Ryanair Chase Tips & Odds

The race takes place at 15:20 on Thursday 12th March 2026.

Watch the race live on ITV1 and Racing TV who also offer options to stream the race via their streaming services. 

Alternatively, most bookmakers offer a free live horse racing stream allowing you to watch the race after you've placed a bet.

Considering that the Ryanair Chase is still a relatively new race, it boasts a star-studded roll of honour, which includes Imperial Commander, Albertas Run and Un De Sceaux. However, the most esteemed alumnus of the race is perhaps the 2013 winner, Cue Card, who made seven appearances at the Cheltenham Festival between 2010-2018. Although Cue Card’s finest hour arguably came outside of the Cotswolds (that surely came with one of his three wins in the Betfair Chase at Haydock Park), his 2013 victory in the Ryanair Chase felt like a hallmark moment for him, having chased home Al Ferof in the 2011 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and Sprinter Sacre in the 2012 Arkle the previous two years. Cue Card had won the previous month’s Ascot Chase prior to the 2013 Ryanair Chase, and he followed up in fine style at the festival - making the running and winning by nine lengths. Cue Card signed off with a below-par effort in the 2018 renewal of the Ryanair Chase, when pulled up, but that perhaps came too soon after a memorable duel with Waiting Patiently in the previous month’s Ascot Chase - a performance which will go down as his true swansong. 

The fact that the Ryanair Chase is run over two and a half miles means that contenders from both the two-mile and three-mile divisions can arrive here, meaning that a host of races can provide clues for this. Those races include the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the King George VI Chase at Kempton, the Ascot Chase, the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham and the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter. Over in Ireland, races to keep an eye on include the Hilly Way Chase at Cork and the Christmas Chase at Leopardstown.    

The most successful jockey in the Ryanair Chase is Ruby Walsh, with four wins. Walsh’s wins in the Ryanair Chase were on Thisthatandtother (2005), Taranis (2007), Vautour (2016) and Un De Sceaux (2017).

The most successful trainer in the Ryanair Chase is Willie Mullins who has trained four winners of the Ryanair Chase with Vautour (2016), Un de Sceaux (2017), Min (2020), and Allaho (2021).