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2026 Ryanair Chase

If ground comes up very much on the soft side then any of the quicker gold cup hopefuls will be disappointed. It will then depend on how much they want to run in the gold cup vs giving the horse a good opportunity
I’d imagine most would still have a go but one or two won’t
The most likely candidate is Skeltons horse but depends how he runs in a fortnight I suppose.
If he’s beat there then I’d say he’s Ryanair bound
The betfair chase win is miles off gold cup winning form
 
Lobos said:
Two really poor runs in his last three races though.
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Agree the end of season 2m run was really poor but that run was too bad to be true.
The KG run, although really poor by his standards still posted an RPR that could still win this years Ryanair. I personally think Kempton didn't suit him and he never seemed to be settled and travelling well imo rather than the trip being an issue. I'm sure it will be different back at Cheltenham over 2m4f where he will be allowed to bowl along and where he has a festival record of 211.
Who is going to beat him? Jonbon would have a chance IF he turns up but then he would still need a best ever Cheltenham chase performance and for FTF to underperform imo. FTF could easily underperform though, just look at all the favourites last year. However, he would be odds on so you would lay off for a free bet if you took the 11/4 now.
 
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Imagine if fact to file wins the Irish gold cup ? 😂😂
 
Exar Essay said:
Yeah you're more than likely right. It's a small chance, but the way he jumped and the speed he showed would rally suit the Ryanair. Added to which, Pauling did say he'd be a Ryanair horse even if winning the KG at the start of the year. I appreciate more recent comments have undone that to an extent. It'll be interesting to see which of the Gold Cup favs gets an entry here.
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I agree about being suited to the Ryanair as I think he could put it up to FTF, if given the chance……..however G2 v’s G1 Glory and be enshrined in the history of Cheltenham….

For me the horse that everyone appeared to think had the best GC trial in the KG is the horse I would run in the Ryanair…..Jango Baie…..he’s only 7 years old and has only run once over 3m, so a gruelling GC trip may IMO be detrimental to his future career. Why not Ryanair this year, see how he goes against FTF and then target the GC next season?
 
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Exar Essay said:
Yeah you're more than likely right. It's a small chance, but the way he jumped and the speed he showed would rally suit the Ryanair. Added to which, Pauling did say he'd be a Ryanair horse even if winning the KG at the start of the year. I appreciate more recent comments have undone that to an extent. It'll be interesting to see which of the Gold Cup favs gets an entry here.
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I keep saying this about English trainers having no patience. They get a good horse and throw them straight in at the deep end rather than building them up. We've got no chance of catching the Irish with this mentality.
 
Quevega said:
Imagine if fact to file wins the Irish gold cup ? 😂😂
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Said in jest I suspect but is a possibility. I'm probably one of the few that thinks Fact To File could well go Gold Cup especially if Inothewayurthinkin doesn't show much at the DRF. He couldn't go the pace in the John Durkan and was outpaced in the King George. It's possible he has grown up and strengthened more and thus may well get the Gold Cup trip now when last season it didn't look likely. The Irish Gold Cup should give us the answer.

I also wonder how brave HDB is with Heart Wood. His best performances this year have come at 2m 7f and disappointed at 2 1/2m. He did hint about trying 3m again and I think it is worth pitching him in and seeing how he gets on, he didn't seem to be stopping at Tramore on the soft ground.

I really don't know about this race and not sure I want to know. I may just bin it off altogether until the day before. This could be the first year it really looks a nothing race and currently we are literally guessing what must go wrong for a horse to turn up here. I quite like Gidleigh Park and see he has shortened in a few places, but that is based on his trainer saying he will go 2m and the Clarence House next. Guessing backers are doing so purely as they think he will fail at 2m and step up to 2 1/2m again.
 
Aye, I think the 11/4 Ryanair that's currently available may be a bit shorter in a couple of hours if things don't change...
 
Runragged said:
Said in jest I suspect but is a possibility. I'm probably one of the few that thinks Fact To File could well go Gold Cup especially if Inothewayurthinkin doesn't show much at the DRF. He couldn't go the pace in the John Durkan and was outpaced in the King George. It's possible he has grown up and strengthened more and thus may well get the Gold Cup trip now when last season it didn't look likely. The Irish Gold Cup should give us the answer.

I also wonder how brave HDB is with Heart Wood. His best performances this year have come at 2m 7f and disappointed at 2 1/2m. He did hint about trying 3m again and I think it is worth pitching him in and seeing how he gets on, he didn't seem to be stopping at Tramore on the soft ground.

I really don't know about this race and not sure I want to know. I may just bin it off altogether until the day before. This could be the first year it really looks a nothing race and currently we are literally guessing what must go wrong for a horse to turn up here. I quite like Gidleigh Park and see he has shortened in a few places, but that is based on his trainer saying he will go 2m and the Clarence House next. Guessing backers are doing so purely as they think he will fail at 2m and step up to 2 1/2m again.
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Agree 👍…..The Irish Gold Cup result could well effect a few horses targets at the Festival

But AP betting is about a degree of guessing, as if it was only about form and clear targets etc, then the prices would be a lot lower than at present

HDB did mention 3m about Heart Wood after his last win, much to my chagrin! but the GC isn’t 3m, it’s a gruelling 3m 2f, so I am hoping/guessing he takes the Ryanair route again this year as the horse is only 8 years old and was a good second last year, beating Envoi Allen (a previous winner and runner up) by 8 lengths.
 
