Ryanair Chase Betting Guide

"He's been great, he's had a bit of time off and we've freshened him up as he goes well fresh. We think he will probably be going for the Ryanair but he'll be declared for both (with Gold Cup). He won a handicap (Paddy Power) as he pleased and the horse that was second to him there (Barbers Shop) is going for the Gold Cup so the world could be his oyster."

"L'Antartique definitely runs in the Game Spirit - and we are dropping him back in trip as there is basically nowhere else to go with a rating of 155. He looks great but we are using this race as a stepping stone for Cheltenham and I wanted to get a run into him having run over three miles at Leopardstown last time. It's not satisfactory to be running at two miles but I didn't want to saddle him with a big weight somewhere before the Festival - especially the way the ground is at the moment. If we finish fourth or fifth on Saturday - the way the race is looking at the moment - we'd he happy. We are aiming there (Ryanair). He loves Cheltenham but it looks a hot contest. His rating really takes the handicaps out for us. He'd be top weight and you are wide open to a well-handicapped rival. The Ryanair is a conditions race and while we'd be wrong with one or two, we'd be well in with a lot of them."

"Monet's Garden is in good order and he'll go away to Bangor for the day on Wednesday for a nice bit of work. I'm taking one or two down there and Monet's is very fresh and well and his fitness is bang where we want him. It was a bit of a shame he missed Ascot because of the ground as it was a nice prize and you don't like to miss opportunities with a horse like him. We're very happy with him and he will probably go about a mile and a half at Bangor where we'll just let him swing away and enjoy himself. Hopefully that will keep him nice and fresh and razor sharp for the big day."

"We've taken him out of the Festival Plate and we have decided he will definitely take his chance in the Ryanair now. He was second over two miles in Naas last time and we were happy enough with that as the ground was too deep for him. He won well at Leopardstown the time before on goodish ground and that is what he needs. He just likes enough cut to get his toe in. Voy Por Ustedes looks to stand out and Imperial Commander would be pretty strong too. But our horse will run a big race, that's for sure."

"He's still a bit behind. He got cut at Cheltenham and it got infected. They bandaged it up down there and it was a good job I took the bandage off when he got back because some muck had got into it. He had to go to my vets on a drip and get it washed out and it has just taken a long time to come right. He's healed up now but it's still a bit tender. His fitness will be fine, it's just the cut that's the problem. It was a very deep cut but the vets down there told us it wasn't - it was right down to the bone. I think he did it at the third fence so, in hindsight, he ran a very good race. You would have thought the Ryanair would be the ideal race for him, but it's still a good race with Voy Por Ustedes in there. It's just the tenderness and he knows he's had it. He moves away from you in the box if he thinks you are going to touch it. But we've got two weeks and we might get him there. All is not lost yet and if the weather keeps getting warmer, that will help him too."

"He was a joy to watch - I was in a right state about it but he seemed to love it (soft ground), The spring was there and that will have put him spot-on. He is still in the Queen Mother but unless something, God forbid, happens to Master Minded he will almost certainly go for the Ryanair. I am looking forward to it. The race has taken nothing out of him and he's not a horse we have to do much with before Cheltenham. He'll just have a couple of little blows to keep him ticking over."