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Ryanair Chase
Race Conditions
The Ryanair Chase (2:35pm) is a Class A Grade 1 chase run over two miles and five furlongs. It is open to horses aged five years old and upwards. The total prize fund is £200,000.
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Recent Winners
The second new race on day three is the Ryanair Chase (previously the Daily Telegraph Chase) and, again, its introduction has proved to be an unqualified success.
There were those who feared that the race might detract from the Queen Mother Chase or the Gold Cup. However, after three runnings the event has proved that there is a place at the Festival for a separate championship race over this distance.
In fact, not only is there currently a crop of top class two and half mile chasers, there are also a number of horses who specialise at that sort of trip around Cheltenham. Races such as the Paddy Power Gold Cup, boylesports Gold Cup, the TurfTV New Year Chase and the Chronicle Bookmakers Trophy Chase should all, therefore, prove to be excellent form guides for this race.
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Our Vic | 10 | D E Pipe | 4/1 |
| 2007 | Taranis | 6 | P F Nicholls | 9/2 |
| 2006 | Fondmort | 10 | N Henderson | 100/30JF |
| 2005 | Thisthatandtother | 9 | P F Nicholls | 9/2 |
Key Trends
Paul Nicholls has won 2 of the 4 runnings.
10 of 12 win-and-place positions have been filled by horses in the first 4 in the betting.
Watch the 2008 Ryanair Trophy:
2007 Review
Although in only its third year, this race has quickly established itself as one of the blue riband events of the Festival, and this year’s field was full of top class horses who served up a thrilling finish worthy of the huge first prize.
The complexion of the race was changed completely by the fall of long time leader Crozan at one of the notorious downhill fences, four from home. That left eventual winner, TARANIS in front and that’s were he stayed, repelling a serious of challengers in the process.
This was a fine effort from Paul Nicholls’ horse who is only six years old and could develop into a Gold Cup horse next year. For now, though, he is a specialist at this trip, as his fine performance here in the Paddy Power Gold Cup earlier in the season proved. He fell at the second last that day, but had he stood up he could easily have beaten Exotic Dancer, giving that horse ten pounds. He certainly showed no end of courage here and his connections have always held him in the highest regard.
Monet’s Garden was the first of the challengers to have a pop at the winner. He hadn’t travelled particularly well for much of the final circuit, but he took the lead briefly three out before being outpaced and finishing a slightly disappointing fourth. The evidence here suggested he needs further but his form earlier in the season had connections eying a crack at the Queen Mother over the shorter trip of two miles. It may simply be that the horse wasn’t at his best today.
Billyvoddan was the next serious challenger. He got to within a length of the winner on the run in but never really looked like getting past. He has had a marvellous season, though, and has been rejuvenated by blinkers. He is perhaps even better over slightly further.
The last horse to try to wrestle the prize from the winner was the mercurial Our Vic. He had struggled for much of the contest and at no point looked like getting into the race until spouting wings after jumping the last. In fact, he was probably an unlucky loser as he was hampered by the fall of Crozan and lost more ground there than the distance he was beaten in the end.
It is hard to crab a horse that has won as many races and as much prize money as Our Vic, but he is extremely hard to predict and his form figures that contain almost as many “P’s” as “1’s” probably sum him up.
Crozan was the other unlucky horse of the race as he was still travelling strongly when coming to grief. Ironically, he had jumped pretty well prior to falling and was clearly inspired by first time blinkers and a return to decent ground. He has no end of talent, but is almost as much of an enigma as Our Vic.
Racing Demon again threw away his chances by jumping persistently out to the right. He did well to finish as close as he did, given the amount of ground he gave away.
Hi Cloy hasn’t been in the same form as he was last year, whilst Thisthatandother probably isn’t as good as he once was – not over this trip at least.
2006 Review
An emotional success for one of the most popular horses in training and one of the all time great Cheltenham specialists. As Nicky Henderson remarked after the race, FONDMORT may not be a Best Mate or an Arkle but he really deserved his place on the Festival roll of honor as there are few gamer horses in training, or better jumpers. This was his fourth course and distance success, including victories in the Paddy Power and the Tripleprint, and he was only just touched off in this event last year.
The race was run at a furious pace from the start, and the time was around two seconds quicker than that taken earlier in the afternoon by Reveillez in the Jewson.
Jockey Mick Fitzgerald took Fondmort to the front four out, having been prominent from the off. He was determined to ensure that Tony McCoy, aboard Impek, didn’t turn the race into a sprint. The tactics worked in the end, but it had taken a lot out of the horse going clear up the straight and he was running on empty at the finish. The line came just in time to deny the fast finishing Lacdoudal, with Impek just a further head back in third.
Lacdoudal is another horse who loves Cheltenham and he is likely to continue to be aimed at these sorts of races and the big handicaps run at the track. However, recent efforts have suggested that a step up in trip might suit (he was slightly outpaced mid-race here) and a crack at next year’s Gold Cup surely isn’t out of the question.
Much to the annoyance of his trainer, Impek got very upset before the start. Henrietta Knight felt that the horse could easily have been calmed down before the off but the starter didn’t give her the chance and connections clearly believed afterwards that the incident affected his chances. Not that he ran badly, however. He was in the firing line throughout, but was just outstayed up the straight. A bad mistake two out didn’t help, but he’s had an excellent season and is sure to be back for another crack at this race next year.
The first three were well clear giving the form a very solid look.
Once again, the big disappointment was a well fancied Martin Pipe runner. However, Old Vic has never been the most consistent of horses and he is just as likely to win as pull up.