Ryanair Chase (Registered As The Festival Trophy Chase) (Grade 1) 2m 5f
- (5yo+, 2m 5f, Class 1, 11 runners)
- Winner £154,896 2nd £58,117 3rd £29,099 4th £14,509
- Going: Good, Good to Soft in places
- Surface: Turf
Weighed In:
- Off time: 14:40:44
Full Result
| Pos | Dist | Horse | Trainer | Age | Weight | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 Albertas Run (IRE) | Jonjo O'Neill | 10 | 11-10 | A P McCoy | 6/1 | |
| SP 6/1 Led until 3rd, led next, headed 7th, hit 13th, pushed along after 4 out, led next, driven approaching last, stayed on under pressure, held on | |||||||
| 2nd | 1 | 6 Kalahari King (FR) | Ferdy Murphy | 10 | 11-10 | G Lee | 7/1 |
| SP 7/1 Held up in rear, hit 4 out, headway when hit next, 6th approaching 2 out, stayed on under pressure before last, kept on flat, held by winner opened 5/1 £70000-£10000 £6000-£1000 £11000-£2000 £2000-£320 £5000-£1000 | |||||||
| 3rd | 2 | 10 Rubi Light (FR) | R Hennessy | 6 | 11-10 | A E Lynch | 16/1 |
| SP 16/1 Prominent, led 3rd until next, led 7th until 9th, led next, blundered and headed 3 out, 2nd and driven after 2 out, no impression on winner flat, one pace final 75 yards | |||||||
| 4th | 4½ | 7 Poquelin (FR) | P F Nicholls | 8 | 11-10 | R Walsh | 2/1f |
| SP 2/1f Tracked leaders on inside, ridden after 4 out, soon outpaced, rallied approaching 2 out, pressing for places approaching last, one pace flat opened 5/2 £1500-£500 £5000-£2000(x2) £2500-£1000(x3) £9000-£4000 £2000-£1000 | |||||||
| 5th | nk | 13 Voy Por Ustedes (FR) | N J Henderson | 10 | 11-10 | B J Geraghty | 11/1 |
| SP 11/1 Tracked leaders, ridden after 3 out, outpaced by leaders approaching 2 out, beaten when hit last, one pace opened 12/1 £21000-£1500 | |||||||
| 6th | 4 | 14 J'y Vole (FR) | W P Mullins | 8 | 11-3 | P Townend | 8/1 |
| SP 8/1 Mid-division, took keen hold, headway going well approaching 4 out, soon went 3rd, chased winner briefly 2 out, soon ridden, beaten last, weakened flat | |||||||
| 7th | 10 | 12 Tartak (FR) | T R George | 8 | 11-10 t | P J Brennan | 16/1 |
| SP 16/1 Tracked leaders, hit 12th, soon ridden along, mistake 4 out, outpaced when hit 3 out, soon weakened £20000-£1200 | |||||||
| 8th | 6 | 4 Gauvain (GER) | Nick Williams | 9 | 11-10 | D A Jacob | 11/1 |
| SP 11/1 Prominent, hit 2nd, lost place after 6th, mistake 10th, well beaten when blundered 4 out opened 10/1 | |||||||
| 9th | 2¾ | 5 Hey Big Spender (IRE) | C L Tizzard | 8 | 11-10 | J Tizzard | 18/1 |
| SP 18/1 Held up towards rear, took keen hold, mistake 8th, effort when hit 13th, soon no impression, well beaten after 3 out | |||||||
| 10th | 2½ | 9 Roberto Goldback (IRE) | Mrs J Harrington | 9 | 11-10 | R M Power | 16/1 |
| SP 16/1 Held up towards rear on outside, hit 2nd, blundered 5th, hit 4 out, well beaten next opened 20/1 | |||||||
| PU | 2 Breedsbreeze (IRE) | P F Nicholls | 9 | 11-10 | Nick Scholfield | 40/1 | |
| SP 40/1 In rear, mistake 8th, hit 10th, soon lost touch, tailed off 3 out, pulled up before 2 out opened 33/1 | |||||||
| NR | 3 Captain Cee Bee (IRE) | E P Harty | 10 | 11-10 | Andrew J McNamara | ||
| NR | 8 Rare Bob (IRE) | D T Hughes | 9 | 11-10 | P W Flood | ||
| NR | 11 Somersby (IRE) | Miss H C Knight | 7 | 11-10 | R Thornton | ||
Betting Breakdown
Tote Win £6.20 Tote Place £2.20 £2.40 £2.90 Straight Forecast £46.39 Exacta £32.30 Trifecta £417.90 Swingers 1&2 £5.30, 2&3 £23.70, 1&3 £21.40
Jackpot £157,074.84 carried forward to Cheltenham, 18th Mar
Placepot £219.20, Pool: £902226.06, 3003.34 winning tickets
Quadpot £25.60, Pool: £38127.21, 1101.17 winning tickets
Analysis
Like Buena Vista in the previous race, we saw a repeat winner here as ALBERTAS RUN won the race for the second year in a row, becoming the first horse to do so in the race's short history. With the new rolling starts in place, AP McCoy was keen to get his mount into the front-rank and as the tapes fell he sent him into a narrow lead. Ridden into pretty much every single fence, he responded with one of the best rounds of jumping seen this Festival. With some of those in behind starting to struggle, and the decent pace that he was helping to set causing some jumping issues for his rivals, McCoy pushed him into a clear lead at the bottom of the hill. He kicked away from the chasing Rubi Light, Poquelin, J'y Vole and (amazingly) Voy Por Ustedes, but he needed a good jump at the last as the pack threatened to close in. He got it, boy did he get it, meeting the fence on as good a stride as you'll see and after a low fast jump he was always keeping Kalahari King at bay up the run-in. This was a great training performance from Jonjo O'Neill and a real example of jockey and horse in perfect harmony. The runner-up ran a blinder, coming from off the gallop. He hit the fourth from home quite hard, and although he was running on well, one always got the impression that he was forced to come from too far back. Rubi Light ran a career-best in third, rallying well once challenged for the places. A very sound jumper, Robbie Hennessy's six-year-old (the youngest in the field) was always on the speed and he looks a live contender if coming back here next year, especially if the ground were to ride softer. Poquelin, having been slow at a couple of fences as the race started to hot-up, rallied well for fourth. He ran nearly as well as last year, but probably below pre-race expectations. One of the stories of the race was Voy Por Ustedes, who was having his first start for Nicky Henderson having been put into retirement, and then brought back out. He jumped well, travelled well, and was still on the scene turning in. He evidently retains plenty of ability and will be no back number if he makes a quick reappearance at Aintree. J'y Vole was next, having failed to see out the race. Like last year she was going well turning in, but she was too keen for the first mile and it certainly took its toll. Tartak made a bad mistake four from home which scuppered any chance of a place that he had, whilst Gauvain was another whose jumping was below par; he was beaten too early for the longer trip to be the cause.