2006 Good 11 Fondmort 10 11 0 - 2P- 26 N Henderson (51 M A Fitzgerald 10/ 3 5:03.00

4B13 days miles)

2005 Good 12 Thisthatandtother 9 11 3 - F22- 47 P Nicholls (69 Ruby Walsh 9/ 2 5:11.70

222 days miles)

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