Ryanair Chase 2023 Ante-Post Tips: An each-way play against Shishkin

All season the chatter had been about Allaho lining up here as a short priced favourite to become a three time Ryanair champion. No sooner was Willie Mullins' star ruled out of The Festival and the market blown apart, however, than we had a new short priced favourite in the form of 2020 Supreme and 2021 Arkle hero Shishkin. Nicky Henderson's hero is back to his best and will take all the beating, but Billy Grimshaw is siding with one at an each-way price to at least hit the frame...

When analysing the 2023 Ryanair, many will start and end with Shishkin. In demolishing Pic D'orhy, who seemed to run his race, last time out in the Ascot Chase, he put in what many believe to be the chasing performance of the season. If he runs anywhere near as well as he did at Ascot, he will simply cruise to victory here. The trouble with taking the short odds now, or indeed on the day, is that Shishkin has proved his fragility just as much as he has proven his brilliance.

Off the track with a myriad of problems over the years, and bombing out after a big performance at Ascot in last year's Champion Chase, there surely has to be worries for backers that history will repeat itself and Shishkin will be unrecognisable come the big day. Nicky Henderson is the certified master at bringing the good ones back from setbacks, but the doubts linger. 

So if the pick isn't Shishkin, who do we side with? It won't be Blue Lord for my money, for all he has proven himself to be a useful operator on his day. The main off-putting factor is his price, with quotes of 7/2 or shorter seeming to assume we will see the peak form Blue Lord rather than the average one who seems to appear more often than not. Next up is Fury Road, who was running a good race before being booted out of the way by the monster that is Galopin Des Champs at the DRF last time out. 

Conflated was set for a battle for second place last season before falling, nowhere near Allaho of course, but his owners sponsoring the race forced him here and they will not make the same mistake again as Gordon Elliott has confirmed he is all set to head to the Gold Cup. The horse who did end up second after Conflated's tumble was JANADIL, who rates a fairly confident each-way bet to my eye at this stage. 

As mentioned, he was second in the race last year and he will not have his mighty stablemate blazing off this campaign. This could mean he is ridden with more of a winning chance rather than aiming to place as he has done the last few times when taking on Allaho, but even if not he can at least hit the frame again. His run last time out at Gowran was very impressive indeed, looking beaten in the four runner contest on heavy ground before producing a finishing kick to see off some classy rivals, and that just might've been a career best.

With his confirmed Cheltenham form and the doubts over Shishkin's durability, I'll take my chances and back him each-way with confidence we will get a place payout and a faint hope of the win should the favourite bomb out. Fakir D'Oudairies and Envoi Allen look way past their best and are too short in the betting for me, while Paul Nicholls could run a few but none would stand much of a chance against either a peak Shishkin or the best of the Irish raiding party.