Ryanair Chase Preview
The Ryanair Chase made its debut at the Cheltenham festival in 2005 and was upgraded to Grade One status in 2008.
Run over 2m5f The Ryanair Chase is seen as an easier alternative to the Gold Cup but has usually attracted high quality fields. It can produce future Gold Cup winners - in 2009 Imperial Commander won the Ryanair Chase and that horse followed up in the Gold Cup 12 months later.
It is also a big help if a horse has previous winning form at Cheltenham, has a decent amount of experience over fences (at least 6 runs), had won over the distance and is well fancied for the race (in the first 3 in the betting).
As with many of the races at the Cheltenham Festival course winning form looks to be advisable with only 2012 winner Riverside Theatre not having previously scored at the course. With the trend being so strong for the top 3 in the market doing so well in the race, if you find that one of the favourites hasn't already won at Cheltenham then you could be looking at a very small shortlist for potential winners.
The Jonjo O'Neill and David Pipe yards have notably done well winning four of the last ten renewals between them from a limited number of runners.
See the latest news on the Ryanair Chase here via the OLBG forum.
The next race on Day 3 is the Stayers Hurdle Check out the tips and race preview here.
Run over 2m5f The Ryanair Chase is seen as an easier alternative to the Gold Cup but has usually attracted high quality fields. It can produce future Gold Cup winners - in 2009 Imperial Commander won the Ryanair Chase and that horse followed up in the Gold Cup 12 months later.
Ryanair Chase Last Ten Winners
Table below shows the last ten winners of the race, their age at the time of winning, trainer, jockey and odds (starting price).| Year | Horse | Age/Wgt | Trainer | Jockey | Price |
| 2017 | Un De Sceaux | 9-11-10 | W Mullins | R Walsh | 7/4F |
| 2016 | Vautour | 7-11-10 | W Mullins | R Walsh | EvsF |
| 2015 | Uxizandre | 7-11-10 | A King | AP McCoy | 16/1 |
| 2014 | Dynaste | 8-11-10 | D Pipe | T Scudamore | 3/1F |
| 2013 | Cue Card | 7-11-10 | C Tizzard | J Tizzard | 7/2 |
| 2012 | Riverside Theatre | 8-11-10 | N Henderson | B Geraghty | 7/2F |
| 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 |
Ryanair Chase Trends
| 13 / 13 | Had a jockey who had 3-5 rides at Cheltenham that day |
| 13 / 13 | Were sent off no bigger than 16/1 |
| 13 / 13 | Made its debut in either England or France |
| 13 / 13 | From a trainer who had at least 2 other runners at Cheltenham that day |
| 13 / 13 | Ran in a Class 1 last time out |
| 13 / 13 | Ran in England last time out |
| 13 / 13 | Finished in the first four on debut |
| 13 / 13 | Had previously won a Class 1 |
| 13 / 13 | Had won 3-7 chases |
| 13 / 13 | Were no older than a 10yo |
| 12 / 13 | Had previously won 3+ races under todays jockey |
| 12 / 13 | Had a career strike rate of at least 33% |
| 12 / 13 | Ran in a field of 5-10 runners last time out |
Ryanair Chase Trends Analysis
As with pretty much every Grade 1 race, there is a minimum quality threshold for a potential winner and for this race it seems that you need to be rated at least 152 by the official handicapper to stand a chance of winning. Another important stat that stands out is this race tends to go to a horse that hasn't had a busy campaign, the last 10 winners had all run no more than 4 times since October that season.It is also a big help if a horse has previous winning form at Cheltenham, has a decent amount of experience over fences (at least 6 runs), had won over the distance and is well fancied for the race (in the first 3 in the betting).
As with many of the races at the Cheltenham Festival course winning form looks to be advisable with only 2012 winner Riverside Theatre not having previously scored at the course. With the trend being so strong for the top 3 in the market doing so well in the race, if you find that one of the favourites hasn't already won at Cheltenham then you could be looking at a very small shortlist for potential winners.
Ryanair Chase Trainer Statistics
The table below outlines some of the top trainers record in the Ryanair Chase over the last ten years| Trainer | Runners | Wins | Places (Inc Wins) | Win LSP | Each Way LSP |
| W P Mullins | 10 | 2 | 4 | -5.25 | -1.45 |
| Jonjo ONeill | 7 | 2 | 3 | 15.00 | 8.50 |
| David Pipe | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4.00 | 1.20 |
| Nicky Henderson | 13 | 1 | 3 | -8.50 | -6.60 |
| Alan King | 8 | 1 | 3 | 9.00 | 4.48 |
| Colin Tizzard | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.50 | -0.90 |
| Nigel Twiston-Davies | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4.00 | 1.60 |
| Paul Nicholls | 10 | 0 | 2 | -10.00 | -8.03 |
| Philip Hobbs | 7 | 0 | 0 | -7.00 | -7.00 |
| Mrs John Harrington | 3 | 0 | 0 | -3.00 | -3.00 |
The Jonjo O'Neill and David Pipe yards have notably done well winning four of the last ten renewals between them from a limited number of runners.
Ryanair Chase Tips from the OLBG Forum
OLBG member ”Lukeoh11” likes Un De Sceaux:
" Top-class horse and comes here on the back of two performances this season where he's looked as good as ever. Took the Grade 2 Hilly Way at Cork on reappearance by a wide margin on ground that wasn't really fit for racing and the meeting was subsequently abandoned. He followed that up LTO with another impressive display to take the Grade 1 Clarence House at Ascot. With everything in his favour here you'd have to expect him to once again gallop them into the ground like he did last year and retain his crown for Willie Mullins and the O'Connell's."See the latest news on the Ryanair Chase here via the OLBG forum.
The next race on Day 3 is the Stayers Hurdle Check out the tips and race preview here.