The Stayers Hurdle is the official headline act on Day 3 at the Cheltenham Festival. However, the fellow Grade 1 contest of the Ryanair Chase isn’t too far behind in levels of prestige and betting interest.
Won by future Gold Cup king Imperial Commander, the brilliant Vautour, and the ever-popular Cue Card in previous years, the 2025 edition had looked to be without an obvious superstar attraction. How quickly things can change.
With a little over two months to go before the big day, the 2m5f contest is shaping up to be one of the races of the meeting. Rather than a new 2m5f star exploding onto the scene, the 2025 Ryanair looks set to receive a significant boost from a quartet of stars initially expected to run elsewhere at the finest festival of the racing year.
Fact To File
One of the most talked about horses in training during 2023/24, Fact To File delivered on the hype in some style when storming to a 3¾l victory in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. With that contest held over the 3m½f trip, a tilt at the 2025 Gold Cup looked the obvious target for the JP McManus-owned star.
The showpiece chase remained on the agenda following a comeback win in the 2m3½f John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown, with two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs among those to finish behind.
That John Durkan effort saw Fact To File rocket to the head of the Gold Cup market. However, the eight-year-old was blown away by Galopin Des Champs over 3m½f in the Savills Chase on his next start. 7½l was the winning margin at the line – a distance which may have doubled had that event taken place over the 3m2f of the Gold Cup. It’s hard to see Fact To File turning the tables on that evidence, with a step back in trip for the Ryanair possibly representing his most realistic chance of a second Cheltenham success.
Il Est Francais
For almost the entirety of the 3m King George VI Chase, this Noel George & Amanda Zetterholm star looked like the winner. Jumping imperiously out in front, just as he had when sauntering to victory in the 2024 Kauto Star Novices Chase, Il Est Francais remained well clear as he turned into the home straight.
And then the petrol tank began to empty. Il Est Francais deserves credit for keeping on for second but was no match for the charging Banbridge on the run to the line.
The King George is most commonly a stepping stone towards the Gold Cup, but an alternative path now appears more likely for this brilliant jumper. Whilst the Queen Mother Champion Chase over 2m is an option, the front-running French raider may be ideally suited by the less drastic drop in distance of the Ryanair. If getting into a similar rhythm as he did at Kempton, it’s easy to imagine him going very close.
Grey Dawning
Labelled Britain’s great Gold Cup hope heading into 2024/25, Grey Dawning may not be quite up to that considerable task. No match for Royal Pagaille in the Betfair Chase over 3m on his seasonal return, he was then pulled up having weakened in the latter stages of the King George.
Untested beyond 3m headed into the current season, it was always possible that 3m2f may prove beyond him. As such, the Ryanair Chase is the obvious target for a horse who finished with a flourish to claim the Turners Novices’ Chase over 2m4f at the 2024 Festival.
El Fabiolo
Rounding out our quartet of high-profile Ryanair possibles is this Willie Mullins inmate who has been campaigned exclusively over 2m in his career to date. Going in the double green silks of Simon Munir & Isaac Souede, El Fabiolo posted his most famous success when slamming Jonbon in the 2023 Arkle Chase.
That Arkle display and two subsequent Grade 1 triumphs saw El Fabiolo sent off at odds of just 2/9 for the 2024 Queen Mother Champion Chase. What followed was one of the most underwhelming displays of the meeting. Tapped for toe from an early stage and blundering at his fences, El Fabiolo had the look of a horse no longer suited to a speed test. A well-beaten second to Jonbon over 1m7½f in the Celebration Chase on his final outing of 2024 reinforced that impression.
Despite all that, a second shot at the Queen Mother Champion Chase remains on the table, but don’t be surprised to see him line up in the Day 3 highlight instead. Summing up last season, Mullins stated, “Maybe he wants a longer trip to have more time over his fences”, suggesting the Ryanair Chase may be the big target for the season.
The Cheltenham Festival is never short of mouthwatering clashes, and the potential of Fact To File vs Il Est Francais vs Grey Dawning vs El Fabiolo certainly sets the pulse racing. Fingers crossed we get to see at least a few of those battle it out!