Ryanair Chase Betting Guide

"We did enter Mossbank for the Cheltenham Gold Cup yesterday. The Ryanair Chase is the plan anyway. He will go for the Irish Hennessy next and has come out of the Lexus Chase OK. Without a doubt that was the best run of his career and I always thought that he was a very good horse. I would imagine that the trip (two miles and five furlongs) would be right up his alley and I think that he is a better horse on better ground."

"He gave weight away last year but it is a Grade One this time so we are off level weights. The race looks tailor-made made for him and he is in very good form and schooled well this week. You have to respect Mossbank but we are probably the one to beat. This is his race, we just got beat last year and hopefully can go one better this time. He deserves to win a big one. We have had him for some time now and for the last four or five years he has been competing at the top level. He has run consistently well and it would be great for him to win at the Cheltehham Festival."

"I think he may be better over distances short of three miles, but he seemed to be staying on again and nearly got third in the King George. I think he may might be better at a shorter distance because he's got so much speed. He's much lower rated over hurdles and he's a bit difficult to place over fences because he's just in between. We'll have fun with him and find something but you don't want to dishearten them by always putting them against the best. You wouldn't think he'd had a race (in the King George). He ran very credibly. He loses a certain amount of ground by jumping so high and he's not quick when he gets away from the fences, but if you take the winner out the next three are all pretty close. The winner was in a different class and is probably in a different class anywhere."

"We've always known Tamarinbleu was very good, but at Aintree in the spring he was disappointing. We decided to try blinkers, and he improved to run third over hurdles to Abragante and we knew that was the right route. His performance at Cheltenham was something else. It takes a very good horse to win like he did off a mark of 150. And I was glad Denis [O'Regan] was only keeping the saddle warm for me. At Ascot he was extremely impressive. I've watched the replays and sure, Twist Magic was travelling very easily behind us as far as Swinley Bottom, and yes, on the day we outstayed him on that stiff track and over two miles and a furlong. But we had him beat well before the two-mile point, and some other real good two-milers couldn't lay up with us. He is just a pleasure to be on, no quirks or hang-ups, but the way he jumps, you don't quite realise the astonishing ability he has at the time. It's only when you look at it afterwards you realise just how far he's landing over the fence, the ground he must be making in the air. It's a great thrill to ride him. He is so versatile that wherever he goes at Cheltenham, he will be there with a very good chance on the day.”

"There was a worry the ground wasn't going to be soft enough but the fact it was dead ground meant it was going to be a test. The speculation he wasn't a three-miler after he won the Durkan and before this race is silly really and he has proved that. Most horses who win a Hennessy walk up the run-in but he has done it well and pulled away again when they came to him, which is down the ride Daryl gave him. It looked like one or two were going to swallow him up three out but he had a little up his sleeve and had more in the tank after the last. He has an entry in the Ryanair and the Gold Cup, and we are going to have to seriously think about it. We fell short against Denman in the Lexus last time and I can't really see it being turned around, but we will seriously think about the Gold Cup. With Kauto Star and Denman being one and two in the betting they might scare a few away, but he does have enough pace for the Ryanair."