The Ryanair Steeple Chase

The Ryanair Steeple Chase is a National Hunt race held on Cheltenham Festival’s third day. It’s the featured race of the day and highly anticipated by punters around the world. This Grade 1 steeplechase is run on Cheltenham’s New Course for a generous £350,000 prize purse.

Officially known as the Festival Trophy, the race was first sponsored by the Daily Telegraph. The first was held in 2005 and, back then, it was a Grade 2 event, though it was upgraded to Grade 1 in 2008. Since then, Ryanair has picked up sponsorship duties for the chase.

Ryanair Steeple Chase: Betting Odds

Ryanair Steeple Chase: Tips, Predictions and Previews

Experts and oddsmakers seem to agree on Imperial Aura as a favourite for the chase. This 7-year-old Irish gelding, trained by Kim Bailey, is in top form ahead of the event. Imperial Aura won three of the four races it ran this year and finished 2nd in the fourth. The horse has made at least top 3 at every race it’s been in since 2018.

Another horse worth keeping an eye on is Min. The 9-year-old French horse won last year’s Ryanair Steeple Chase, ridden by Paul Townend. This victory gave Min’s trainer, the renowned Willie Mullins, his third victory in the event in five years. If Min wins again, it’d be the second horse to win the chase twice, following Albertas Run in 2010/11.

Allaho, a 6-year-old French horse, is enjoying similar odds to Min. He shows great form coming into the race, finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in three-lifetime chases. When you take into account hurdles and NHF events, Allaho won, placed or showed in six out of eight races.

Ryanair Steeple Chase: Recent Winners