After yesterday’s look at the Champion Chase Outsiders, we now move on to the Ryanair Chase.
Having lost its gloss when Allaho was ruled out of Cheltenham due to a setback, the Ryanair Chase seemed a race that nobody cared about, but that all changed when Shishkin came back to him best when taking the Ascot Chase by 16L.
Now a long odds-on shot, it looks Shishkin’s to lose, but something has to follow him home!
2023 Cheltenham Festival – Ryainair Chase
As mentioned, if the Shishkin that won at Ascot turns up here then it will take a performance that many of his rivals are not capable of producing to beat him, but I have one who is not a massive price but one who is well worth a second look for a place.
That is FURY ROAD at 8/1
In my opinion, Fury Road comes in here on the back of two very good runs in 3m Grade 1s.
The first of them was in the Grade 1 Savills Chase at Leopardstown where he was 3rd behind Conflated (2nd has won since), and then in the Dublin Racing Festival where he was 3rd behind Gold Cup favorite, Galopin Des Champs, and only run out of 2nd late on by Stattler.
The key here is the drop-down in trip.
Yes, he has won over 3m before but at this kind of level, I believe you will see the best out of him at a track like Cheltenham. If he was to run in the Gold Cup he would be lucky to be in the first 6 as his stamina seems to fail late on over 3m, and would he would be crying enough over 3m 2 1/2f in the Gold Cup.
There is a touch of class about him and that combined with the drop-down in trip, I see Fury Road at worst placing in the 2023 Ryanair Chase.
18+ Gamble Aware
