The Ryanair Chase is a Grade 1

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

in Great Britain which is open to

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs (2 miles 4 furlongs and 127 yards, or 4,139 metres), and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year during the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Rac ...

in March. It was one of several new races introduced at the Festival when a fourth day was added to the meeting in 2005. Prior to this there had been a similar event at the Festival called the

Cathcart Challenge Cup The Cathcart Challenge Cup was a Grade 2 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which was open to horses aged five years or older. It was run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs (4,225 metres), and duri ...

, but this was restricted to first and second-season chasers only. The registered (non-sponsored) title of the race is the Festival Trophy, and it was initially classed at Grade 2 level. The inaugural running was sponsored by the

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

, and since then it has been backed by

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

. The event has held Grade 1 status since 2008.

Records

Most successful horse (2 wins): * Albertas Run – ''2010, 2011'' * Allaho - '' 2021, 2022 '' Leading jockey (4 wins): *

Ruby Walsh Rupert Walsh (born 14 May 1979 in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland) is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in Britis ...

– ''Thisthatandtother (2005), Taranis (2007), Vautour (2016), Un De Sceaux (2017)'' Leading trainer (5 wins): *

Willie Mullins William Peter Mullins (born 15 September 1956) is an Irish racehorse trainer and former jockey. Career He commenced racehorse training in 1988 having previously worked as an assistant to his father Paddy Mullins and Jim Bolger. Willie is a fo ...

- '' Vautour (2016), Un de Sceaux (2017), Min (2020), Allaho (2021, 2022) ''

Winners

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 6 ...

: ** , , , , , , , , , ** , , , , , ,
thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham
– ''Media information pack (2010).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''Festival Trophy Chase – Cheltenham.'' {{Cheltenham Festival National Hunt races in Great Britain Cheltenham Racecourse National Hunt chases 2005 establishments in England

Records

Winners

See also

References