2027 Ryanair Chase

The Ryanair Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt Steeplechase which was first run in 2005.

It was added as a result of the Cheltenham Festival extending to a four-day festival. Before the race was introduced, there was a similar one called the Cathcart Challenge Cup.

Run on the New Course at Cheltenham, the race is open to any horse aged five or older. The horses will run a distance of 2 miles and 4.5 furlongs whilst tackling 17 fences along the way.

Initially, the race was a Grade 2 race, but this was increased to a Grade 1 in 2008. Ryanair has sponsored it every year, bar the first year.

In 2005, the Daily Telegraph sponsored the race, with Ryanair taking over the year after. Thisthatandtother won the race in 2005. The nine-year-old was ridden by Ruby Walsh and won at a price of 9/2.

This race is well regarded amongst festival-goers and is known as the fifth Championship race at the festival.

PRIZE MONEY

When the Daily Telegraph sponsored the race in 2005, Thisthatandtother won £87,000 for coming first.

However, this was more than 18 years ago, and the overall prize would always increase, especially when Ryanair took over.

In 2013, Colin Tizzard ran his only winner in this race with Cue Card. The horse racing giant won £156,612.50 when it beat the 2/1 favourite First Lieutenant by a staggering nine lengths.

The race is well supported by its airline sponsors, and as such, the purse for the race usually sits at £350,000. This meant that when Frodon won in 2019, connections took home £196,345.

Likewise the Willie Mullins trained Min in 2020 when he won the race with jockey Paul Townend on board.

2021 was slightly different. With racing behind closed doors, prize money was decreased, so the winning pair of jockey Rachael Blackmore and Allaho took just £150K from the total prize pot of £265,000.

Allaho was back in winning form again in 2022, this time with jockey Paul Townend on board for trainer Willie Mullins. The team took home £211K of the £350K prize pot.

Rachael Blackmore was back in the winners enclosure in 2023 when her runner, Envoi Allen, romped to victory for trainer Henry De Bromhead.

FAMOUS WINNERS

The race has only been going for 15 years but there has still been a considerable amount of notable winners already.

Starting off with the great Imperial Commander in 2009. After winning the Ryanair Chase he was entered into the big one the year after, the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Following another incredible race, he beat the 2008 Gold Cup winner, Denman, by seven lengths, in his only Gold Cup victory.

Cue Card is another great winner of this race. Having won it at the age of seven in 2013 he then went on to win the Betfair Chase three times and the King George VI Chase in 2015. He last raced in 2018, in the Ryanair Chase but was pulled up and subsequently retired.

Frodon raced to victory in 2019. This was one of the most memorable races in Cheltenham History. Onboard was jockey Bryony Frost and she beat a great field to become the first female rider ever to win a Grade 1 chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

The honours went to the Willie Mullins team in 2020 when Min ran home the winner with Paul Townend on board. Adding a fourth Ryanair Chase to his collection, Mullins won again in 2021 with Allaho and Rachael Blackmore.

And again in 2022, Willie Mullins was victorious with Allaho winning back-to-back races.

RYANAIR CHASE RECORDS

The Ryanair Chase is a well-regarded race that has been won by some of the biggest jockeys in the sport.

Once again Ruby Walsh is the leading jockey in this race with four wins. He rode his first winner with Thisthatandtother in the first-ever Ryanair Chase in 2005. His most recent win came on Un De Sceaux in 2017 when he was the 7/4 favourite.

The most successful horses in Ryanair Chase history are the only ones that have won it more than once - Albertas Run and Allaho.

AP McCoy won both races that Albertas Run ran in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 he was priced at 14/1 and in 2011 he was at 6/1.

Willie Mullins takes the accolade as the leading trainer for this Cheltenham Festival race. He has trained six winners - Vautour (2016), Un de Sceaux (2017), Min (2020), Allaho (2021, 2022), and Fact To File (2025).