Wayward Lad said:
Agree 👍…..The Irish Gold Cup result could well effect a few horses targets at the Festival

But AP betting is about a degree of guessing, as if it was only about form and clear targets etc, then the prices would be a lot lower than at present

HDB did mention 3m about Heart Wood after his last win, much to my chagrin! but the GC isn’t 3m, it’s a gruelling 3m 2f, so I am hoping/guessing he takes the Ryanair route again this year as the horse is only 8 years old and was a good second last year, beating Envoi Allen (a previous winner and runner up) by 8 lengths.
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"Only 8yo" suggests they would have one dart at it next year if taking the view you can't win for the first time at 10yo+. I don't take too much from his 2nd in the race last year. It was a case of F2F first, rest nowhere. Depending on how you want to look at it, the Gold Cup looks an open race, as you can also tell from the betting. So if you have a horse who could potentially be competitive in the race then this year could be the time to have a go. I think we could be pushing 16 runners in the race granted racing ground.
 
Benjy23 said:
Aye, I think the 11/4 Ryanair that's currently available may be a bit shorter in a couple of hours if things don't change...
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Can boost to 3's with BetMGM but only for £20.

Just topped up on him after the entries, although it had to go to a trader be be reviewed :ROFLMAO:
 
“A trader to be reviewed”……OMG what is the world coming to 😱

You must have been a good losing customer COD to get the 3’s to a score!😂
 
Wayward Lad said:
“A trader to be reviewed”……OMG what is the world coming to 😱

You must have been a good losing customer COD to get the 3’s to a score!😂
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Just under break-even with BetMGM, so not too bad. They don't see me as a winner, which is a good thing right now :ROFLMAO:
 
Runragged said:
"Only 8yo" suggests they would have one dart at it next year if taking the view you can't win for the first time at 10yo+. I don't take too much from his 2nd in the race last year. It was a case of F2F first, rest nowhere. Depending on how you want to look at it, the Gold Cup looks an open race, as you can also tell from the betting. So if you have a horse who could potentially be competitive in the race then this year could be the time to have a go. I think we could be pushing 16 runners in the race granted racing ground.
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An open race maybe, but the GC market has lots of 160 plus horses and two 170 plus horses, to compete against, lots with chances as well

The Ryanair market has at the moment one 170 plus horse and lots of horses that probably won’t run, so the easier option for HW has to be Ryanair surely?

Whilst Heart Wood was beaten 9 lengths last year by an imperious FTF then at 50/1 a week or so ago, he was cracking each way value IMO, as if FTF comes back to his best, then something still has to be second or third in the Ryanair

However maybe a hedge bet @ 66/1 for the GC would be sensible ! 👍
 
Yosser said:
I keep saying this about English trainers having no patience. They get a good horse and throw them straight in at the deep end rather than building them up. We've got no chance of catching the Irish with this mentality.
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They get criticised for doing the opposite also.
 
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I don't think connections of Jango, Jukebox and Gaelic are going to give up the opportunity of the most prestigious prize in jumps racing when they each will be thinking they are very much in with a chance of winning in such an open year. I could maybe understand if one of either GDC or Inothewayurthinkin had really stamped their authority this season but they haven't. Also, they already know what they will be facing this year and are in form and fit and well. This could easily change in a year and then there is the uncertainty with how good this years novices could be with perhaps Final Demand really being a superstar.
With all this in mind, I do think it would be the right decision for Romeo to come here(although not for my pocket).
 
YoungHustler said:
I don't think connections of Jango, Jukebox and Gaelic are going to give up the opportunity of the most prestigious prize in jumps racing when they each will be thinking they are very much in with a chance of winning in such an open year. I could maybe understand if one of either GDC or Inothewayurthinkin had really stamped their authority this season but they haven't. Also, they already know what they will be facing this year and are in form and fit and well. This could easily change in a year and then there is the uncertainty with how good this years novices could be with perhaps Final Demand really being a superstar.
With all this in mind, I do think it would be the right decision for Romeo to come here(although not for my pocket).
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If Gaelic runs in Dublin and disappoints then he's one that could easily defect. It's not hard to imagine this happening either as he's ran poorly there before, more than once at the top level.
Townend available to ride in the ryanair is likely to get Ricci hard enough.
Sounds like the other 2 are going straight there. I doubt both will run again anyway, maybe one.

Even though personally he'd be the most likely to be suited by the Gold cup test, of the King George bunch, unless it's really good ground then I could see any of them running well (bar Banbridge)
 
Jango Baie a late entry in this race, was only the Gold Cup for a long time.
 
Ryanair Chase (Cheltenham, March 12)
Banbridge (Joseph O'Brien, Ireland)
Better Days Ahead (Gordon Elliott, Ireland)
Champ Kiely (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Croke Park (Gordon Elliott, Ireland)
Edwardstone (Alan King)
Energumene (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Envoi Allen (Henry de Bromhead, Ireland)
Fact To File (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Firefox (Gordon Elliott, Ireland)
Found A Fifty (Gordon Elliott, Ireland)
Gaelic Warrior (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Gidleigh Park (Harry Fry)
Grey Dawning (Dan Skelton)
Handstands (Ben Pauling)
Heart Wood (Henry de Bromhead, Ireland)
Il Etait Temps (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Impaire Et Passe (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Jagwar (Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero)
Jango Baie (Nicky Henderson)
Jonbon (Nicky Henderson)
JPR One (Joe Tizzard)
Kalif Du Berlais (Paul Nicholls)
Majborough (Willie Mullins, Ireland)
Master Chewy (Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies)
Matata (Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies)
Panic Attack (Dan Skelton)
Protektorat (Dan Skelton)
Romeo Coolio (Gordon Elliott, Ireland)
Solness (Joseph O'Brien, Ireland)
Spillane's Tower (Jimmy Mangan, Ireland)
The Jukebox Man (Ben Pauling)
Thistle Ask (Dan Skelton)
Twinjets (Paul Nicholls)
 
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