Racing Review

Ryanair Chase

Officially registered as the Festival Trophy, the race now known as the Ryanair Chase was established in 2005, when the Cheltenham Festival was extended from three days to four. Initially a Grade 2 contest, the inaugural running was sponsored by the ‘Daily Telegraph’, but the Irish budget carrier took over in 2006 and the race has since gone from strength to strength, being promoted to Grade 1 status from 2008 onwards.

Currently scheduled as the fourth race on the third day of the Cheltenham Festival, a.k.a St. Patrick’s Thursday, the Ryanair Chase is run over the intermediate distance of an extended two-and-a-half miles, and 17 fences, on the New Course at Prestbury Park. As such, it is a ‘championship’ race for steeplechasers, aged five years and upwards, who optimum distance falls between the two miles of the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the extended three-and-a-quarter miles of the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Two horses, Albertas Run (2010, 2011) and Allaho (2021, 2022), have recorded back-to-back victories in the Ryanair Chase and remain, jointly, the most successful in its history. Willie Mullins, who trained Allaho, also saddled Vautour (2016), Un de Sceaux (2017), Min (2020) and Fact To File (2025) for a total of six wins and is the leading trainer. Mullins’ former stable jockey Ruby Walsh, who rode Vautour and Un De Sceaux, plus Thisthatandtother (2005) and Taranis (2007) for his former boss, Paul Nicholls, remains the leading jockey with four wins.

Unsurprisingly, for a level-weights, Grade 1 contest, currently worth £375,000 in total prize money, the Ryanair has been dominated by well-fancied horses. At the time of writing, nine out of the last 10 renewals have been won by one of the first three in the betting, which, on five occasions, was the starting price favourite.

Is A “Holy Trinity” Repeat Possible at Cheltenham 2022?

For most national hunt racing trainers, winning at Cheltenham Festival is the ultimate dream. Sure, some might prefer the Grand National, and others might have a special affinity for the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, but Cheltenham has become the true epicentre of jumps racing in the 21^st century. Winning there is tough, however. In the feature races, particularly, you are going to come up against the best horses in the British Isles in each discipline.

And yet, some trainers can make it look easy on occasion, as was the case with Henry de Bromhead at the 2021 Festival. In March, de Bromhead completed what has been dubbed the “Holy Trinity”, training the winner of the Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Such a feat had eluded all the great trainers down the years. For example, Willie Mullins, who is the most successful trainer in Cheltenham history, has never won the Champion Chase, and he couldn’t get his hands on the Gold Cup for over two decades before Al Boum Photo came along in 2019.

Special Cheltenham 2021 for de Bromhead

What de Bromhead achieved was remarkable, but could it be repeated again in 2022? If we look back at previous Cheltenham results, we can see the three horses that did the business for de Bromhead: Honeysuckle (Champion Hurdle), Put the Kettle On (Champion Chase) and Minella Indo (Gold Cup). Of that trio, Honeysuckle is the most likely to repeat. The mare is the odds-on favourite for the 2022 Champion Hurdle. Minella Indo is second-favourite for the Gold Cup, but it’s worth noting that de Bromhead has the current favourite too, A Plus Tard. So, a Champion Hurdle/Gold Cup double is a real possibility.

But bookies aren’t so keen on Put the Kettle On. You can’t really say it was a fluke to win the Champion Chase last March. It was a fine ride under Aidan Coleman, and Put the Kettle On had won the Arkle the year previously. But the odds of 25/1 are a testament to indifferent form. Moreover, the two market leaders, Shishkin and Energumene, are considered a class above everyone else in the field. Henry de Bromhead has other entries, like Captain Guinness and Envoi Allen. But the former would be a shock winner, and the latter will probably be aimed elsewhere.

Champion Chase heroics will be difficult to repeat

So, while a Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup look a real possibility for de Bromhead – and you can be sure many punters will back such a double – the Champion Chase looks incredibly difficult. Shishkin, who is trained by Nicky Henderson, is tipped to go head to head with Willie Mullins’ Energumene in what might be the most highly-anticipated battle of the Festival. Still, all-too-often, these showdowns between big names tend to not play out the way we expect, and the door could be left open for a runner like Put the Kettle On or Captain Guinness.

Of course, it’s not only de Bromhead that could do the hat-trick. It is possible that Willie Mullins could land the Champion Hurdle (Sharjah), Champion Chase (Energumene) and Gold Cup (Al Boum Photo/Allaho). But in terms of odds, you are talking several hundred to one. Possible is not the same as probable. Still, if anything, it shows what an achievement it was for de Bromhead last March. From Fred Winter to Nicky Henderson, Legendary trainers had been tipped to do it before, but they ultimately failed. When de Bromhead heads to Cheltenham in March, he will know that if he can’t complete the Holy Trinity again, it’s unlikely that someone else will. History tells us that.

1000 Guineas

The 1000 Guineas (aka 1000 Guineas Stakes) is a 1 mile Group One race, run on the flat. It’s for three year old fillies and is one of the British Classics, a group of 5 races steeped in history, that are seen as the height of achievement in flat racing (1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks, Epsom Derby, St Leger Stakes). It’s also one of the three races that form part of the fillies triple crown (1,000 Guineas Stakes, Epsom Oaks and St. Leger Stakes). Only a handful of fillies have ever won all three races.

The race takes place in late April or early May each year at Rowley Mile, Newmarket. It was first run in 1814, a few short years after the first 2000 Guineas took place. In less than 50 years it became the must watch and must win race for three year olds, and it’s a reputation that the race maintains to this very day. So much so that there are varients of the race all over the world, from the Irish 1000 Guineas, to the German 1000 Guineas and the Oka Sho in Japan.

The purse for the event is a sizeable £500,000, with almost £300,000 of that going to the winner. Many of racing’s big hitters have won the 1000 Guineas, in recent history the likes of the Aidan O’Brien trained Minding in 2016 and Bilesdon Brook in 2018. Unlike with some races, many of the records of this event such as top owner (4th Duke of Grafton) and jockey (George Fordham) go back 100+ years. This should be no suprise though considering the 1000 Guineas is over 200 years old!