Ryanair Chase

The Ryanair Chase made its debut at the Cheltenham festival in 2005 and is registered as The Festival Trophy.

Run over 2m5f this grade one chase is seen as an easier alternative to the Gold Cup but has attracted quality fields in its first seven runnings.

Ryanair Chase Trends

7/7	had previous winning form at Cheltenham
7/7	had no more than four runs since October
7/7	had an official rating of at least 152
6/7	came from the first three in the betting market
6/7	had winning form at 2m 5f or above
5/7	had a top three finish last time out
5/7	had placed in either the Paddy Power or the December Gold Cup
5/7	had run at least eleven times over fences

Ryanair Analysis

The Paddy Power and the December Gold Cup used to be the first port of call for trends followers for this race but the quality of the Ryanair field is improving every year and it might not be a coincidence that the last two runnings have not been covered by that stat.

Winning form at 2m 5f looks a definite requirement with only the first winner of the race, Thisthatandtother, not ticking that trend box. The top three home in last year's renewal all met that criteria.

As with many of the races at the Cheltenham Festival course winning form also looks to be a necessity with every winner so far having previously won at the track.

Ryanair Chase Last Seven Winners

Table below shows the last seven winners of the race, their age at the time of winning, trainer, jockey and odds (starting price).

Year	Horse	Age/Wgt	Trainer	Jockey	Price
2011	Albertas Run	10-11-10	JJ ONeill	AP McCoy	6/1
2010	Albertas Run	9-11-10	JJ ONeill	AP McCoy	14/1
2009	Imperial Commander	8-11-10	N Twiston-Davies	P Brennan	6/1
2008	Our Vic	10-11-10	D Pipe	T Murphy	4/1
2007	Taranis	6-11-0	P Nicholls	R Walsh	9/2
2006	Fondmort	10-11-0	N Henderson	M Fitzgerald	10/3JF
2005	Thisthatandtother	10-11-3	P Nicholls	R Walsh	20/1

Ryanair Preview and Tips

This will only the fifth year that the Ryanair has been a Grade One race so the class of winner may be improving from top grade handicapper to the horses just below Gold Cup and Champion Chase standard.

The key to ante-post bets in this race is finding a horse where this race is definitely the target. In too many cases this will be one of a number of options as connections decide between Champion Chase and Gold Cup alternatives or maybe even a handicap.

The trainer to look out for in the Ryanair Chase is Paul Nicholls.

It goes without saying that the Champion Trainer is the man to watch at the Festival but he has had two winners, a second and a third placing in the seven runnings so far so keep an eye on any of his horses with previous Cheltenham form who might be targeted at this race.