Envoi Allen is being backed to defend his title in the Ryanair Chase as he goes on search of his fourth win at Cheltenham.
The Ryanair Chase is a Grade 1 chase run over the intermediate trip of 2 miles and 4 ½ furlongs. The race was introduced in 2005 when the Festival was extended to four days.
Similarly to the Turners, the race’s introduction sparked worries over horses defecting from the Queen Mother and the Gold Cup but with the Gold Cup trip over an extended 3 miles, the race has often attracted good fields.
Willie Mullins is the leading trainer with five wins in the race, two of those times with Allaho who joins Albertas Run as the only dual-winners of the race. Last year’s winner Envoi Allen bids to join those two as he defends his crown this year
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Ryanair Chase Betting
| Horse | Percentage Of Bets |
|---|---|
| Envoi Allen | 33.3% |
| Protektorat | 12.4% |
| Stage Star | 10.9% |
| Banbridge | 8.2% |
| Fugitif | 6.6% |
| Capodanno | 6.5% |
Lots to like about second favourite Banbridge. This eight-year-old whose campaign has been built around this race. He has a winning habit, given that he’s won nine of his 15 career starts and is unbeaten in two starts at Cheltenham.
After six chase starts, he has four wins and two placed efforts, and the form of his win over Pic D’Orhy on his return in the Silviniaco Conti Chase has been strongly advertised since. Joseph O’Brien’s charge must be respected.
However, Envoi Allen is fancied to win this race for the second consecutive year. He beat Shishkin last year and has a fantastic record of three wins in five races at Cheltenham so clearly likes to run here.
He has only raced once this season when beat by Gerri Colombe by a neck at Down Royal in November but runs well fresh (winning seven times when coming back from a break).
As a 10-year-old he might be on the downgrade but he looks to have been set up for a big run in this race and his form in his last run might just be the best of the field as he looks to have returned to his best.
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