Ryanair Chase odds

The Ryanair Chase takes place on the Thursday of the Cheltenham Festival and is one of the strongest betting heats of the week.

Cue Card won the race at odds of 7/2 last season and Colin Tizzard’s charge was one of the most impressive winners over the four days of racing.

The race is run on the New Course and there are seventeen fences jumped over a distance of two miles and five furlongs.

Introduced in 2005 when a fourth day was added to the Cheltenham Festival, the Grade One contest may not have as much history as some of the more established races but it has certainly produced some excellent horses.

Cue Card won the 2013 Ryanair Chase odds

Imperial Commander won the race in 2009 before going on to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following season.

The race had been dominated by the larger yards before the win for the small stable of Colin Tizzard last March.

Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls and Jonjo O’Neill have all won the race twice, with the latter training Albertas Run to win back-to-back renewals in 2010 and 2011.

He made a bold bid to win a third Ryanair the following season but despite a valiant effort could only finish second behind Riverside Theatre.

Cue Card heads the Ryanair Chase betting after his sterling win and his victory backed up the statistic which shows that seven of the eight winners had previously won at Cheltenham.

The race has been friendly to punters with eight of the nine winners of the Ryanair Chase starting at 6/1 or less.

Albertas Run is the most successful horse in the Ryanair Chase odds

One horse who could fill that criteria is last season’s runner-up First Lieutenant.

Mouse Morris trains this son of Presenting who could bid to be the first Irish winner of this race, although a quick look at the Ryanair Chase betting suggests that he could have some stiff competition.

Flemenstar has been trained patiently however the horse is now with Tony Martin and he could decide to send the strapping gelding over to contest this race, whilst Henry De Bromhead’s Sizing Europe has twice been a runner-up in the Champion Chase and connections may decide to step him up in trip.

Nicky Henderson’s Arkle winner Simonsig looks likely to head for this race rather than lock horns with stablemate Sprinter Sacre in the Champion Chase.

Nicky Henderson has won two Ryanair Chase odds

He might also be joined by Captain Conan who was fifth in the Jewson Novices’ Chase and is rated very highly at Seven Barrows.

Betting ante-post on the Ryanair Chase comes with some perils as the distance of the race means that some of its possible contenders could decide to run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Horses such as David Pipe’s Dynaste and Paul Nicholls’ Al Ferof may represent trainers who have won this race in the past but they, along with Cue Card, could easily run in the Blue Riband event instead.